Chapter5

WritingBusinessMessagesCitefourofthemostcommonorganizationmistakesbycommunicatorsWhatGoodOrganizationMeansVariousculturesdefinegoodorganizationdifferently.IntheUnitedStatesandCanada,itgenerallymeanscreatingalinearmessagethatproceedspointbypoint.Ifyou’veeverreceivedadisorganizedmessage,you’vefamiliarwiththefrustrationoftryingtosortthroughamuddleofideas.Mostdisorganizedcommunicationsuffersfromproblemswithclarity,relevance,grouping,andcompleteness.

Sowecandistinguishfourofthemostcommonorganizationmistakesbycommunicators.

No.1TakingTooLongToGetToThePointIndailylife,mostpeopleliketowritewarming-upparagraphsbeforegettingtothepoint.Butifthebeginningofabusinessmessagewastoowordyandnotinvolvedthetopic,itjustwastetheaudience’svaluabletime.Solution:Makethesubjectandpurposeclear.Shortenordeletewarming-upparagraphsIdentifythepurposeofthemessageinthebeginningNo.1TakingTooLongToGetToThePointNo.2IncludingIrrelevantMaterial

Asuccessfulcommunicationshouldbeclearandconcise,ifincludingtoomuchirrelevantmaterial,thecommunicationmaybenegativelyaffected.Solution:Includeonlyinformationthatisrelatedtothesubjectandpurpose.No.3GettingideasmixedupSometimes,youhavetomakeseveralpointsinyourmessage.However,theideasarealwaysmixedupandlocatedinthewrongplaces.Ifyourmessageistoolongorcomplex,youmightloseyouraudience.Solution:

Grouptheideasandpresenttheminalogicalway.MakealistofitemsyouwanttoexpressStartanewparagraphforeachnewtopicNo.3GettingideasmixedupNo.4LeavingOutNecessaryinformationIfthecommunicationincludingmuchinformation,itisverycommonforcommunicatorstoleaveoutsomenecessaryinformation.Solution:Includeallthenecessaryinformation,andbeforethecommunication,thecommunicatorshadbetterlistoutnecessaryandimportantinformation.Achievinggoodorganizationcanbeachallenge.

However,solvingthesecommonproblemscanhelpyoucommunicateclearly.GoodOrganizationImportantForcommunicatorandaudiencePoorlyorganizedmessageswastereaders’timestruggletograspyourmeaningmisinterpretationa.poordecisionmakingb.shatteredbusinessrelationships.(shatter粉碎)GoodorganizationforcommunicatorSavesyoutime.Savesyouwork.Helpsyoudelegate（委派派，轉(zhuǎn)授）.GoodorganizationforcommunicatorSavesyoutime.Yourdraftwillgomorequicklybecauseyouwon’twastetimeputtingideasinthewrongplacesorcomposingmaterialyoudon’tneed.GoodorganizationforcommunicatorSavesyouwork.Youcanuseyourorganizationalplantogetadvanceinput(輸入入)fromyouraudience,soyoucanmakesureyou’reontherighttrackbeforeyouspendhoursworkingonyourdraft.GoodorganizationforcommunicatorHelpsyoudelegate（委派派，轉(zhuǎn)授）.Youcanuseyourorganizationplantodividelarge,complexwritingjobsamongco-workers.GoodorganizationforaudienceIncreasingreaderunderstanding.Makingreadersmorereceptivetoyourmessage.Savingreaderstime.GoodorganizationforaudienceIncreasingreaderunderstanding.Successfulorganizationisthekeytocommunicatingeffectivelywithaudiences.Bymakingyourmainpointclearattheoutsetandstatingyourneedsprecisely,yourwell-organizedmessagewillsatisfyyouraudience’sneedforinformation.GoodorganizationforaudienceMakingreadersmorereceptivetoyourmessage.Selectandorganizeyourpointsinadiplomatic（（有策略的））way.Bysoft-eningrefusals（拒絕絕）andleavingagoodimpression,youenhanceyourcredibility（可信度））andaddauthoritytoyourmessages.GoodorganizationforaudienceSavingreaderstime.Audiencemembersreceiveonlytheinformationtheyneed,andbecausethatinformationispresentedasaccessibly（（可親近的））andsuccinctly（簡(jiǎn)潔的））aspossible,theycanfollowthethoughtpatternwithoutastruggle.SummaryPoororganizationcoststime,efficiency,andrelationships.Goodorganizationhelpsyousavetime,worksmart,anddelegate.Goodorganizationhelpsyouraudienceunderstandyourmessage.Acceptyourmessage,andsavetime.SummarizetheProcessforOrganizingBusinessMessagesEffectivelyCHECKIST:organzingbusinessmessagesRecognizegoodorganizationDefinetheMainIdeaandlimitthescopeStructurethemassagetodecidewhatyouneedtosayArrangemessagesequenceaccordingtotheaudience'sprobablereactionPart1RecognizegoodorganizationWhatgoodorganizationmeansItgenerallymeanscreatingalinearmessagethatproceedspointbypointThemostcommonmistakesinorganizingmessagesTakingtoolongtogettothepointIncludingirrelevantmaterialGettingideasmixedupLeavingoutnecessaryinformationWhatisagoodorganizationlikeSubjectandpurposeareclearInformationisdirectlyrelatedtosubjectandpurposeIdeasaregroupedandpresentedlogicallyAllnecessaryinformationisincludedRecognizetheimportanceof

