Business Writing is a Genre Slide 2 As a genre it involves
certain rules and conventions Slide 3 This means that there are
basic rules that every business writer should follow Slide 4 It is
essential to be clear and concise in ones communications Slide 5
Precision, clarity and consistency are achieved through Thinking
before you write Knowing your audience Using simple language
Proofreading your document Proofreading againbe ruthless in making
sure there are no mistakes Slide 6 Lets now address the importance
of thinking before you writehere are some questions you might ask
yourself before sending an email Slide 7 Because email is a
relatively immediate form of communication thinking before pressing
the send button is really important. While proofreading your email
You need to take into account the perspective of your
reader/audience Part of doing this is thinking carefully about your
word choices It is always good to adopt a positive tone even if the
message is serious. This is because you want to relieve stress.
Rarely do people perform well when stressed. Slide 8 This brings me
to the importance of tone (or register) in your business writing
Slide 9 What people pick up on first even before reading the
content of your message/email is its sound Slide 10 This is tied
into tone. Work on the sound of your writing as we read with both
our eyes and ears. Slide 11 In getting the tone right in your
writing think about the essence of your message Slide 12 On other
words, what is the point of it? Slide 13 What do your want your
reader to remember? Slide 14 The best way to retain information is
through sound so work on the sound/tone/register of your message
Slide 15 The most memorable messages are simple. Below is a very
basic model of communication. Slide 16 Youll notice that there is a
passage of timeeven a gap between the sender and receiver. Slide 17
This gap needs to come across to the receiver as directly as
possible without noise, confusion, or interference Slide 18 Now you
might wonder, what is noise? Slide 19 Well it is connected to sound
and how sounds/words/messages are interpreted and misinterpreted.
Slide 20 For example grammatical mistakes in your communications
can produce noise Slide 21 And this noise, as grammatical errors,
can interfere with your message Slide 22 Slide 23 In ones private
life it may not be fair to judge people by their grammar but in
business this happens all the time. Slide 24 Which is why
proofreading your writing is essential not only in doing well in
your job but also in getting the job you want! Slide 25 Correct
spelling and grammar reduces noise which means that your message
reaches your receiver without interference. Slide 26 Slide 27 Ways
to overcome writers block. Slide 28 The best way to address this is
head-on Slide 29 As you can see this problem of writers block is a
part of many narratives in popular culture texts Slide 30 The best
way to address this problem is to writewrite anything. Just put
some words and characters down on the page and see what happens
Slide 31 The Nike ad campaign, just do it may not seem helpful but
as an experienced writer myself the way to start writing is just to
do it. Slide 32 Once you have words on a page then you have
something to work with and also to change. Slide 33 A large part of
writing is rewriting. The advice below is wise. Slide 34 Handy
Tips: Do not burden yourself with the idea of perfection, but you
can come close to it through revision and proofreading Believe in
yourself even when you feel the least confident Work at your
writing Think of your reader And eradicate as much noise from your
writing by being grammatically correct at all times Avoid waste
words such as qualifying clauses that add nothing to your
communication Slide 35 What to do in Electronic Writing Use simple
words Write in complete sentences Respect your reader Adopt a
formal yet positive tone Edit your email Proofread your email Think
carefully before pressing the send button Slide 36 What not to do
in Electronic Writing Talk down to your reader Adopt a negative
tone Use vague language Send before proofreading and editing Use
complex words and sentence constructions Use incorrect grammar
including spelling and especially your recipients name and when
relevant, title. Slide 37 Also know the nature of your
communication tool. Famous communication theorist Marshall McLuhan
(1911-1980) once said: The medium is the message. Slide 38 For most
of you, the medium is your computer and you communicate through
email. Slide 39 In the recent past email used to be treated lightly
as an informal mode of communication but now it is the most common
and arguably influential form of business communication. Slide 40
Also unlike the paper document, an email or any other electronic
form of communication cannot be erased. So make sure you put your
best foot forward in keeping it simple.
