Business
documents
and
correspondence
Housekeeping
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mobile phones
break times
toilets
emergencies
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Workshop overview
At this workshop the following will be addressed:
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identification and planning of business documents
document purpose and audience
formats
key points to be covered
draft documents
checking written documentation
using electronic communication
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Workshop expectations
What do you know about the topic?
What do you need to know?
What outcomes do you expect from this workshop?
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Topic 1
Requirements, methods and standards
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Business writing
Business writing relates directly to the organisation's image
and professionalism.
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Protocols
Know your organisation’s protocols and expectations.
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Activity
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Business Requirements
What shall I write?
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Activity
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Topic 2
Audience and document purpose
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Intended audience
‘When something can be read without effort, great effort
has gone into its writing.’
(Enrique Jardiel Poncela)
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Audience
Make sure your writing can be understood by the audience
for whom it is intended.
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Activity
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Collect and collate the necessary information
You might write to:
› inform
› persuade
› motivate
› question
› promote
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Conveying accurate information
What do you want me to do?
Is this information correct?
What if it is wrong?
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Complex documents
Complex documents can contain text, pictures, graphs,
tables, diagrams.
The design element will be dependent on the document
purpose.
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Activity
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Topic 3
Format and structure
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Style
Design elements include:
› page size
› page shape
› margins and paragraph indentation
› photographs and illustrative material
› colour
› white space
› fonts
› justification and alignment
› capitals
› headings
› lists and tables
› logos, branding, organisational identity requirements
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Great rules for writing
1. Do not put statements in the negative form.
2. And don’t start sentences with a conjunction.
3. If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great
deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
4. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
5. Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
6. De-accession euphemisms.
7. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb
is.
8. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
9. Last, but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.
(William Saffire)
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Activity
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Different documents
‘Be obscure clearly.’
(E.B. White)
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Courtesy:
› good manners
› social conduct
› polite behaviour
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Editing
Ya think we can edit out the beard?
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Proofing
‘The wastebasket is a writer's best friend.’
(Isaac Bashevis Singer)
‘Proofread carefully to see if you left any words out.’
(Unknown)
‘The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it
right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.’
(Robert Cormier)
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Activity
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Topic 4
Emailing — electronic communication
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Email
Communication and connectivity.
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Electronic communication
Electronic tools
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Managing emails
Regularly clean out emails.
Permanently delete those that are no longer needed.
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Recording emails
Develop an effective system for storing the emails you
need to keep.
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Activity
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Summary
Before leaving today please share:
› 1 t thing you learned
› 1 new practice you will undertake at work
› 1 activity you enjoyed
Thankyou for your attendance and participation.
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Two thoughts
‘A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the
other one.’
(Baltasar Gracián)
‘I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long
one instead.’
(Mark Twain)
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