Business Communication Skills for Managers

1. Business Communication Skills for Managers Module 2: Writing in Business

2. Writing the Right Message

3. Audience General Communication System

4. Audience (cont.) • Downward and Upward Communication • upward: initiated by staff and directed at executives • complaint or request • Downward: executive levels to staff • policy manuals, rules and regulations • Horizontal Communication • information from peers to one of similar rank

5. The Right Message Narrow and organize communication to highlight purpose Clear, efficient communication Positive, negative, and persuasive

6. The Right Message (cont.) • Positive Messages • Routine or good news • Sympathy messages • Negative Messages • Bad news- want to avoid quitting • Refusal to provide refund, cancellation of event • Persuasive Communications • Need encouragement to act as sender desires • When receiver is reluctant

7. Word Choice and Tone

8. Writing for the Reader • Audience is receiver • Focuses on how writer can best convey message • You-view • Put receiver needs before sender • Start with what receiver needs to know

9. Language as an Obstacle Avoid: • Clichés - makes writing boring • Jargon - “technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group” • Slang - informal and less credible • Euphemisms/Doublespeak - unpleasant topics in polite way, disguises word meaning

10. Bias-Free Writing Gender Bias: use both genders, plural subjects Race and Ethnicity Bias: don’t mention race Disability Bias: avoid labeled nouns

11. Concise Writing • Sentence Length: one subject, one verb phrase - related to reader comprehension • Expressing accurate ideas • prepositions - avoid “with” or “of” • use verbs - more engaging • reduce extra words - detract from meaning • avoid repetition

12. Concise Writing Avoid Passive Voice - makes writing flat • Created using to be • “She was falling” versus “she fell” • How to identify passive voice • Something is happening • Subject is not doing that thing

13. Clarity • Precision • must be clear, specific, and precise • Plain Words • focus should be on reader understanding • Lists • draw attention, add white space, emphasis

14. Parallel Construction • Messages easier to absorb • Improves writing style • positive example: “Yara loves running, swimming, and hiking” • negative example: “Yara loves running, to swim, and biking”

15. Emphasis Helps readers easily access intended message What is appropriate differs in age of texting & social media Not personal communication

16. Three-Part Writing Process

17. Planning Business Messages Great deal of analysis Determine how receiver likely feels about communication Enables writer to document process Pre-writing (outlines): guides to particular goal

18. Planning Business Messages (cont.) Messages contain: • News: states point • Reasons: supports news • Goodwill and action: closing paragraph • Buffer: in negative & persuasive messages

19. Planning Business Messages (cont.) Persuasive Messages • Determine how likely receiver is going to comply with sender • AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action) • Opens with positive or negative message • attention grabbing • discuss details

20. Writing Business Messages • Post planning: need to craft words and phrasing • Must have writing skills • subject lines • constructing buffers • negative words and tone • You-View How to write persuasive, positive, and negative messages

21. Revising Business Messages Rearrangement and fine tuning of a draft Highly critical step Two-step revision process Proofreading - avoid fragments, run-ons

22. Word Processing Software

23. Formatting Business Writing General format: • Non-indented paragraphs • 1.0 line spacing in paragraph • 2.0 line spacing between paragraphs • Left margin: straight line • Right margin: ragged or straight • Font size: 10 or 12

24. Formatting Business Writing (cont.) Business letter format: • Sender's address, date, inside address, salutation, body, closing, attachments Business Memo & Email Format • Pay close attention to subject line

25. Formatting Business Writing (cont.) Style: • White space between words, paragraphs • Lists: easy-to-understand pattern • Headings: guide/provide messages • Font: Serif vs. Sans Serif • print Media vs. Digital Media

26. Microsoft Word • Line and Paragraph Spacing • Headers and Footers • holds footnotes, page numbers, titles, etc. • information repeated every page

27. Microsoft Word • Spell & Grammar Check • compares words against dictionary or database • press F7 to open • Sentence Length • File > Options > Proofing • “Show readability statistics”

28. Google Docs • Line and Paragraph Spacing • select lines • Format > Line Spacing • Adding headers, footers, & page numbers • Insert > Header & page number • choose Header or Footer • enter text

29. Google Docs (cont.) • Spell & Grammar Check • Sentence Length • Tools > word count • Command+Shift+C

30. Quick Review • Know your audience and how to communicate with them • Think about the purpose of a message and stay bias-free • When writing, always be clear, concise, and provide emphasis • Remember the planning, writing, and reviewing stages • Using Microsoft Word and Google Docs to write messages