Planning and writing Business Messages

The three step writing process

Planning Writing Completing

Planning
 Analyze the Situation: Define the purpose and develop an audience profile.
 Gather Information Determine audience needs and obtain the information
necessary to satisfy those needs.
 Select the Right Medium Choose the best medium for delivering the message.
 Organize the Information: Define the main idea, limit the scope, select a direct or
an indirect approach, and outline the content.
Writing
 Adapt to the Audience: Be sensitive to audience needs with a “you” attitude,
politeness, positive emphasis, and bias-free language.
 Build a strong relationship with the audience by establishing credibility and
projecting your company’s image.
 Control your style with a conversational tone, plain English, and appropriate
voice.
 Compose the Message Choose strong words that will help you create effective
sentences and coherent paragraphs.
Completing
 Revise the Message: Evaluate content and review readability, then edit and
rewrite for conciseness and clarity.
 Produce the Message: Use effective design elements and suitable layout for a
clean, professional appearance.
 Proofread the Message: Review for errors in layout, spelling, and mechanics.
 Distribute the Message: Deliver the message using the chosen medium; make
sure all documents and all relevant files are distributed successfully.

Organising a message
Competent communicators rely on good organization to make their messages
meaningful, since people tend not to remember isolated facts and figures.
What is good organisation?
Creating a linear message that proceeds point by point. Most disorganized messages
suffer from problems with clarity, relevance, grouping, and completeness. Poorly
organized messages can waste readers’ time as they struggle to grasp the meaning.
Why does good organisation matter?
 Good organization helps the audience understand a message. A well-organized
message will satisfy the audience’s need for information.

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  Making readers more receptive to a message. Even when a message is logical,
there is need to select and organize points in a diplomatic way. Softening refusals
and leaving a good impression enhances credibility and adds authority to one’s
messages.
 Good organization saves audience time. Audience members receive only the
information they need, and because that information is relevant, brief, and
logically placed. The audience can follow the thought pattern without a struggle.
To organize a message, be sure to:
 Define the main idea
The topic is the broad subject; the main idea makes a statement about the topic.
 Limit the scope
The scope of a message is the range of information to be presented, the overall length,
and the level of detail—all of which need to correspond to the main idea.
Many business documents have a preset length limit, either from a boss’s instructions, a
technological limit, or a time frame such as individual speaker slots during a seminar.
Even if there is no preset limit, it’s vital to limit oneself to the scope needed to convey a
message—and no more.
Whatever the length of the message, limit the number of major support points and if an
idea can be put across with fewer points the better. Listing 20 or 30 support points
might feel as if one is being thorough, but the audience will view such detail as rambling
and mind-numbing.
Instead, look for ways to group supporting points under major headings, such as
finance, customers, competitors, employees, or whatever is appropriate for a given
subject matter.
 Group the points
An outline of the message must be constructed. It must be logical.
 Choose the direct or indirect approach
Direct approach (deductive). The main idea (a recommendation, conclusion, or request)
comes first, followed by the evidence.
Indirect approach (inductive). The evidence comes first, and the main idea comes later.

Eager, Interested, Pleased, Neutral. Displeased. Uninterested,

UU Unwilli
Direct Approach Indirect Approach
Audience reaction Eager/interested/ Displeased Uninterested/Unwilling
pleased/neutral
Message type Routine, good news, Bad news Persuasive
goodwill
Message opening Start with the main Start with a Start with a statement
idea, the request, or neutral or question that
the good news. statement that captures attention.
acts as a
transition to
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 the reasons for
the bad news.
Message body Provide necessary Give reasons to Arouse the audience’s
details. justify a interest in the subject.
negative Build the audience’s
answer. State desire to comply.
or imply the
bad news, and
make a
positive
suggestion.
Message close Close with a cordial Close cordially. Request action.
comment, a reference
to the good news, or a
statement about the
specific action
desired.

Routine messages
If one is providing routine information as part of regular business, the audience will
probably be neutral, neither pleased nor displeased. These messages get right down to
business. They are easy to understand and easy to prepare because they rely on the
direct approach. In the opening, state the main idea directly; there is no need for a
“creative” introduction.
By starting off with a positive idea, this puts audience members in a good frame of mind
and encourage them to be receptive to whatever else that is to be said.

Bad news messages

Turning down a job applicant, refusing credit, or denying a request for an adjustment,
are examples of bad news that make the audience be disappointed. By blurting out an
unpleasant message, one may think that they are just being business like or that the
audience is too far away or too unimportant to matter. However, astute businesspeople
know that every person they encounter could be a potential customer, supplier, or
contributor or could influence someone who is a customer, supplier, or contributor.
Thus, competent communicators take a little extra care with their bad-news messages
and often rely on the indirect approach.
The indirect approach is neither manipulative nor unethical. The challenge lies in being
honest but kind.
Persuasive messages
The indirect approach is also useful when one knows that their audience may resist
their message. It is common for an audience to be resistant to a sales letter, a collection
letter, an unsolicited job application, or a request for a favour of some kind. In such

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cases, one has to capture people’s attention before they can persuade them to do
something.
One has to get the audience to consider with an open mind what they have to say. So,
there is need to make an interesting point and provide supporting facts that encourage
the audience to continue paying attention. In persuasive messages, one has to open by
mentioning a possible benefit, referring to a problem that the recipient might have,
posing a question, or citing an interesting statistic. In the body one then has to build
interest in the subject and arouse the audience members’ desire to comply.
Once one gets the audience thinking, the main idea can then be introduced.. Finally, you
close cordially and request the desired action.

