Business Communication Today
Chapter 4
Planning Business Messages
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
Chapter 4 ̶
1
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the three-step writing process.
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.
3. Discuss the information-gathering
options for simple messages.
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Chapter 4 ̶
2
Learning Objectives
4. List factors to consider when choosing
the most appropriate medium for a
message.
5. Explain why good organization is
important to both you and your audience
and list the tasks involved in organizing a
message.
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Chapter 4 ̶
3
Understanding the Three-Step
Writing Process
(LO 4.1) Describe the three-step writing
process.
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Chapter 4 ̶
4
The Three-Step Process
1 Plan
Analyze Situation
Gather Information
Choose Medium
and Channel
Get Organized
2 Write
Adapt to
the Audience
Compose the
Message
3 Complete
Revise Message
Produce Message
Proofread Message
Distribute Message
Chapter 4 ̶
5
Planning Business Messages
1Analyzing the
Situation
Define your purpose
Develop a profile of audience
3Choosing Media
and Channels
Oral, Written, Visual, Electronic
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2Gathering
Information
That will meet audience needs
4Organizing the
Information
Define Main idea
Limit your scope
Select an approach(Direct/Indirect)
Outline content
Chapter 4 ̶
6
Writing Business Messages
Adapting to the
Audience
With sensitivity, relationship skills, and
style.
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Composing the
Message
With Strong words
creating effective sentences, and
developing coherent paragraphs
Chapter 4 ̶
7
Completing Business
Messages
1.Revising for Clarity
and Conciseness
2.Producing the
Message
3.Proofreading the
Final Product
4.Distributing the
Message
For typos, spelling errors
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Chapter 4 ̶
8
Optimizing Your Writing Time
100%
75%
50%
25%
50%
0%
Planning
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25%
25%
Writing
Completing
Chapter 4 ̶
9
Planning Effectively
•Provide the right Information in the right
format to the right people
•Write Messages More Quickly
•Minimize Embarrassing Blunders
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Chapter 4 ̶ 10
Analyzing the Situation
(LO 4.2) Explain why it’s important to analyze
a communication situation in order to define
your purpose and profile your audience before
writing a message.
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Chapter 4 ̶ 11
Defining Your Purpose
General
Purpose
•To Inform
•To Persuade
•To Collaborate
Specific
Purpose
• What You’ll Accomplish with
your message
• What Audience Will Do
• What Audience Will Think after
receiving message
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Chapter 4 ̶ 12
Example of a Specific Purpose
E.G 1:To inform employees about the new vacation policy.
• A specific purpose cant be a general task such as to impart
information.
• What you actually hope to accomplish with the message.
• Not simply to inform, but to inform employees specifically
about a new vacation policy.
E.G 2:Inform employees specifically about changes in the
medical insurance plan.
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Chapter 4 ̶ 13
Analyzing Your Purpose
After defining your specific purpose
Test your purpose by asking the following four questions
1
Will the Message Change Anything?
2
Is Your Purpose Realistic?
3
Is the Timing of the Message Right?
4
Will Your Purpose Be Acceptable to
the org ?
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Chapter 4 ̶ 14
Developing an
Audience Profile
Identify Primary Audience Members(E.g.
Who are they key decision makers)
Determine Audience Size and Location
Determine Composition of the Audience
Chapter 4 ̶ 15
Developing an
Audience Profile
Gauge Their Level of Understanding
Consider Expectations and Preferences
E.g.: Email, memo or a summary would suffice
Forecast Their Probable Reaction
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Chapter 4 ̶ 16
Discuss Fig 4.2
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Chapter 4 ̶ 17
Gathering Information
(LO 4.3) Discuss information-gathering
options for simple messages and identify
three attributes of quality information.
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Chapter 4 ̶ 18
Using Informal Techniques
E.G : You have been asked to compare two health insurance
plans for your firm’s employees, but your research has
uncovered a third alternative that might be even better .s
Should you consider third health insurance provider?
• Consider the audience’s perspective. What info they need?
• Listen to the community.
• Read reports and company documents.
• Survey supervisors, colleagues, and customers.
