LEHMAN DUFRENE BCOM 7 4 Preparing Written Messages

LEHMAN/ DUFRENE BCOM 7 4 Preparing Written Messages Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

LEARNING OUTCOMES 1 Apply techniques for developing effective sentences and unified and coherent paragraphs 2 Prepare visually appealing documents that grab the audience’s attention and increase comprehension 3 Identify factors affecting readability and revise messages to improve readability 4 Revise and proofread a message for content, organization, style, and tone; and mechanics format, and layout Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 2

Craft Powerful Sentences • Rely on active voice • Active voice: Subject of a sentence is the doer of an action • Passive voice: Subject of a sentence is the receiver of an action • Conceals the doer • Emphasizes what was done and who or what it was done to • Subordinates an unpleasant thought Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 3

Craft Powerful Sentences • Emphasize important ideas • Pleasant and important ideas should be emphasized • Techniques • Sentence structure • Repetition • Words that label, position, and space and format Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 4

Requirements of Developing Coherent Paragraphs • Position the topic sentence appropriately • Topic sentence: Identifies the portion of the topic being discussed • Presents the central idea of the paragraph • Deductive paragraph: Topic sentence precedes the details • Inductive paragraph: Topic sentence follows the details • Link ideas to achieve coherence Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 5

Requirements of Developing Coherent Paragraphs • Coherence: Cohesion • Each sentence is linked to the preceding sentences in some way • Keep paragraphs unified • Vary sentence and paragraph length Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 6

Figure 4. 2 Contrast the Readability and Appeal of Bulky versus Broken Text Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 7

Suggestions for Developing Business Documents • View things from audience’s perspective • Revise the documents until all additional ways to improve them are applied • Welcome suggestions for improvement in writing Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 8

Visual Enhancements to Improve Readability Enumerations Enumerated or bulleted lists Headings Tables and graphs Lines and borders Relevant images Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 9

Figure 4. 3 Improving Readability Through Cautious Use of a Grammar and Style Checker Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 10

Revise for Style and Tone • Eliminate outdated expressions • Curb clichés • Clichés: Overused expressions that cause users to be perceived as: • Unoriginal, unimaginative, lazy, and disrespectful • Eliminate profanity • Use simple, informal words • Jargon: Used when communicating with colleagues in the same field Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 11

Revise for Style and Tone • Communicate concisely • Techniques to produce concise messages • Eliminate redundancies • Redundancy: Word unnecessarily repeating an idea in an accompanying word • Use active voice • Review the main purpose of writing and identify relevant details • Avoid restating of ideas • Shorten sentences • Use a compound adjective Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 12

Revise for Style and Tone • Suggestions to project a positive, tactful tone • Tone: Conveys the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the message and the receiver • State ideas using positive language • Avoid using second person when stating negative ideas • Use passive voice to convey negative ideas • Use active voice to promote positive ideas • Use the subjunctive sentences Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 13

Revise for Style and Tone • Subjunctive sentences: Speak of a wish, necessity, doubt, or condition contrary to fact • Include a pleasant statement in the same sentence • Use euphemisms cautiously • Euphemism: Kind word to substitute for a offending word • Double speak: Euphemisms that deliberately mislead, hide, or evade the truth • Avoid condescending or demeaning expressions Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 14

Revise for Style and Tone • Damages efforts to build and protect goodwill • Goodwill: Arises when a business is worth more than its tangible assets • Use connotative tone cautiously • Denotative meaning: Literal meaning of a word that most people assign to it • Connotative meaning: Literal meaning of a word plus an extra message • Reveals the speaker’s or writer’s qualitative judgment Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 15

Revise for Style and Tone • Use specific language appropriately • Guidelines to use bias-free language • Use occupational titles that reflect genuine sensitivity to gender • Avoid: • Referring to men and women in stereotyped roles and occupations • Designating an occupation by gender • Using expressions that may be perceived to be gender-biased • Racial, ethnic, age, and disability bias Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 16

Procedures to Produce an Error-Free Product • Use spell-check to locate keying errors and repeated words • Proofread the document, concentrating on: • Errors in content, organization, and style • Mechanical errors • Display the document, in print preview mode, and edit format and layout • Print a draft copy and proofread again if the document is non-routine and complex • Print written documents on high-quality Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 17

KEY TERMS • • • Passive voice Active voice Topic sentence Deductive paragraphs Inductive paragraphs Coherence Clichés Jargon Redundancy Tone Subjunctive sentences • • • Euphemism Doublespeak Goodwill Denotative meaning Connotative meaning Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 18

SUMMARY • Crafting written messages • Focus on getting down ideas coherently and as quickly as possible to ensure effectiveness • Apply visual enhancements to improve readability and enhance appeal for audiences • Revise message tone and style • Eliminate errors in writing and mechanics by proofreading the message Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM 7|CH 4 19