Written Communication

Communication done through words on paper.

mode of communication with a purpose, which reveals ones ability to think clearly & to use language effectively. A manager should be able to convey info, ideas, instructions, decisions & welfare proposals in written form. Purpose of Written Comm: to inform; to persuade

Principles of Effective Written Communication

ACCURACY BREVITY

CLARITY

ACCURACY
Double

check all info for facts, figures & words, language & tone Correctness is determined by the appropriateness of words for the subject, audience & purpose of a particular piece of writing. Correctness in terms of grammar, punctuation & spellings

Egs
Wrong:

It is necessary to keep practicing ones communication skills Right: it is necessary to keep practicing ones communication skills Confusing words: accept & except; advice & advise; all right & alright; amount & number; anyone & any one; choose & chose;

Brevity
Saying

only what needs to be said & leaving out unnecessary words or details. Not to be achieved at the cost of clarity. TIPS: Do not use four or six words when one or two will do. worldwide recognition by all; In the event of : in case For the reason that : since

Use Standard English

Most

commonly used & accepted words Used in book, magazines, reports & other formal writings

Business English
English

dominates

the

world

of

business. Serves the purpose of trade & commerce. Commercial English used in businesses , offices . Degenerated use of English in offices Officialiese.

Degraded use of English

Use of worn out , conventional phrases or cliches or boring expressions like the matter is receiving our best attention. Mechanical repetition of superficially courteous expressions like I beg. Unnecessary use of passive language like, it is believed that. Use of long words in place of short in a sentence like we do not contemplate the possibility of such an eventuality for we do not think that such a thing will happen.

Some common mistakes

Jargon:

technical terms used in an inappropriate context. Tautology: needlessly saying the same thing more than once. Pomposity: use of self-important & inflated language. Colloquialism: expressions & grammatical forms used in familiar speech. Slang: does not fit in formal English.

Clarity

Ambiguous words to be avoided Undersigned : I/ We Prior to receipt of : before we received.. Choose active voice, subject is the main thing, comes at the opening; predicate is what is said about the subject. Eg: Active: Style describes the products look & feel to the buyer Passive: the products look & feel are described to the buyer by style.

Tips for Clear Writing

CHOICE OF WORDS: Use familiar words: Endeavor in place of try Terminate in place of end Demonstrate in place of show Utilize in place of use

USE CONCRETE WORDS

Words

that form sharp, clear images in our minds concrete words Abstract words that create vague or fuzzy meanings. Concrete words telephone, Bill Gates, MRF Tyres. Abstract words administration, competence, loyalty.

Use Single word in place of many

Using

more words than required is a waste of words. Eg: After his retirement he took up a job for just honor, not caring for any emoluments.

Use short words in place of long

Short

words communicate better than long words. Creates less confusion. Some exceptions sterlize have no substitute.

Prefer Saxon word to Romance

Romance

words are derived from Latin Saxon words are British in origin Saxon words are easier to use than Romance words Corpse/ dead body Animate/ living Anarchy/ lawlessness

Some more tips

Use

Technical words with care Use Strong words Use Active words Use Precise words & idioms

Sentence formation
Clear

words combine to make sentences that convey the intended meaning. Pattern is S-V-O Subject ---- Verb --- Object

Tips for Sentence Construction

Keep

sentences short: average readers feel comfortable with 16 to 18 words in a sentence. Keep sentence content limited: clearly select thought units & distribute them over separate sentences. Sentence-combining is a good exercise but should be practiced carefully.

 Determine

emphasis in sentences: right emphasis to the content is very important. Its a matter of logical thinking. Eg. Our company suffered loss last year. The loss occurred inspite of record sales.

 Maintain

sentence unity: related thoughts should be conveyed. Eg. Mr. Smith is our zonal manager and he is a pharmacy graduate. Mr. Smith is our zonal manager. He is a pharmacy graduate. Mr. Smith, our zonal manager, is a pharmacy graduate.

 Adhering

to rules of grammar: following rules of grammar is important for correct writing. Problems could arise related to subject verb- agreement, use of pronouns and preposition, sequence of tenses, reported speech etc.

Paragraph Design
Clear

sentences make up carefully designed paragraphs. Paragraph is a reflection of our thought process as it proceeds from one sentence to another, and develops step by step. Organizing our message in paragraphs makes is easier for the receiver to receive & respond.

Useful Tips.
Aim

at unity: we build a paragraph around a single topic or idea. Ideally one paragraph should contain one imp point. We have to keep ourselves limited to the largest unit of thought above a sentence & not going beyond the content of a single topic sentence.

 Make

effective use of topic sentence: topic sentence that expresses the main idea of the paragraph. Generally written in the very beginning of the paragraph. In some exceptional cases it may figure in the middle or end of the sentence.

 Omit

unnecessary information: temptation to include unnecessary information should be avoided. Stick to the imp information. Principles of effective communication demands that we keep the readers needs uppermost in our mind.

 Make

the paragraph move forward: logically connected sentences should bring about orderly succession of single thoughts producing movement. This is brought about by our own clarity of thought, logical arrangement of ideas, smoothness in style, careful word choice & sentence structure.

Punctuation
Full

stop . - to mark end of a sentence. - to mark an abbreviation. - three full stops to mark an omission Question mark ? - mark end of a ques. Comma , - to separate words in a series or list - to separate phrases/ clauses in a series

 Semicolon

; - to separate items in a list when the items themselves contain commas. Colon : - to introduce a list. - to introduce a quotation or lengthy items of direct speech. Keats wrote: A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.

 Apostrophe

- to mark the genitive case of a noun: singular noun books pages; plural noun books owner; plural noun not ending with s mens room; proper noun ending with s Dickens novel. - to mark the omission of a letter or letters : they cant pay.

Inverted commas - in direct speech. - to indicate title of a film, book, play, poem etc. Dash - a pause before an explanation. - to separate a summing up - to show a range Hyphen to join two or more words regarded a compound word - to indicate an unfinished word at the end of a line.