Text Summary, Lecture Outline
Slides 2-1, 2-2, 2-3
You can point out that this chapter will cover advice that applies to wring all kinds of
documents, as well as specic advice on the shorter forms of business communicaon, or
“messages”: le#ers, memos, email, text messages, and instant messaging.
The Process of Writing
Slide 2-4
You might ask students, before discussing this secon, to re‘ect on (write about) their usual
process of wring. (If they have trouble doing so, ask them to think about/describe how they
tackled a recent wring task.) This exercise can help them see that this chapter contains helpful
advice for them—advice that will make their wring more e/ecve and the process itself less
stressful.
The wring process diagram helps students see that the process of wring falls roughly into
three stages:
Planning,
Dra2ing, and
Revising.
But the arrows in the model also show that writers should allow themselves to revisit earlier
stages as necessary (that is, allow the process to be recursive). To try to make the process rigidly
linear is o2en counterproducve, especially for inexperienced writers.
As the text says, a good rule of thumb is to spend roughly a third of one’s wring me on
planning, a third on dra2ing, and a third on revising.
Slide 2-5
You can point out that the planning stage corresponds to the rst three quesons in the
problem-solving approach represented in Chapter 1: What is the situaon? What are some
possible communicaon strategies? Which is the best course of acon? To be able to answer
these quesons, the writer will perform these acvies:
Determining goals
Analyzing the audience
Gathering informaon
Analyzing and organizing the informaon
Choosing a form, channel, and format
Determining Goals: In determining goals, writers should ask themselves what a reader should
think, feel, do, or believe as a result of reading a message. The writer’s communicaon goals are
very much connected, then, to the writer’s business goals.
Audience Analysis: Analyzing the audience is key to any successful business message. Writers
need to break down their audience by the audience’s characteriscs and then tailor a message
to meet that audience’s need. Writers will ask several quesons: Who is my audience? Who will
be a/ected by what I write? What organizaonal, professional, and personal issues or qualies
will a/ect the audience’s response to my message? What organizaonal, professional, and
personal issues or qualies do I have that a/ect how I will write my message? What is my
relaonship with my reader? Am I wring to my superior? My colleagues? My subordinates?
Clients?
Gathering informaon: Solving a communicaon problem can be viewed as part of solving a
larger business problem. In other words, guring out what to say o2en involves, as well, guring
out what to do. For example, in addion to going over the sample scenario provided in the text,
you can ask your students the following: If, as a manager, you wanted to write an e/ecve
message to employees about leaving the parking spaces near the company’s front door
available for the customers, what things would you have to gure out before you could write
this message? Students should come up with such topics as why the employees should do this,
when they should start doing it, where they should park, any special incenve (or implied
threat?!) that might encourage them to comply, and so forth. The point is that communicators
usually cannot simply go with the informaon at the tops of their heads. They need to plan
what goals they want to accomplish and then gather the ideas and informaon they will need in
order to write the messages that will help them accomplish their goals.
Some acvies that can help writers gather informaon include the following:
Formal research (e.g., surveys, experiments, library research)
Informal research (such as consulng with others, looking at previous messages for
similar circumstances, and so forth)
Lisng pernent ideas/informaon
Brainstorming
“Clustering” (drawing a diagram of your ideas)
Analyzing and organizing informaon. Once writers have collected what looks like suCcient
informaon (though they may nd later in the process that they need more), they need to
analyze it and organize it.
Interpretaon and logic help the writer determine what to say and in what order. Clearly, the
message’s main points need to be based upon the gathered informaon, and they need to be
arranged logically.
Adaptaon is crical as well. Which comments in which order will be likely to have the best
e/ect on the reader? The reader’s likely reacon will determine whether the message is wri#en
in the direct or indirect order and will also a/ect the order of the rest of the contents.
Choosing a form, channel, and format: In many textbooks, discussions of form, channel, and
format are separate from the discussion about the wring process. But in reality, it is virtually
impossible to plan a message without giving at least some preliminary thought to these
elements. The medium is not just a container for the message; whether one ancipates wring
a le#er, email, brochure, Web page, or some combinaon of these, and how one ancipates
they should look, will signicantly a/ect the planning of the message.
Slide 2-6
As they dra2, writers work out the content, stylisc, organizaonal, and formaGng details.
As the text notes, writers should
Avoid perfeconism when dra2ing
Keep going (write things that suCce; come back later to improve them)
Use any other helpful strategies (write during your most producve me; write in
chunks, start with the part you most want to write, etc.)
