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Chapter 5: Writing Business Messages
Chapter 5 continues the discussion of the three-step writing process with the writing step. The two tasks
covered here are adapting to your audience (including being sensitive to audience needs, building strong
relationships, and controlling your style and tone) and composing your message (including choosing
powerful words, creating effective sentences, and crafting unified, coherent paragraphs). The chapter
concludes with advice on writing message for mobile devices.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Adapting to Your Audience: Being Sensitive to Audience Needs
Using the “You” Attitude
Maintaining Standards of Etiquette
Emphasizing the Positive
Using Bias-Free Language
Adapting to Your Audience: Building Strong Relationships
Establishing Your Credibility
Projecting Your Company’s Image
Adapting to Your Audience: Controlling Your Style and Tone
Using a Conversational Tone
Using Plain Language
Selecting the Active or Passive Voice
Composing Your Message: Choosing Powerful Words
Understanding Denotation and Connotation
Balancing Abstract and Concrete Words
Finding Words That Communicate Well
Composing Your Message: Creating Effective Sentences
Choosing from the Four Types of Sentences
Using Sentence Style to Emphasize Key Thoughts
Composing Your Message: Crafting Unified, Coherent Paragraphs
Creating the Elements of a Paragraph
Topic Sentence
Support Sentences
Transitions
Choosing the Best Way to Develop a Paragraph
Writing Messages for Mobile Devices
Learning Catalytics is a “bring your own device” student engagement, assessment, and classroom
intelligence system. It allows instructors to engage students in class with real-time diagnostics. Students
can use any modern, web-enabled device (smartphone, tablet, or laptop) to access it. For more
information on using Learning Catalytics in your course, contact your Pearson Representative.
LECTURE NOTES
Section 1: Adapting to Your Audience: Being Sensitive to Audience Needs
Learning Objective 1: Identify the four aspects of being sensitive to audience needs when writing
business messages.
If your intended audience members think a message does not apply to them or doesn’t meet their needs,
they won’t be inclined to pay attention to it.
Using the “You” Attitude
Adopt the “you” attitude by:
Replacing terms that refer to yourself and your company with terms that refer to your
audience
Empathizing with your audience sincerely and genuinely
Avoiding the word you when its use would be impolite or accusatory
Following company style regarding the use of personal pronouns
Maintaining Standards of Etiquette
Maintain the highest standards of etiquette:
Be courteous to members of your audience.
Control your emotions and communicate calmly.
Be even more tactful in written messages.
Emphasizing the Positive
Emphasize the positive:
So en the blow of negative news.
Criticize constructively without dwelling on a person’s mistakes.
Emphasize audience benefit rather than your own.
Use euphemisms to avoid words that are hurtful or offensive to your audience—but don’t use them to
sugarcoat unpleasant news.
Using Bias-Free Language
Use bias-free language by avoiding words and phrases that unfairly and even unethically categorize
or stigmatize people in ways related to:
Gender
Race and ethnicity
Age
Disability
Class discussion question: Have you ever been put off by biased word choices another person made
while communicating with you (in writing or in person)? In the matter of age, for example, has an older
person ever referred to you as a “kid,” even though you think of yourself as an adult? Conversely, if
you’re an older student, have younger students ever referred to you as “grandma” or “grandpa,” even in a
humorous way? What effect did these word choices have on your relationship with the other party?
Section 2: Adapting to Your Audience: Building Strong Relationships
Learning Objective 2: Explain how establishing your credibility and projecting your company’s image
are vital aspects of building strong relationships with your audience.
Establishing your credibility and projecting your company’s image are two vital steps in building and
fostering positive business relationships.
Establishing Your Credibility
Credibility is the measure of your believability based on how reliable you are and how much trust you
evoke in others.
To establish your credibility, emphasize:
Honesty
Objectivity
Awareness of audience needs
Credentials, knowledge, and expertise
Endorsements
Performance
Sincerity
Credibility can take a long time to establish—and it can be wiped out by a single careless or foolish
mistake.
Projecting Your Company’s Image
Project the proper image for your company by subordinating your own views and personality, if
necessary, and mastering your company’s style.
