Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
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Written Communications-MC-1
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Warren Buffet :
“ We will try to profit by correcting predicting future interest rates. When we have no strong
opinion, we will generally hold intermediate-term bonds. But when we expect a major and
sustained increase in rates, we will concentrate on short term issues. And conversely, if we
expect a major shift to lower rates, we will buy long bonds. We will focus on the big picture
and won’t make moves based on short term considerations”
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Written Communication
Effective Writing Skills
Why you need to write well ?
Writing well helps you create positive
impressions and in meeting your personal
and professional goals. Bad writing can be
a great barrier in your professional growth
and personal interactions
Its akin to creating a good first impression
whereby half the battle is won
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Written Communication
Effective Writing Skills
An example :
A blind man sits in a park with a scrawled sign hanging from his
neck saying “I AM BLIND” and a tin cup in front of him
A passing ad writer pauses, seeing only a few coins in the cup.
He asks, “Sir, may I change your sign? “ But this is my sign
says the blind man…”my sister wrote it just as I said.” “ I
understand, said the writer, “I can help. Let me write on the
back and you can try it out” . He wrote..within two hours the
tin cup was full..As people drop coins, the blind man asks one
of them what is written on the sign.. He is told just nine
words.. What were these highly effective words ?
“ It is spring and beautiful and I am blind”
Creative ,engaging and yet simple writing can work wonders…
Writing Process
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Here is a statement that most women will disagree with: Woman without her
man has no reason for living
With a colon and a comma, the writer would get a different reaction:
Woman : without her , man has no reason for living
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When are
Where you
How will your are you
communication expecting
expecting action to
benefit your it to be
readers? be taken?
read?
Presentation Skills
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Prepare well…
• Follow the 80/20 rule ( taken from Pareto Principle)
(80% on written style with a focus on ‘why should the
recipient read what you write?’ and 20% on content)
• Write a draft
• Rehearse by reading your draft aloud
• Have conviction in your topic
• Use notecards
…and then…
• Monitor the audience’s reaction
• Help the audience understand you
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Presentation Skills
Visual Aids
While using an over head projector face the
audience while talking
Point with a pen
Appropriate lighting
Watch the colours
Ensure clear visibility
10 lines, 10 words per line; preferable : 8x8
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Presentation Skills
Handling Questions
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Parallelism : ?
‘Faulty Parallelism’: Avoid
“same kind of content in a sentence to be worded
in the same way” : good parallelism
e.g. : “ we donate money, give free money to NGOs
where our employees volunteer and show our
commitment to CSR” [faulty!]
‘We are committed to CSR . We demonstrate this by donating to
NGOs and volunteering’
Step 2: Writing
Methods of Organising any message:
Direct Method (INDUCTIVE)
Specific-> General
Indirect Method (DEDUCTIVE)
General-> Specific
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Written Communication(contd)…
Drafting Powerful Paragraphs
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Written Communication(contd)…
Drafting Powerful Paragraphs
Building Paragraph Coherence
Paragraphs are coherent when ideas are linked—that is,
when one idea leads logically to the next
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SWAS-CRP-LAB-PGN
Six Tips :
Use Resonant Characters
Engage with Active Verbs
Use the 8 word Test: have a max of 8 words between the
noun and verb in a sentence
Link Sentences and Phrases with Explicit Connectors
Start from the Familiar(old) and then move to the New
Use the PSA Paradigm-Purpose->Solution-> Action
Exercise : Rewrite : Bad Writing
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A Better Version :
• “ We can ensure the developmental
success of all employees in an
organization by encouraging the good
work done by its front-line employees.
By treating their team members well,
managers can secure better loyalty and
commitment from them.”
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Placing Emphasis
Emphasis through mechanics
Emphasis through style
Label the main idea
Consider looking for a job Consider looking for a job online;
online but also focus on but, most important,
networking is to focus on
networking
Important idea first or last in the sentence
Profit-sharing plans are more effective Productivity is more likely to be increased
in increasing productivity when they are
linked to individual performance when profit sharing plans are linked
rather than to group performance
to individual rather than to group performance
individual performance rather than to
group performance are more effective in increasing productivity
Profit-sharing plans linked to
individual performance rather than to group
performance are more effective in
increasing productivity
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[Revise the following paragraph. Add a topic sentence and improve the
organisation. Correct problems you see for example - with pronouns and
wordiness]
“As you probably already know, this company (LaserTronics) will be installing
new computer software shortly. There will be a demonstration April 18,
which is a Tuesday. You are invited. We felt this was necessary because this
new software is so different from our previous software. It will be from 9 to
12 a.m. in the morning. This will show employees how the software
programmes work. They will learn about the operating system, and this
should be helpful to nearly everyone. There will be information about the
new word processing programme, which should be helpful to administrative
assistants and product managers. For all you people who work with payroll,
there will be information about the new database programme We can’t
show everything the software will do at this one demo, but for these three
areas there will be some help at the Tuesday demo. Presenting the software,
the demo will feature Priya Reddy. She is the representative from
LaserTronics Software.”
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Written Communication(contd)…)
The Writing Process
Step 3: Revising
Conciseness
Reduce flabby expressions, long lead-ins,
E.g. “I am sending you this email to let you know that we
have hired a new Account Manager for your region”.
Dropping unnecessary redundant phrases/words
Eliminate Redundancies
- absolutely essential
- adequate enough
- basic fundamentals
- big in size
- combined together
- exactly identical
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Written Communication(contd)…
The Writing Process
Step 3: Revising
Clarity
Overused / boring business phrases-CLICHES-AVOID
--as per your request
--pursuant to your request
--enclosed please find
--every effort will be made
--in accordance with your wishes
--in receipt of
-- please do not hesitate to
--thank you in advance
--under separate cover
---with reference to
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Written Communication(contd)…
The Writing Process
Using IM and SMS at Work
Keep your messages simple and to the point (KISS). Avoid unnecessary
chitchat and know when to say goodbye
Don’t use IM to send confidential or sensitive information
Be aware that instant messages can be saved. Like e-mail, don’t say
anything that would damage your reputation or that of your organisation
Show patience by not blasting multiple messages to co-workers if a
response is not immediate
Keep your presence status up-to-date so that people trying to reach you
don’t waste their time
Beware of jargon, slang, and abbreviations, which, although they may
reduce keystrokes, may be confusing and appear unprofessional
Where appropriate, respect your receivers by employing proper grammar,
spelling, and proofreading
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Written Communication(contd)…
Important Reminders
Revise for clarity and conciseness Viewed from the receiver’s perspective,
are the Ideas clear? Do they need more explanation? If the message is passed on to
others, will they need further explanation?
Revise for readability Did you group related information into paragraphs,
preferably short ones? Paragraphs separated by white space look inviting. Does each
paragraph begin with the main point, and is that point backed up by details? Can you
add paragraph headings to improve readability? Can you form bullet points or lists to
make the message easy to skim and comprehend?
Plan for feedback How will you know whether this message is successful?
You can improve feedback by asking questions (such as -Are you comfortable with
these suggestions? or What do you think?). Remember to make it easy for the receiver
to respond by providing your e-mail address or phone number
Golden
Circle
Follow the Inside-Out Process, not Outside in while promoting your cause
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