1. Completing Business Messages

2. Chapter 5: Learning Objectives
Learn how to…
Evaluate drafts and Proofread
Checklist
Ensure that each message follows main idea/thesis and has a logical order, as per business Message Outline
Improve readability -Modifiers
Improve clarity and concision -Parallelism
-Redundancy
Use software tools for revision-thesaurus, dictionary, Grammarly
Use principles of effective design for document readability- White space, margins, titles
Distribute your message

3. Tips for Success
“Revision can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be: it’s simply reading your own work with a critical eye, and it’s necessary if you want to write well. The art of writing is really the art of revision.”
-Leo Babauta,
Author and blogger

4. Revising Your Message

5. Evaluating Drafts and Proofread
Content and Correctness, Organization, and Tone.
Your work, and the work of others
Content and Correctness:
Accurate, relevant, complete, grammar and usage.
**when evaluating someone’s work: Focus on making the piece you are editing more effective, not on being more like something you would have written.
Organization:
Logical and convincing order
Important ideas have the most space and greatest emphasis
Repetition
Logical grouping of details
Tone:
Formal, but not too formal

6. Editing for Clarity and Conciseness

7. Proofreading Your Message
Make multiple passes
Use perceptual tricks
Obtain impartial reviews
Distance yourself
Be vigilant
Stay focused
Practice caution

8. Largest Problems: Clarity And Conciseness
Run-On sentences/poor sentence structure
Redundancy- repetition, too many adjectives (enthusiasm??)
Faulty parallelism
Dangling, squinting and misplaced modifiers

9. Redundancy
Redundancy is the using of unnecessary words or using them for a second time (repetition).
E.g.
-If all of us cooperate together, we will succeed.
-• If all of us cooperate, we will succeed. • If all of us work together, we will succeed
The three brothers had nothing in common with each other.
The three brothers had nothing in common.

10. Parallelism
Parallelism is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction.
Look out for faulty parallelism when any of the following constructions are present:
-a and b
-a, b, and c.
-a or b
-not only a, but also b
e.g. I like to walk and biking.
I not only like to eat cheese, but also eating crackers.
In order for Elise and Josh to finish repairing the walls, they will tape, fill, and finish painting the walls.

11. Modifiers
A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause which functions as an adjective or an adverb to describe a word or make its meaning more specific.
Examples:
Adjectives: modify a noun.
E.g. pink bunny, hyper child,
Adverbs: modify a verb
e.g. run quickly, read thoughtfully, hastily grab,
Toughie!! “ONLY”-functions as both!!!-modifies whatever it is closest to!
“John hit Peter in the nose.”
-Only John hit Peter in the nose. (John was the sole hitter)-adjective
-John hit only Peter in the nose. (hit one person)- adjective
-John hit Peter in the nose only. (just the nose was hit)-adjective
-John only hit Peter in the nose. (the nose was hit, not scraped, punched or ?)-adverb

12. Using Technology to Revise Your Message
Revision tracking (MS Word)
Commenting (MS Word)
Spell checkers: watch out for homonyms
Thesaurus: not all suggestions are correct for your situation
Grammar Checker: limited ability to identify mistakes. (Grammarly.com)
Style checker: can suggest word alternatives and promote consistency

13. Activities 1) Complete practice sheets to practice clarity and grammar
-modifiers, parallelism, redundancy -3 booklets with extra explanation.
2) Complete in Text Chapter 5- Apply Your Knowledge #1-5, pg. 105
3) Practice Your Skills-Exercises for Perfecting Your Writing pg. 105
#1-21, 30-41, 46-49
4) Activities- Pg. 107, #1,4, and 5

14. Producing Your Message

15. Designing for Readability
Balance
Simplicity
Consistency

16. Designing for Readability
White space
Headings
Margins
Layout
Typefaces
Typestyles

17. White Space- Element of Design

18. Typefaces and Typestyles
Enough said.
You should not use more than 2 or 3 typefaces or fonts in a document

19. Designing Multimedia Documents
Creative and technical skills
Tools
Time and cost
Content
Message structure
Compatibility

