Chapter 6, message design

MESSAGE DESIGN

CHAPTER-6

The Process of Preparing Effective

Business Messages

Prepared by Ferhan Syed

Usman Institute of Technology

Hamdard [email protected]


Business Message

Why preparing for effective business message?

Whether we are preparing a written or an oral business

message, to be effective we need to plan, organize, draft,

revise, edit, and proofread.

Essential also is thoughtful adherence to communication

principles- the seven C qualities and awareness of legal and

ethical aspects as well.

Even with the most advanced office technology, the need for

careful preparation of either written or oral messages demands

efforts


Business Message

Five Planning Steps

1. Identify Your Purpose

2. Analyze Your Audience

3. Choose Your Ideas

4. Collect Your Data

5. Organize Your Message

STEP 1

Identify Your Purpose


Business Message

Step 1: Identify Your Purpose

It is important to determine first the specific reason of writing. The reason of writing a message could be:

Mainly informational, such as announcement etc.

Persuasive, such as promotion of product or sending applications for personal reasons, etc.

Negotiating

Creating goodwill

STEP 2

Analyze Your Audience


Business Message

Step 2: Analyze Your Audience

It is important to adapt to the message according to the receivers views, mental filters, needs, and culture. While preparing a message the care must be taken for the following aspects:

Member of a group, such as business or professional person; laborer, colleague, or subordinate; woman or man.

New or long time customer; young, middle-aged, or elderly.

Receivers educational level, attitudes and probable values (often culture-specific)

Finally consider and decide whether the receiver or listeners are informed or uninformed on the subject and whether they will react to the message positively or negatively, with interest or disinterest.

STEP 3

Choose Your Idea


Business Message

Step 3: Chose Your Idea

With the purpose and receiver in mind, the next step

is to choose the idea for message.

The idea of writing a message depends on the

background, situation, cultural context and location

of the receiver (national or international)

STEP 4

Collect Your Data


Business Message

Step 4: Collect Your Data

After deciding about the idea to be included in the

message, it is important to determine if the same

requires specific facts, figures quotations, or other

types of evidence to support the main idea of the

message. It is important to know and take care of:

Company’s policies, procedures, and product detail if

needed to support the main idea.

Enclose, if needed, a brochure, table, picture, or product

sample.

STEP 5

Organize Your Message


Business Message

Step 5: Organize Your Message

Before you write the first draft of the letter, outline your message

(mentally or on paper). The order in which the idea is presented is as

important as the ideas themselves.

Disorganized, rambling messages often seem careless, confusing, and

unimportant.

Different approaches of organizing the business messages are

necessary for different cultures. While the direct style is often

preferred by US and European business people, the indirect plan is

often more effective while writing to business people from South

America, Middle East, and Asian Countries.


Business Message

What is Organizational Plan

Organizational Plan is the choice of sender to prepare a message in a particular manner. There are two approaches of planning a message as follows:

Direct (Deductive) Approach: Use the direct approach when the audience is receptive of your message.

Indirect (Inductive) Approach: When you expect resistance to your message, choose the indirect approach, such as bad-news message or a persuasive request.

For writing letters and memos, one of four basic organizational plans can be selected according to the situation:

1. The direct request (Deductive Approach)

2. Good news (Deductive Approach)

3. Bad-news (Inductive Approach)

4. Persuasive request plan (Inductive Approach)


Business Message

Direct (Deductive) Organizational Plan

Direct Request Plan: This type of plan is used when the main purpose of message is to make a request that requires less persuasion.

1. Main Idea

a) Request, main statement, assertion, recommendation, question

b) Reason, if desirable

2. Explanation

a) All necessary and desirable detail and data

b) Numbered questions, if helpful

c) Easy reading devices

3. Courteous Close

a) Clear Statement of action desired

b) Easy Action, dated when desirable

c) Appreciation and goodwill


Business Message

Direct (Deductive) Organizational PlanGood News Plan: This type of plan is used when the main purpose of message is to grant requests, announce favorable or neutral information, and exchange routine information within or between companies.

1. Best News or Main Idea

2. Explanation

a) All necessary and desirable detail and data

b) Resale material

c) Educational material

d) Sales promotional material

3. Positive, Friendly Close, Including, if appropriate:

a) Appreciation

b) Clear Statement of action

c) Offer of further help, reader benefits


Business Message

Indirect (Inductive) Organizational PlanBad-News Plan: This type of plan is one of the most difficult to prepare because your reader

may react negatively.

1. Buffer (Pleasant or Neutral Statements, reader-oriented)

2. Explanation

a) Necessary data, tactfully stated

b) Pertinent favorable, then unfavorable acts

c) Readers benefit reasons

3. Decisions (Implied or Expressed) along with the offer of additional help or suggestions

4. Positive, Friendly Close

a) Appreciation

b) Invitation to future actions desired

c) Easy action, dated when desirable

d) Willingness to help further

e) Reader benefit and goodwill

Dear Sir

We’re happy to learn that you are enjoying the use of the Sako

copier you’ve been leasing for the past ten months. Like our many

customers, you have discovered that Sako copiers offer

remarkable versatility and reliability.

One of the reasons we’re able to offer these outstanding copiers

at such low leasing rates and equally low purchase prices is that

we maintain a slim profit margin. If our program included a

provision for applying lease payments toward the purchase price,

our overall prices would have to be higher.

Although lease payments cannot be credited toward purchase

price, we can offer you other Sako models that are within your

price range.

The Sako 400 delivers the same reliability with nearly as many

features as the Sako 600. Please let us demonstrate the Sako

400 to your staff in your office, Mr. Waters. Our representative,

Tracy Wilson, will call you soon to arrange a time.

