WRITING BUSINESS MESSAGES.docx

1、WRITING BUSINESS MESSAGESCHAPTER 5: Writing BUSINESS MESSAGESCHAPTER OUTLINEOrganizing Your Message What Good Organization MeansWhy Good Organization Is ImportantHow Good Organization Is Achieved Define the Main IdeaLimit the Scope Structure Your MessageStart with the Main IdeaState the Major Points

2、Illustrate with EvidenceChoose Between the Direct and Indirect ApproachesRoutine, Good-News, and Goodwill MessagesBad-News MessagesPersuasive MessagesComposing and Shaping Your MessageControlling Your Style and ToneUse a Conversational ToneUse Plain English Select Active or Passive VoiceSelecting th

3、e Best WordsUse Functional and Content Words CorrectlyDenotation and ConnotationAbstraction and ConcretenessFind Words That CommunicateCreating Effective SentencesThe Four Types of SentencesUse Sentence Style to Emphasize Key Thoughts Developing Coherent ParagraphsElements of the ParagraphTopic Sent

4、enceRelated SentencesTransitional ElementsFive Ways to Develop a ParagraphUsing Technology to Compose and Shape Your MessageWriting Effective E-Mail Messages Organizing Your E-Mail MessagesComposing Your E-Mail MessagesCreating Effective E-Mail Subject LinesPersonalizing Your E-Mail MessagesLECTURE

5、NOTESOrganizing Your MessageRely on organization to make your messages meaningful.For U.S. and Canadian communicators, good organization generally means creating a linear message that proceeds point by point.The most common organization problems includeTaking too long to get to the pointIncluding ir

6、relevant materialGetting ideas mixed upLeaving out necessary informationGood organization is important because misinterpreted messages lead toWasted time reading and rereadingPoor decision makingShattered business relationshipsGood organization helps you communicate more effectively:You wont waste t

7、ime putting ideas in the wrong places or composing material you dont need.You can get some advance input from your audience.You can use your organization plan to divide the writing job among co-workers.Good organization helps your audienceUnderstand your messageAccept your messageSave timeGood organ

8、ization is achieved byDefining the main ideaLimiting the scopeGrouping supporting pointsSelecting either a direct or indirect approachYour topic is the broad subject of your message: the main idea is the central point that sums up everything.* See Transparencies 5 and 6 for documents that can be use

9、d to practice differentiating topic, purpose, and main idea.Try to define a main idea that will establish a good relationship between you and your audience.The scope (length and detail) of a message must match the main idea.Stick with three or four major points (five at most), regardless of how long

10、 your message will be.Scope depends on The nature of your subjectYour audience members familiarity with the topicYour audiences receptivity to your conclusionsYour credibilityThe amount and depth of investigation you can conductGroup your points in the most logical and effective way byConstructing a

11、n outline so that you can communicate in a systematic wayInserting transitions so that your audience can see the relationships among your ideasTypes of outlines includeThe basic outline format (numbers or letters identify each point and are indented to show which items are of equal status)The organi

12、zation chart format (showing thoughts as boxes organized into divisions, similar to the charts that show an organizations management structure)To develop an outline, you usuallyStart with the main idea (supported or explained by absolutely everything in the message)State the major pointsIllustrate w

13、ith evidenceYour major support points will be suggested by one of the following:The natural order of your subject (based on something physical, the steps in a process, the description of an object, or a chronological chain)The major elements of your argument (based on a line of reasoning)The more ev

14、idence you provide, the more conclusive your case will be.Provide enough support to be convincing but without the message becoming boring or inefficient.To maintain audience interest, vary the type of detail:Facts and figuresExample or illustrationDescriptionNarrationReference to authorityVisual aid

15、sFor a U.S. or Canadian audience, you must decide whether your message will be direct or indirect: The direct approach is deductive: the main idea comes first, followed by evidence.The indirect approach is inductive: the evidence comes first, followed by the main idea.Your choice of direct or indire

16、ct approach depends on Audience reaction:Direct when audience will be receptiveIndirect when audience will resistMessage lengthDirect for short, positive messagesIndirect for longer messagesMessage typeDirect for routine, good-news, and goodwill messagesIndirect for bad-news and persuasive messagesC

