2. The Writing Process (Strategies for Oral Communication)
2.1 Strategies for Written Communication
2.2 Planning Business Messages
23 Organizing and Composing Business Messages
2.4 Revising Business Messages
The process of preparing business messages consists of three basic steps: planning, composing and revising.
During the planning phase, you need to establish both the general and the specific purposes for your message. Also you need to analyze the audience. Their information needs will help you to decide on the content of the message; their motivational needs will help you to organize your points in a convincing way. The audience's practical needs will guide your decisions regarding format. Another step in the planning process is to establish the main idea of the message. You also need to plan the channel of communication for your message. Oral communication gives you the opportunity to interact with the audience: written communication gives you a greater opportunity to plan and control your message.
During the composing phase a message is organized. In a well - organized message, all the information is related to a clear subject and purpose, the ideas are presented in a logical order, and all necessary information is included. The two basic organizational approaches are direct and indirect. The success of the relationship with the audience depends on the tone, the overall impression you create. Try to be both businesslike and likeable; try to look at the subject through the audience's eyes. Emphasize positive ideas. Convey your credibility, be courteous and remember that you represent your organization.
Revising is the final step in developing effective business message. An effective writing style begins with word choice. Words should be strong, short and familiar. Avoid camouflaged verbs. Your writing should be bias - free. Keep sentences short. Eliminate unnecessary words and phases. Avoid clichés. Express parallel ideas in parallel form. Emphasize your major ideas. Focus each paragraph on a single idea and keep each paragraph short. Develop paragraphs in one of the five ways: illustration, compassion or contrast, discussion of cause and effect, classification, and presentation of a problem and a solution. Proofread your document carefully.
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