Controlling Style and Tone when writing

When composing messages, one can vary the style to create a tone that suits the
occasion.
Style is the way one uses language to achieve a certain tone, or overall impression.
One can vary their style, such as sentence structure and vocabulary—to sound forceful
or objective, personal or formal.. The choice of tone depends on the nature of a message
and the relationship with an audience.
The tone of business messages usually range from informal to conversational to formal.
Most business messages aim for a conversational tone, using plain language that sounds
business-like without being stuffy, stiff, wordy, or full of jargon. This is because formal
tone might sound distant and cold if used with close colleagues.
A conversational tone is achieved by the following guidelines:
 Avoid obsolete and pompous language. Business language used to be much more
formal than it is today, but some out-of-date phrases still find their way into
communication efforts.
 Avoid preaching and bragging. Few things are more irritating than people who
think that they know everything and that others know nothing.
 Be careful with intimacy. Most business messages should avoid intimacy, such as
sharing personal details or adopting a casual, unprofessional tone.
 Be careful with humor. Humor can be an effective tool to inject interest into dry
subjects or take the sting out of negative news.

Obsolete Up-to date

In due course Today, tomorrow, or a specific day
Permit me to say that Omit, just say what you want to say
We are in receipt of We have received
Pursuant to Omit , Just say what you want to say
The undersigned I, me
Attached, please find Enclosed
It has come to my attention I have just learnt

Formal tone

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Reserved for the most formal occasions
Dear Ms.Navarro:
Enclosed please find the information that was requested during our telephone
communication of May 14. As was mentioned at that time, Midville Hospital has
significantly more doctors of exceptional quality than any other health facility in the
state. As you were also informed,our organization has quite an impressive network of
doctors and other healthcare professionals with offices located throughout the state.In
the event that you should need a specialist,our professionals will be able to make an
appropriate recommendation. In the event that you have questions or would like
additional information, you may certainly contact me during regular business hours.
Most sincerely yours,
Samuel G.Berenz

Conversational tone
Preferred for most business Communication
Dear Ms.Navarro:
Here’s the information you requested during our phone conversation on Friday. As I
mentioned, Midville Hospital has the best doctors and more of them than any other
hospital in the state. In addition, we have a vast network of doctors and other health
professionals with offices throughout the state. If you need a specialist, they can refer
you to the right one. If you would like more information, please call any time between
9:00 and 5:00,Monday through Friday.
Sincerely,
Samuel G.Berenz

Informal tone
Reserved for communication with friends and close associates
Hi Gabriella:
Hope all is well.Just sending along the information you asked for.As I said on
Friday,Midville Hospital has more and better doctors than any other hospital in the
state. We also have a large group of doctors and other health professionals with offices
close to you at work or at home. Need a specialist? They’ll refer you to the right one. Just
give me a ring if you want to know more. Any time from 9:00 to 5:00 should be fine.
Take care,
Sam

Writing Business Messages

Competent writers use audience centered communication by :
 Adopting a “you” attitude
 Maintaining etiquette
 Emphasizing on the positive
Adopting a “YOU” attitude

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  The “you” attitude is best implemented by expressing messages in terms of the
audience’s interests and needs
 The simplest level, of adapting “you” attitude is by replacing terms that refer to
oneself and their company with terms that refer to the audience.
 In other words, use you and yours instead of I, me, mine, we, us, and ours:
 When business messages use an “I” or “we” attitude, they sound selfish and
uninterested in the audience
 E.G. To help us process this order, we are requesting for another copy of the
requisition.
 Can be replaced with: Please send another copy of the requisition so that your
order can be filled promptly.
 However , YOU should not be used every time because at times;
 It sounds overly authoritative, dictatorial or accusing
 It makes someone feel guilty
 E.g You failed to deliver the customer’s order on time, can be expressed as
 The customer didn’t receive the order on time
 In practicing the use of the “you” attitude, one must consider the attitudes of
other cultures and the policies of their organization

Maintaining Etiquette
 Another good way to demonstrate interest in the audience and to earn their
respect is to demonstrate etiquette in messages.
 When people are treated inconsiderately they react emotionally and pay less
attention to the offending message.
 Being courteous and considerate fosters a more successful environment for
communication
 Although one may be tempted to be brutally frank, try to express the facts in a
kind and thoughtful manner
 E.G. You’ve been sitting on our order for two weeks, and we need it now! Rather
say
 Our production schedules depend on timely delivery of supplies but we have not yet
the order you promised to deliver two weeks ago.

Emphasizing the positive

 Negative news can be communicated in a positive way
 E.G. It is impossible to repair your laptop today
 RATHER SAY: Your computer can be ready by Tuesday can I offer you one to use
in the meantime.
 We apologize for inconveniencing you during our renovation exercise.
 RATHER SAY: The renovations now under way will help us serve you better.
 The problem with this department is a failure to control costs, Rather say :The
performance of this department can be improved by tightening cost controls.
Determine your purpose when writing!!
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Successful communication of thoughts stands or falls on taking proper approach when
writing:
 Tell: when you are in complete command of the necessary authority and
information
 Sell when you are in command of the information , the audience retain the
ultimate decision making authority
 Consult when you are trying to build consensus towards a given course of
action.

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