20. Distributing Your Message
Distribution Method
Cost
Convenience
Time
Security and Privacy

21. Real-World Applications
Why should you let your draft “age” a day before you begin the revision process?

22. Real-World Applications
Why is it important that your business messages be clear and concise?

23. Real-World Applications
How does design contribute to a document’s overall effectiveness?

24. Chapter 6: Crafting Messages for Electronic Media

25. Learning Objectives
Electronic media for brief messages and compositional modes
Social networks, user-generated content sites, and community Q&A sites
Applying the three-step writing process to messages
Applying the three-step writing process to blogging and microblogging
Applying the three-step writing process to podcasts

26. Tips for Success “Customer reviews in the hotel industry are king.”
-Mandy Farmer,
President, Accent Inns

27. Using Electronic Media for Business Communication

28. Media Choices for Brief Messages
Social networking
Instant messaging
Text messaging
Blogging and microblogging
Podcasting
Online video

29. The Human Side of Electronic Communication
Keep emotions in check
Remember that electronic messages are permanent
Try face-to-face when electronic communication fails
Respect information security and privacy

30. Compositional Modes for Electronic Media
Conversations
Comments and critiques
Orientations
Summaries
Reference materials
Narratives
Teasers
Status updates and announcements
Tutorials

31. Communicating on Networking, UGC, and Community Q&A Sites

32. Social Networks Gathering market intelligence
Recruiting and connecting
Marketing communication
Fostering brand communities
Location-based social networking
Facebook
MySpace
LinkedIn
Specialized networks

33. User-Generated Content Sites
Make it valuable
Make it easy find, consume, and share
Keep it short
YouTube
Flickr

34. Community Q&A Sites Dedicated customer support sites: Get Satisfaction
Public sites: Yahoo! Answers
Members only sites: LinkedIn Answers
Build your personal brand
Demonstrate commitment to customer service
Counter misinformation

35. Creating Effective Email Messages

36. Planning Email Messages
Ensure every message is useful
Distribute only to necessary recipients
Respect the chain of command

37. Writing Email Messages
Write compelling and informative subject lines
“Tweetify” the opening lines of messages
Business is not equal to personal

38. Completing Email Messages
Include an signature
Check before you send
Revise and Proofread
Favour simplicity

39. Creating Effective Instant Messages and Text Messages

40. Understanding the Benefits and Risks of IM
Rapid response
Low cost
Conversational feel
Device compatibility
Security
User authentication
Archiving
Competing IM systems
“Spim”

41. Adapting the Three-Step Process for Successful IM
Planning IM messages requires the same care as other types of communication
Writing business IMs is more formal than writing personal IMs
Completing IMs requires checking carefully before sending

42. Creating Effective Business Blogs

43. Understanding the Business Applications of Blogging
Project management
Crisis communication
Company news
Market research
Brainstorming
Customer support
Viral marketing
Public and media
Relations
Media influence
Recruiting
Employee engagement
Policy and issue discussions
Community building
Continual information stream

44. Adapting the Three-Step Process for Successful Blogging
Plan for an entire communication channel
Consider your audience, purpose and scope
Write with a personal style
Provide value
Curate
Evaluate content and readability
Provide newsfeed capability
Use tagging

45. Creating Effective Podcasts

46. Understanding the Business Applications of Podcasting
Replace traditional audio and video
Training
Marketing
Sales
Recruiting

47. Real-World Applications
Is it ever okay to use an indirect approach when writing an ? How can you put off the bad news when you have to state your purpose in the subject line?

48. Real-World Applications
For what purpose could a company use social networking technologies? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using this technology from the company’s point of view?

49. Real-World Applications
Why do you think good internal communication improves employee attitudes and performance?

50. Real-World Applications
What do you think is important about matching the formality of your message to the formality of the situation and audience expectations?