Observe more experienced colleagues to see how they communicate, and never hesitate to ask for
editorial help.
Section 3: Adapting to Your Audience: Controlling Your Style and Tone
Learning Objective 3: Explain how to achieve a tone that is conversational but businesslike, explain the
value of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
Style is the way words are used to achieve a certain tone (i.e., the impression made by your words).
Using a Conversational Tone
To achieve a conversational tone:
Understand the di,erence between texting and writing.
Avoid stale and pompous language.
Avoid preaching and bragging.
Be careful with intimacy.
Be careful with humor.
Using Plain Language
Plain language is a way of presenting information in a simple, unadorned style that your audience can
easily grasp without struggling through specialized, technical, or convoluted language.
Plain language can make companies more productive and more profitable simply because people
spend less time trying to figure out messages that are confusing or aren’t written to meet their needs.
Plain language helps nonnative speakers understand your messages.
Selecting the Active or Passive Voice
In active voice, the subject performs the action and the object receives the action.
The subject (“actor”) comes before the verb.
The object (“acted upon”) comes after the verb.
In passive voice, the subject receives the action.
The subject comes a er the verb.
The object comes before the verb.
It combines the helping verb to be with a form of the verb that is usually similar to the past tense.
Use the active voice to:
Produce shorter, stronger sentences.
Make your writing more vigorous, concise, and generally easier to understand.
Generally avoid the passive voice because it:
Is cumbersome
Can be unnecessarily vague
Can make sentences longer
However, the passive voice is best in some cases to demonstrate the “you” attitude:
When you need to be diplomatic
When you want to avoid taking or a4ributing the credit or the blame
When you want to avoid personal pronouns to create an objective tone
Class discussion question: Have you ever noticed anyone using the passive voice to avoid taking
responsibility for a situation or a mistake? For example, someone might say “mistakes were made” rather
than “I made a mistake.” What effect might this have on the speaker or writer’s credibility? Can the
passive voice be ethically misused in this way?
Section 4: Composing Your Message: Choosing Powerful Words
Learning Objective 4: Describe how to select words that are both correct and effective.
As you compose your first draft:
Look for opportunities to improve on your outline by rearranging, deleting, and adding
ideas (as long as you don’t lose sight of your purpose)
Try to let your creativity 6ow (don’t dra and edit at the same time)
Try to overcome writer’s block
You can jog your brain to overcome writer’s block by:
Skipping to another part of the document
Working on nontext elements such as graphics
Switching to a di,erent project
Starting to write without worrying about what you’re writing or how it sounds
As you create and refine your messages, learn to view your writing at three levels:
Strong words
E,ective sentences
Coherent paragraphs
If you have questions about grammar and usage, be sure to consult handbooks or online guides.
The words you choose to use must be correct because:
Grammatical or usage errors cause you to lose credibility with your audience.
Poor grammar implies that you’re uninformed and your audience may not trust you.
Poor grammar can imply that you don’t respect your audience enough to get things right.
Successful writers and speakers take care to find the most effective words and phrases to use.
Rich languages such as English provide you with a variety of options when choosing words.
Selecting and using words effectively is often more challenging than using words correctly because it’s a
matter of judgment and experience.
Reading widely is the best way to expand your vocabulary and thereby give yourself more options when
it’s time to choose words in your own writing.
Understanding Denotation and Connotation
Words may have two meanings:
The denotative meaning is the literal or dictionary meaning.
The connotative meaning includes all the associations and feelings evoked by the word.
In business communication, carefully use words that have multiple interpretations and are high in
connotative meaning.
Balancing Abstract and Concrete Words
A word may be:
Abstract (expressing a concept, quality, or characteristic)
Concrete (standing for something you can touch, see, or visualize)
Concrete words are often more effective than abstract words because they are more precise, but that
isn’t always the case.
Blend abstract terms with concrete ones to be as effective as possible.
Even though they’re indispensable, abstractions can be troublesome.
Abstract words tend to be fuzzy and subject to multiple interpretations.
Abstract words seem less “real” and pose a challenge to getting readers excited.
