Topics for Week 3 Assignments Turned In

Topics for Week 3 Assignments Turned In
Planning and Writing of Business Messages Team Project: Timeline Quiz

Planning Business Messages
Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you will be able to: Describe the three-step writing process. List four questions that can help you test the purpose of your message. Describe the importance of analyzing your audience and identify the six factors you should consider when developing an audience profile. Discuss gathering information for simple messages and identify three attributes of quality information. List factors to consider when choosing the most appropriate medium for your message. Explain why good organization is important to both you and your audience. Summarize the process for organizing business messages effectively.

Business Messages Purposeful Audience-Centered Efficient
Some of your tasks will be routine, needing little more than jotting down a few sentences; others will be more complex, requiring reflection, research, and careful document preparation. Whatever the situation, your messages will be more effective if they have the following characteristics: Purposeful. Business messages provide information, solve a problem, or request the resources necessary to accomplish a goal. Every message has a specific purpose. Audience-centered. Business messages help audiences understand issues, collaborate on tasks, or take action. Each message considers the audience’s needs, background, and viewpoint. Efficient. Business messages respect everyone’s time by presenting information clearly and efficiently. Every message should be as short as it can be without detracting from the subject. Efficient

Three-Step Writing Process
AIMO Planning Writing Completing Analyze Situation Gather Information Select Medium Get Organized Revise Produce Proofread Distribute Adapt to the Audience Compose the Message For every message you send, you can reduce the time and energy it takes to achieve this goal by following a clear and proven three-step process. Planning business messages. To plan any message, first analyze the situation by defining your purpose and developing a profile of your audience. With that in mind, you can gather information that will meet your audience’s needs. Next, select the right medium (oral, written, or electronic) to deliver your message. With those three factors in place, you’re ready to organize the information by defining your main idea, limiting your scope, selecting an approach, and outlining your content. Planning messages is the focus of this chapter. Writing business messages. Once you’ve planned your message, adapt to your audience with sensitivity, relationship skills, and style. Then you’re ready to compose your message by choosing strong words, creating effective sentences, and developing coherent paragraphs. Writing business messages is discussed in Chapter 4. Completing business messages. After writing your first draft, revise your message to make sure it is clear, concise, and correct. Next produce your message, giving it an attractive, professional appearance. Proofread the final product for typos, spelling errors, and other mechanical problems. Finally, distribute your message using the best combination of personal and technological tools. Completing business messages is discussed in Chapter 5.

Define Your Purpose Ask specific questions to identify purpose:
AIMO Ask specific questions to identify purpose: What observable, specific outcome(s) do I want? What will success look like? Collaborate and promote goodwill Inform employees or customers Persuade

Analyze Your Purpose Will anything change? Is the purpose realistic?
AIMO Will anything change? Is the purpose realistic? Is the timing right? Is the purpose acceptable? Once you have defined your specific purpose, you can decide whether that purpose merits the time and effort required for you to prepare and send it. Test your purpose by asking four questions: Will your message change anything? Is your purpose realistic? Is the time right? Is your purpose acceptable to the organization? Once you are satisfied (1) that you have a clear and meaningful purpose and (2) that now is a smart time to proceed, your next step is to understand the members of your audience and their needs.

Analyze Your Audience Primary members Size and location Concerns
AIMO Primary members Size and location Composition Knowledge Level Expectations Probable reaction The more you know about your audience, their needs, and their expectations, the more effectively you’ll be able to communicate with them. Identify the primary audience. If you can reach the decision makers or opinion molders in your audience, other audience members will fall in line. Determine the size of your audience. A report for wide distribution requires a more formal style, organization, and format than one directed to three or four people in your department. Determine the composition of the audience. Look for common denominators that tie audience members together across differences in culture, education, status, or attitude. Include evidence that touches on everyone’s area of interest. Concerns What they need to know

Example of Audience Analysis
Role Finance Analysts Size and location Group 1: 75 from China, Penang and Costa Rica Group 2: 25 from US and Israel Composition Group 1: Culture and language differ from US; many inexperienced users Group 2: Experienced users Knowledge level Little to no knowledge of application look and feel Expectations They will be trained before Close period so they can perform their job. Need many details about the application before implementation. Concerns They will get bogged down by the new system and have a steep learning curve, preventing them from doing their job Probable reaction Not happy about the change Need to know Similarities to current version of application; resources for training and help.

