Business Communication Chapter 4 Planning Business Messages Stories Can Help Readers And Listeners Imagine Themselves Living

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4: Planning Business Messages 4-12

Stories can

• Help readers and listeners imagine themselves living through the experience of the person in

the story

A classic story has three basic parts:

• The beginning of the story presents someone with whom the audience can identify in some

way, and this person has a dream to pursue or a problem to solve.

By the way, even though these are “stories,” these must not be made-up tales.

Consider adding an element of storytelling whenever your main idea involves the opportunity to

• Inspire

In addition to its important communication function, storytelling can also serve as a means of

strategic business analysis.

Class discussion question: Discuss recent television commercials, promotional videos, or other

marketing and sales messages that used storytelling to frame a persuasive message. Was each message

structured with a distinct beginning, middle, and end? How was the “hero” presented in each case? How

persuasive was each message likely to be, given what you can surmise about the target audience?

4: Planning Business Messages 4-13

HIGHLIGHT BOX: ETHICS DETECTIVE

Solving the Case of the Missing Safety Warning

HIGHLIGHT BOX: THE ART OF PROFESSIONALISM

Maintaining a Confident, Positive Outlook

1. Yes, employees do have an ethical obligation to maintain a positive outlook on the job, because doing

so helps ensure that they perform to expectations—which is what they are being paid for. In addition,

2. Students should be able to suggest a variety of ways to lift their spirits, including reminding

themselves that a positive frame of mind makes the workday easier and faster, refocusing their minds

on near- or far-term objectives (e.g., simply completing an unwelcome task to get it off their plates or

COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES AT WOLFF OLINS

Individual Challenge

Team Challenge

This activity should help students understand that many elements of business and life in general follow story

arcs from beginning to middle to end.

4: Planning Business Messages 4-14

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

4.1. The three steps are (1) planning, (2) writing, and (3) completing business messages. [LO-1]

4.2. Careful planning helps you find and assemble the facts they’re looking for and to deliver that

information in a concise and compelling way; it reduces indecision and stress as you write and

4.3. All business messages have both a general purpose (to inform, to persuade, or to collaborate) and

4.4. To develop an audience profile, identify the primary audience, determine audience size and

4.5. You may encounter situations in which the assignment or objective is so vague that you have no

4.6. In-person conversations are considered rich because they convey meaning through words as well

4.7. Four potential disadvantages of written, printed messages are limited opportunities for timely

4.9. Limiting the scope of the message helps the writer focus on the main message without

distracting the reader with other, irrelevant topics, and it helps ensure that the message conveys

4.10. When choosing between a direct and an indirect approach, three elements to consider are (1)

4: Planning Business Messages 4-15

APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE

4.11. Regardless of how many times you change your mind as you write, planning enables you to make

consistent, rational decisions about the message as a whole. If you begin with a general idea of

4.12. This question should initiate a discussion of how much information you need to include in order

to be ethical. It would be important to inform your audience that you’ve discovered the

4.13. You need to reach people based around the world in a way that facilitates a lot of interaction and

discussion, so one or more digital channels is an obvious starting point. Other key considerations

are time zones, language barriers, and the need for privacy. In addition, a conversation of this

nature is going to be technical and probably complex, and it will evolve over time, so whatever

media and channels you choose will need to support a high volume of information with the ability

to track the consensus as it emerges over time. Email is not a good candidate, because email

doesn’t support conversational communication very well at all, and with a dozen people involved,

the email threads will quickly get long and difficult to follow while spinning off lots of side

conversations between subsets of the dozen experts. A conference call would enable

conversation, but with such a diverse range of opinions and the barriers of time zones and

4.14. With medium and long messages, readers can often benefit from looking the big picture, such as

scanning headings and subheadings to discover the structure of the message. The ability to easily

4.15. Fourteen points to support your main idea is excessive. Review your main points, and try to group

them together so that you have no more than a half dozen main points. [LO-5] AACSB: Written

4: Planning Business Messages 4-16

PRACTICE YOUR SKILLS

4.16. Message for Analysis

The students should organize the list of items into a few main categories, group related ideas under those

categories, and, finally, put all items in logical order. Here is a suggested revised outline:

I. Benefits

A. Accidental death on common carrier

2. Paid in event of accidental death while riding as a fare-paying passenger on public

transportation, including buses, trains, jets, ships, trolleys, subways, or any other common

carriers

B. Accidental death in motor vehicle accident

C. Hospitalization

2. Paid when hospitalization is the result of a motor vehicle or a common carrier accident

D. Cash paid in addition to any other insurance carried

II. Costs

A. Individual coverage is $17.85 per quarter

B. Family coverage is $26.85 per quarter

C. Amounts to just pennies a day

D. Free, no-obligation examination period

E. Convenient payment—billed quarterly

F. No individual rate increases

III. Qualifications

A. No physical examination or health questions

B. Guaranteed acceptance for all applicants

Exercises

4.17. Possible statements of purpose might include the following:

a. I want to inform the manager about the type and number of outdated items in the

warehouse. Or: I want to persuade the manager to get rid of outdated items in the

warehouse. Or: I want to work with the manager to solve the problem of outdated items in

