The Process of Preparing Effective Business Messages

Five Planning Steps Identify Your Purpose Analyze Your Audience Choose your Ideas Collect Your Data Organize Your Message

Basic Organizational Plans Direct (Deductive) Approach Indirect (Inductive) Approach Beginnings and Endings Opening Paragraphs Closing Paragraphs Composing Messages Drafting Your Message Revising Your Message Editing and Proofreading Your Message

FIVE PLANNING STEPS

IDENTIFY YOUR PURPOSE: The Objective of your message is almost always two fold: the reason for the message itself and the creation of goodwill. OR You must know why you should write and what should be written. The purpose may be sale, goodwill, request, inquiry or refusal etc.

Analyze Your Audience: See your message from your receivers point of view: their needs, interests, attitudes, even their culture. OR It is better for the sender to understand the receiver. You should know his background, qualification, education, position, status in the company, desire, expectations, problems, circumstances and possible reaction to your request. Also he/she is superior subordinate, laborer, professional or technical person, colleague, single or married, man or women, young or old, new or long time customer.

Choose Your Ideas: The ideas you included depend on the type of message you are sending, the situation, and the cultural context. OR It is depend upon the type of message. Before working down the points to be covered in communication, and then bring them in order of importance and urgency.

Collect Your Data: Be sure to collect enough data to support your ideas; check names, dates, addresses and statistics for precision. OR To Explain facts, figures, quotation, visual aids may be utilized, or other forms of evidence to support your points.

Organize Your Message: Organizing your material before writing your first draft can prevent rambling and unclear messages. OR One the ideas has jotted down, they should be properly arranged and organized. Failing to organize will fail the objectives of the message.

Basic Organizational Plans

Your choice of organizational plan depends on a number of factors: 1. How you expect your reader or listener to react your message? 2. How much this person knows about the topic or situation? 3. What his or her cultural conventions are?

Direct (Deductive) Approach: Use the direct approach when the audience is receptive to your message. OR Good for audience members who will be receptive if they are eager, interested, pleased or even neutral. OR Good for long messages, regardless of audience attitude, because delaying the main idea could cause confusion and frustration.

Indirect (Inductive) Approach: When you expect resistance to your message, choose the indirect approach, such as in a bad-news message or a persuasive request. OR Good to use indirect approach if audience members are likely to resist your message if they are displeased, uninterested, or unwilling. OR Good for sending out bad news to outsiders.

Beginnings and Endings

Two of the most important positions in any business message are the opening and closing paragraphs. You have probably heard the Old Saying First Impression is Last Impression. Whenever possible, place the main favorable ideas at the beginning and ending of the paragraph.

Opening Paragraphs: The opening of a message determines whether the reader continues reading, puts the message aside, or discards it. 1. Choose Openings Appropriate for Message Purpose and Reader. 2. Make the opening Considerate, Courteous, Concise, Clear. 3. Check for Completeness

Closing Paragraphs: Closing should be strong, clear, and polite; they should have a sense of closure and goodwill with the receiver. 1.Make Action Request Clear and Complete with the Five Ws. 2.End on a Positive, Courteous Thought. 3.Keep the last Paragraph Concise and Correct.

Composing the Message

Drafting the Message: Your first draft is often the most difficult to write. The important thing is to get the most important information in your message on paper early. OR When you have completed the five planning steps and considered your openings and closings, the you will be ready for your first draft.

Revising Your Message: Revising means adding necessary and deleting unnecessary Information, making sure your points are adequately supported, checking your organizational approach, and reviewing your language in terms of the seven Cs. OR If you included unnecessary material, delete it. If your need additional information, get it, change, move, add and delete as much information as you need to create and an effective message.

Editing and Proofreading Your Message: Editing and proofreading are important to ensure that your document has no mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or word choice. Proofread your document several times to be sure that you have not missed any errors. Persons writing in a second language will find it helpful to read their written material aloud.
In fact, pronouncing written material out loud is a good idea for everyone.

 Is purpose is necessary for effective communication? If yes, then how and no, then why? Is it important to have figures in your communication? Example. How can you handle the audience which is not interested in your speech? What are the benefits of implementing a good beginning? Is drafting of a message is important in effective business communication?