Activity: Audience Analysis
In groups of Receive assignment on page 68. Complete activity to analyze audiences: Who is my audience? What is my audience’s attitude toward the subject? What does my audience need to know? Identify a spokesperson to report out.

Activity: Your Team’s Audience
In your project teams, identify the following for your audience: Mission and goals Customers – who are they and what are their needs/expectations Primary areas of concern/focus Probable reaction/concerns to your persuasion What information they need to know about your subject to be persuaded

Gathering Information
Company documents and reports AIMO Viewpoints/input from others Internet/electronic databases Business books Interviews Brainstorming Survey Periodicals Expectation for Team Project: Each team needs to use at least three different types of research and have at least five research entries.

Select the Right Medium
AIMO Oral Media Written Media Selecting the best medium for your message can make the difference between effective and ineffective communication. A medium is the form through which you choose to communicate your message. You may choose to talk with someone face to face, write a letter, send an message, or record a podcast—with today’s ever-expanding technology, you often have a variety of media options from which to choose.

Electronic Media Global Communication Telephone Calls Teleconferencing
and Meeting Online Electronic Documents Instant Messaging Electronic Media Voice Mail Videotapes and DVDs Faxes and Websites, Blogs and Podcasts Although no hard rules dictate which tool to use in each case, here are a few pointers that will help you determine when to select electronic over more traditional forms: Telephone calls are still the lifeblood of many organizations, for both internal and external communication. Voice mail can be used to replace short memos and phone calls that need no response. It is most effective for goodwill and other positive messages. Teleconferencing and videoconferencing are best for informational meetings, but ineffective for negotiation. Videotapes and DVDs are often effective for getting a motivational message out to a large number of people, but they offer no opportunity for immediate feedback. Electronic documents let you send written materials over and instant messaging networks or on CD-ROM. Faxing provides hard copy messages, despite time-zone barriers. However, faxed messages are not private and may look unprofessional. offers speed, low cost, easy access, portability, and convenience. It’s best for communicating brief, noncomplex, time-sensitive information, but its effectiveness depends on the skill of those who use it. Instant messaging allows people to carry on real-time, one-on-one, and small-group text conversations. These conversations aren’t recorded or saved, so they don’t clog the company’s network. Websites offer interactive communication through hyperlinks, allowing readers to absorb information non-sequentially: they can take what they need and skip everything else. Blogs have become common in business as communicators search for fast, informal ways to reach customers and other audiences. Podcasts are one of the newest and most exciting media choices for business communicators. Both audio and video podcasts give you a means to reach customers and colleagues with a human touch that isn’t always easy to replicate in text-only media. Global Communication

Sequencing Messages Direct Approach Indirect Approach AIMO
Audience Reaction Once you’ve defined your ideas and outlined or diagrammed the structure of your message, you’re ready to decide on the sequence you will use to present your points. The Direct approach (deductive). The main idea (such as a recommendation, conclusion, or request) comes first, followed by the evidence. Use this approach when your audience will be neutral about your message or pleased to hear from you. The Indirect approach (inductive). The evidence comes first, and the main idea comes later. Use this approach when your audience may be displeased about or may resist what you have to say. Your choice of a direct or an indirect approach depends on the following factors: Audience reaction: positive, neutral, or negative. Message length: short (memos and letters) or long (reports, proposals, and presentations). Message type: (1) routine, good-news, and goodwill messages; (2) bad-news messages; or (3) persuasive messages. Message Length Message Type

details and explanations
Direct Approach Direct Approach Organizing Business Messages Main idea comes first followed by details and explanations

Direct Approach

Indirect Approach Organizing Business Messages Indirect Approach
Explanation precedes main idea Organizing Business Messages Indirect Approach

Indirect Approach

Activity: Choosing the Approach
In pairs. . . Receive assignment on page 69. Complete the activity, identifying the most appropriate approach (direct or indirect). Identify a spokesperson to report out.