Buffer

Explanation

Bad News

Closing

The Process of Preparing Effective Business Message

Indirect (Inductive) Organizational Plan• Persuasive Request Plan: This type of plan are also difficult in a sense that you may one of the most

• difficult to prepare because your reader may react negatively.

1. Attention a) Reader benefit

b) Reader-interest theme

2. Interesta) Descriptive details and data

b) Psychological appeal

c) Reader benefit

3. Desirea) Statement of request

b) Supporting data to help create reader’s desire to grant request

4. Actiona) Clear statement of action

b) Easy action, dated when desirable

c) Special inducement

e) Reader benefit and goodwill

Sample Letter Using AIDA Model

Dear Customer,

Buying computers and accessories can be confusing. There

are so many options available for you at so many different

prices. Which ones do you need? Which ones are worth

paying more for?

We at Doe Corporation would like to introduce you to a new

kind of catalog featuring full-page comparisons of different

monitors, CPU's, scanners, printers and a lot more. We do

not promote any particular make or model, but simply show

you which products are best for your applications.

Then, when you have made your own decision, we can give

you the best deal available on whatever you have chosen.

Just call us at 555-5555.

Dear Customer,

Buying computers and accessories can be confusing. There

are so many options available for you at so many different

prices. Which ones do you need? Which ones are worth

paying more for?

We at Doe Corporation would like to introduce you to a new

kind of catalog featuring full-page comparisons of different

monitors, CPU's, scanners, printers and a lot more. We do

not promote any particular make or model, but simply show

you which products are best for your applications.

Then, when you have made your own decision, we can give

you the best deal available on whatever you have chosen.

Just call us at 555-5555.

Attention

&

Interest

Desire

Action

Sample Letter Using AIDA Model


Business Message

The Beginning and Ending of Business Message

The most important part of Business Message is its opening and

closing paragraphs.

Why ?

Because “First Impression is the last impression”

“We remember best what we read last”

The trick is:

Whenever possible, place the main favorable ideas at the beginning and

ending of a message. This advice is also applies to the paragraph.

Audience Memory Curve

HighHigh

Low Low


Business Message

Opening Paragraph

• The opening of message determines whether the reader continues reading, puts the message aside, or discard it. The rules of good opening paragraphs are:

1. Choose an opening appropriate for the message purpose and for the reader.

a) Main Idea or good-news first for direct-request, neutral, and good news messages

b) Buffer first for bad news messages.

c) Attention-getting statements


Business Message

Opening Paragraph (Contd.)

2. Make the opening considerate, courteous, concise, clear.

a) Get reader into opening.

b) Keep first paragraph relatively short

c) Focus on positive

d) Use courteous, conversational language

e) Avoid repetition

3. Check for completeness regarding:

a) Sentence structure

b) Date of letter you are answering

Sample of Opening Statement in Case

of Good News/Neutral Message

Dear Mr.Saleem,

This refers to your query dated 29 September 2014

regarding availability of Switch Gear Assembly in our

stock. We are most pleased to inform you that we have

80 units available in our stock.


Business Message

Closing Paragraph

• The closing is more likely to motivate the reader to act as requested if it is appropriately strong, clear, and polite.

• Here you have the opportunity to bring the final focus on the desired action and leave a sense of goodwill with the reader.

The Process of Preparing Effective Business Message

Closing Paragraph (Contd.)

1. Make your action request clear and complete with the five W’s and the H (how) if you want your reader to do something.

a) What and who: Clearly state when action you desire and who should do it.

b) How and where: Make action easy

c) When: Date the action if desirable

d) Why: Show reader benefit, if possible.

2. End with a positive, courteous thought.

a) Include any apologies and negative before the last paragraph

b) Be friendly

c) Show appreciation

d) Occasionally add a personal note

3. Keep the last paragraph concise and correct

a) Avoid trite expressions

b) Omit discussion of trivial details

c) Use relatively short and complete sentences

Sample of Closing Statement in Case

of Good News/Neutral Message

We have informed Mr.Rashid Ahmed our area sales manager in Lahore to coordinate with you so that we could serve you effectively and efficiently. We are glad to offer you 5% discount if you send us your purchase order by 20th October 2014.

Dear Mr.Saleem,

This refers to your query dated 29 September 2014 regarding availability of Switch Gear Assembly in our stock. We are most pleased to inform you that we have 80 units available in our stock.

The GEC XP437 Switch gear is a highly reliable and world-renowned product. We have supplied these units to various power generation and other electrical industries throughout the country. The list of our satisfied clients is available on our website http//:newageelectricalservice.com. In this website you will find a long list of electrical products that you may be interested in buying for your operations in future.

We have informed Mr.Rashid Ahmed our area sales manager in Lahore to coordinate with you so that we could serve you effectively and efficiently. We are glad to offer you 5% discount if you send us your purchase order by 20th October 2014.

You will always find us great service provider always willing to provide you the best services with excellent products and service.

Regards,

Tariq AhmedMarketing Manager

Introductory

paragraph

Closing

paragraph


Business Message

Composing the Message (End of Planning Stage)

• Drafting Your Message: When you have completed the

five planning steps and considered the opening and

closing, you are ready for your first draft.

• The important thing in preparing a draft message is to

get the most important information in your message on

the paper.

•

•


Business Message

Revising the message

• After finishing the first draft of the message, it is

important to evaluate its content, organization, and

style. The following are the suggestions for revising:

Does your message accomplish its purpose?

Have you chosen the most effective organizational plan?

Are your points supporting the adequate material?

Is your language complete, concise, considerate, concrete,

clear, courteous, and correct?

Have you used variety in sentence structure?


Business Message

Editing & Proofreading Your Message

• Editing and proofreading are important to

ensure that your documents has no mistakes

in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or word

choice.

• Persons writing in a second language will

find it helpful to read their written material

aloud.

Sample Letter