• Ask your audience for input.
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Chapter 4 ̶ 19
Uncovering Audience
information Needs
Needs That Are
Apparent
E.g. Customer send an
email asking a question
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Needs That Are
Hidden
What if someone makes a
broad request
Chapter 4 ̶ 20
Finding Your Focus
Given a vague assignment, no idea what the audience needs to know?
Using Discovery Techniques generate ideas:
• Free writing
Silence your “inner critic.”
Express your ideas.
• Sketching
Think visually. Start drawing
Brain might release trapped ideas.
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Chapter 4 ̶ 21
Providing Required Information
After you’ve defined your audience’s information needs. Test
thoroughness of your message by using Journalistic approach.
Who?
Who Are you
writing for?
What? Could be
improved
When?
Journalistic
Approach
Where?
Using this technique helps to know whether
message fails to deliver.
Why?
How?
Are the employees
required to
respond
Chapter 4 ̶ 22
Using the Journalistic approach find out
if this message fails to deliver?
Book Chapter 4, example:
We are exploring ways to reduce our office
space leasing cost and would like your input on a
proposed plan in which employees who
telecommute on alternate days could share
office spaces. Please let me know what you think
of this proposal.
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
Chapter 4 ̶ 23
The previous message
example
• Previous message fails to tell employees everything they
need to know in order to provide meaningful responses.
• The what could be improved by specifying the specific
information points the writer needs from the employees
• Writer doesn’t specify when the responses are needed.
• How the employees should respond
• By failing to address above points the request will generate
a variety of responses.
Chapter 4 ̶ 24
Ensuring Information Quality
•Is the Information Accurate?
•Is the Information Ethical?
•Is the Information Pertinent?
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Chapter 4 ̶ 25
Selecting the Best Combination
of Media and Channels
(LO 4.4) List the factors to consider when
choosing the most appropriate medium for a
message.
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Chapter 4 ̶ 26
Selecting the Best Combination
of Media and Channels
• With the necessary information in hand, your next
decision involves the best combination of media and
channels to reach your target audience.
• The medium is the form a message takes and the channel
is the system used to deliver the message.
• Most media can be distributed through more than one
channel, so whenever you have a choice, think through
your options to select the optimum combination.
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Chapter 4 ̶ 27
The Most Common Medium and
Channel Combinations
Oral(spoken)
Medium
Delivered through In-Person
Channel
Digital Channel
Written Medium
In-Person Channel
Digital Channel
Visual Medium
In-Person Channel
Digital Channel
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Chapter 4 ̶ 28
Oral Medium
In-Person
Channel
• One-on-One Conversations
• Formal Presentations
• Face-to-Face Interactions
• Speeches
• Interviews
Digital
Channel
•Telephone Calls
•Podcasts
•Voicemail Messages
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Chapter 4 ̶ 29
Written Medium
Print
Channel
•Routine Memos
•Business Letters
•Reports and Proposals
Digital
Channel
•Tweeting and Texting
•Website Contents
•Book-Length Reports
distributed as PDF files
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Chapter 4 ̶ 30
Visual Medium
Print
Channel
•Photographs
•Diagrams
•Charts and Graphs
Digital
Channel
•Infographics
•Interaction/Animation
•Digital Video
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Chapter 4 ̶ 31
Challenges of Communication
on Mobile Devices
•Screen Size and Resolution
Consuming
Digital Media
•Input Technologies
•Bandwidth and Connectivity
•Data consumption and
Operating Costs
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Chapter 4 ̶ 32
Factors to Consider When
Choosing Media and Channels
Media Richness
Convey message via more than one
informational cue
facilitate feedback
Establish Personal focus
Media
Limitations
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Level of
Formality
Channel
Limitations
Chapter 4 ̶ 33
Factors to Consider When
Choosing Media and Channels
Message
Urgency
Message Cost
Audience
Preferences
Security and
Privacy
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Chapter 4 ̶ 34
Organizing Your Information
• (LO 4.5) Explain why good organization is
important to both you and your audience
and list the tasks involved in organizing a
message.
