Planning

Business Messages

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 1

 THREE-STEP WRITING
PROCESS
• By following a proven process
successful messages that meet
audience needs
– Step 1: Planning Business Messages
– Step 2: Writing Business Messages
– Step 3: Completing Business Messages
• It ensures both Effectiveness and
Efficiency in your message
© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 2
 Optimizing Writing Time
• As a starting point, allot roughly half (50 %)
your available time for planning, one-
quarter (25%) for writing, and one-quarter
(25%) for completing a message

• The ideal time allocation varies from project

to project

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 3

 PLANNING EFFECTIVELY
• Inexperienced communicators are often
tempted to dive directly into writing
• A few minutes of planning can save
hours of rework, frustration and
embarrassing blunders
• If you will carefully understand needs
of audience then writing stage will be
faster, easier and much reliable

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 4

 Analyze the Situation

• Define your purpose

• Profile your audience
• This task is simple and
straightforward in routine messages
however it is complex and
demanding in more intricate
situations
– For Example in a Shipping problem

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 5

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 6
 Define Your Purpose
• General • Specific
– Inform – Will anything
• Full Control and less change as a result
audience particiaption of your message
– Persuade – Is your purpose
• Moderate Control and
medium audience
realistic?
particiaption – Is the time right?
– Collaborate
• Little Control and More
Audiece participation

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 7

 Developing an Audience
Profile
• Identify primary audience
• Determine audience size and geographic
distribution
• Determine Audience composition
• Gauge level of understanding of audience
• Project expectations and preferences
• Forecast probable reaction
• To win over a skeptical audience, use a gradual approach
and plentty of evidence

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 8

GATHERING INFORMATION

• Informal methods
– Viewpoints of others
– Reports and company documents
– Supervisors, colleagues, customers
– Audience input

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 9

Determine Audience Needs

• Provide accurate information

• Provide ethical information
• Provide pertinent information

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 10

 SELECTING THE RIGHT
MEDIUM
Medium: Is a form through which a
message is communicated
1.Oral media
2.Written media
3.Visual media
4.Electronic media

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 11

 1. Oral Media (in-Person
( Channel)

• Face-to-face conversations
• Interviews
• Speeches
• Presentations
• Meetings

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 12

 Analysis of Oral Media
• Advantages • Disadvantages
– Immediate feedback – Minimal participation
– Ease of interaction – Nonpermanent
– Rich nonverbal cues – Reduced control
– Emotional content
– No editing or
revision

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 13

 2. Written Media

• Memos- Brief printed documents traditionally used for

the routine, day-to-day exchange of information within an
organization
• Letters- Brief written messages sent to customers
and other recipients outside the organization
• Reports
• Proposals

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 14

 Analysis of Written Media
• Advantages • Disadvantages
– Message control – Delayed feedback
– Audience reach – Lacks nonverbal
– Permanent record cues
– Minimize distortion – Creation and
distribution
– Preparation and
production

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 15

 3. Visual Media
• Charts
• Graphs
• Diagrams
• Symbols
 Saves time of audience and is used in
describing complex ideas and processes
 Used in multilingual businesses and these
are easy to remember than other media
© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 16
 Analysis of Visual Media
• Advantages • Disadvantages
– Expedite – Learning curve
communication – Preparation time
– Less intimidating – Transmittal and
– Assist audience storage

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 17

 4. Electronic Media
• Oral communication
– Telephone calls, teleconferencing,
voicemail, audio CDs, podcasts
• Written communication
– Email, instant messaging, websites, wikis
• Visual communication
– Electronic presentations, computer
animation, video

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 18

Analysis of Electronic Media
• Advantages • Disadvantages
– Delivery speed – Overuse
– Audience reach – Privacy issues
– Multimedia – Security risks
– Accessibility – Productivity

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 19

 FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN
CHOOSING MEDIA

1. Media richness
– Interactive Media
– Leanest Media
2. Message formality
– Effects the style and tone of message
3. Media limitations

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 20

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN
CHOOSING MEDIA
4. Urgency
– Choose medium according to receiver's time and
workload
5. Cost
6.Audience Preferences
– Use media according to audience

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 21

 ORGANIZING YOUR
INFORMATION
• Is important to both you and your
audience, and list the tasks involved in
organizing a message
• Good Organization of message helps in
three ways
– Understand your message by making the main point
clear
– Presenting additional points to support that main idea
– Satisfying all their information needs

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 22

Importance of Organization
• Improves productivity
• Boosts understanding
• Increases acceptance
• Saves audience time and energy

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 23

 Defining Your Main Idea

• General purpose
• Specific purpose
• Basic topic
• Main idea

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 24

 Generating Ideas
• Brainstorming
– Working alone or with others, generate as many ideas and
questions as you can, without stopping to criticize or
organize and the combine all pieces
• Mapping
– Generating and organizing ideas using a graphic method
• Storyteller’s tour
– Record yourself to describe and the play to listen

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 25

 Generating Ideas

• Journalistic approach
– Who, what, when, where, why, and how questions to
distill major ideas from unorganized information
• Question-answer chain
– Start with a key question, from the audience’s
perspective, and work back toward your message

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 26

 Sequencing the Message
(Choosing between Direct & Indirect Approach)

• Direct approach
– Deductive: Starts with the main idea (such as a
recommendation, a conclusion, or a request) and
follows that with supporting evidence.
– Used when audience is more receptive to message
– With the direct approach, you open with the main
idea of your message and support it with reasoning,
evidence, and examples

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 27

 Sequencing the Message
(Choosing between Direct & Indirect Approach)

• Indirect approach
– Inductive: Starts with the evidence and builds up to
the main idea
– Used when audience is skeptical or resistant to
message
– With the indirect approach, you withhold the main idea
until you have built up to it logically and persuasively
with reasoning, evidence, and examples.

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 28

 Classifying Messages
Message Audience Type of
Type Reaction Approach

Routine, Good-News Pleased Direct

or Good Will Or Neutral

Bad News Displeased Indirect

Uninterested
Persuasive Indirect
or Unwilling

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 29

 Outlining Content
Alphanumeric Decimal
I. First Major Part 1.0 First Major Part
A. First subpoint 1.1 First subpoint
B. Second subpoint 1.2 Second subpoint
1. Evidence 1.2.1Evidence
2. Evidence 1.2.2Evidence
C. Third subpoint 1.2.3 Third subpoint
II. Second Major Point 2.0 Second Major Point
A. First subpoint 2.1 First subpoint
B. Second subpoint 2.2 Second subpoint

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 30

 Organization Chart Outlines

The Main Idea

I. Major Point II. Major Point III. Major Point

A. Evidence A. Evidence A. Evidence

B. Evidence B. Evidence B. Evidence

C. Evidence C. Evidence C. Evidence

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 31

 Organizing Messages

• State the main idea

• State major points
• Provide evidence

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9e Chapter 4 - 32