1. Completing Business Messages
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2. Revising Your Message Content Readability Clarity Conciseness
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3. The Three-Step Process
Planning
Writing
Completing
Analyze Situation
Gather Information
Select Medium
Get Organized
Revise
Produce Message
Proofread Message
Distribute Message
Adapt to
the Audience
Compose
the Message
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4. The Revision Process Content Organization Style and tone
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5. Reviewing for Readability
Vary sentence length
Keep paragraphs short
Use lists and bullets
Add headings and subheadings
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6. Editing for Clarity Improve sentence style Impose parallelism
Correct dangling modifiers
Reword long noun sequences
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7. Editing for Clarity Replace camouflaged verbs
Clarify sentence structure
Clarify awkward references
Moderate your enthusiasm
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8. Editing for Conciseness
Delete unnecessary words and phrases
Shorten long words and phrases
Eliminate redundancies
Recast “It is/There are” starters
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9. Evaluate, Edit, and Revise the Work of Others
Help the writer succeed
Understand the writer’s intent
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10. Revising with Technology
Cut and paste
Revision marks
Spell checker
Thesaurus
Search and replace
Commenting
Grammar checker
Style checker
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11. Producing the Message Production quality Professionalism Importance
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12. Multimedia Support Graphics Sound Video Hypertext
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13. Design for Readability
Consistency
Balance
Restraint
Detail
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14. Design Techniques White space Margins Justification Typefaces
Type styles
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15. Production Technology
Templates and style sheets
Page setup features
Column and paragraph formatting
Numbered and bulleted lists
Information in tables
Photos, images, textboxes, and objects
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16. Proofreading Advice Making multiple passes Using perceptual tricks
Focusing on high-priority items
Getting some distance
Staying focused and vigilant
Exercising caution
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17. Distributing Messages
Cost concerns
Convenience
Time constraints
Security and privacy
With the production finished, you're ready to distribute the message. As with every other aspect of business communication, your options for distribution multiply with every advance in technology. When planning for distribution, consider the following factors:
Cost. This is not a concern for most messages, but for lengthy reports or multimedia production, it might well be. Printing, binding, and delivering reports can be an expensive proposition, so weigh the cost versus the benefits before you decide.
Convenience. How much work is involved for you and your audience? Although it's easy to attach a document to an message, things might not be so simple for the people on the other end.
Time. How soon does the message need to reach the audience? Don't waste money on overnight delivery if the recipient won't read the report for a week.
Security and privacy. The convenience offered by IM, , and other technologies needs to be weighed against security and privacy concerns.
Distribution technologies continue to advance, so be on the lookout for new ways to put your messages in the hands of your audience.
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