634602 Wk4 Formal Communication

8/11/2019 634602 Wk4 Formal Communication

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Week 5: Formal Communication

MIT634602 Communication



Objectives

Preparing to write a business communication

•

how to plan a communication• overcoming communication problems

• getting a result



Business communication tasks

Common business communication tasks:

o research reports

o business letters – customers, business partners

o technical documentation

o user manuals

o contracts

o tenders

o how things work/ how things should work

o what is wrong and needs improvement



Business communication

approach to tasks

Scientific method:

o facts

o analysis

o research – data sourceso interviews

o surveys

o observation

o existing documentso reading

o bad sources – bad science

o opinion – only when asked



Business communication

typical purposes

o to informresearch reports

o to record

system and employee performance reports

project and status reportso to guide

documentation

o to describe job descriptions

o to specifycontracts

requests for tender

tenders

o see appendix – business communications described



formal communication

Formal Informal

Written Spoken

Structured Unstructured

Standardised Non-standardOne-way Interactive

Group Individual

Impersonal Personal

Facts Emotions



why use formal

communication

• Permanent record/point of reference

• Coverage of detail

•

Multiple audiences (mass communication!)• Legal requirement

• Precision of expression (exactness)

• Remove scope formisinterpretation/misunderstanding (?)



Preparation

• Research: data gathering, knowing what you

are talking about

• Note taking: remembering what you have

read or learnt

• Ordering information: putting the

message together, with everything in the

appropriate place

• Outlining: structuring what you are writing, so

that the receiver gets the proper message

• Writing: the hard part

• Bibliography: helping the receiver find out

more



Purpose

Common business communication purposes:

o inform

o persuade

o advise

o teach

o describe



the audience

Knowing the audience:

• who are they?

• what do I want from them?

• what am I giving them?

What information do they need:

• how much do they know already?

•

how much can they understand?• what must they be told?



structuring your writing 1

The Document:o Introduction – introduce yourself, the topic

and the purpose of the communication

“say what you are going to say”

o Body – express your message

“say it”

o Conclusion – close off the communication

process

“say what you said”




Body: Section/Chapter:

Self-contained topics – all the information

about the subject topic can be containedwithin the section. The reader does not have

to read the rest of the document to

understand the message within the section or

chapter.

The word “chapter” indicates a slice of the

whole story.




The paragraph:A communication depends on the structure of the message as much as

upon choice of words

• Introductory paragraphs

• state the subject (perhaps define it)

• background information about the subject (for someone who might not know it)

• the problem (why you are addressing the subject)

• statement or thesis about the subject

• Paragraphs in the body

• main idea – topic sentence – identify to reader the central issue of the paragraph

• comment, explanation, analysis of main idea

• Concluding paragraphs

• recommendation, summary, course of action to be taken

• restatement of the introduction and purpose of the communication




The sentence:• Grouping sentences with paragraphs

• linking words (e.g. ‘therefore’, ‘however’)

• coherence – sentences should provide a logical progression of what is being said

• flow – readers should be easily able to follow the order of your ideas from sentence

to sentence

• Simple, compound, complex sentences

• one idea – one subject, one verb (“James carried the baby”)

• two ideas - complimentary, contrasting subjects or verbs in one sentence (“James

carried the baby and Mary pushed the stroller”)• one main idea plus supporting ideas – “James carries the baby who was crying”

• sentence sprawl – too many ideas for reader to comprehend

• sentence length – short and easy to comprehend

• punctuation – emphasis and pause as in spoken communication



referencing

Bibliography: telling the audience where they can

read more about the subject• Author

•

who wrote the article/book so that the reader can search herself• family name and initials of other given names

• Title

• name of book, or journal collection which includes the article

• name of the periodical or website in which the article is published

• name of the article

• Publisher

• where and when the article/book was published



Activity: Developing a written

document

• In pairs, develop some possible ideas for

writing a description of something familiar

to MIT students.

