WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

forLEADERS

Written Communication - 2

Put it before them briefly so they will read it,Clearly so they will appreciate it,Picturesquely so they will remember it,And, Above all, accurately so they will be guided

by its light.

- Joseph Pultizer

Writing Skills?

A career requirementMore than a “nice thing to have” – a necessity

Your Writing = Your PersonalityAs a professional, it is crucial to write well

Writing Skills?

The ability to write does not require a unique talent or an outstanding mental ability

Everyone has the basic skills necessary to write well

A basic understanding of writing and a commitment to writing well in all situations is needed as a professional

Types of WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

LetterMemoE-mailNoticeCircularReport

Business Documents

A good business document should always answer the following

questions:

What is this document about?Why has it come to be?Who wrote it?How is it organized?What is it trying to accomplishWhat supports the conclusion?What problem or opportunity does it address?

Letters and Memos

Letters and memos are the basic vehicles of business communication

They should be brief and make a single point (no more than 2 pages)

Letters are for external communicationsMemos are for internal communications

Letters and Memos

Heading or Letterhead

DateInside address

Salutation

Subject line Body Closing and

Signature Enclosures or

‘CC’

All business letters should include:

Letters and Memos

TO: (To whom is the memo directed?)FROM: (Who wrote the memo?)DATE:SUBJECT: or RE:

All business memos should include:

Types of Letters and Memos

Letters of request Sales letters Response letters Cover letters, recommendations Letters of collection Letters to vendors and suppliers Memos that deal with employee issues Memos that make announcements Memos for policies and procedures

Letter Writing

In order to achieve the definite purpose and the intended results, the business letters written to express facts and opinions clearly, concisely, completely and correctly.

Types of Letters

Personal (to a friend or within the family)Social ( invitations, death notices, etc.)Official ( from government or its

corporations, etc.)Business (within business environment)Miscellaneous (letters to the editor, etc)

Purposes

Giving or seeking informationMaking or answering an enquiryPlacing an orderDemanding or refusing creditMollifying the injured feeling of a customerSelling goods and servicesMaking, accepting or refusing a requestMaking or responding to complaints Creating goodwill etc.,

Business Letters

To achieve a definite purpose of your organization

To sustain business relationship without personal contact

To create a friendly relationship with another organization to produce record for subsequent references

To create a good impression about the writer’s firm and also of the writer himself

Importance / Advantages

Drafting at convenienceReaches far and wideA record for purpose of lawA record for referenceSolidifies a business brandHelps to expand businessSaves money in communicationConvenient for giving unpleasant news

Questions a writer asks

How do I begin?What is my purpose?How do I make my point clear?How do I create a logical flow?How do I say what I mean?How do I avoid grammatical errors?How can I make my message brief?How can I create a visual effect?

Essentials of a good letter

Correctness CompletenessClarityConcisenessCourtesyConsiderationConcretenessConvincing power

Types of Business Letters

Letters of enquiryLetters of quotationLetters of orderLetters of acceptanceLetters of cancellationLetters regarding complaints and claimsAdjustment lettersCollection letters

Components of Business Letter

Letter Head* ReferenceDateInside AddressSpecial MarkingsAttention LineSalutation Heading Subject Line

The Writing Process

PlanningWritingQuality Control

The Writing Process

Planning

Keep objectives in mind and research the topic

Think about the audienceOutlining helps organize thoughts

The Writing Process

Writing

Follow your outline, use your handbookInspiration is acceptable but must be

carefully reviewedUse the interview approach to supplement

the outline (who, what, where, when, how)

The Writing Process

Quality Control

Reread your workBe critical of your own work

Considerations while writing

Who? What? When? Why? Where? How?

Good Writing

Completeness: all information needed is provided

Correctness: relevant and precise informationCredibility: support your argumentClarity: should not be vague, confusing,

ambiguousConciseness: to the pointConsideration: anticipate the reader’s reactionVitality: use the active voice rather than the

passive voice

Letterhead

Creates impression of the companyCompany’s nameFull postal addressContact numbers registered office and Registered Number

Website

Reference No. Ref:T/23/19

Date 31st December,2010

Sender’s Address GMR Builders

Inside Address Mr. G.Reddy, Ramco Tiles, New Delhi.

Salutation Dear Sir,

Body Text We are pleased………..

Closing ‘call to Action’ Yours Sincerely

Signature Block Sd/-

Enclosures Carbon Copy Encl: cc to: bcc:

STRUCTURE

Letter BodyOpening or Introduction Main Body (Central section)Future Action (or response)Special markingsContinuation of pagesClosing SectionEnclosuresSignatureCopies to be circulatedContinuation of PagesAddress on the Envelopes

STRUCTURE

Planning a Letter

Select the Suitable ToneState the purposeAssemble Relevant InformationArrange the materialOpening the LetterAvoid Obvious Opening StatementsAvoid participial OpeningAvoid Trite ExpressionAvoid Personal Pronoun

Layout

Neatly typed on the best stationery with proper punctuation and carefully laid out letter creates a good impression.

