BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
PRESENTED BY-
NAVAZ THOKUR
LECTURER,
MBA DEPT
PACE- MANGALORE

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MODULE- 3
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

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WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Written Communication is a creative activity that requires lot of imagination & efforts
to arrive at the finished product.

Written Communication is transmitted by written words in the form of letters, memos,

circulars, bulletins, reports, instruction cards, manuals, magazines, handbooks etc.

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Purpose of Writing

Two purposes

To inform &

To persuade

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Writing to Inform

When the writer seeks to give information & offers to explain it, the writing is
informative writing.
The focus of informative writing is on the subject or the matter under discussion.

Informative Writing- Checklist

Does it focus the subject matter under discussion?

Does it primarily inform rather than persuade the reader?

Does it offer exact & complete information?

Does it present information logically & clearly?

Does it make good reading?

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Writing to Persuade
Persuasive writing aims at convincing the reader about a matter, which is debatable; it
expresses opinion rather than facts.

It supports & argues a certain viewpoint or position.

The writer seeks to influence & convince the reader to accept the position put forth.

Persuasive writing is found in essays, editorials & letters to the editors, book reviews,
business research proposal etc.

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Persuasive Writing – A checklist
 Does it focus on the reader?

Does it basically seek to convince rather than inform?

Does it support the viewpoint by giving information or valid

reasons?

Does it finally evoke the intended response from the reader?

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Advantages of Written Communication Disadvantages

Issuing Order Time Consuming

Can’t be distorted Formal

Economical Amendments may not be possible

Clear & specific Misunderstood

Response Feedback

Record can be kept.

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 Principles of Effective Writing
Brevity

Clarity

Communication

Passion and Control

Sound and Rhythm

Place the reader first

Keep to the point

Set the right tone

Write a strong opening

Write a strong close

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Principles of Effective Writing
Brevity
The message to be communicated should be brief & should not contain any unnecessary
words which may create confusion.
Brevity does not mean that giving incomplete information. It implies less words with
proper & accurate information.
 

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Clarity
The message should be clear & precise &
Jargons should be avoided

Communication

Passion & Control

Sound and Rhythm

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Place the reader first
Right tone, appropriate language & right amount of information should be included.
The gist of the entire writing should be understood by the reader very easily.
 

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Keep to the point

Make a list of topics you want to cover

Under each topic list keywords, examples, arguments

& facts

Review each topic in the outline

Cut out any irrelevant information

Sort the information in the best order

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Set the Right Tone

Be helpful & friendly & set the right tone

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Write a Strong Opening
Examples

Thank you for your letter of 8 September 2010, which has been passed to me for
my attention

I refer to previous correspondence in respect of the above & note that till date we
have not received your cheque for the O/S arrears

I write with reference to our telephone conversation regarding

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Write a Strong Close
A closing paragraph should end the letter on a polite & business like note

Examples
I would again apologise for the delay in replying & I am confident that this has clarified
the points you have raised. However, if you wish to discuss any points I have not clarified,
or need any further information, you may call me or contact me accordingly

I look forward to hearing from you & in the meantime, if you have any queries, please do
not hesitate to contact me.

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 3×3 Writing Process for Business Communication

Phase 1- Prewriting Phase

Phase 2 –Writing Phase

Phase 3- Revising Phase

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Phase 1- Prewriting Phase

Analayse

Define your purpose

Select the most appropriate channel

Visualize the audience

Anticipate- Put yourself in the reader’s position & predict

his/her response to the message

Adapting-Shape message to benefit the reader

 

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Phase 2 –Writing Phase

Research- Collect data formally & informally

Organising- Group ideas in to list or outline

Compose- write a first draft

 

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Phase 3- Revising Phase

Revise- for clarity, tone & vigor, improve readability

Proofreading- For spelling, punctuation & format, check overall appearance

Evaluate- Will the final product achieve its purpose?

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Phase 1- Prewriting Phase
Analysing & Anticipating
i) Analaysing- Establish a purpose, the message to be conveyed to the reader
Channels used to deliver the message- E.g. e-mail, memo, letter, report, etc.

Anticipate-Have an idea about the audience’s knowledge & adapt

ii) Selecting the Best Channel

Points to be considered

Urgency

Speed of feedback

Permanent record

Cost of channel

Degree of formality

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Adapting to Task & Audience
After knowing the audience, adapt the language so that it speaks to them in the right
tone & using the right vocabulary so that they easily understand it.

i) Use reader benefits

Example
Sender focused- “We require all staff to complete these forms in compliance with
company policy”
Receiver- focused- “Please complete these forms so that you will be eligible for health
& dental benefits”

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ii) Cultivate “you” attitude
E.g.
“I/We”- “We are issuing a refund”
“You”- “You will receive a refund”
 
iii) Avoid negative expressions
You failed to…… you are careless
Your delay…… you are at fault
 
iv) Be Courteous
You must complete this report before Friday
Would you complete this report by Friday

v) Use precise, vigorous words- fax me, e-mail me

vi) Use familiar words

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Phase 2 – Writing
Research- Gather all your data you need in order to make a truthful post with all
substance.