Writing Business Messages
Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you will be able to: Explain the importance of adapting your messages to the needs and expectations of your audience. Define the “you” attitude and its role in successful communication. Discuss four ways of achieving a businesslike tone with a style that is clear and concise. Explain the meaning of plain English and its value in business communication. Briefly describe how to select words that are not only correct but also effective. Explain how sentence style affects emphasis within your message. List five ways to develop coherent paragraphs. Identify the most common software features that help you craft messages more efficiently.

AC Planning Writing Completing Analyze Situation Gather Information Select Medium Get Organized Revise Produce Proofread Distribute Adapt to the Audience Compose the Message With a solid plan in place (see Chapter 3), you’re ready to choose the words and craft the sentences and paragraphs that will carry your ideas to their intended audiences. Planning business messages. To plan any message, first analyze the situation by defining your purpose and developing a profile of your audience. With that in mind, you can gather information that will meet your audience’s needs. Next, select the right medium (oral, written, or electronic) to deliver your message. With those three factors in place, you’re ready to organize the information by defining your main idea, limiting your scope, selecting an approach, and outlining your content. Planning messages is the focus of chapter3. Writing business messages. Once you’ve planned your message, adapt to your audience with sensitivity, relationship skills, and style. Then you’re ready to compose your message by choosing strong words, creating effective sentences, and developing coherent paragraphs. Writing business messages is discussed in this chapter. Completing business messages. After writing your first draft, revise your message to make sure it is clear, concise, and correct. Next produce your message, giving it an attractive, professional appearance. Proofread the final product for typos, spelling errors, and other mechanical problems. Finally, distribute your message using the best combination of personal and technological tools. Completing business messages is discussed in Chapter 5.

Adapt to the Audience Sensitivity Relationships Style and Tone AC
Whether consciously or not, audiences greet most incoming messages with a question: "What's in this for me?" If your intended audience thinks a message does not apply to them or does not offer them anything useful or interesting, they'll be far less inclined to pay attention to it. By adapting your communication to the needs and expectations of your audience, you'll provide a more compelling answer to this question and improve the chances of your message being successful. To adapt your message to your audience, do the following: Be sensitive to your audience’s needs. Build a strong relationship with your audience. Control your style to maintain a professional tone. Style and Tone

Audience Sensitivity Adopt a “You” Attitude Demonstrate
AC Adopt a “You” Attitude Demonstrate Business Etiquette Emphasize the Positive Use Bias-Free Language Even in simple messages intended merely to share information, it's possible to use all the right words and still not be sensitive to your audience and their needs. You can improve your audience sensitivity by doing the following: Adopting the "you" attitude Maintaining good standards of etiquette Emphasizing the positive Using bias-free language

The “You” Attitude AC Speak in terms of what the audience can do or needs to do. Instead of this. . . Use this . . . To help us process this order, we must ask for another copy of the requisition. So that your order can be filled promptly, please send another copy of the requisition. We don’t want you to use unapproved bonded paper in the copy machine. Please use the approved type of paper in the copy machine. Approach in your messages by adopting a “you” attitude––that is, speaking and writing in terms of the audience’s interests, hopes, and preferences. On the simplest level, adopt the “you” attitude by replacing terms that refer to yourself and your company with terms that refer to your audience. In other words, use you and yours instead of I, me, mine, we, us, and ours. Too many business messages have an “I” or “we” attitude. The message tells what the sender wants, and the audience is expected to go along with it. The “you” attitude isn’t just a matter of using one pronoun rather than another; it’s a matter of genuine empathy. It’s the thought and sincerity that count, not the pronoun. The important thing is your attitude toward audience members and your appreciation of their position. On some occasions, you’ll do better to avoid using you. For instance, using you in a way that sounds dictatorial is impolite. If someone makes a mistake, you may want to minimize ill will by pointing out the error impersonally. You might say, “We have a problem,” instead of “You caused a problem.” When using the “you” attitude, consider the policies of your organization and the attitudes of other cultures. In some cultures, it is improper to single out one person’s achievements because the whole team is responsible for the outcome. Some companies have a tradition of using a formal, impersonal style. In such cases, confine your use of personal pronouns to informal letters and memos.

