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‡ Why Communication is Important for Business

‡ Shaping the Message to the meet Needs of your Audience
‡ An Effective Business Style

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‡ ]: 30% of letters and memos in business are sent to get

clarification of prior written communications. Bad writing takes
longer to read.
‡ 

: It costs between $15-$45 to produce a written page in
business.
‡

: Ineffective or unprofessional messages don¶t get
results or credence.

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‡ Are you writing to multiple readers/users?

‡ What do they need to know?
‡ How much do they already know?
‡ What is their likely attitude to you and your message?
‡ Is your idea or proposal in their interests?

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‡ Brevity
‡ Simplicity
‡ Clarity

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± at this point in time
± true and accurate
± eight A.M. in the morning
± each individual
± past history
± popular with the people

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± in spite of the fact that
± due the fact that
± in order to
± concerning the nature of
± the possibility exists for
± during the time that

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± please be advised
± in this day and age
± aforementioned
± in accordance with your request
± to all intents and purposes

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± actually
± basically
± ultimately
± very
± somewhat
± sort of
± quite

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± The company, which was successful, . . .
» (The successful company)
± The meeting, which had been brief, . . .
» (The brief meeting)
± He told her that he was lunching with Smith.
» (He told her he was lunching. . .)

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± Procedures of accounting . . .
» (Accounting procedures)
± The Mann company, based in New York. . .
» (The New York-based Mann company)

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± Use one idea per sentence.
± Subordinate minor ideas.
± Use (but don¶t overuse) à
or  as a transition

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± Use one idea per sentence.
Our company¶s final decision not to purchase the thus far
unimproved Johnson property with its access to the
highway and its view of the river, despite our substantial
preliminary investment in it in time and money, was based
on the surveyor¶s negative report emphasizing a public
sewer located underground in the central portion of the
property, where it cannot escape interfering with our
building plans.

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± Subordinate minor ideas.
‡ Limit each sentence to a single ãàidea.
‡ Add only secondary concepts that are closely related
to that idea.
‡ For any sentence, severely limit the number of
secondary concepts.

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± Subordinate minor ideas.
Major idea: This month¶s sales are necessary for
projecting this quarter¶s profit.
Minor idea: We do not yet know this month¶s sales.

Together: When we know this month¶s sales, we will be

better able to project this quarter¶s profit.

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± Keep paragraphs short.
± Use topic sentences.
± Use transitions between sentences

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There are good reasons for keeping business paragraphs
brief. A brief paragraph is more easily read and
understood because the reader¶s mind processes content
in small ³packets´ of information. Short paragraphs will
supply those ready-made packets. Occasionally, for
emphasis, you may even wish to include a paragraph of
only a sentence or two--as many effective business writers
do. A very brief paragraph, among those of ordinary
length, calls the reader¶s attention to its contents.

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| Our office in Japan was communicated with by letter.

`
 We wrote a letter to our office in Japan.

| A question is raised whether . . .

`
 I question whether . . .

| It was recommended by the committee that . . .

`
 The committee recommended . 


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The suggestion is made that the utilization of company money

to pay for executive vacations in Hawaii could be construed as
suspicious to the Internal <evenue Service and make them
think that an improper accountancy of these items may have
been made.

We suggest that if the company uses its money to pay for

executive vacations in Hawaii the I<S might suspect that the
company has accounted improperly for its expenses.
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± Avoid ambiguous reference.
± Limit sentences begun with 

and .
Example: It was the understanding of Burnet¶s group that
the price of Widgets had declined.
± Make pronouns agree with antecedents.
Example: IBM reduced  (not 
) workforce.

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± feedback
± input
± interface

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± directionality ± commensurate
± scrutinization ± mandate
± utilize ± remunerate
± transmit ± monetarily felt scarcity
± impact on ± parameters
± render operative ± aforementioned
± prioritize ± retrograde motion

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‡ Be direct.
‡ Address the main point or question up front.
‡ Consider what the audience wants to know.
‡ Group your ideas according to logical categories of
information.
‡ Use a readable document design or layout that highlights the
structure of the document.

An Example

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Adopt a direct organizational pattern when the information is not

sensitive and the reader is not antagonistic. The following
pattern works well for most business documents:

‡ Statement of Purpose
‡ Details
‡ Goodwill Closing

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Frontload Your Documents for Maximum Effect

‡ State your purpose briefly and immediately (both to yourself

and to the readers) in a short introductory paragraph.
‡ Tell the readers what you expect of them up front, clarifying
whether you require action, information, or a response.
‡ Put the conclusions or recommendations near the beginning.
‡ Write specific subject lines that convey the essence of the
document.

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Detail The Information in Logically Organized Paragraphs or

Sections

‡ Give the body of your message a logical structure by dividing

the information into coherent paragraphs.
‡ Use topic sentences and headings to signal those topics.
‡ Illustrate your points or prove your claims with examples.
‡ Present information in order of its importance and interest to
the reader.

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Close Your Documents Effectively

‡ Make a brief, goodwill statement at the end of your

documents.
‡ Convey next-step information, reiterate your main point, or call
for some specific action.

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Help your reader move through the document quickly and easily
by using formatting techniques that break it up into
manageable packets of information and that visually illustrate
the logic of your ideas:

‡ Use lists and bullets.

‡ Use white space liberally
‡ Include instructive or topical subheadings
‡ Vary typographical elements such as the use of italics,
boldface, and capitol letters.

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