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
Chapter 4 ̶ 35
Organizing Your Information
• Good organization helps your audience in
several ways:
(1)It helps your audience understand your
message.
(2) It helps your audience accept your
message.
(3) It saves your audience time.
Chapter 4 ̶ 36
Effective Organization
Helps Readers
Helps Writers
Aids Understanding
Boosts Acceptance
Saves Time
Saves Time
Saves Energy
Builds Reputation
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Chapter 4 ̶ 37
What’s the
Topic?
What’s the
Main Idea?
The Overall
Subject
Your Statement
About the Topic
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Chapter 4 ̶ 38
Differentiate between Topic
and Main Idea
As a first step toward organizing your message, differentiate
between the topic and the main idea for your message.
• The topic is the overall subject, such as employee insurance
claims.
• Your main idea is a specific statement about the topic of
your message, such as your belief that a new online system
for filing claims would reduce costs for the company and
expedite reimbursements for employees
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Chapter 4 ̶ 39
Defining Topic and main idea
General Purpose
Examples of
specific purpose
Example of topic
Example of main
idea
Inform
Teach CSR how to edit
and expand wiki
Wiki
Careful thorough
edits and additions to
the wiki help entire
department provide
better customer
support.
Persuade
Convince top managers
to increase spending on
R&D
Funding for research
and development
Competitors spend
more than we do on
research and
development.
Enabling them to
create more innovate
products.
Collaborate
Solicit idea for a
companywide incentive
system that ties wages
to profits
Incentive pay
Tying wages to profits
motivates employees
and reduces
compensation costs
in tough years.
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Chapter 4 ̶ 40
Generating Creative Ideas
In longer documents and presentations, you often need to unify a mass of material, need to
define a main idea that encompasses all the individual points you want to make.
For tough assignments like these, the following techniques can help you generate creative
ideas
•Brainstorming
•Journalistic Approach
What’s
the Main
Idea?
•Questions & Answer
chain
•Storyteller’s Tour(Guided
tour of your message)
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•Mind Mapping
Chapter 4 ̶ 41
Limiting Your Scope
Main Idea
The scope of your message is the range of information you present
•Information You Present
•Overall Length of the Message
•Level of Detail in the Message
All of above needs to correspond to your main idea
Chapter 4 ̶ 42
Choosing Between Direct
and Indirect Approaches
After defining the main idea and supporting points
The sequence you will present your information
Two basic options :
Direct Approach
(Deductive)
Indirect Approach
(inductive)
Audience
Reaction
Eager, interested,
pleased, neutral
Displeased
Uninterested,
unwilling
Message
Opening
Main idea, request,
good news
Buffer statement,
lead up to reasons
Statement or
question
Message
Body
Necessary details
Provide reasons,
state bad new
Arouse interest,
build desire to act
Message
Close
Cordial comment,
request action
Close cordially
Request action
Chapter 4 ̶ 43
Outlining Your Content
After you have chosen the right approach
Figure out the most logical and effective way to present major points and supporting details
A good outline divides a topic into at least two parts, restricts each subdivision to one category, and
ensures that each subdivision is separate and distinct.
I.
Logical
Effective
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First major point
A. First sub-point
1. Examples and evidence
2. Examples and evidence
a. Detail
b. Detail
B. Second sub-point
II. Second major point
A. First sub-point
B. Second sub-point
Chapter 4 ̶ 44
Outlining Your Content
Another way of outlining using org chart
Main Idea
1st Subpoint
Example
Example
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2nd Subpoint
Example
Example
3rd Subpoint
Example
Example
Chapter 4 ̶ 45
Structuring the Message
1
Start with the Main Idea
2
State the Major Points
3
Provide Examples and Evidence
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Chapter 4 ̶ 46
Story telling technique
Another way to organize message
Building Reader interest with Storytelling Techniques
Living through the experience of the person in the story
Story has three parts:
Inspiration
The Beginning
Audience can identify with in some way,
and this person has a dream to pursue or a
problem to solve
Warning
The Middle
shows this character taking action and
making decisions as he or she pursues the
goal or tries to solve the problem
Teaching
The Ending
Persuasion
Chapter 4 ̶ 47