Collecting the information from different sources such

Look in files
Speak with boss/colleagues
Speak with “target audience”

Organise
Organise the message in a proper order starting with header, sub header & list of items . It
should contain
Lists & outlines

Organise ideas
 

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Compose
Creating forceful sentences
i) Recognise phrases & clauses
Use the active voice in most sentence- E.g. We lost money

ii) Avoid dangling phrases- E.g. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was
strangulation by the coroner.

iii)Emphasize main points

iv) Put main ideas first

v) Put them in short sentences

 

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Drafting effective Paragraphs

Discuss only one topic

Group similar ideas
Start a new paragraph for each new topic

Arrange sentence in strategic format- main sentences & supporting sentences

Link ideas to build coherence

Use transitional expressions- additionally, however, as a result etc

Compose short paragraph- fewer than eight lines

 

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Phase 3 – Revising

Revising for clarity

Keep it simple

Keep it conversational;

Eliminate redundancies

Develop parallelism

Apply graphic highlighting

Letters such as (a) & (b) within the text

Bullets & numberings
Headings using Options such as Capital Letters, Bold, Italics etc.

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Proofreading
Look for

Spelling

Grammar

Punctuation

Names & numbers

Format

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Specific Writing Features

Organisation

Coherence

Appropriate tone

Readability

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Coherence-
It implies how various parts /words are sticking together in a sentence.

Emphatic sentences- Writing style increases emphasis on the messages

Consider the following techniques

Put the action at the beginning of the sentence- Raj proposed……

Build to a crescendo- the three regions report improvements in sale 12,21. & 37
percent respectively

Place emphasis on important words & create memorable statement, such as,”
We try harder” or “just point & click to shop our online catalog”

Show causation- ” Because of her timely investment, she quadrupled her profit”.

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Appropriate Tone-
Writing with “you” attitude
 
Using positive phrasing
E.g. your bid for the project was rejected
We selected another firm for the project

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 Readability

i) Clarity
Clear writing avoids muddy, incorrect, overly complex phrases & jargons.

Examples of muddy phrases

A number of (Use Many)

At your earliest possible (Use Soon)

convenience
Fullest possible extent (Use fully or completely)

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ii) Conciseness- Avoid wordy phrases & long, complex words, instead for short,
familiar words.

The consensus of opinion (Use the Consensus or opinion)

The first & foremost (Use first or foremost)
Over & over & over gain (Use over)

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iii) Parallel structure- It is the use of the same grammatical form or structure for
equal; idea in a list

Four application of parallelism

In lists- items should be presented in grammatically parallel structure.
Following points should be considered
Consider your audience
Prepare your message
Think of non-verbal communication in your talk

Pairing of words
Such as either/or , neither/nor etc.
Wrong usage- You are either the best employee in the dept., or I am mistaken
Right usage- Either you are the best employee in the dept., or I am mistaken
 

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Parallelism is a sentence that contains a series
E.g. At the grocery shop I need to buy some potatoes, bread, & I’ll also get milk
To make the sentence parallel, remove the words” I’ll get some” so it reads:
At the grocery store in need to buy some potatoes, bread & milk

Not Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and
in a detailed manner.
Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and
thoroughly.

Use parallelism in headings & sub-headings in reports & proposals.

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ELECTRONIC WRITING PROCESSES

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ELECTRONIC WRITING PROCESSES
Electronic writing process is facilitated by facilities like hardware, software & all the
other computer equipment available.
It is a speedy & efficient method of writing which is most commonly preferred by
everyone.

The following are the steps involved in Electronic writing process

Step-1- Note Taking Step-7- Searching & replacing

Step-2- Searching Step-8- Linking

Step-3- Word-polishing Step-9- Adding attribution

Step-4- Outlining Step-10- Using E-mail

Step-5- Changing defaults

Step-6- Using Multiscreens

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Step-1- Note Taking
Make a brief note of the contents, use abbreviations such as J. for journal.

Record the notes to a file.

Then, use the word-processing feature called search & replace (Ctrl F) to search for each
occurrence of J. & replace it with journal. Same thing can done with other abbreviations

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Step-2- Searching
During a lengthy project work or assignment, similar topics can be put under the
same heading & can be easily searched.

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Step-3- Word-polishing
Built- dictionary & lot of other software support facility is available using
which spell-check , style check & lot of other functions can be performed.

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Step-4- Outlining
Outliners allow the users to outline the thoughts quickly & rearrange the sections rapidly etc.

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Step-5- Changing defaults
Changing the default font, size, colour, page alignment & all other changes can be
made according to the user’s requirement

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Step-6- Using Multiscreens

Step-7- Searching & replacing

Step-8- Linking
Spreadsheets, graphical analysis & other related information can be linked

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Step-9 - Adding Attribution
E,g. Adding Footnotes or endnotes

Step-10- Using e-mail

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CONCLUSION
Written Communication plays a very important role in
every organization.
Written messages should be composed carefully as a
slight mistake may give entirely different meaning to a
situation.

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