4.1 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall CHAPTER 4 The Three-Step Writing Process

4.2 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Chapter 4 Objectives  Describe the three-step writing process.  Clarify why explaining your purpose carefully is important.  Justify the importance of audience analysis.  Outline the ways to collect relevant information informally.  Define media richness and list factors to consider when choosing proper channel and medium.  Discuss how to establish good audience relationships.

4.3 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Business Writing  For interesting messages, avoid dramatic creative-writing techniques, and make your messages:  Purposeful  Audience-centered  Concise

4.4 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall 1. Plan 2. Write 3. Complete The three steps of the writing process: The Three-Step Writing Process

4.5 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall The Writing Process  Step 1. Planning  Analyze your purpose, audience, and message to ensure they are all aligned.  Investigate supporting material by using formal or informal methods of gathering information.  Adapt your message to suit your needs and meet your audience’s expectations.

4.6 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall The Writing Process  Step 2. Writing  Organize your ideas by defining your main idea, limiting your scope, grouping major points, and choosing the direct or indirect approach.  Compose your first draft by adapting your style (through your level of formality and your conversational tone), by choosing your words carefully, and by creating effective sentences and paragraphs.

4.7 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall The Writing Process  Step 3. Completing  Revise your message by evaluating content, reviewing readability, and editing and rewriting for conciseness and clarity.  Produce your message using effective design elements and suitable delivery methods.  Proofread your message for typos and errors in layout, alignment, spelling, and mechanics.

4.8 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall The Writing Process  When writing business messages, try scheduling your time as follows:  Planning:At least one-half of your time  Writing: Less than one-quarter of your time  Completing: More than one-quarter of your time

4.9 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Analyzing Your Purpose and Audience  The general purpose determines the amount of audience participation you need and the amount of control you have over your message:  To inform, you need little interaction, so you control the message.  To persuade, you need a moderate amount of participation, and you retain a moderate amount of message control.  To collaborate, you need maximum participation, and you retain minimal message control.

4.10 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Analyzing Your Purpose and Audience  To decide whether to proceed with your message, ask yourself four questions:  Is your purpose realistic?  Is this the right time for your message?  Is the right person delivering your message?  Is your purpose acceptable to your organization?

4.11 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Develop an Audience Profile Identify your primary audience Determine audience size Determine audience composition Gauge your audience’s level of understanding Estimate your audience’s probable reaction Estimate your audience’s probable reaction

4.12 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Investigating Necessary Information  Many kinds of business messages require less-formal information- gathering techniques, such as  Considering others’ viewpoints  Browsing through company files  Chatting with supervisors or colleagues  Asking your audience for input

4.13 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Investigating Necessary Information  The key to effective communication is  Determining your audience’s information needs  Responding to all your audience’s information needs and questions  To find out what your audience members want to know  Listen to their requests  Clarify by restating their requests in more specific terms  Try to think of any information needs that members of your audience may not even be aware they have

4.14 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall What Does Your Audience Need?  Have you provided all the required information? (Ask who, what, when, where, why, and how.)  Is the information accurate?  Is the information ethical?  Is the information pertinent?

4.15 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Adapting Your Message  To adapt your message so that it serves both your audience and your purpose you need to:  Select a channel and a medium that fit your purpose and that satisfy your audience’s expectations  Make plans for establishing a good relationship with your audience

4.16 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Oral Communication Channels  Oral communication includes face-to-face conversations, phone calls, speeches, videotapes, presentations, and meetings.  Your choice of medium would depend on audience, location, message importance, and the need for nonverbal feedback.

4.17 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Written Communication Channels  Written communication includes letters, s, memos, flyers, and reports.  A form letter, memo, or boilerplate message is often used for routine communication.  Reports and proposals are factual documents distributed to insiders and outsiders.

4.18 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Media Richness  Media richness is the value of a medium in a given communication situation.  Richness is determined by a medium’s ability to  Convey a message by means of more than one informational cue (visual, verbal, vocal)  Facilitate feedback  Establish personal focus

4.19 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Media Richness  From richer to leaner, media fall along a continuum:  The richest media include face-to-face conversations, meetings, presentations, and videoconferences.  Less-rich media include phone calls, , voice mail, and teleconferencing.  Lean media include addressed documents such as notes, memos, and letters.  The leanest media include unaddressed documents such as fliers, bulletins, and standard form reports.

4.20 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Media Richness  Use the richest media for nonroutine, complex messages.  Use leaner media to communicate simple, routine messages.  The chief advantage of oral communication is the opportunity for immediate feedback.  The chief advantage of written communication is the ability to plan and control your message.

4.21 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Oral Communication  Use oral communication when  You want your audience to ask questions and make comments  You’re trying to reach a group decision  You’re trying to relate an emotional message  You want to read your audience’s body language or hear the tone of their response

4.22 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Written Communication  Use written communication when  Your information is complex  You need a permanent record of the message  Your audience is large and geographically dispersed  You don’t need or don’t want immediate interaction with your audience

4.23 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Electronic Forms of Communication  Use electronic forms of communication when:  You need speed  You’re physically separated from your audience  Time zones differ  You must reach a dispersed audience personally  You’re unconcerned about confidentiality

4.24 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Electronic Forms of Communication  Voice mail—good for short, unambiguous messages  Teleconferencing—good for informational meetings that involve no negotiations  Videotape—good for sending a motivational message to a large number of people  Computer conferencing—good for geographically dispersed collaboration on electronic documents in real time  Faxing—good for overcoming time-zone barriers when a hard copy is required  —good for speedy, low-cost convenience and increased access to other employees  Web site—good for readers who want to absorb information nonsequentially

4.25 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Electronic Forms of Communication  The chief disadvantages of electronic communication include  Too much candor (saying things you shouldn’t)  Information overload (overuse overloading networks and recipients)  Lack of privacy (sending by accident or others forwarding your messages)  Interrupted productivity (through interruptions and misuse of the Internet )

4.26 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Audience: Establishing a Good Relationship  Think about who you are and who your audience is. (Be yourself.)  Use the “you” attitude in all your messages.  Always emphasize the positive.  Establish your credibility.  Be polite.  Use bias-free language.  Project the company’s image.

4.27 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Biases in Language Give specific examples of how you can eliminate these biases: Let’s Discuss Let’s Discuss Let’s Discuss Let’s Discuss Let’s Discuss Let’s Discuss Let’s Discuss Let’s Discuss Age Gender Disability Racial and ethnic

4.28 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall Test Your Knowledge  What are the three steps in the writing process?  What two types of purposes do all business messages have?  What do you need to know in order to develop an audience profile?  How can you test the thoroughness of the information you include in a message? Let’s Discuss Let’s Discuss

4.29 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall  What is media richness and how is it determined?  What is the “you” attitude and how does it differ from an “I” attitude?  Why is it important to establish your credibility when communicating with an audience of strangers? Let’s Discuss Let’s Discuss Test Your Knowledge continued

4.30 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall  How does using bias-free language help communicators to establish a good relationship with their audiences?  What are the main advantages of oral communication? Of written media?  What is boilerplate, and how is it used? Let’s Discuss Let’s Discuss Test Your Knowledge continued