1. BCM 3700

2. Analyze Situation Gather Information Select Medium Get Organized Revise Produce Proofread Distribute Adapt to the Audience Compose the Message PlanningCompletingWriting

3. 50% Planning 25% Writing 25% Completing

4.  All business messages have a general purpose:  to inform  to persuade  to collaborate with your audience (build goodwill)  Business messages also have a specific purpose. Ask yourself…  what you hope to accomplish with your message  what your audience should do or think after receiving your message.

5.  The direct approach  Main idea comes first, followed by the evidence.  Use when your audience will be neutral or pleased to hear from you  The indirect approach  Evidence comes first, and the main idea comes later  Use when your audience may be displeased or may resist what you have to say  Your choice depends on several factors: Message type: routine and positive messages, negative messages, or persuasive messages Message length: short (memos and letters) or long (reports, proposals, and presentations) Audience reaction: positive, neutral, or negative

6. BCM 3700

7. 1. Be Sensitive to Audience Needs 2. Build Strong Relationships 3. Control Your Style and Tone

8. “What’s in this for me?”  Be sensitive to your audience’s needs  Build strong relationships  Control your style to maintain a professional tone

9.  “You” Attitude  Positive Emphasis  Bias-Free Language

10.  Looks at things from the reader's point of view  Emphasizes what the reader wants to know  Respects the reader’s intelligence  Protects the reader’s ego “You” attitude is a style of writing that…

11.  Talk About Audience (Not Yourself)  Tell how message affects the audience  Don’t mention communicator’s work or generosity  Stress what audience wants to know “We have negotiated an agreement with Apex Rent-a- Car that gives you a discount on rental cars.” Same idea phrased in you-attitude ”As a WMU student, you can now get a 20% discount when you rent a car from Apex.”

12.  Make specific references, not generic  Name content of order for person or small business  Cite purchase order numbers for customers that order often “Your order has been shipped.” w/ you-attitude (to individual): “The desk chair you ordered was shipped on July 6 th.” w/ you-attitude (to a large store): “Your invoice #783329 was shipped on July 6 th.”

13.  Don’t talk about audience’s feelings  Don’t predict audience’s response  Do give audience good news “We are happy to extend you a credit line of $10,000.” Same idea phrased in you-attitude “You can now charge up to $10,000 on your American Express card.”

14.  It is appropriate to talk about your own emotions in a message of congratulations or condolence.  Express your feelings to  Offer sympathy to audience  Congratulate audience You-attitude: “Congratulations on your promotion to district manager! I was really pleased to read about it.”

15.  Use “You” in positive situations  Avoid “I” in printed text  Avoid “We” if it excludes the audience “We are going to give you a raise.” Same idea phrased in you-attitude “Your raise will be effective July 15th.” Use “You” more often than “I” Use “We” if it includes the audience

16.  Protect audience’s ego  Avoid assigning blame  Use passive verbs  Use impersonal style ▪ Talk about things, not people “You were late sending the memo out.” Same idea in passive voice w/ you-attitude “The memo was not sent on time today.”

17.  Positive emphasis means focusing on the positive rather than the negative aspects of a situation.  Avoid negative words and words with negative connotations: delay, deny, reject, wrong, disapprove  Focus on what the reader can do rather than on limitations.  Justify negative information by giving a reason or linking it to a reader benefit.  If the negative is truly unimportant, omit it.  Put the negative information in the middle and present it compactly.

