Focus
on Business Writing Skills
•Introduction , Planning &
Execution of Messages, Writing different messages
•Characteristics of Good Writing
•Business Letters
•Format,
Language and Types, essentials of good Business letters
•Writing
routine and good-news letters
•Writing
a persuasive letter
•Memorandum (how to write a memo,
uses of a memo)
•Emails (how to write an email, etiquette, emails and intercultural communication
•Writing is a mode of communication
for specific purpose.
•It also shows one’s ability to use
language effectively
•Written communication involves
writing replies to clients, inquiries, memos recording agreements,
proposals
for contracts, formal and informal reports
•The main objective however is to
understand the particular document and how to communication the
purpose in a
simple and concise manner.
•One of the effective ways of
communicating through writing is to do it with clarity.
•Learn to plan written communication
by paying special heed to to the
expectations of the prospective
readers.
THE 7
C 's OF BUSINESS WRITING
Make
sure to double
check the writing by following the
seven C's of business writing. The seven C's
are:
•Clear
•Concise
•Correct
•Courteous
•Conversational
•Convincing
•Complete
source: https://www.eduers.com/businessletter/
Business Letters
Letters:
A business letter is a formal document often sent from one company to another
or from a
company to its clients, employees, and stakeholders,
Business
letters are used for professional correspondence between individuals, as well.
PURPOSE OF
A BUSINESS LETTER
The purpose for business writings is to inform readers of information you want
to get across or
possibly persuade the readers to do something.
COMMON
TYPES OF BUSINESS LETTERS
The
different
types of letters are: acknowledgement, adjustment, complaint, inquiry, order,
and
response letter.
Acknowledgement letter:
•This letter
is meant to thank the reader for something they did for you in the
office.
•It could
simply be saying thanks for receiving something the reader sent or maybe
thanking them for
their help with something.
•This type
of letter is not required in a business environment, but it is appreciated.
Adjustment Letter:
•This letter
should be used in response to a written complaint against someone
or something.
The
purpose
of it is to inform the reader that actions are being taken against the wrong
doing as well
as it serves as a legal document acknowledging the complaint.
Complaint Letter :
•The complaint
letter is much like the adjustment letter except no wrong doing as
taken place.
•Instead,
this letter is just to let the reader know that an error as been found and
needs to be corrected
as soon as possible.
•Once again,
this letter is a legal document letting the reader know that something is being
done to
correct the problem.
Inquiry
Letter :
•An inquiry
letter is written as a request for a certain something or in response to a
request made by
someone.
•The object
of the inquiry letter is to get the object or material requested in the
letter.
Order
Letter :
•Order letters
are exactly as they sound, they are used to order material that is running low
and will
be needed soon.
•This type
of letter is commonly known as a PO (purchase order). This letter is also a
legal document
showing a transaction between a business and a
vendor.
Response
Letter:
•A response
letter is also exactly how it sounds. It is a letter written in response to
another letter
received by someone.
•The objective
of this type of letter is to fulfill the request made by the person you are
writing this
letter to.
Format,
Language and Types, essentials of good Business letters
Ensure
that you use standard English.
Tone
should be in accordance to the business requirements
Informal
(Colloquialism, slangs, regional words etc)
Semi-formal
(lies in between Informal and academic)
Strictly
formal (It is the scholarly writings that are long and not frequently used in
everyday speech)
Essentials
of good Business letters
1.Accuracy
2.Brevity
3.Language, Tone, and Level of
Formality
4.Natural Language
5.Use Active voice
6.Avoid sexist language
Writing routine and good-news letters
A newsletter is
a printed report containing news (information) of the activities of a business
(legal
name; subscription business model) or an organization (institutions,
societies, associations) that is
sent by mail regularly to all its members,
customers, employees or people, who are interested in.
•Creating a newsletter depends
on
the content
•Newsletter marketing provides an
excellent opportunity to make and maintain contact with potential
as well as
repeat customers.
• The
goal of these newsletters is first and foremost to inform people,
but many a time this objective
is ignored and they end up being misused.
•They often
contain more advertising than actual information, which leads to the recipient
finding
them in spam.
• When
creating a newsletter, it’s important to develop a clear concept that maximize
readability
and
user satisfaction without losing sight of the original marketing purpose.
The foundations of a successful
newsletter
•Depending on
the sector it’s being created for, a right balance of providing
information and
advertising can be
developed in a newsletter.
Keep
these
points in mind when creating a newsletter:
•Find an
appropriate and appealing layout
for your newsletter
•Ensure
a
clear and interesting structure
•Create
exciting
and informative content
•Determine
the
perfect time to send out the newsletter
•Analyze
your
readership with the help of relevant tools
Writing a persuasive letter
•What is a persuasive letter?
•Letters that arouse the reader’s
interest and induce him or her to act as directed are essentially letters
that
sell ideas to others. They are called persuasive letters.
•The reader is made to see the
benefit of accepting the said proposal of the writer
•It arouses interest and essentially
to sell ideas.
•Writing Persuasive letters require
a good amount of planning.
The persuasive pattern involves the
following sequence of ideas:
•The opening statement, usually
catches attention.
•Example: Every second, 6 children
die of……., Would you like to die without
providing for the
safety……….., etc
•The middle section of a persuasive
letter give details regarding the product/ scheme that is promoted.
•After arousing the reader’s
interest, it requests a kind of action, or a response to the proposed
request.
•The last paragraph acts a reminder
of the benefits by urging to act on with a deadline.
Mr.
