Developed by Dr Puja Vijay Sukhija for MBA Business Written Communication 2017

Written Communication

1. Mokusastu Story
Mokusastu created havoc with millions of people. Japanese word
MOKUSASTU means to ignore or to refrain from comment.
In July 1945 world war was over.UK/ US/Russia met at POTSDAM to sign a
treaty. Taking note that only Japan was in fight they sent emperor a message to
surrender or be crushed and Emperor was ready to surrender.
A Press release was prepared announcing the policy of MOKUSASTU referring
to NO comment implication.
It got on to foreign wires implying “ignore” implication due to translation mix
up.It landed as “Cabinet ignores the demand to surrender”. Hiroshima and
Nagasaki happened.
History would have been different without wrong interpretation of Mokusastu.

2. Convoluted Phraseology and dangers of Linguistic Oedema.

Linguistic Oedema is malady of swollen language, saying everything the hardest
possible way, using big and obscure words. Whilst talking it is fine but the worst
attack comes when somebody writes it.
Exercise of convoluted phraseology.

3. 4 elements of Written Communication

Writer -person behind the writing
Message-Thoughts, ideas, expressions information that needs to be
communicated
Medium of Expression-words, sentences, paras
Reader-recipient of the inputs.

4. Attitudinal Survey

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 Developed by Dr Puja Vijay Sukhija for MBA Business Written Communication 2017

Task: Your Chief Executive is conducting a random attitudinal survey for which he seeks your contribution. As fast as
you can, (not more than 2 minutes), write a few points on each of the following:-
 What can the company do to improve your effectiveness in your role/ function?
 Describe the nicest thing that happened to you in this organization.
 Describe the nicest thing that could happen to you in your next employment.

5. Kapoor Exercise:-Write Learning Point here.

6. Simplicity of Communication is deceptive-Guess and match the Time spent in

Communication by managers -
First level Supervisors 87%
Second level managers 74%
Third Level managers 87%
CEO’s 81%

7. Declining standards of written communication hampers effectiveness and

Image. Mere Language knowledge is not enough. Effective Communication
calls for special learning.

8. Audience analysis:-Here are some key questions to ask when determining the
readers’ needs during your preparation:
 Who specifically is your reader? Are there multiple readers?
 What do your readers already know about the subject?
 Do you need to modify your message for international readers? Are there
cultural issues that you need to address or avoid?

Fill the first column with the appropriate word

A Who is the recipient

U What is their knowledge of your message

D What is their age, gender, education level and

position

I How does the message relate to them?

E What is the cultural difference

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 Developed by Dr Puja Vijay Sukhija for MBA Business Written Communication 2017

N What do the audience want

C Have you adjusted the message

E What does the audience finally want to take home.

Stages of writing process are:-
1 4
2 5
3 6

1. Planningand pre writing –using 3 methods

I_____________, A_____________, S_______________

I- Intuitive -Force yourself to write first.

II- Analytic –Five W’s
III- Synthetic-Open ended Questioning method

2. Gather and collect facts

Product details/ warranties/past correspondence –Keep information ready and handy

3. Analyzing and organizing information

Selecting Message Composition plan (Direct/Indirect/Persuasive)

4. Writing the message

Draft message without perfectionism – no Edits whatsoever.

5. Rewriting your work and Revising

Review Words/ Sentences/Paragraphs/Tone/ Style
Read after time lapse

6. Editing and presenting

Fine Tune

Activity on 7 C’s of communication –

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 Developed by Dr Puja Vijay Sukhija for MBA Business Written Communication 2017

Think about the 7 Cs every time you need to communicate something and you'll always
know you're delivering the clearest message possible.
Think of how often you communicate with people during your day. You write emails,
facilitate meetings, participate in conference calls, create reports, devise presentations,
debate with your colleagues… the list goes on.
We can spend almost our entire day communicating. So, how can we provide a huge
boost to our productivity? We can make sure that we communicate in the clearest, most
effective way possible.
When writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal or message. What is your
purpose in communicating with this person? If you're not sure, then your audience won't
be sure either.

Fill the following table with explanation and examples:-

C Explanation/example
1. Clear:

2. Concise:

3. Concrete:

4. Correct:

5. Coherent:

6. Complete:

7. Courteous:

Analyse the theoretical frameworks of 7 C’s applied in Instagram article.

On “WhyYourBrandShould be on Instagram”

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 Developed by Dr Puja Vijay Sukhija for MBA Business Written Communication 2017

