1. Business Communications An Exclusive Presentation by Carole Buncher To the 2015 NASACT MIDDLE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE An Exclusive Presentation by Carole Buncher To the 2015 NASACT MIDDLE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 1

2. 2 During my GAO tenure, I was also actively involved in designing and delivering audit training, both internal and external to GAO. Delivering training that is fun and results focused is my passion. I look forward to sharing my expertise with you and facilitating your learning and performance improvement experience. INSTRUCTOR BACKGROUND Hello. I’m pleased to be working with you today. I own Carole Buncher and Associates: The Competency Company (CBA), a small, emerging, Washington, DC-based training and consulting firm. CBA specializes in delivering a wide variety of training, primarily to the audit community, including audit report writing, public speaking, supervision, leadership, conflict management, and creative problem solving. For 23 years prior to establishing CBA, I led analyses of federal programs and policies for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). My contact information: carole@carolebuncher.com http://www.carolebuncher.com

3. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 3 LEARNING OBJECTIVES Create unified and coherent paragraphs Write effective sentences Plan and organize your written communications At the completion of this workshop, you will be able to, among other things:

4. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 4 MODULE 1 Creating Meaningful Paragraphs

5. Paragraphs: Focus, Unity, and Coherence Focus – Start the paragraph with a topic sentence, i.e., main point Unity - Support and develop the topic sentence/main point with sentences that follow Coherence Repetition of key words or phrases Transitions © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 5

6. 6 Construct Meaningful Topic Sentences Topic sentences introduce a paragraph. They should tell the reader: 1. What (the subject), 2. Main idea (or “bottom line”), and 3. How the paragraph will develop.

7. Repetition of Key Words or Phrases Use the same word or derivative of the word consistently throughout the paragraph. Change the placement of the word to add variety, e.g., Effective delegation is important. Delegating leads to…. Too much repetition is distracting. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 7

8. Transitions Help the reader link ideas Overuse can be confusing especially “in addition” and “however” © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 8

9. Module 2: Craft Effective Sentences 9© 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates

10. The agencycorrected the deficiency. SUBJECT VERB OBJECT Note: KEEP SUBJECT AND VERB TOGETHER. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 10 Subject Verb Object (SVO)

11. Avoid Needless Words Declutter sentences. Write more concisely than simply expressing what’s on your mind. Needless Words It is - use a precise subject There are - use a precise subject The reason why is that – use “because” It seems – be specific © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 11

12. Which Is Better: A or B? A.It is the Department’s written policy to authorize domestic travel only. A. There are four boats in the lake. A.The reason why the program is unsuccessful is a lack of funding. A. It seems the bank is failing. B.The Department’s written policy is to authorize domestic travel only. B.Four boats are in the lake. B. The program is unsuccessful because of a lack of funding. B. The bank is failing. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 12

13. “Of” Is Often Unnecessary Wordy the principal of the school implementation of the payroll system saving of the trees Concise school principal implementing the payroll system saving trees © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 13

14. Rules of Thumb Keep paragraphs to no more than 10 lines. Paragraphs should have not less than 3 sentences or 3 lines. Keep sentences to no more than 20 words. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 14

15. 15 © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates In General, Avoid the Passive Voice Active voice conveys a message that is –Stronger. –Clearer. –More concise (i.e., generally requires less words). Passive voice reduces the impact of your writing. However, sometimes passive voice is appropriate, e.g.: –When the doer is unknown. Supplies were often stolen. –When the doer is less important than what was done. The building was completed.

16. Active VoicePassive Voice I wrote the letter. We saved money. Managers will change procedures. The letter was written by me. Money was saved by us. Procedures will be changed by managers. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 16

17. Rewrite These Sentences Using Active Voice. Changes in policy are resented by employees. During fieldwork, steps outlined in the audit plan are performed by auditors. The memo was written by her supervisor. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 17

18. Parallelism Writers should express similar ideas in similar (parallel) fashion, demonstrating their similarity and making reading easier. WRONG: The analysis includes organizing, dividing, and assessment of turnaround time. RIGHT: The analysis includes organizing, dividing, and assessing turnaround time. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 18

19. Write Clearly Use plain language Clarify necessary technical terms © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates19

20. Writing Clearly (1 of 2) We sampled 10 items from 5 locations. How many items were sampled? 10 or 50? Place dates near the action they are describing: – We invited firms to submit proposals to conduct audits in May 2014. – In May 2014, we invited firms to submit proposals to conduct audits. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 20

21. Writing Clearly (2 of 2) Word placement affects meaning: – John went to the only baseball game. – Only John went to the baseball game. – John went only to the baseball game. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 21

22. Misplaced (or Dangling) Modifiers Modifiers are misplaced when they don’t appear in their correct place. People misread sentences containing misplaced modifiers. – WRONG: Please review the brochure that is enclosed with your family. – RIGHT: Please review with your family the brochure that is enclosed. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 22

23. Identify the Misplaced Modifier In 2014, he bought majority control of the company’s stock, along with his mother. The patient was referred to a psychiatrist with a severe emotional problem. Here are some suggestions for handling obscene phone calls from the telephone company. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 23

24. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 24 MODULE 3 Planning and Organizing Business Communications

25. Techniques for Planning and Organizing Before you start writing: Analyze the audience Know the purpose of the written document Organize the information © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 25

26. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 26 What Have You Learned? What do you want to remember that we’ve covered today? 1.Think 2.Write (on next page, “Reflections”) 3.Discuss with a neighbor(s)

27. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 27 Reflections

28. © 2015 Carole Buncher and Associates 28 Thank You! Look for opportunities to practice your newly learned and reinforced skills. You will shine!