GUIDELINES FOR WRITTEN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Unit 5 Business Communication

Unit Outline 1. General principles of writing Tips on writing style Active vs. passive voice Spelling and punctuation Common errors in English 2. Principles of Business Writing Tone Emphasis and subordination Writing at the appropriate level of readability Unit 5Business Communication

General Principles of Writing Follow “KISS” principle Use jargon only where relevant Avoid slang and metaphors in formal writing Parts of speech Nouns - Use concrete vs. abstract nouns Pronouns - Avoid “offensive” masculine pronouns -Avoid overuse of “I” -Use “you” carefully Unit 5Business Communication

General Principles of Writing Parts of speech Verbs - Make them agree with subject and person - Use tenses uniformly Adjectives - Avoid strong adjectives - Use minimum adjectives Adverbs - Avoid strong adverbs Unit 5Business Communication

General Principles of Writing Active vs. passive voice - Active to emphasize doer of action - Passive to de-emphasize doer or negative idea Spellings - Differences in British and American English - Differences in noun and verb forms - Similar sounding words with different meanings Unit 5Business Communication

General Principles of Writing Punctuation Apostrophe - For possessive - To indicate ownership Brackets - To separate phrase from main sentence Colon - To suggest a list after main statement Comma - To separate series of words Unit 5Business Communication

General Principles of Writing Punctuation (contd.) Dash - To separate words not needed for sentence structure Full stop - At the end of sentences and abbreviations Quotation marks - To enclose what is stated by others Semicolon - To indicate a long pause

General Principles of Writing Common errors in English Redundancies –repetitive words that express same meaning Cliches – over-used and worn out phrases Frequently misused words – similar sounding words used in the wrong context Unit 5Business Communication

Principles of Business Writing Positive tone - Express negative ideas in positive language - Stress what can be done Confident tone - Don’t be unsure of yourself - Don’t suggest that things may go wrong - Don’t be over-confident Courteous tone - Build goodwill & good relations Unit 5Business Communication

Principles of Business Writing Sincere tone - Avoid exaggeration & flattery Non-discriminatory tone - Use non-offensive language Emphasis and subordination - Emphasize important and pleasant ideas - De-emphasize unimportant and unpleasant ideas Unit 5Business Communication

Principles of Business Writing Techniques for emphasis - Important ideas and words first or last - Active voice to emphasize doer of action - Passive voice to emphasize receiver of action - Emphatic words - Repetition - Numbering of ideas - Visual devices Unit 5Business Communication

Principles of Business Letter Writing “You” attitude vs. “me” attitude - Stress reader benefits - Avoid first person Readability - Tailor writing to audience level - Measure readability – “Fog Index” Unit 5Business Communication