agoodorganizationGoodorganizationhelpsyouworkbetterbecauseitSavesyoutimeSavesyouworkHelpsyoudelegateSobeforeyoubegintowrite,thinkaboutwhatyouaregoingtosayandhowyouaregoingtosayit.Part2HowgoodorganizationisachievedDefinethemainideaandlimitthescopeDevelopaglobalstatementthatupthecentralpointofmessage.Makeyourglobalstatementaudience-centered.Evaluatewhetherthemainideaisrealistic,giventheimposedlengthlimitations.DevelopaglobalstatementthatupthecentralpointofmessageThetopicisthebroadsubject;themainideamakesastatementaboutthetopic.Thebroadsubjectofyourmessageisthetopic,andyourmainideamakesastatementaboutthattopic.Makeyourglobalstatementaudience-centeredDefiningyourmainideaismoredifficultwhenyou'retryingtopersuadesomeoneorconveydisappointinginformation.1.Yourmainideamayattimesbeobvious.2.Longerdocumentsandpresentationsunifyamassofmaterial,sobesuretodefineamainideathatencompassesalltheindividualpointsyouwanttomake.Evaluatewhetherthemainideaisrealistic,giventheimposedlengthlimitationsDealwiththreeorfourmajorpoints(notmorethanfive),regardlessofmessagelength.Asyouadjustyourmessagetofitthetimeorspaceacailable,don'tchangethenumberofmajorpoints.Ifyourmessageisbrief(fourminutesoronepage),you'llhaveonlyaminuteoraparagrapheachfortheintroduction,conclusion,andmajorpoints.Howmuchinformationyoucancommunicateingivennumberofwordsdependsonthnatureofyoursubject,yourcredibility.Part3StructurethemassagetodecidewhatyouneedtosayTovisualizehowallthepointswillfittogetheristoconstructanoutlineTovisualizethestructureofyourmessageisbycreatingamessage"organizationchart"similartothechartsusedtoshowacompany'smanagementstructureHOWVisualizationsWorkoutlinecanappearinvariousformatsusenumbers-orlettersandnumbers-toidentifyeachpointindentpointstoshowwhichideasareofequalstatusPointsforstructuring

agoodmessagestartwiththemainideastatethemajorpointsillustratewithevidencePart4Arrangemessagesequenceaccordingtotheaudiences'probablereactionusethedirectapproachwhenyouraudiencewillbeneutral,pleased,interested,eagerusetheindirectapproachwhenyouraudiencewillbedispleased,uninterested,unwillingStructuretheMessagetoDecideWhatyouNeedtoSayStartwiththemainideaStatethemajorpointsillustratewithevidenceStartwiththemainideaSummarizestwothings:whatyouwantyouraudienceto