With 60 million photos uploaded each day ie. 700 photos per second, Instagram is
becoming a revolutionary medium in digital marketing and how its strategies work for a
brand. A picture is worth more than a thousand words and with smart updates on
Instagram, you can surely win a lot of prospective customers by redirecting them using
your respective call to action.
All brands are either already active on Instagram or creating their distinctive space for
people to recognize their impact on the digital media. Simple and personal, Instagram is a
wonderful platform to reach your target audience. AssumimgInstagram to be same as that
of Tumblr or Pinterest and dedicated to a particular group of audience would be wrong.
You can find an array of people on Instagram, irrespective of their age, gender or
location.
Instagram has already crossed channels like Twitter. According to a recent report,
Instagram has more than 400 million active users, whichare more than the 300 plus
million active user counts on Twitter. Around 360K users are added on Instagram every
day and with an average share of 80 million photos per day, it is a platform that can’t be
overlooked upon. Till now, more than 40 billion photos have been uploaded on the app.
One of the main reasons which makeInstagram stand out from any other medium is that it
is a Smartphone oriented platform. As most of the people these days access the internet
from their Smartphone rather than from traditional desktop or other devices, Instagram
provides better accessibility to its users to share their pictures and updates on the go and
without any hassle.
As per a recent report by Global Web Index numbers, around 53% of the social media
users prefer following their favourite brands on Instagram and 44% of the users uses the
medium to search new products and services. Instagram, as a fast evoloving social
network, can do wonders to boost your online presence.
Unlike other social media channels, with Instagram your followers are guaranteed to see
your updates. Around 26% of the online adults are on Instagram. Although, it is a smaller
group in comparison to Facebook, but it will result in better brand engagement. Instagram
provides a user engagement rate of 4.21% per follower, which is 58 times higher than the
engagement rate on Facebook.The advertisement platform on Instagram is highly flexible
so that you can meet your business needs the way you want. You can create mass
awareness or redirect users to your app or other platform from your posts. And what can
be more lucrative than those candid pictures of your product. For that, you simply need to
manage advertisements on Instagram through Facebook’s self-serving Power Editor
Platform or use Instagram’s Ads API. So create an account on facebook marketing
platform and add Instagram on business manager to get started.
Put on your creative shoes and start narrating your brand’s story to the world

Message construction –CBO approach

Message is a complete thought or idea prepared for transmission. It can be
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 Developed by Dr Puja Vijay Sukhija for MBA Business Written Communication 2017

 Single discrete set of data

 Segmented & fragmented set of data

Composing is to put together or make up sentences by combining words. It is a matter

which we want to deliver to someone.
Message should be composed on the basis of its type(DIP).
1) Three types of Message Composition
D________,I______________, P___________________

Put the correct words from table 2 in Correct Columns of table 1

Good news Letters and Direct style of composing –CATR4I
Bad News Letter and Indirect style of composing- WrenL
Persuasive style of composing -3RCP

Direct Message Composing

Four point Plan
Match the columns and Give an example in each of them
Aspect Explanation
Introduction Facts and figures/give and provide
logically
Details Why are you writing/previous letter
reference
Response or action (Pray) One line sentence to end the message
Close Action that you will take or reader should
take
Must Do points for Direct Messages
Size up your reader-get to the point quickly
People become impatient with unimportant preliminaries.
Use Pyramid approach-top down.
Follow “Put it up front principle”.
(Example of Laurentian packaging)
However, indeed and other throat clearers sully writing.
Use different degrees of Directness as appropriate to culture

Indirect Message Composing

Five point Plan

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 Developed by Dr Puja Vijay Sukhija for MBA Business Written Communication 2017

Match the columns (MECAN )

Aspect Explanation
Mislead Keep them as short as possible
Explanations Avoid doing this completely. Learn good positive
phraseology
Clarity Do not open with too positive as it can create a bigger
letdown
Artificially upbeat Misinterpreted messages are failed messages
Negative words Relentless cheerfulness is inappropriate

Must Do points for In Direct Messages

State the bad news simply
Give reasons
Give alternatives
Don’t refer back to bad news and close with good will

Day 8Persuasive Message Composing

Five Point Plan

Aspect Explanation
Persuasive messages arrive uninvited

Unless they overcome they can end up in a trash can

resistance
Gaining attention in Opening sets the strategy
opening

In persuasion messages the is to gain attention

goal
You have to get the person imagination can be used
in a receptive mood

Making the request clearly and positively

 Follow the persuasion with the request
 Move to the action you seek

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 Developed by Dr Puja Vijay Sukhija for MBA Business Written Communication 2017

 You have prepared the reader and he is ready

 Words that bring to mind reasons for refusing are harmful
 Word it well and ensure that there is no negative tone

Request can end the message or be followed by more persuasion

Ending with reminder of appeal is also good
Convert the message with a positive tie in
1. I am aware that business people in your position have little free time to give but
will you please consider accepting assignment to the board of directors of
children's fund.
2. Because your organizational skills are so desperately needed will you please
serve on the board of directors children fund.

Decide on what appeals and strategies to use

Appeals may be emotional or rational
Emotional efforts to persuade ......feel taste smell sight love anger hate
enjoyment ..Rational ..savings money better use of products
Select one that fits product and prospects
Eg automobile tires are not bought because they are pretty but because they are
durable grip the road

Stressing you viewpoint

We are all persuaded with self interest
You viewpoint is important and it must be used
Eg your customers will read about the new star mixer in the next three of ladies home
journal
Review general sales plan:AIDA
Attention interest desire action is a century old model
Gain favorable attention
Create interest
Create desire by appeal... facts ....reader viewpoint
Include all necessary information
Drive for sale by action and recalling main appeal