P D Jay,
Shining City
Wayward, 123456
19
January 2020
As
a
long-term resident of Shining city, I
am writing today to express my sincere hope that you will act on behalf of the
best interests of your constituents by arguing and, ultimately, voting in favor
of the Shiningward
legislation
currently under debate.
I
and most of my fellow residents have appreciated the integrity and conviction
of your positions in the past, and so we are confident that you will act
courageously and clearly to represent the dominant perspective of your
constituents at this important moment and into the future.
Sincerely,
James
Miro
Memorandum (how to write a memo,
uses of a memo)
Memos
•Business memorandum/memoranda, also
called memo or memos are specially formatted
written communications within your
business.
•A memo’s format is typically
informal (but still all-business) and public.
•Memos typically make announcements,
discuss procedures, report on company activities,
and disseminate employee
information.
•If you have something confidential
to communicate, don’t do it in a memo.
Point to remember
•The tone of memo
usually
is informal and friendly.
•Although you
don’t need to be curt, officious, or patronizing, a certain succinctness is
acceptable.
•Structure the
memo so that the most important information comes in the first paragraph
and
that subsequent paragraphs spell out what’s discussed in the first paragraph.
•Some people appear to think that memos
are
effective management tools.
•Although memos
are effective for direction and suggestion, criticism and praise are best
given
in person.
Source:
https://www.dummies.com/careers/business-communication/business-writing/how-to-format-a-business-memorandum/
Structure of a Memo
All
memos are structured similarly and have the
following elements:
•An
addressee: Flush
left, in capital letters, near the top of the page
•The
sender: Flush left, in caps, immediately below
the addressee
•Date: Flush
left, in caps, immediately below the sender’s name
•Subject: Flush
left, in caps, immediately below the date
•Use suitable paper for your memos —
white bond, either note size or standard to fit most
desk in-baskets.
•This figure shows an example of a
properly structured memo.
MEMORANDUM
DATE:
May 23, 2018
TO:
Advertising Department
FROM:
Mandy Joyne
SUBJECT:
Third- and fourth-quarter marketing ideas
____________________________________________________
After
our meeting on Tuesday, we had a chance to review your marketing suggestions
for the third and fourth quarters and would like to immediately move forward
with the "Back to School" series of advertisements.
Emails
(how to write an email, etiquettes, emails and intercultural communication
Electronic
mail
or email is a method of exchanging messages between people using electronic devices.
There
are six
key components to structure business Email:
•Subject Line
•Greeting
•Intro/Purpose
•Detail
•Ask/Action
•Closing/Sign-off
Source:
https://www.emailoverloadsolutions.com/blog/structure-business-email
Subject Line
The subject line highlights
the importance of an Email and the key information or topics
within the message.
•Make the
subject line clear, concise, and meaningful.
•It should summarize, not describe.
•Avoids one-word descriptions (e.g.,
Important, Help, or Urgent).
•Change the subject line if it is
vague, messy, or not related to the message.
•Use Subject Line
Hashtags as a way to standardize Subject Lines and provide key
information
such as purpose and urgency.
•For short messages, use subject
line only message ending with “EOM”
(shorthand for
"end-of-message").
•Bad Subject Line: “Re: Re: Re: Need to talk about change”.
•Good Subject Line: “Important: Project Orion Timeline
Acceleration”.
Greeting (or 'hello'):
•Use the
addressee’s name and title if it is a formal message.
•Follow institutional protocols for
the use of greetings.
•Casual business communications do
not always need a formal greeting - they can often
just list the recipient
names.
The greeting makes
your first impression - ensure you identify people cordially and
properly!
Intro/Purpose:
•Clearly and
concisely explain the purpose, question or issue.
•One or two sentences at most - you
will add the necessary detail below.
•Avoid Emails that span more than
one topic or request, unless they are closely related or
linked.
•The Intro/Purpose provides
a summary of the issue or request. By reading the intro, the
recipient
understands the context of the detail to follow.
Detail/Body
•Provides the
necessary background or supporting detail.
•Limit yourself to several bullet
points or a few, short paragraphs.
•Only provide the minimum
information needed to explain the issue or ask the question.
•Ensure you provide brief
explanation of the five key questions; What?
When? Where?
How? Why?
•If you need more then a page of
detail, consider attaching the detail in a Word document
or set a meeting to
discuss.
•When the Email has a file
attachment, ensure you refer to it in the message, what it
contains, and any
actions needed.
•Be polite, professional, and
respectful when presenting issues or asking questions.
•Avoid sarcasm, jokes, humor, or
tone that can be misinterpreted.
The Detail/Body provides
the background information about the issue or needed to help
answer the
question. If there is too much information to convey in a
page, consider if
another type of communication or even a formal meeting
is more appropriate.
Ask/Action
•Provide a
specific call for needed action.
•State the response or action you
want to receive.
•Ensure you are clear about exactly
“who”
needs to perform “what”.
•If there are deadlines, provide
the "when" prominently
to the recipients.
The Ask/Action is
one of the most important components of the Email message and where
you state
exactly what you are looking to get, from whom, and by when.
Unfortunately, it
is often omitted or not well defined.
Closing/Sign-Off/Good-bye
•Uses phrases
or words conveying respect and formality (e.g.,
“Sincerely,” “Best regards,”
“Best”).
•Include signature lines that
contain helpful contact information.
•Follow institutional protocols
for use of closings/sign-offs.
•Casual, routine business
communications often do not use formal sign-offs.
The
Sign-off is
where you provide a courteous "thank you" for assistance and provide
required contact information.