You may want to share the following points with your students:
It is very important that you are ‘exible when preparing your dra2s. Dra2s are the rst
stages of a long wring process. They are not nal documents, so do not distract or slow
yourself down too much by trying to make the rst dra2 perfect.
Instead, use strategies that will enable you to pull your material together fairly easily and
quickly into a reasonably well-organized, complete dra2.
Avoid spending too much energy perfecng the early parts of the dra2. It can make you
forget important pieces and purposes of the later parts.
Keep moving with your dra2; have an understanding that you will dra2 relavely quickly,
you can always go back and revise.
You may want to try the strategy discussed by writer Natalie Goldberg in Wring Down the
Bones. It’s called Keep Your Hand Moving and is good for breaking through perfeconism. You
could give students a quick in-class business wring assignment, set a mer, and tell them that
they cannot put down their pens or stop wring for 15 minutes. Even if they can think of
nothing to say, tell them to write down “I
have nothing to say.” The idea here is to break through writer’s block and keep the hand
moving, regardless of the thoughts that arise.
Slide 2-7
It is probably safe to say that the most common ‘aw in students’ wring processes is that they
do not revise enough. Impress upon them the importance of devong me to this stage. Even
very experienced writers take a good bit of me to review and polish important documents.
Taking a “levels of edit” approach can help students revise in a systemac way. With this
approach, the writer divides the revision stage into three acvies:
Revising (making any necessary major changes in the document, such as adding more
contents, improving the organizaon, or changing the format)
Eding (perfecng the style and ‘ow of the message)
Proofreading (catching any spelling/typing/grammacal errors)
Slide 2-8
Readable formaGng is hugely important in business wring. Business readers are almost always
very busy and are therefore impaent. And modern media has trained us in general to expect
and prefer quick access to informaon. Any documents that come close to looking like the bad
example on page 121 will run a risk of being misunderstood or, more likely, ignored.
Use the good example on page 122 to help students see how white space, headings,
typographical emphasis (boldface and italics), and bulleted lists can enhance readability.
Slide 2-9
There are many di/erent types of business messages and each has its own unique traits and
purpose. As you’ll see, every business communicaon situaon requires analysis to determine
which type of message will be used.
Letters
Slides 2-10, 2-11
These are the oldest form dang from the earliest civilizaons—Greek, Egypan, Chinese.
The genre implies a certain formality, and certainly, le#ers are the most formal of the business
wring forms we discuss. Therefore, le#ers are usually wri#en to external audiences—but not
always. Formal internal communicaon is also frequently wri#en in le#er format.
Students may already be familiar with some kind of le#er format. If not, students should see
Appendix B to see the possibilies available. Many mes students will ask which format is the
“right” one. It’s important for students to realize that any could be correct but that their
companies may dictate format.
Early emphasis was on a slted word choice (the “old language of business”). Now the emphasis
is on selecng an e/ecve structure and strategy and on using wording that will build rapport
between the writer and the reader. You may want to ask students to bring in direct mail le#ers
or another type of le#er for analysis during this class or the next.
Memorandums
Slides 2-12, 2-13
Memorandums are internal le#ers. Email has taken over much of their funcon; however, even
though students may think that everyone in a workplace has access to an email, this may not
necessarily be the case. For example, in one local hospital, housekeepers, custodial sta/, nursing
assistants, and some nurses do not have access to email other than in a lounge with a general
access computer. In some manufacturing rms, line workers may not have the need for email.
These employees are not likely to check their email as they work throughout the day or even
regularly before or a2er work or on breaks.
A memo posted in a highly visible locaon would be a be#er communicaon channel for these
employees than email. In addion, some memos are actually reports.
Also, some companies will consider more serious informaon, such as that concerning changes
in company policies or recent layo/s, more appropriate for memo than email form.
Typically they are arranged in this form:
“Memorandum” or “InteroCce Memo” at the top.
Date, To, From, Subject headings
(Somemes) Department, Territory, Store Number, Copies to
They vary widely in terms of formality, but because they are internal messages, they are
generally less formal than le#ers.
Email
Slide 2-14
The growth of email has been phenomenal. It has several advantages:
Eliminates telephone tag
Saves me
Speeds up decision making
Is cheap
Provides a wri#en record
But there are disadvantages:
Not condenal
No authenc signature
Doesn’t show emoons
May be ignored
Slide 2-15
The prefatory elements and beginnings are somewhat standardized:
To, Cc, Bcc, Subject, A#achments
Subject lines: These are very important in emails. If a subject line is missing or if it is
incomplete, a reader may disregard the message or delay a response.
