Best Practices in Business

Writing and Communication

Presented by Ashlyn Elliott

Best Practice in Business Writing and Communication

Today we will be discussing different things within the workplace that can help employees with writing and communication in their daily job duties. These are the topics we will cover today:

1. Effective and ethical business communication

2. Professionalism in the workplace

3. Intercultural business communication

4. Writing tips for the business professional

5. The use of electronic messages and digital media for business communication

6. Positive and negative messages

7. Business presentations

8. Business reports, plans and proposals

Ethical

Communication

• Organizational Ethics Policy

• Ethical training

• Handling ethical issues in the workplace

How to handle positive and negative ethics in the workplace

• Recognizing Good ethical business manner is important in order for

employees to know when they did a “job well done” but also for other

employees to know the ethical standards that are set within the organization

(Anthony, 2014).

• When unethical communication or actions occur it is important for

management to take that as an opportunity and use it as a tool to teach

employees what is and isn’t acceptable.

Ways to Maintain Professionalism

• Treating others with respect

• Leaving personal issues at home

• Leaving personal communication devices at home

• Dress professional

• Be on time

• Don’t gossip

• Don’t lie

Maintaining Professionalism in the Workplace

• Treating others with respect: This is an action that goes far with people and is typically reciprocated.

• Leaving personal issues at home: Most people do not think that this can affect your in your job, but it

can. It can cause individuals to make mistakes or have a negative attitude towards co-workers.

• Leaving personal communication devices at home: It’s not the time or the place for it.

• Dress professional: It says a lot about a person by the way they carry themselves.

• Be on time: punctuation is critical no matter what you are doing in life.

• Don’t gossip: It will cause workplace conflict and could affect the career path an individual is on.

• Don’t lie: One lie tends to lead to another.

A Global Organization

• Multi Culture Organization

• Educating employees on the different

cultures within the organization.

• Teaching employees how to embrace

diversity in the workplace

• Teaching employees what could be the

challenges the face working in a multi

culture organization.

Embracing Diversity

• Provide Diversity training to employees

• Educate employees on the company diversity policy

• Encourage employees to work in Diverse groups

• Enforce a zero tolerance policy within the workplace

Intercultural Communication

Some things to do when communicating with different cultures is:

• Teach and encourage active listening skills

• Direct employees on when and how to paraphrase

• Practice repeating what the other person said

By doing these three things it can help ensure that you have a strong

understanding of a conversation and it can clear up any confusing if there is

any.

Business Writing

When writing emails and texts, tone can

be misunderstood. It is important to

consider these things when delivering a

message. Although the message may be

important it is critical to not use

enthusiasm within e-mails or text

messaging. Make sure the message being

sent is clear, with the importance of the

message at the beginning and always be

sure to proof read.

Ten ways to enhance writing skills

Coster (2010) gives ten tops for better business writing:

• Clarity

• Avoid short sentences

• Avoid verbiage that will be foreign

• Keep the most important things at the beginning

• Be specific

• Avoid enthusiasm

• Use active and not passive verbs

• Choose pronouns wisely

• Proof read for grammar errors

• Know when to use different common words that introduce things correctly

Electronic Messages and Digital Media

for Business Communication

The rise in using a mobile device to text message and write short emails for

business related communication is increasing (Feigenbaum, 2014). This type of

communication has become extremely convenient in order for people to stay

on the go. However, things aren’t always professional when using a handheld

device as people tend to shorten what they are saying with acronyms and

abbreviations.

Pros and Cons of

Business E-mails

Cons:

• Revolving time at the computer

• It is impersonal

Pros:

• It is fast if a person is at the computer

• It is a cheaper communication

Pros and Cons of

Business Text Messages

Cons:

• Not using full words or sentences to maintain

professionalism.

• A interruption during meetings

Pros:

• The convenience

• Faster responses

The Message

Positive Message

• Remain professional

• Be genuine

• Be passionate about what you do

Negative Message

• Be sensitive to how things are worded.

• Try to incorporate positive energy

• Be genuine

• Be passionate about what you do

Business Presentations

• Provide a handout

• Be humorous

• Engage audience through discussions

• Have a strong, catchy introduction

Ways to create a more powerful Presentation

Theriault (2013) suggests 9 ways that can help enhance a presentation in the workplace.

