Business Communication Chapter 4 Part Applying The Threestep Writing Process S And Introduce The Threestep Writing

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Part 2: Applying the Three-Step Writing Process

Chapters 4, 5, and 6 introduce the three-step writing process, giving students three full chapters of

practice. These chapters deal with the fundamentals of crafting messages, including audience analysis,

organization, style, tone, and basic document design. Your students can learn the skills required to write

messages that are clear, interesting, concise, diplomatic, and convincing.

To reinforce the learning process, give your students plenty of practice in planning, writing, and

completing messages. Call attention to the proofreading symbols and correction marks in Appendix C. If

your class needs to work on the basic principles of grammar and punctuation, you might also include in

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Chapter 4: Planning Business Messages

Chapter 4 introduces the three-step writing process and covers the tasks in the writing step: analyzing the

situation, gathering the information needed to craft an effective message, choosing the best combination

of media and communication channels, and organizing the information. Note that we now divide media

choices into oral, written, and visual media delivered via digital or nondigital channels, for a total of six

basic combinations.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Understanding the Three-Step Writing Process

Optimizing Your Writing Time

Planning Effectively

Analyzing the Situation

The Most Common Media and Channel Options

Oral Medium, In-Person Channel

Oral Medium, Digital Channel

Written Medium, Print Channel

Written Medium, Digital Channel

State the Major Points

Provide Examples and Evidence

Building Reader Interest with Storytelling Techniques

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.

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LECTURE NOTES

Section 1: Understanding the Three-Step Writing Process

Learning Objective 1: Describe the three-step writing process.

The three-step writing process helps ensure that your messages are

The writing process can be divided into three phases, each with specific tasks:

Step 1. Planning business messages

• Analyzing the situation

Step 2. Writing business messages

Step 3. Completing business messages

• Revising your message

• Producing your message

Optimizing Your Writing Time

When writing business messages, try scheduling your time as follows:

• Planning: About one-half of your time

Devoting half your time to planning might sound odd, but doing so can save time overall.

Start with the 50–25–25 split as a guideline and use your best judgment for each project.

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Planning Effectively

Careful planning helps in three significant ways:

• It helps you find and assemble the facts your readers are looking for and to deliver that

information in a concise and compelling way.

Section 2: Analyzing Your Situation

Learning Objective 2: Explain why it’s important to analyze a communication situation in order to define

your purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.

Every communication effort takes place in a particular situation, meaning you have a specific message to

send a specific audience under a specific set of circumstances.

A successful message starts with a clear purpose that connects the sender’s needs with the audience’s needs.

Defining Your Purpose

All business messages have a general purpose:

Within your general purpose, each message also has a specific purpose, which identifies

To decide whether to proceed with your message, ask yourself four questions:

• Will anything change as a result of your message?

• Is your purpose realistic?

• Is the time right?

• Is your purpose acceptable to your organization?

Developing an Audience Profile

Develop an audience profile by

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• Determining audience composition

• Gauging your audience members’ level of understanding

• Understanding audience expectations and preferences

• Forecasting probable audience reaction

Section 3: Gathering information

Learning Objective 3: Discuss information-gathering options for simple messages, and identify three

attributes of quality information.

For simple messages, you may already have all the information at hand, but for more complex messages,

you may need to do considerable research and analysis before you’re ready to begin writing.

For many messages, you can informally gather the information you need by

• Considering the audience’s perspective

• Reading reports and other company documents

• Talking with supervisors, colleagues, or customers

• Asking your audience for input

Uncovering Audience Needs

Find out what your audience members want to know:

• Listen to their requests.

Finding Your Focus

If an assignment or objective is so vague that you have no idea how to get started in determining what

the audience needs to know, try these discovery techniques:

• Free writing—write whatever comes to mind without stopping to make any corrections for a

set time period.

• Sketching—if you’re unable to come up with words, grab a sketchpad and start drawing.

Providing Required Information

Provide all the information your audience requires.

One good test is the journalistic approach (answering who, what, when, where, why, and how).

Be sure the information you provide is accurate:

• Quality is as important as quantity.

• Double-check every piece of information you get, particularly from unknown online sources.

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Be sure your information is ethical (as honest and complete as you can make it).

Be sure the information you provide is pertinent, as in tailored to your audience’s interests and needs.

Section 4: Selecting the Best Combination of Media and Channels

Learning Objective 4: List the factors to consider when choosing the most appropriate medium for a

message.

You can think of medium as the form a message takes and channel as the system used to deliver the

message.