Finding Words That Communicate Well
To find the words that communicate well, think carefully about the right words to use for each
individual situation:
Choose powerful words.
Choose familiar words.
Avoid clichés and be careful with buzzwords.
Use jargon carefully.
Section 5: Composing Your Message: Creating Effective Sentences
Learning Objective 5: Define the four types of sentences and explain how sentence style affects emphasis
within a message.
To make every sentence count:
Arrange carefully chosen words.
Select the optimum type of sentence.
Choosing from the Four Types of Sentences
You can choose from four types of sentences:
Simple: one main clause (single subject and single predicate)
Compound: two main clauses that express two or more independent but related thoughts of
equal importance, usually joined by and, but, or or
Complex: expresses one main thought (the independent clause) and one or more
subordinate, related thoughts (dependent clauses that cannot stand alone as valid
sentences)
Compound-complex: two main clauses, at least one with a subordinate clause
When constructing sentences, choose the form that matches the relationship of the ideas you want to
express.
Use two simple sentences or a compound sentence if you have two ideas of equal
importance.
Use a complex sentence if one of the ideas is less important than the other.
To achieve the clearest writing possible, strive for variety and balance by mixing all four types of
sentences.
Using Sentence Style to Emphasize Key Thoughts
You can emphasize key ideas through sentence style by:
Describing an important element with more detail
Adding a separate, short sentence to augment the thought
Making a thought the subject of a sentence
Placing the key idea either at the beginning or the end of a sentence
In complex sentences, the placement of the dependent clause hinges on the relationship between the
ideas expressed.
Put the dependent clause at the end of the sentence (the most emphatic position) or at the
beginning (the second most emphatic position).
Put the dependent clause within the sentence if you want to downplay the idea.
Section 6: Composing Your Message: Crafting Unified, Coherent Paragraphs
Learning Objective 6: Define the three key elements of a paragraph, and list five ways to develop unified,
coherent paragraphs.
A paragraph organizes sentences related to the same general topic.
Readers expect each paragraph to:
Be uni#ed and focus on a single unit of thought
Be coherent and present ideas in a logically connected way
Creating the Elements of a Paragraph
A paragraph is made up of several elements:
Topic sentence—introduces the topic, gives readers a summary of the general idea that will
be covered in the rest of the paragraph, and reminds audiences of the purpose of each
paragraph
Support sentences—explain, justify, or extend the topic sentence with specifics; are more
specific than topic sentences; provide another piece of evidence to demonstrate the general
truth of the main thought; and are clearly related to the general idea being developed
Transitions—words or phrases that tie ideas together by showing how one thought is related to another,
help readers understand the connections you’re trying to make, and smooth your writing
Establish transitions by:
Using connecting words
Echoing a word or phrase from a previous paragraph or sentence
Using a pronoun that refers to a noun used previously
Using words that are frequently paired
Transitions are able to:
Serve as mood changers
Announce a total contrast with what’s gone on before
Announce a causal relationship
Signal a change in time
Use transitions to help readers understand your ideas and follow you from point to point:
Inside paragraphs, to tie related points together
Between paragraphs, to ease the shi from one distinct thought to another
Between major sections or chapters
Choosing the Best Way to Develop a Paragraph
Develop a paragraph in one of five ways:
Illustration
Comparison or contrast
Cause and e,ect
classification
Problem and solution
In practice, you’ll occasionally combine two or more methods of development in a single paragraph.
Think through other alternatives before accepting your first choice.
Section 7: Writing Messages for Mobile Devices
Learning Objective 7: List five techniques for writing effective messages for mobile readers.
Reading is more difficult on small screens, and users’ ability to comprehend what they read on mobile
devices is lower than it is on larger screens.
In addition to making different design and layout choices, adapt your approach to writing in order to help
mobile readers.
Technique #1: Use a linear organization
In a printed document or on a larger screen, readers can easily take in multiple elements on a page
and jump around the page to read various parts without feeling lost.
However, with small mobile device screens, a complex page requires readers to zoom in and out
and pan around, which slows reading and raises the odds of disorientation and misunderstanding.
