4.1 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall CHAPTER 4 The Three-Step Writing Process

4.1

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

CHAPTER 4 The Three-Step Writing Process

4.2


Chapter 4 Objectives

Describe the three-step writing process. Clarify why explaining your purpose

carefully is important. Justify the importance of audience analysis. Outline the ways to collect relevant

information informally. Define media richness and list factors to

consider when choosing proper channel and medium.

Discuss how to establish good audience relationships.

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Business Writing

For interesting messages, avoid dramatic creative-writing techniques, and make your messages:PurposefulAudience-centeredConcise

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1. Plan 2. Write 3. Complete

The three steps of the writing process:

The Three-Step Writing Process

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The Writing Process

Step 1. Planning Analyze your purpose, audience, and

message to ensure they are all aligned.

Investigate supporting material by using formal or informal methods of gathering information.

Adapt your message to suit your needs and meet your audience’s expectations.

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The Writing Process

Step 2. WritingOrganize your ideas by defining your

main idea, limiting your scope, grouping major points, and choosing the direct or indirect approach.

Compose your first draft by adapting your style (through your level of formality and your conversational tone), by choosing your words carefully, and by creating effective sentences and paragraphs.

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The Writing Process

Step 3. CompletingRevise your message by evaluating

content, reviewing readability, and editing and rewriting for conciseness and clarity.

Produce your message using effective design elements and suitable delivery methods.

Proofread your message for typos and errors in layout, alignment, spelling, and mechanics.

4.8


The Writing Process

When writing business messages, try scheduling your time as follows:Planning: At least one-half of

your timeWriting: Less than one-quarter of

your timeCompleting: More than one-quarter

of your time

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Analyzing Your Purpose and Audience

The general purpose determines the amount of audience participation you need and the amount of control you have over your message:To inform, you need little interaction, so

you control the message.To persuade, you need a moderate

amount of participation, and you retain a moderate amount of message control.

To collaborate, you need maximum participation, and you retain minimal message control.

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Analyzing Your Purpose and Audience

To decide whether to proceed with your message, ask yourself four questions:Is your purpose realistic?Is this the right time for your

message?Is the right person delivering your

message?Is your purpose acceptable to your

organization?

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Develop an Audience Profile

Identify your primary audienceIdentify your primary audience

Determine audience sizeDetermine audience size

Determine audience compositionDetermine audience composition

Gauge your audience’slevel of understanding

Gauge your audience’slevel of understanding

Estimate your audience’sprobable reaction

Estimate your audience’sprobable reaction

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Investigating Necessary Information

Many kinds of business messages require less-formal information-gathering techniques, such as Considering others’ viewpointsBrowsing through company filesChatting with supervisors or

colleaguesAsking your audience for input

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Investigating Necessary Information

The key to effective communication is Determining your audience’s information needs Responding to all your audience’s information

needs and questions To find out what your audience members want to

know Listen to their requests Clarify by restating their requests in more

specific terms Try to think of any information needs that

members of your audience may not even be aware they have

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What Does YourAudience Need?

Have you provided all the required information? (Ask who, what, when, where, why, and how.)

Is the information accurate? Is the information ethical? Is the information pertinent?

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Adapting Your Message

To adapt your message so that it serves both your audience and your purpose you need to:Select a channel and a medium that

fit your purpose and that satisfy your audience’s expectations

Make plans for establishing a good relationship with your audience

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Oral Communication Channels

Oral communication includes face-to-face conversations, phone calls, speeches, videotapes, presentations, and meetings.

Your choice of medium would depend on audience, location, message importance, and the need for nonverbal feedback.

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Written Communication Channels

Written communication includes letters, emails, memos, flyers, and reports.

A form letter, memo, or boilerplate message is often used for routine communication.

Reports and proposals are factual documents distributed to insiders and outsiders.

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Media Richness

Media richness is the value of a medium in a given communication situation.

Richness is determined by a medium’s ability toConvey a message by means of

more than one informational cue (visual, verbal, vocal)

Facilitate feedbackEstablish personal focus

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Media Richness

From richer to leaner, media fall along a continuum:

The richest media include face-to-face conversations, meetings, presentations, and videoconferences.

Less-rich media include phone calls, e-mail, voice mail, and teleconferencing.

Lean media include addressed documents such as notes, memos, and letters.

The leanest media include unaddressed documents such as fliers, bulletins, and standard form reports.

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Media Richness

Use the richest media for nonroutine, complex messages.

Use leaner media to communicate simple, routine messages.

The chief advantage of oral communication is the opportunity for immediate feedback.

The chief advantage of written communication is the ability to plan and control your message.

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Oral Communication

Use oral communication whenYou want your audience to ask

questions and make commentsYou’re trying to reach a group

decisionYou’re trying to relate an emotional

messageYou want to read your audience’s

body language or hear the tone of their response

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Written Communication

Use written communication whenYour information is complexYou need a permanent record of the

messageYour audience is large and

geographically dispersedYou don’t need or don’t want

immediate interaction with your audience

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Electronic Forms of Communication

Use electronic forms of communication when:You need speedYou’re physically separated from

your audienceTime zones differYou must reach a dispersed

audience personallyYou’re unconcerned about

confidentiality

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Voice mail—good for short, unambiguous messages

Teleconferencing—good for informational meetings that involve no negotiations

Videotape—good for sending a motivational message to a large number of people

Computer conferencing—good for geographically dispersed collaboration on electronic documents in real time

Faxing—good for overcoming time-zone barriers when a hard copy is required

E-mail—good for speedy, low-cost convenience and increased access to other employees

Web site—good for readers who want to absorb information nonsequentially

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The chief disadvantages of electronic communication includeToo much candor (saying things you

shouldn’t) Information overload (overuse

overloading networks and recipients)Lack of privacy (sending by accident or

others forwarding your messages) Interrupted productivity (through e-mail

interruptions and misuse of the Internet)

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Audience: Establishing a Good Relationship

Think about who you are and who your audience is. (Be yourself.)

Use the “you” attitude in all your messages.

Always emphasize the positive. Establish your credibility. Be polite. Use bias-free language. Project the company’s image.

4.27


Biases in Language

Give specific examples of how you can eliminate these biases:

Let’sDiscuss Let’s

Discuss Let’s

Discuss Let’s

Discuss Let’s

Discuss Let’s

Discuss Let’s

Discuss Let’s

Discuss

Age

Gender

Disability

Racial andethnic

4.28


Test Your Knowledge

What are the three steps in the writing process?

What two types of purposes do all business messages have?

What do you need to know in order to develop an audience profile?

How can you test the thoroughness of the information you include in a message?


Discuss

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What is media richness and how is it determined?

What is the “you” attitude and how does it differ from an “I” attitude?

Why is it important to establish your credibility when communicating with an audience of strangers?


DiscussTest Your Knowledge continued

4.30


How does using bias-free language help communicators to establish a good relationship with their audiences?

What are the main advantages of oral communication? Of written media?

What is boilerplate, and how is it used?


DiscussTest Your Knowledge continued

Documents

4.1 To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e, Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall CHAPTER 4 The Three-Step Writing Process