18. The desirable tone for business writing is…  Confident - but not arrogant  Friendly - but not phony  Businesslike - but not stiff  Polite - but not groveling

19. Check to be sure that your language is …  Nonsexist (Gender bias)  Use the same label for everyone (do not call a woman chairperson and then call a man chairman).  Reword sentences to use they or use no pronoun at all.  Vary traditional patterns by sometimes putting women first  Nonracist (Racial and ethnic bias)  Avoid language suggesting that members of a racial or an ethnic group have stereotypical characteristics  Avoid identifying people by race or ethnic origin unless such a label is relevant

20.  Nonagist (Age bias)  Mention the age of a person only when it is relevant  Avoid such stereotyped adjectives as spry and frail  Nondiscriminatory (Disability bias)  Avoid mentioning a disability unless it is pertinent.  Put the person first and the disability second.  Use the term they prefer. ▪ Blind vs. visually impaired, sight-impaired. ▪ “sight-impaired” implies lack of acceptance of the disability ▪ Disabled (physically) vs. impaired, wheelchair-bound, handicapped, etc. ▪ People use wheelchairs, they’re not bound to them

21.  Ms. is the nonsexist courtesy title for women. Whether or not you know a woman's marital status…  Use Ms. unless the woman has a professional title or …  unless you know that she prefers a traditional title.  Photos and illustrations should picture a sampling of the whole population, not just part of it  Bias-free language  is fair and friendly  it complies with the law  It includes all readers  it helps to sustain goodwill

22. Guidelines: 1. Use courtesy titles for people outside your organization whom you don’t know well 2. Be aware of the power of the words you use 3. Writing should be free from sexism in four areas:  words and phrases  job titles  courtesy titles  pronouns

23. 1. Be Sensitive to Audience Needs 2. Build Strong Relationships 3. Control Your Style and Tone

24.  Establish your credibility  Project your company’s image

25.  Honesty and integrity will earn the respect of your colleagues  Objectivity: distance yourself from emotional situations and look at all sides of an issue  Awareness of audience needs: understand what is important  Credentials, knowledge, and expertise  Endorsements: get assistance from someone they trust  Performance: People need to know you can get the job done  Confidence: Show the audience that you believe in yourself  Communication style: Support your points with evidence, not empty terms such as amazing, incredible, or awesome  Sincerity: avoid exaggeration

26.  Be a Spokesperson  The impression you make can enhance or damage the reputation of the entire company  Follow Guidelines  From the correct use of the company name to grammatical details  Observe Colleagues  never hesitate to ask for help to make sure you are conveying the appropriate tone

27. 1. Be Sensitive to Audience Needs 2. Build Strong Relationships 3. Control Your Style and Tone

28.  Use Conversational Tone  The tone of your messages can range from informal to conversational to formal.  Texting versus writing ▪ not considered professional business writing  Use Plain Language  Avoid stale and pompous language  Avoid preaching and bragging  Be careful with intimacy  Be careful with humor

29. BCM 3700

30.  As you write and revise sentences,  Use active verbs most of the time.  Active verbs are better because they are shorter, clearer, and more interesting.  Use verbs (not nouns) to carry the weight of your sentence. ▪ Don't make an adjustment – adjust ▪ Don't make a payment – pay ▪ Don't make a decision – decide

31.  Tighten your writing. Writing is wordy if the same idea can be expressed in fewer words.  Eliminate words that say nothing.  Combine sentences to eliminate unnecessary words.  Put the meaning of your sentence into the subject and verb to cut the number of words.  Vary sentence length and sentence structure.

32.  Active Voice vs. Passive Voice  Passive voice isn’t wrong… but it’s often a poor (and indirect) way to present your thoughts  “…we did not achieve what we wished, and serious mistakes were made in trying to do so.” ~Ronald Reagan, 1987  All the reservations will be made by the wedding planner. (passive)  The wedding planner is making all the reservations. (active)

33. BUS 3700

34.  Use letters to send messages  to people outside your organization  Suppliers, customers, investors  Use memos to send messages  to people within your organization  Staff, peers, supervisors External Internal

35.  Routine or informative message  receiver’s reaction neutral  Positive message  receiver’s reaction positive  Neither message immediately asks receiver to do anything

36. Direct Approach:  Start with good news or the most important information  Clarify with details, background  Present any negative points positively  Explain any benefits  Use a goodwill ending  Positive  Personal  Forward-looking