17、omposing and Shaping Your MessageWhen composing your message, try to Put your outline aside for a day or two (given the time) to review it with a fresh perspectiveImprove your outline (rearranging, deleting and adding ideas), as long as you dont lose sight of your original purposeWrite down your ide

18、as as quickly as you can (worry about revising or refining later on)Style is the way words are used to achieve a certain tone (the impression made by your words).Control your style and tone byUsing a conversational approachUsing plain EnglishSelecting active or passive voiceTo achieve a conversation

19、al tone, try toAvoid obsolete and pompous languageAvoid intimacyAvoid humorAvoid preaching and braggingStrive for the appropriate level of formalityTo help your audience understand your meaning, use plain English whenever appropriate, including when addressing intercultural audiences.Use the active

20、voice toProduce shorter, stronger sentencesMake your writing more vigorous, concise, and generally easier to understandThe passive voice is best in some cases:When you need to be diplomaticWhen you want to avoid taking or attributing the credit or the blameWhen you want to avoid personal pronouns to

21、 create an objective toneThe words you choose to use must be correct and suitable: Use functional and content words correctly. Find words that communicate.Functional words express relationships and have only one unchanging meaning in any given context (including conjunctions, prepositions, articles,

22、 pronouns).Content words are multidimensional, and thus subject to various interpretations (including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs).Content words have two meanings:The denotative meaning is the literal or dictionary meaning.The connotative meaning includes all the associations and feelings

23、evoked by the word.Words that are high in connotative meaning should be avoided in business communication.A word may beAbstract (expressing a concept, quality or characteristic)Concrete (standing for something you can touch or see)Blend abstract terms with concrete ones to be as effective as possibl

24、e.When you compose business messages, try to think like a wordsmith: Choose strong words.Choose familiar words.Avoid clichs.Use jargon carefully.In English, the sense of words is determined by their order.Four types of sentences are Simple: one main clause (subject and predicate)Compound: two main c

25、lauses Complex: one main clause with one or more subordinate clausesCompound-complex: two main clauses, at least one with a subordinate clauseThe clearest writing mixes all four sentence types, using those that match the relationship of ideas.You can emphasize key ideas byChoosing a sentence style t

26、hat gives that idea the most spaceAdding a separate, short sentence to augment the thoughtMaking a thought the subject of a sentencePlacing the key idea either at the beginning or the end of a sentenceA paragraph is a group of sentences all related to the same general topic.A paragraph is made up of

27、 several elements:Topic sentence (introducing the single topic of the sentence)Related sentences (explaining the topic sentence)Transitional elements (showing the relationship among sentences and between paragraphs)Establish transitions byUsing connecting wordsEchoing a word or phrase from a previou

28、s paragraph or sentenceUsing a pronoun that refers to a noun used previouslyUsing words that are frequently pairedDevelop a paragraph in one of five ways:ComparisonContrastCause and effectClassificationProblem and solutionComposing messages is greatly aided by word-processing programs, which automat

29、e many text entry and revision tasks.Using a word processor, you can create and store boilerplate paragraphs for multiple documents.Writing Effective E-Mail MessagesUse the first few lines of an e-mail message to tell the readerWhat you needWhat youre providingWhat you want him or her to doWhen repl

30、ying to a message, quote only the information or question directly relevant to your reply.Make your e-mail easy to follow:Avoid lines that run off screen or wrap oddly by using the Enter key to limit line length.Avoid styled (bold, italic) text.Use short, focused, logically organized paragraphs.Try

31、to limit e-mail to one screen.How formal you make your message depends on your audience and purpose.Make your e-mail messages more effective byMaking your subject line informativePersonalizing your e-mail messageSPECIAL FEATURESBeating Writers Block: Nine Workable Ideas to Get Words Flowing (p. 119)1. Among methods of procrastination that students might list are making trivial phone calls or visiting with office mates, making lists of things to do, getting something to drink or eat, doing chores, running errandsanything that can be used to keep from starting to work. Methods