Forms of Layout

Block FormSemi Block FormIndented FormNOMA Form

The central Part

Referring to the reader’s problemTelling the reader what he wants to knowCreating the Hypothetical SituationUsing a subject LineOpen with a ‘Thank You’Begin with a courteous Request or CommandOpen with a pertinent name

Closing the Letter

Use a provocative toneUse suggestionUse CommandOffer an incentiveRepeat the main pointUse the Reader’s Name Avoid Participial closings and indefinite closings

Complimentary Close

Dear SirDear SirsDear MadamDear Sir/Madam

Yours faithfully Or Yours truly

Dear Ms. KranthiDear Mr. KiranDear Kalyan

Yours sincerely

Dear CustomerDear ReaderDear SubscriberDear ShareholderDear Member

Yours sincerely

Name on the Letter Head

Ref: no. : Reg/01/002

21st October,2010

Mr. Ramesh DebrajGeneral Manager – FinanceThe School Book DepotNavi Mumbai – 400 707

Sub: Request for the rates

Dear Mr.Debraj,

We shall be really pleased to establish business contacts with you for the purchase of somePublications of Maharashtra. Kindly send the price list available with you and the terms and conditions of the business at he earliest, so that we can immediately place the order.

We look forward for your immediate positive action.

Thanking you,Yours sincerely,

Subhash ChandraG M – Marketing

SAMPLE LETTER

Spelling and Grammar

It is important in all business communications to use proper grammar and correct spelling

What you write and how you write could reflect a positive or negative image

Sloppy and/or poorly written communications could be perceived as a lack of caring

Spelling and Grammar Tips

Proofread communications before sendingUse spell and grammar check if availableMake sure to have subject, verb and tense

agreementEnsure proper word usage:

affect/effect there/theiramong/between shall/willcan/may than/then

“THE GREATEST PROBLEM IN COMMUNICATION IS THE ILLUSION THAT IT

HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.”

- George Bernard Shaw

DON’TS

Avoid Trite ExpressionsAvoid Long PhrasesAvoid AdjectivesAvoid Cliches (indicates the natural way of presenting

ideas)Avoid redundancyAvoid Gobbledygook (refers to the kind of grandiose

writing)Avoid verbosityAvoid curtnessAvoid demanding toneAvoid bragging toneAvoid angry tone

To give a letter the right look: we should pay attention to its structure, layout and to its form and punctuation.

It reflects the image of your organization. Since letters serve a permanent records and are a valuable repository of information, we have to use suitable and impressive layout. We should use suitable and widely accepted structure at work place.

Have you hit your target?

In written communication most confusion & frustration are caused by failing to be specific

Make it clear, brief and concise

E-Mails

E-mail is fast, convenient and easyEmail is now the dominant method of communicating

in business. Convenient for communicating with people in different

places and different time zonesEasier to communicate with people who understand

written English but don’t speak it wellExcellent mechanism for follow-up or action items after

a meetingMessages can be saved and retrieved easily

E-Mails (Challenges)

USE WITH CARE….

Email is not always confidential -- emails can

sometime be obtained from central network even if deleted from personal

computers

Watch Out!

E-Mails (Challenges)

Email is often sent out without re-reading, proof-reading and other standards applied to written communications. We press the send button too soon!

Emails can be forwarded and sent to others without your approval or knowledge

E-Mails

Many users do not realize the potential outcome of what is being sent through e-mails

Business e-mails should be concise and to the point

The language used in business e-mails should not be overly informal

E-Mail Manners

Always include a subject or e-mail titleAvoid the “ready, aim, fire” approachAvoid “flaming”Don’t be too-casualConsider if e-mail is the appropriate toolMake one point per e-mailMake the font user-friendlyDon’t use all capital or lower-case letters

Reports

Define the main pointDefine the goals and objectivesCollect the evidence needed to support the main point

Organize the reportState the conclusions and recommendations

Organization of Reports

Title Executive summary Introduction Materials and methods Results and discussions Conclusions Recommendations

Common Errors & Tips

Company name usageShortened words (thru, condn, mgmt, ref, lib)Repetition of words

Example: file the file in the file folder.Use of ampersand (&)Use of bold UPPER CASE

Common Errors & Tips

Punctuation

Use commas to separate elements in a series, and to separate ideas or clauses.

Use correct punctuation in abbreviations; e.g., for example i.e., that is etc., et cetera

Do not use multiple punctuation marks, for example: !!! ... ???, etc.

Punctuation of lists and tables

Common Errors & Tips

Hyphen and dash usage Confusion between its and it's Use of apostrophe Abbreviations and acronymsUse active voice Do not switch tenses very oftenProofread for accuracy

10 Commandments

1. Know what you want to say before you say it. 2. Keep it simple.3. Use bullet points.4. WIIFM (What's in It For Me?)5. Don't get bogged down6. Call to action7. Edit8. Spell check9. Take 5 before hitting send10.Follow up

AT A Company (IN GENERAL)

Communication with clients:

50% support, 35% sales, 15% developers

30% Emails 45% MSN Chats, 20% Phone Calls (in case of local/national customers, around 50% phone calls are used and developers are more involved in implementations)

Conclusions

Utilize full potential of written communicationUse frequent e-mails as per your requirementWhat you write will ultimately define you as a

professional to your colleagues and superiorsMatch the appropriate communication method to

the recipientEliminating excessive or unnecessary

communication will improve your workflowMastering these skills will improve your ability and

enhance your career