Written Communication

Business writing is different from other types of writing.

Nature of business writing are
1. Purposeful should have a definite purpose. Either convey some message or solve
some problems.
2. Persuasive want your audience to believe and accept your message.
3. Economical length is not rewarded.
4. Audience Oriented Look at the problems from the perspective of audience.
Major purpose Inform or Persuade
Inform
Explain procedures
Announce meetings
Answer questions
Transmit findings
Persuade
Sell products
Convince manager
Motivate employees
Win over customers
Internal Vs External
External Messages customers, vendors, other business, government etc.
Internal Messages upward to superiors, downward to employees & horizontally among
workers.
Internal Blog, Email, Fax, Instant Message, Letter, Memo, Wiki, Reports
External Website, Blogs, Emails, Instant Message, Social Media, Wiki, Reports.
Most of the mediums are same, only the audiences are different.
Outlines
Letter / Memo : Opening - Body Closing
Procedure : Step 1 / Step 2 / Step 3
Informal Report: Introduction / Facts / Summary.
Analytical Report : Intro or Problem / facts or findings / Conclusions / Recommendations
Proposal : Intro / Proposed solution / Staffing / Schedule / cost / Authorization
Patterns
Direct Big idea - explanation action.
Saves readers time.
Sets a proper frame of mind.
Reduces frustration.
Indirect For persuasive or negative messages.
Respects the feelings of the audience.
Facilitates a fair hearing.
Minimizes a negative reaction.

Typical business messages that follow the direct pattern include routine requests and
responses, orders and acknowledgments, no sensitive memos, e-mails, informational reports,
and informational oral presentations.
Typical business messages that could be developed indirectly include letters, e-mails, and
memos that refuse requests, deny claims, and disapprove credit. Persuasive requests, sales
letters, sensitive messages, and some reports and oral presentations may also benefit from the
indirect strategy
3 x 3 process
1. Prewriting Analyze / Anticipate / Adapt
2. Writing Research / Organize / Compose
3. Revising Revise / Proofread / Evaluate
Prewriting
Analyze your purpose & audience audience profiling.
Anticipate how your audience will react to your message
Audience Profiling primary & secondary audience. Email forwarding is quite common.
Warren Buffet assuming that he is sending reports to his sisters.
Adapt your message to your audience, right words & tone.
You" view, conversational but professional.
What they wanted rather than what he wanted.
Being courteous
Choose bias free languages. Working hours instead of man hours.
Use plain language & familiar words (Sashi Tharoor)
Writing
Research, gather data from company, previous correspondence, internet, brainstorming etc.
Organize. Group similar facts together.
Outlines (R2 - 145)
Patterns (R2 145)
Compose the first draft.
Revising
Revising for clarity & readability whitespace, text alignment, font size etc.
Proofreading
Evaluate to find further improvement areas.
Business Messages
1. Positive Messages communicating straightforward requests, replies & goodwill.
2. Negative Messages delivering refusals & bad news.
3. Persuasive Messages sales pitches.

Business Letter
Memo

Email
Reports
<< Definition >>
Based on what they do
1. Informational Reports reports that present data without analysis or recommendations.
Introduction / Background
Facts / Findings
Summary
For example a trip report describing an employees visit to a trade show or report on
routine operations or compliance with regulations etc.
2. Analytical Reports reports that provide data or findings, analyses and conclusions. In
some cases recommendations should also be there in an analytical report. For example,
a report which compares many larger potential locations for a retailer.
Introduction / Problem
Facts / Findings
Discussion Analysis
Conclusions
Recommendations.
Based on organization (R2 339)
1. Direct strategy
2. Indirect strategy Based on writing style
1. Informal
2. Formal business report to a potential customer
3. 1st / 2nd / 3rd person style.
Report Formats
The format of a report depend on its length, topic, audience and purpose.
Letter Format
Manuscript Format
Preprinted Format
Digital Format
Report Writing Process

Proposals
Presentations
Resume
Other

Internal Communication
Paper based messages
1. Business Letters when permanent record is necessary, when confidentiality is
important, when sensitivity & formality are essential.
2. Interoffice Memos
Electronic Messages
1. Emails
2. Instant Messaging
3. Text Messaging
4. Podcasts
5. Blogs
6. Wikis
7. Social Networking
Emails
Subject Line

Opening

Body

Closing

Other

Summarize the central idea.

Include labels if necessary (FYI, FYA, REQ etc).
Avoid empty or dangerous ideas.
Direct or indirect.
State the purpose of writing.
Highlight questions
Supply information directly.
Explain details.
Enhance readability
Apply document design bullets, tables, graphs etc.
Be cautious forward
Request action
Provide a goodwill statement or closing thought.
Avoid clich ending thank for your cooperation.
Try composing offline.
Get the address right.
Avoid misleading subject lines.
Apply the top screen test (what is important in 1st screen).
Dont send anything you wouldnt want published.
Dont use email to avoid contacts.
Care about correctness.
Care about tone.
Resist humor.
Never spend spam.
Dont forward without information.
Use attachments sparingly.
Print only when necessary.
Acknowledge receipt.
Revise the subject line if the topic changes.
Never respond when you are angry.
Assume that all email is monitored.
Consider cultural differences.

Double check before hitting the send button

Positive Messages

3 x 3 process
In the workplace, positive messages may take the form of emails, memos & letters.
Memos
Although email is very popular, printed hard copy memos still serve vital functions in the
workplace. They remain useful for important internal messages that require a permanent
record or formality. For example, org use memos to deliver instructions, official policies,
short reports, long internal documents and important announcements. The formatting of
memos make them easy to read and understand compared to emails. The sender and
receiver of the memos are always recognizable.
225