Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Written Communication to achieve a Business Objective: Tell someone what to do or how to do something (Instruction sheets/ manuals) Give someone accurate information (product info sheet) Market a product or an event (advt/ press release) Persuade someone to set up or continue with a project (project proposal/report)
Main Strategies used by Writers: Watercolourists Tend to write in one pass from mental plan Tend to review and revise on screen rather than print out drafts
Architects Make detailed plan Do a draft, then print out. Revise paper version and then return to computer
Hartley and Bruckmann, 2002
Oil Painters Start by drafting rather than planning, working from broad headlines Review drafts on paper
Clear Objectives lead to New and Better Documents To inform To support To assess To classify To evaluate To persuade To demonstrate To describe
Structuring Information
From the audience/ readers point of view:
The ordering, logic and/or classification should make sense to the reader Information which is clearly structured is easily absorbed or retained
Methods:
Chunking: Breaking down info into sections or chunks Ordering: working the chunks into a useful order Signposting: offering clues or signals to explain /demonstrate how info is structured and prepare the reader for a change in direction (signalling words/phrases, linking words /phrases)
A Mind Map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing. Emphasis: images, colours and spacing Association: links, developing your own codes
PAIBOC
P What are your purposes in writing?
B What reasons or reader benefits can you use to support your position?
DIRECT REQUEST
DIRECT APPROACH
FIRMNESS IS NEEDED
READER WONT BE DISAPPOINTED SITUATION IS ROUTINE OR MINOR AUDIENCE PREFERS BAD NEWS FIRST
BUFFERS
NEGATIVE MESSAGES
GIVE THE BAD NEWS ENSURE ITS ACCEPTANCE MAINTAIN READERS GOODWILL MAINTAIN ORGANIZATIONS GOOD IMAGE REDUCE FUTURE CORRESPONDENCE ON THE MATTER
Reason that hurts company : Our company is not hiring at the present time because profits are down. In fact, the downturn has prompted top management to reduce the salaried staff by 5% just this month, with perhaps more reductions to come. Better: Our company does not have any openings now.
Giving Bad news to Giving Bad news to Superiors: Peers and Subordinates:
PROBLEM-SOLVING MESSAGE
SHARED PROBLEM DETAILS SOLUTION NEGATIVES OUTWEIGHED BY ADVANTAGES READER BENEFITS REQUEST FOR ACTION
THANK YOU ..