Name of recipient, perhaps a greeng, statement of purpose
Idenfying informaon: Idenfy yourself early when communicang with someone you
don’t know well.
Slide 2-16
Content should be organized carefully.
Short, simple messages usually are best in a top-down order (most important to least
important). This way, if the reader is scanning for informaon, he or she does not need to scroll
to nd your most important informaon.
The longer, more complex messages use more strategic organizaon plans such as the direct or
indirect order discussed in Chapters 6 and 7.
Slide 2-17
As for closing the message, most emails end with the writer’s name alone (if the parties know each other).
Many writers create an email signature that includes not only of their name but also the company name
and contact information. Such a signature really is appropriate only for external audiences or unfamiliar
internal audiences.
Sometimes one may find it appropriate to include a complimentary close (“Sincerely,” “Thanks”).
The formality of the closing depends on the formality of the message and the relaonship
between the reader and the writer.
Slide 2-18
The formality of email language depends on the relaonship between writer and reader.
Casual language is acceptable between friends. It uses contracons, slang, mechanical emphasis
devices, and everyday conversaonal talk.
Informal language is right for most messages. It uses short sentences, some contracons and
personal pronouns, and good conversaonal tone.
Slide 2-19
Formal language maintains a distance between writer and reader—no personal references.
Slide 2-20
The wring of email messages involves following the instrucons given in previous chapters.
These can be summarized under four consideraons:
Conciseness
Make the messages short, leaving out unnecessary informaon and wring economically.
Clarity
Pracce the techniques of readable wring—short and familiar words, concrete language, word
precision, short sentences, etc.
Courtesy
Pracce courtesy, build goodwill (use the techniques in Chapter 4: you-viewpoint, posive
language, conversaonal tone, etc.).
Especially avoid “’aming.”
Correctness
How one communicates is a part of the message. Even if the writer uses poor grammar and
spelling and succeeds in communicang his/her message, the writer compromises his/her
professional image when a message contains grammar, spelling, and mechanical errors.
Further, errors in grammar, mechanics, and spelling can make a message unclear, which means
that the reader will have to contact the writer for claricaon. This means that the writer will
have to send the message again, which wastes both the writer’s and the reader’s me.
Slides 2-21 and 2-22
Email is a sensive medium and its quick execuon and delivery me leave it open to errors.
Because it’s informal and sll being de!ned as a genre, it’s vulnerable to eque#e errors. These
slides illustrate how to avoid such errors.
Texts and IM
Slides 2-23, 2-24, 2-25, 2-26 and 2-27
Many individuals use text and instant messaging in the workplace as a quick and eCcient means
of communicaon. When using such short messages, writers must be especially careful to
ensure messages are not only concise but clear. A helpful acvity may be to have students write
one message in two ways: once as an email and once as an instant message.
Text and instant messaging are sll used much more for non-business rather than business
purposes.
But it is seeing growing use in business use—for quick “emails” to co-workers, promoons,
brand awareness, customer relaons, and such. Clearly, as the so-called “millennials” join the
workforce, use of text messaging will increase.
Slide 2-28, 2-29 and 2-30
Social networking (which is, of course, popular for personal use) is also becoming more popular
for business use. Companies use social networking for both internal and external purposes.
Students must know that companies can monitor their social networking use in the workplace.
Companies may seek out students’ pages even before employing them just to see what their
(the students) pages reveal about their (the students’) personalies.
Slide 2-31
There are signicant di/erences between print and online wring. Jakob Nielsen, noted usability
expert, has discovered these disncons:
Web readers read an average of 20 percent of the words on a page.
Print text can be disnguished from Web text in that print text tends to be linear, while
Web text is nonlinear. When people read print documents, they o2en start at the
beginning and connue reading unl they reach the end.
Online readers scan for relevant informaon and may be diverted by links or other
features of the display in their search.
In addion, he says that when people look for informaon they do so not necessarily to
read what an author has to say about an issue but to accomplish a specic task (e.g.,
locate a stasc, ll out a form). Online text, then, needs to facilitate the reader’s ability
to nd and use informaon.
Slide 2-32
Web writing expert Janice Redish advocates organizing Web pages in the inverted pyramid style, where
the main point is presented first, followed by supporting information and then by any historical or
background information.