To simplify reading, organize with a linear flow from the top to the bottom of the message or
article.
Technique #2: Prioritize information
Small screens make it difficult for readers to scan the page to find the information they want
most, so put the most-needed information first.
Use the inverted pyramid style favored by journalists, in which you reveal the most important
information briefly at first and then provide successive layers of detail that readers can consume
if they want.
You may need to avoid using the indirect approach if your message is complicated, because it will
be more difficult for readers to follow your chain of reasoning.
Technique #3: Write shorter and more-focused messages and documents
Mobile users often lack the patience or opportunity to read lengthy messages or documents.
In some cases, this could require you to write two documents, a shorter executive summary for
mobile use and a longer supporting document that readers can access later if they want more
details.
Technique #4: Use shorter subject lines and headings
Mobile devices, particularly phones and smaller tablets, can’t display as many characters in a
single line of text at a readable font size as the typical computer screen can.
Email subject lines and page headings will be truncated or will wrap around to take up multiple
lines; both make reading more difficult.
A good rule of thumb: keep subject lines and headlines to around 25 characters.
Make every word count and make sure you start with the key words so readers can instantly see
what the subject line or heading is about.
Technique #5: Use shorter paragraphs
In addition to structuring your message, paragraphs have a visual role in written communication.
Shorter paragraphs are less intimidating and let readers take frequent “micro rests” as they move
through a document.
Because far less text is displayed at once on a mobile screen, keep paragraphs as short as possible
so readers don’t have to swipe through screen after screen before getting to paragraph breaks.
HIGHLIGHT BOX: THE ART OF PROFESSIONALISM
Being Dependable and Accountable
1. To estimate project requirements when one hasn’t completed an identical or similar project in the
past, a smart first step is to seek advice from colleagues or superiors. Chances are that someone else
in the organization has done something similar. A second method is to break the project down into
its smallest logical components and then estimate time and cost for each component; estimating
piecemeal can be much easier and more accurate than trying to guess an entire project’s duration. A
third technique that works in some cases is to execute a small part of the project to measure the
accrued time and costs, then extrapolate those totals to the entire project. Fourth, one can
sometimes use numbers from analogous projects. Fi h, project planners o en project worst-case,
best-case, and likely totals for time and costs. In addition to providing these numbers to clients and
superiors in order to set expectations, it can be useful to use the best- and worst-case totals as
“reality checks” to see if estimates make sense. Finally, when making an uncertain commitment, it’s
always a good idea to explain that your schedule and budget estimates are based on the best
available information.
2. No, being accountable doesn’t mean you never make mistakes. It means that you (a) make every
e,ort to avoid mistakes, (b) take responsibility if you do make mistakes, and (c) if possible, take
corrective action to compensate people a,ected by your mistakes.
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES AT SHE TAKES ON THE WORLD
Individual Challenge
Two changes will shift more emphasis to the point about the tiny percentage of companies that venture
capitalists fund. First, move the clause to the end of the sentence, so it is the last point readers see.
Second, use a transition to signal the change of tone from positive to negative.
Venture capitalists can provide valuable management expertise and industry connections in
addition to start-up funds, but they fund only a tiny percentage of all new companies.
Another option is to split the sentence and put the negative information in its own short sentence to end
the paragraph:
Venture capitalists can provide valuable management expertise and industry connections in
addition to start-up funds. However, they fund only a tiny percentage of all new companies.
Team Challenge
Option (d) does the best job of providing the necessary information in a way that is sensitive to the
audience’s needs.
a. This one veers off the topic by suggesting starting up an entire company, rather than setting
oneself up as an independent contractor.
b. This statement is undermined by a defeatist attitude.
c. This sounds flippant and suggests that creating your own job is something of a lark.
d. This one balances the seriousness of the situation with the motivational appeal of an inspiring
challenge.
Two phrases in particular demonstrate sensitivity to audience needs:
Chances are you’ll be facing a tough job market . . . Conveys the possibility of a negative job
market in the near future, without being defeatist.
Why not convert a challenge into opportunity . . . Inspires readers to take action, rather than
despairing at the lack of conventional opportunities.