The “You” Attitude Instead of this. . . Use this . . .
We are now offering H-P computers at discounted prices. You can now purchase H-P computers at discounted prices. We are pleased to announce that you have been approved to enroll in our leadership training program. Congratulations! You have been selected to enter our leadership training program!

Activity: Using the “You” Attitude
In pairs. . . Receive assignment on page 94. Complete activity, identifying revisions to ineffectively written statements. Write effectively written statements. Identify a spokesperson to report out.

Emphasize the Positive
Inform readers of what can be done instead of what cannot be done. AC Instead of this . . . Try this . . . Employees may not use the First Street entrance during remodeling. Employees should use the Market Street entrance during remodeling. We cannot fill your order until we receive an exact model number. Please provide us with an exact model number so your order can be filled. We must withhold payment until you complete the job satisfactorily. You will promptly be paid once the job is completed satisfactorily.

Emphasize the Positive: the Power of Words
Instead of This Use This Cheap Merchandise Fake Used Cars Failing Elderly Person Pimples and Zits Bargain Prices Imitation or faux Resale Cars Underperforming Senior Citizen Complexion Problems Another way of establishing a good relationship with your audience is to emphasize the positive side of your message. When you’re criticizing or correcting, don’t hammer on the other person’s mistakes. Avoid referring to failures, problems, or shortcomings. Focus instead on what he or she can do to improve. Emphasize what’s in it for him or her, not why you want that person to do something. In general, try to state your message without using words that might hurt or offend your audience. Substitute mild terms (euphemisms) for those that have unpleasant connotations. However, don’t carry euphemisms to extremes. If you’re too subtle, people won’t know what you’re talking about. It would be unethical to speak to your community about relocating refuse when you’re really talking about plans for disposing of toxic waste. In the end, people respond better to an honest message delivered with integrity than to sugar-coated double-speak. Compare and contrast words such as must have, need to have, might think about, etc.

Activity: Emphasizing the Positive
In pairs. . . Receive assignment on page 94. Complete activity, identifying revisions to ineffectively written statements. Write effectively written statements. Identify a spokesperson to report out.

A Strong Audience Relationship
AC Establish Your Credibility Build the Company’s Image Focusing on your audience's needs is vital to effective communication, but you also have your own priorities as a communicator. Sometimes these needs are obvious and direct, such as when you're appealing for a budget increase for your department. Other times, the need may be more subtle. For instance, you might want to demonstrate your understanding of the marketplace or your company's concern for the natural environment. Two key efforts help you address your own needs while building positive relationships with your audience: establishing your credibility and projecting your company's image.

Writing in Plain English
AC Straightforward Easy to Understand Conversational Plain English is a way of presenting information in a simple, unadorned style so that your audience can easily grasp your meaning, without struggling through specialized, technical, or convoluted language. Because it's close to the way people normally speak, plain English is easily understood by anyone with an eighth- or ninth-grade education. Plain English can also help you simplify the messages you prepare for audiences who speak English as a second or even third language. The Plain English Campaign (a nonprofit group in England campaigning for clear language) defines plain English as language "that the intended audience can read, understand and act upon the first time they read it.“ You can see how this definition supports using the "you" attitude and shows respect for your audience.

Activity In groups of 3 people. . .
Review the example of a business message. Discuss the following: purpose primary audience readability Critique the following: conversational, yet professional positive, familiar language inclusive language Identify spokesperson to report out.

Composing the Message Word Choice Sentences Paragraphs AC
The most successful messages have three important elements: strong words, effective sentences, and coherent paragraphs. With these insights into how you can adapt to your audience, you're ready to begin composing your message. Composition is easiest if you've already figured out what to say and in what order (refer to the outlining advice in Chapter 3), although you may need to pause now and then to find the right word. You may also discover as you go along that you can improve on your outline. Feel free to rearrange, delete, and add ideas, as long as you don't lose sight of your purpose.

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