1. Where We Are Headed Project 1: Business Correspondence Project
Planning for Communication Situations
Appealing to Audiences (Goodwill, “You-Attitude”)
Conventions of Business & Professional Genres
Tenants of Good Professional Writing: Clarity & Conciseness

2. Today’s Objectives Planning for communication situations
Why it’s important
Overview of 3213 PAGOS Plan Method
(purpose, audience, genre, organization, and style)
Detail: Purpose, Audience
May get to Genre, Organization, and Style

3. You live in a nearby campus apartment with two roommates, Jen and Eddie.
The landline phone rings at about 8pm. It’s Sylvia, Eddie’s mother – she wants to talk to Eddie, but Eddie isn’t home.
You take a message. Sylvia wants Eddie to call her back as soon as possible. It’s important. You agree to communicate that message to Eddie.
Additional Details:
You don’t know Eddie’s class schedule and aren’t sure where he is.
You’re planning to go to bed at 10pm to get up early for class.

4. PURPOSE
Purpose = The reason for writing, the thing you want to happen.
To plan, ask yourself…
What do I want to happen as a result of this communication situation?
What else do I need to do to accomplish my purpose?
What information do I need to include to accomplish my purpose?

5. Who has the power to help you (or deny you) in achieving your purpose?

6. Aristotle’s Communication Model
text
Audience
Speaker

7. How much is this
worth to you?

8. What’s it
worth?

9. What’s it worth
to you?

10. Semiotic Communication Model (Saussure) “Symbol System”
SIGN = Signified + Signifier
(concept) (sound-image)
Language is a system of symbols
How do we know if a symbol means the same thing to the speaker and audience?

11. We don’t… but we can try.
Knowledge – frame of reference, background, experiences
Demographics – age, economic status, gender, race, religion, etc.
Personality (skeptical? believing?)
Values, beliefs (saving money? having a good time?)
Past Behavior (likely to buy it again?)
Communication climate – setting, context, etc. (“I can’t hear you. Literally.” OR attitude, reception, etc.)

12. Planning - Types of Audiences
Primary Audience ( most important)
Decides whether to accept your recommendation
Acts on the basis of your message
Secondary Audiences (less important)
Advise the primary audience whether to accept
your recommendation
Implement your recommendation
Are affected by your recommendation
May examine your message years after it was
written for research or legal purposes

13. Types of Secondary Audiences
Initial Audience
First audience to see message
May assign message
Gatekeeper
Has the power to stop the message rather than sending it on to other audiences
Watchdog Audiences
Have political, social, or economic power and may base future actions on their evaluations of your message

14. PAGOS Plan (Planning for Audience)
Who is primary audience? Additional Audiences?
What is their background? (demographic, experiential)
What do they know/need to know?
What are the benefits to them? Objections? (how are they likely to respond)
What is the context in which they might read the document?

15. Genre Organization Style What genres might be appropriate?
What are the conventions of the genre(s)?
Organization
How to organize?
Broad  narrow, narrow  broad, frontloading, parts of a whole, chronological
Buffer bad news? Straight to the point?
Style
Writing style – cordial, sympathetic, informative, concise
Lists? Headings? Paragraphs?
Non-textual concerns – visual aids, non-textual elements, graphical elements, visual interest