4.18. The precise answers to this exercise are less important than the process of thinking about the

audience. Urge students to consider both informational and motivational needs. Suggest they put

themselves in the audience’s position. Here are some possibilities to use as guidelines:

a. The reader is a dealer in financial trouble who is likely to be embarrassed and hostile when

your letter is received. The dealer needs to know what can be done to satisfy the manufacturer

and what will happen if nothing is done about the bill.

b. In a real advertising scenario, the campaign plan would identify the composition of the target

audience, but for this exercise, students can make up some basic demographic and

c. The readers of the proposal are either indifferent to or moderately interested in the topic.

They need to know why this consolidation would benefit their company.

d. The readers are homeowners who may or may not have fireplaces. Their attitudes will

probably range from complete indifference (those who don’t have fireplaces) to active

[LO–2] AACSB: Written and oral communication

4.19. The goal of this exercise is for students to practice addressing two different audiences. The

instructions for the person unfamiliar with the equipment chosen should be detailed enough so

4: Planning Business Messages 4-18

Encourage students to consider all the reader’s needs and then include all the steps they believe

are necessary. The instructions for the more knowledgeable reader can be less detailed, but they

should be clear, and they should not assume too much knowledge on the part of the reader. [LO-

2] AACSB: Written and oral communication

4.20. Like messages, meetings must also have a purpose, or there is no reason to hold one. When

preparing the agenda, you should analyze your audience (the meeting participants) as you would

when you prepare a message. Ask yourself: How much do they understand? How might they

react to the items being discussed? How much detail will you need to discuss? What types of

questions will they have? What items will they be most interested in? How much time will they

be willing to devote to these topics or to the meeting as a whole? By asking these questions, you

4.21. Students should be able to surmise target audiences based on the types of products presented, the

4.22. Student answers should focus on what they need to know about their audience to respond. They

must address two audiences: the disgruntled passenger and the other readers of the newspaper,

who may be potential cruise customers. A personal letter to the passenger would be appropriate,

4.23. One way to resolve this type of dilemma is to write a memo to your supervisor. Describe the

action your supervisor has asked you to take, then ask if you have understood the instructions. As

your supervisor sees the unethical request in writing and realizes that a paper trail now exists that

4.24. This exercise involves two sets of decisions: choosing which topics to include in the presentation

and determining the best order in which to present those topics. Both sets of decisions require the

student to make some assumptions about the audience and the assignment.

4: Planning Business Messages 4-19

First, to choose which topics to include, students need to identify which topics are likely to be of

High priority topics (getting management to approve the proposal):

• Risks assumed in using this process

• Stories about the successful use of cogeneration technology in comparable facilities

• Costs of installing and running the new equipment

Medium priority topics (explaining how it will be implemented):

• Your plan for installing the equipment in the headquarters building

• Plans for disposing of the old heating equipment

• Detailed 10-year cost projections (this one is tricky since managers will want to know the

Low priority topics (not covered or offered as backup material):

• Specifications of the equipment that would be installed

Second, to determine the order of presentation, students need to choose the direct or indirect

approach. For instance, if management has requested a recommendation for replacing the existing

heating system, the presentation can start with the assumption that the executives recognize a

4: Planning Business Messages 4-20

Assuming that management has asked for a recommended replacement for the existing heating

system, the presentation could be sequenced as follows (additional material might be needed to

tie the topics together smoothly):

I. Choosing a new heating system

A. Stories about the successful use of cogeneration technology in comparable facilities

B. Advantages and disadvantages of using the new process

II. Implementing a cogeneration system

A. Your plan for installing the equipment in the headquarters building

B. Estimates of the time needed to phase in the new system

III. Supporting details (prepared but not presented until the audience asks)

4.25. For each situation, the suggested approach is as follows:

a. Direct approach. This is a routine message. Either a phone call or an email would be an

appropriate medium, and email has the advantage of also putting the facts of the situation in

writing.

b. Direct approach. Assumes that the professor has a good opinion of the student and will be happy

to write the letter of recommendation. Email is the most likely medium–channel choice.

4.26. Students’ responses should demonstrate a clear understanding of the difference between an

ethical dilemma and an ethical lapse. They should also implement the journalistic approach by

giving specifics on the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the incident. Their podcasts

4: Planning Business Messages 4-21

offers advice on what to do and/or avoid doing in order to engage in ethical leadership. [LO-5]

AACSB: Written and oral communication

ASSISTED GRADING QUESTIONS (accessed on MyBCommLab)

4.27. The nonvisual, noninstantaneous nature of email can be beneficial in several important ways.

First, removing physical appearances from the equation helps keep the focus on the message,

4.28. To be certain your request is met with a positive response, the indirect approach is best. That way,