• Establishing your credibility first

• Including the goal in the introductory of the presentation

• Use supporting material throughout the presentation

• Begin separate ideas with powerful quotations or images

• Ask thought-provoking or rhetorical questions

• Make startling statement

• Be prepared to answer difficult questions

• Have your own questions ready in case no one has any to ask or is to reserved to ask any

• Have a second short closing after questions have been asked and answers have been given

Business Reports

Business reports provide important information to management that is

required to be timely and factual (Beare, 2014). There are four essential things

that every business report should include:

• Terms of reference

• Procedure

• Findings

• Recommendations

Four essential things that a business report should include

• Terms of reference- Who the report is

for and when it is due by.

• Procedure- The steps that will be

taken to collect the data needed.

• Findings- The information gathered.

• Recommendations- From the data

collected, make recommendations.

Strong Business Plan

Having a strong business plan can be critical

to the success of the organization. It

provides direction and vision for the

organization and its employees. Business

plans serve as the outline for the

organization and provide standards to see if

the organization is reaching the goals set

(Hull, 2013).

Business Plans

Hull (2013) states ten things that a business plan should include:

1. Mission Statement

2. Description of the organization

3. Description of what makes the organization unique from others

4. Market Analysis

5. Description of the management team

6. How the organization will market their organization

7. Analysis of the organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

8. Develop a cash flow statement

9. Revenue Projections

10. Summary

Business Proposals

It is critical to an organization that when submitting a business proposal they

have done research, gathered information and provided that in a proposal in a

professional manner. Business proposals in today’s competitive business

environment can be critical to the success of an organization. Strauss (2011)

recommends seven tips for creating a great business proposal.

Tips to creating a strong business proposal

1. Write Clearly

2. Make a valid argument

3. Don’t be afraid to show your personality

4. Don’t misuse graphics

5. Don’t oversell

6. Make the proposal to fit the client

7. Be mindful of the audience reading the proposal

Strong Writing and Communication

• Successful organizations

• Investing in the employees

• The organizations future

• Training options

Investing in Employees

There are key reasons that a company should invest in developing their workers of the future (Quast, 2012).

1. Increase performance and production

2. Attract and Retain Talent

3. Strengthen culture and promote and foster diversity

4. Encourage innovation

5. Serve customers to the fullest

Q&ANow is the time for the audience and presenter to ask questions.

• Was everything clear throughout the presentation?

• Were all topics discussed that have an impact on your daily role within the organization?

• What helps you with writing and communication?

• Where do you feel you can improve with writing and communication in your role?

References Anthony, L. (2014). About Communication & Ethical Issues in Business. Chron. Retrieved from

smallbusiness.chron.com/communication-ethical-issues-business-4886.html

Beare, K. (2014). How to Write a Business Report. About.com. Retrieved from

http://esl.about.com/od/businessenglishwriting/a/bizdocs.htm

Coster, H. (2010). Ten Tops for Better Business Writing. Forbes. Retrieved from

www.forbes.com/2010/05/03/better-business-writing-leadership-careers-tips-html

Duggan, T. (2014). Strategies for Dealing with Intercultural Communication. Chron.

smallbusiness.chron.com/strategies-dealing-intercultural-communication-11875.html

Feigenbaum, E. (2014). Electronic Methods of Communication in Business. Chron. Retrieved from

smallbusiness.chron.com/electronic-methods-communication-bsuiness-2943.html

Hull, P. (2013). 10 Essential Business Plan Components. Forbes. Retrieved from

http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickhull/2013/02/21/10-essential-business-plan-components/

McKay, D. R. (2014). Professionalism How to Conduct Yourself at Work. About Career Planning.

Retrieved from careerplanning.about.com/od/workplacesurvival/a/professionalism.htm

Theriault, M. (2013). 9 Tips for More Powerful Business Presentations. Forbes. Retrieved from

www.forbes.com/sites.allbusiness/2013/11/04/9-tips-for-more-powerful-business-presentations/

Quast, L. (2012). Want your Company to Succeed in the Future? Invest in Employee Skills Training like Deloitte LLP. Forbes.

Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2012/05/14/want-your-company-to-succeed-in-the-future-invest-in- employee-

skills-training-like-deloitte-llp/