1. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 1 Completing Business Messages

2. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 2 The Three-Step Process Planning Writing Completing

3. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 3 Moving Beyond the First Draft Evaluating content, organization, style and tone Reviewing for readability Editing for clarity and conciseness

4. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 4 Evaluating Content Is the information accurate? Is the information relevant? Is there enough information? Are generalities balanced with specific information?

5. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 5 Evaluating Organization Are all points covered logically? Do important ideas receive sufficient space and are they placed properly? Could the message be arranged in a more convincing sequence? Are points repeated unnecessarily? Are details grouped together logically?

6. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 6 Evaluating Style and Tone Does the writing meet the audience’s expectations? Is the writing too formal or academic? Is the writing too casual? Does the message focus on the audience’s needs?

7. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 7 Reviewing for Readability Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Score Flesch Reading Ease Score

8. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 8 Increasing “Skim” Value Sentence length Short paragraphs Lists and bullets Headings and subheadings

9. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 9 Editing for Clarity Break up overly long sentences Rewrite hedging sentences Impose parallelism Correct dangling modifiers

10. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 10 Editing for Clarity Reword long noun sequences Replace camouflaged verbs Clarify sentence structure Clarify awkward references Moderate your enthusiasm

11. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 11 Editing for Conciseness Delete unnecessary words and phrases Shorten long words and phrases Eliminate redundancies Recast “It is/There are” starters

12. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 12 Revising with Technology Revision tools Spell checker Grammar checker Thesaurus Style checker

13. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 13 Producing the Message Multimedia elements Design elements

14. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 14 Multimedia Elements Presentation software Graphics software Video clips and sound bites Hypertext markup language

15. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 15 Designing for Readability Improve the effectiveness of your message Influence the perceptions of your audience

16. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 16 Design Elements Consistency Balance Restraint Detail

17. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 17 Design Techniques White space Margins Justification Typefaces Typestyles

18. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 18 Using Technology Templates and style sheets Page setup Column formatting Paragraph formatting Numbered and bulleted lists Tables and textboxes Pictures and objects

19. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 19 Business Letter Format Letterhead stationery Date Inside address Salutation The message Complimentary close Signature block

20. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 20 Memo Format Memo title Headings The message

21. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 21 Proofreading Your Message Quality assurance –Undetected mistakes from the writing, design, and layout stages –Mistakes that crept in during production

22. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 22 Proofreading Advice Make multiple passes Use perceptual tricks Double-check high-priority items Get some distance Stay focused and vigilant Print out electronic documents Take your time

23. © Prentice Hall, 2008 Excellence in Business Communication, 8eChapter 6 - 23 Distributing Your Message Cost concerns Convenience Time constraints Security and privacy