Most media can be distributed through multiple channels, and the choices continue to become more

complex as more options are made available to business communicators.

The Most Common Media and Channel Options

The simplest way to categorize media choices is to divide them into oral, written, and visual.

Each of these media can be delivered through digital and nondigital channels, which creates six basic

combinations:

Oral medium, in-person channel: talking with people who are in the same location, from one-

on-one conversations to formal speeches

The same physical space is a key distinction because it enables the nuances of nonverbal

communication more than any other media-channel combo.

Oral medium, digital channel: any transmission of voice via electronic means, both live and

recorded, including telephone calls, podcasts, and voicemail messages

Live phone conversations offer the give-and-take of in–person conversations, although

they lack the nuances of nonverbal communication.

Podcasts can be a good way to share lectures, commentary, and other spoken content.

Written medium, print channel: the classic format of business communication, including

memos, letters, and reports

Memos are brief printed documents traditionally used for the routine, day-to-day

exchange of information within an organization.

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Letters are brief written messages sent to customers and other recipients outside the

organization.

Reports and proposals are usually longer than memos and letters, although both can be

created in memo or letter format.

While still a useful format, printed documents have been replaced by digital alternatives

in many instances.

Several situations in which you should consider a printed message over electronic

alternatives

• When you want to make a formal impression

Written medium, digital channel: covers everything from tweets to website content to ebooks

This is now the primary choice for most written messages in many companies.

Visual medium, print channel: includes printed photographs, diagrams, and infographics

These can be effective for conveying emotional content, spatial relationships, technical

processes, and other content than can be difficult to describe using words alone.

Visual medium, digital channel: includes online infographics, interactive diagrams, animation,

and digital video

Traditional business messages rely primarily on text, with occasional support from

graphics.

Many business communicators are discovering the power of messages in which the visual

element is dominant and supported by small amounts of text.

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Visuals messages (without or without supporting text) can be effective for a number of

reasons:

• Today’s audiences value messages that can be consumed quickly.

• Visuals are often more effective at describing complex ideas and processes.

Communication on mobile devices presents a number of unique challenges:

• Screen size and resolution

• Cumbersome input technologies

Class discussion question: Ask students to discuss their likes and dislikes regarding communication

media. Do some despise voicemail, for example, or prefer texting to live phone conversations? Why do

they make the media choices they make?

Factors to Consider When Choosing Media

When deciding which media to use, consider:

• Media richness (a medium’s ability to convey a message through more than one

informational cue [visual, verbal, vocal], facilitate feedback, and establish personal focus)

• Message formality

• Media and channel limitations

Section 5: Organizing Your Information

Learning Objective 5: Explain why good organization is important to both you and your audience, and

list the tasks involved in organizing a message.

Organization can make the difference between success and failure.

Good organization helps your audience:

• Understand your message

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Good organization helps you:

• Consume less of your creative energy

Defining Your Main Idea

Your topic is the overall subject of the message; your main idea is a specific statement about your

topic.

Limiting Your Scope

The scope of a message matches your main idea in every aspect, including the

• Range of information you present

• Overall length

• Level of detail

Limit the number of major supporting points to a half dozen or so.

A smaller number of stronger points is more powerful than a mass of minor points.

Scope depends on

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Choosing Between Direct and Indirect Approaches

When deciding on the sequence of your points, you have two basic options to choose from:

Your approach may differ depending on likely audience reaction and the purpose of your message.

Here are the most common choices:

• Routine and positive messages: Direct approach

Outlining Your Content

Creating an outline

• Saves you time

• Helps you create better results

Types of outlines include

• The basic outline format (numbers or letters identify each point and are indented to show

which items are of equal status)

To develop an outline, you usually

• Start with the main idea

• State the major supporting points

• Illustrate with evidence

The main idea summarizes two things:

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Your major support points will be suggested by one of the following:

• The natural order of your subject (based on something physical, the steps in a process, the

Specific evidence helps audience members

• Understand the more abstract concepts you’re presenting

Provide enough evidence to be convincing without becoming boring or inefficient.

To maintain audience interest, vary the type of detail:

• Facts and figures

• Example or illustration

If your schedule permits, try to put aside your outline for a day or two before you begin composing

your draft.

Building Reader Interest with Storytelling Techniques

Narrative techniques can be an effective way to organize messages in many business communication

situations, from recruiting and training employees to enticing investors and customers.

Examples:

• Television commercials and other advertisements

• Career-related stories to entice talented people to join a firm