1. Select an appropriate topic

2. Plan an outline – introduction, body

and conclusion3. Identify the main points of your topic

4. and any minor points you wish to

include

5. Plan the order of how you are going to

present your topic to the audience.



The process of writing

• Identify purpose

• Identify audience

• Identify information requirements - research

• Plan structure - what is the topic

• Sub-structures - what are the main points about the topic

• Sort information - what pieces of information are linked

• Arrange information in affective sequence – what

pieces of information go where to get the message across



ordering information

• the scientific approach:

– Introduction the purpose of the communication and what it is

about

• Background history of the topic

• Method how I investigated/found out about the subject

– Body

• Findings - what I discovered about the topic

• Discussion – comment and analysis of what I discovered

– Conclusion

• Recommendations - what I suggest should be done about the topic

• Review – any problems I could not overcome in my research



ordering information 2

• the thesis:

– Introduction the proposal that I am making

• Background history of the topic

• Method how I investigated/found out about the subject

– Body

• Evidence- supporting evidence for my proposal

• Argument – in favor (and against) what I propose

– Conclusion

• Summary – summarisation of the evidence/argument

• Action – future action which is appropriate in the light of the evidence



Strategies for writing

• traditional written outline

note-form

list of main points/ideas and supporting evidence

make headings and sub headings in logical orderwrite

• tree diagram/ mind map

begin from the major subject (trunk or main idea)branch out to subsidiary topics (associated ideas)

then to leaves (notes) of important points



Strategies for writing 2

• planning tools

templates (samples of similar documents/writing)

obligations – start with a list of necessary elements

word processor – outline view

• “writers block”

break off in the middle/ come back to a part finished

section

write fast, edit well



Strategies for writing 3

• good resources

respected experts in the field – search for them

respected journals and publishers

beware unnamed sources

• know your subject

define your topic

key words – describe the main themes of your topic• time management

plan and schedule your research & writing tasks

don’t waste time & effort – take notes constantly



Sources

Judith Dwyer(2009): The Business

Communication Handbook. NSW:Pearson

Education



Activity: Developing a written

document 2

• In pairs, develop some possible ideas for

persuading someone to experiencesomething you like.

1. Select and appropriate topic

2. Plan an outline – thesis, argument 1,

argument 2 etc., conclusion

3. Write it up as 6 Powerpoint slides for a

presentation.



appendix

Specification/Description

• A detailed description of a system, property, event or thing

• Intended to ensure that all groups involved have an agreed

understanding of how things are (or how they should be)

• Often includes technical content - formaltechniques/models/diagrams etc

• Needs to address a wide variety of audiences



appendix

Job Description/Request for Tender/Equipment specification

• A formal statement of requirements asking for people to do

a job or provide a service or product

• Intended to attract responses from people who can do the

work, and to define what they will be expected to do

• May be legally based, particularly where issues of fairness

and equity become involved - competitive tendering



appendix

Tender/Proposal/Job Application

• A response to a request for tender or job description offering

to do the specified work or provide the specified service

• Intended to demonstrate capability for performing the work

described in the specification

• Contains a mixture of factual/descriptive information and

persuasive (“Choose me”) content



appendix

Project Plan/Progress Report/Status Report

• An outline of the tasks/timing/resourcing/etc required to

carry out a project

• Intended to help schedule work and resources, and monitor

progress

• May use a range of formal project management

techniques/methods/etc



appendix

Contract

• A formal statement of agreement for certain work to be

done for certain payments

• Intended to define the nature and intent of a working

relationship

• Legally based and legally enforceable; penalties for breaking



appendix

User Manual

• A set of instructions, guides, reference and teaching materialto support users of a product or system

• Intended to serve a range of purposes - eg general reference,trouble shooting, teaching, set-up and installation, etc

• Problems in range of levels of detail required; often sub-divided into several documents at different levels



appendix

Research Report

• Report of an investigation

• Intended to provide knowledge about a problem/topic in an

even-handed manner• True (?)

• Science, not hearsay or pure opinion

• Founded in facts

634602 Wk4 Formal Communication

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