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Chapter 6

The Process of Preparing Effective Business Messages

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1 Identify your purpose

2 Analyze your audience

3 Choose your ideas

4 Collect data to support your ideas

5 Organize your message

Five planning steps

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1. Identify your purpose

Reason: •Informational •Persuasive•Negotiation•Explanation

Goodwill:

All messages It is a rational purpose. Creating goodwill is especially important when communicating with foreign companies.

The objective of your message is almost always twofold: The reason for the message itself and the creation of goodwill.

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2. Analyze your audience

• Their • Needs

• Their demographic factors, such as age, gender, education, income, class, marital

• Values, Interests, Attitudes, Beliefs

• Even culture

• Level (Hierarchy of organization)

• Size

• Their personality, past behavior

• It is easy for acquainted readers.• Know the communication principles of the country.• Be attentive even with titles, last and first name.• Estimate your audiences probable reaction.• Decide whether your readers or listeners are informed or uninformed

on the subject.

See your message from receiver's point of view

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Examples

Dear Mom and Dad,

My visit with Andersons is going well. Yesterday, we visited the Football Hall of Fame. Today, we are going to an art museum. I think it will be wonderful for me to stay all summer! Let me know if it is ok.

Send me money! Alice Johnson

Dear John, The Hall of Fame as great as a lot thought.

There are all kinds of displays, recordings, and videos. One play shows the old leather headgear. The players used to wear. We’d die if we had to wear those things.

Ali

Dear Grandfather,

Ever since you told me about the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I have wanted to see it and today I have got my chance. I will tell you all about it when I get home.

Ali

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3. Choose your ideasDepends on the type of message and context

Use the opportunity when available to deliver more information to your receiver.

Message

Solicited

Underline main points, Jot your ideas in the margin.You can list each underlined item and number it in order it will be covered in your letter.

Unsolicited

Brainstorm, choose the best ideasIf you are not writing in reply of a letter, then list all information to be included.

X

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Example

If somebody has sent you a letter, in letter you are asked about the rates of food. If you limit your response to rates, you are missing a chance for your other services. You have to:

Thank the reader.Mention the services the hotel providesInclude information regarding the place where the hotel is located.Describe the facilitiesList the rates

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4. Collect your data

Specific facts, figures, quotations, statistics, other evidence

Your company policies, procedures and product detailCheck your office filesBrain storm

See books.

Visit internet.

Go to library.

Sources of dataPrimary data: The new data Secondary data: The existing data

Be sure to collect enough data to support your ideas ; check names, dates, addresses, and statistics for precision

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5. Organize your message

• Usually before first draft• Outline your message (mentally or on paper)• Approach determined by different cultures:

• American and European (Direct)• S. American, M. Eastern and Asian (Indirect)

Find the main idea.

Use supporting sentences

Organizing your material before writing your first draft can prevent rambling and unclear messages

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Organize Your Data (Topic Sentence)

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Basic Organizational Plan

Direct (Deductive Approach)• Direct requests, good news

Indirect (Inductive) Approach• Persuasive requests, bad news

For memos and letters, you can use:

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Direct (deductive approach)When the audience is receptive to your message

When you think your reader or listener will have a favorable or neutral reaction to your message

• Requests that require

less persuasion• Granting requests• Announce favorable

or neutral information

Main Idea

Explanation

Courteous close with motivation to action

Some cultural communication conventions may not fit into direct approach

Request

Main Idea/best news

Explanation

Positive, friendly close

Good News

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Indirect (inductive approach)When you expect resistance to your message

When you think your readers or listeners might react negatively to your message

Bad news

Persuasive requestsBuffer

Explanation

Decision (implied or expressed)

Positive, friendly close

Bad News

Attention

Interest

Desire

Action

Persuasive Request

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Beginnings and Endings

Opening Paragraph• “First impression is lasting”

Closing Paragraph• “We better remember what we read last.”

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Opening ParagraphDetermines to read, put aside or discard

1Choose openings appropriate for message purpose and reader(Direct and indirect approach)

2 Make opening considerate, courteous, concise and clear

3 Check for completeness

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Beginnings

So that our CD funds, which have matured, can be transferred to your IRA account as you have requested, please return to us the following:

Enclosed is a cash refund for the defectives wristwatch that you sent to us recently.

Because of the large number of applications we received for our Executive Skills Program, we have had to turn away many persons. We obviously underestimated the interest in our current subject. A new program is already being planned, and we will send you information as soon as it’s available.

Request

Good news

Bad news

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Closing ParagraphStrong, clear, polite + reinforce the central purpose

1 Make action request clear and complete

2 End on a positive, courteous thought

3 Keep the last paragraph concise and correct

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Example

Negative: I am sorry we can’t be more encouraging at this time.

Poor: Send us your check today

Unclear: I look forward to hearing from you regarding this matter .

Positive: We wish you success fin your search for a position.

Good: To keep your credit in good standing, please send us your check for 595-59 today

Clear: So that we can make appropriate arrangements for your visit, please call me at 555-4567,ext.11,before Friday ,November 16,anytime between 9 A.M and 5:00 P.M.

Avoid: Thank you in advance for distributing these questionnaires to your employees.

Say: I will appreciate your distributing these questionnaires to your employees

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Composing the Message

Drafting

Revising

Editing and Proofreading

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Drafting your message

You can build up your draft by expanding the points in your outline into paragraphs.

Everyone prepare their first draft in different way.

• Linear style: Mental or written outline, moving from one point to another

• Circular Style:Putting your ideas down with a less fixed progression of points, data and organization.

Your first draft is often the most difficult to write. The important thing is to get the most important information in your message on paper early. Get the most important information on paper early.

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Revising your message

• Does your message accomplish its purpose?• Have you chosen the most effective organizational plan?• Are your points supported by adequate material?• Is your language in line with 7 Cs?• Have you used variety in sentence structure? • Tolstoy revised War and Peace 5 times• Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speeches often went to 18 drafts.• Hemingway rewrote the last page of A Farewell to Arms

thirty-nine times.

Revision means adding necessary and deleting unnecessary information, making sure your points are adequately supported, checking your organization approach, and reviewing your language in terms of the seven C’s.

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Revision- facts

Whenever I revise, I just make things worse. I do my best work without revising.

That's a common misconception that sometimes arises from fear, sometimes from laziness.

If you're still not convinced, re-read some of your old papers. How do they sound now? What would you revise if you had a chance?

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Editing and proofreading your message

• Topic sentence• Sound structure• Grammar• Spelling• Punctuation• Correct word• Read aloud (Persons writing in second language)

Editing and proofreading are important to ensure that your document has no mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or word choice.