doorthinkwhytheyshoulddoso*everythinginthemessageshouldeithersupportthemainideaorexplainitsimplicationsStatethemajorpointsIdentify3-5majorpointsthatsupportclarifyyourmessageinmoreconcretetermsToinformwithfactualmaterialTodescribeaprocessTodescribeanobjectTogiveahistoricalaccountTopersuadeorcollaborateIllustratewithevidenceSpecificevidenceisfleshandbloodthathelpsyouraudienceunderstandandremember.themoreevidenceyouprovidethemoreconclusiveyourcasewillbe.Eachmajorpointmustbesupportedwithenoughspecificevidencetobeconvincing,butnotsomuchthatit’sboringSelectingthebestwordsTOPIC:Choosingyourwordscarefully.First,paycloseattentiontocorrectness.Ifyoumakegrammaticalorusageerrors,youlosecredibilitywithyouraudience.Poorgrammarimpliesthatyouareunawareoruninformedandaudienceputlittlefaithinanuninformedsource.IfdoubtcheckitoutIfyouhavedoubtsaboutwhatiscorrect,don’’tbelazy.Lookuptheanswerandusetheproperformofexpression.Mostauthoritiesagreeonthebasicconventions.Effectivenessisthesecondconsiderationwhenchoosingwords.Justasimportantasselectingthecorrectwordisselectingthemosteffectivewordforthejobathand.Ⅰ．UsefunctionalandcontentwordscorrectlyWordscanbedividedintotwomaincategories(類(lèi)).Functionalwordsexpressrelationshipsandhaveonlyoneunchangingmeaninginanygivencontext.Theyincludeconjunctions(n.連連詞),prepositions(n.介介詞),articles(冠詞詞),andpronouns(n.代代名詞).Contentwordscarrythemeaningofasentenceandaresubjecttovariousinterpretations(解釋釋).Theyincludenouns,verbsadjectives,andadverbsBothfunctionalwordsandcontent(滿(mǎn)滿(mǎn)意的的,滿(mǎn)滿(mǎn)足的的)wordsarenecessary,butyoureffectivenessasacommunicatordependsonyourabilitytochoosetherightcontentwordsforyourmessage.Ⅱ．Denotation(象象征預(yù)預(yù)示)andconnotation(隱隱含意意義)Contentwordshavebothadenotative(explicit,specific)meaningandaconnotative(implicit,associative)meaning.Denotationmeaningistheliteral(字字面意意義的的),ordictionarymeaning.Connotativemeaningincludesalltheassociationsandfeelingevoked(喚起起引起起)bytheword.However,somewordshavemuchstrongerconnotationthanothers.Inbusinesscommunication,avoidusingtermsthatarehighinconnotative（（隱含含的））meaning.Businesscommunicatorsavoidwordswithnegativeormultipleconnotations.Ⅲ．Abstractionandconcreteness（（抽抽象和和具體體）Anabstractwordexpressesaconcept,quality,orcharacteristic.Aconcrete（（具體體的））wordstandsforsomethingyoucantouchorsee.Youmightassumethatconcretewordsarealwaysbetterthanabstractwords,becausetheyaremoreprecise（精精確的的）,butyouwouldsometimesbewrong.Inbusinesscommunication,useconcrete,specifictermswheneverpossible;useabstractionsonlywhennecessary.Ⅳ．FindwordsthatcommunicateBusinesscommunicatorsaimforclarityandaccuracyratherthandramaticeffect.Wordsmithschoosestrongwords,choosefamiliarwords,avoidclichéés（（陳腔腔濫調(diào)調(diào)）,andusejargon(行話(huà)話(huà))carefully.①Choosestrongwords.Choosewordsthatexpressyourthoughtsmostclearly,specifically,anddynamically.②Choosefamiliarwords.You’llcommunicatebestwithwordsthatarefamiliartoyourreaders.However,keepinmindthatwordsfamiliartoonereadermightbeunfamiliartoanother.③Avoidcliches.(陳詞詞濫調(diào)調(diào))Althoughfamiliarwordsaregenerallythebestchoice,bewareoftermsandphrasessocommonthattheyhavebecomevirtuallymeaningless.（無(wú)無(wú)意義義）④Usejargon(行行話(huà))carefullyIt’’sfinetousejargononthejobwithyourpeers,butwhencommunicatingwithoutsiders,becarefultoputtechnicalinformationintowordsthatyouraudiencecanunderstand.conclusionRemember,goodbusinesswritingislearnedbyimitationandpractice.Asyoureadbusinessjournals、newspapers,andevennovels,makeanoteofthewordsyouthinkareeffectiveandkeeptheminafile.Tryusingsomeofthesewordsinyourdocument.Youmaybesurprisedhowtheycanstrengthenyourwriting.Sentencestylevariesfromculturetoculture.Germansentencesareextremelycomplex,withlotsofmodifiersandappositives;JapaneseandChineselanguagesdon’’tevenhavesentencesinthesamesensethatWesternlanguagesdo.However,inEnglishtrytomakeyoursentencegrammaticallycorrect,efficient,readable,interesting,andappropriateforyouraudience.Ingeneral,striveforstraightforwardsimplicity.Formostbusinessaudiences,clarityandefficiencytakeprecedenceoverliterarystyle.UsesentencestyletoemphasiskeythoughtsIneverymessage,someideasaremoreimportantthanothers.Youcanemphasizethesekeyideasthroughyoursentencestyle.Oneobvioustechniqueistogiveimportantpointsthemostspace.Whenyouwanttocallattentiontoathought,useextrawordstodescribeit.ForinstanceConsiderthissentence:“Thechairpersonoftheboardcalledforavoteoftheshareholders.””Toemphasizetheimportanceofthechairperson,youmightdescribehermorefully:“Havingconsiderableexperienceincorporatetakeoverbattles,thechairpersonoftheboardcalledforavoteoftheshareholders.””Youcanincreasetheemphasisevenmorebyaddingaseparate,shortsentencetoaugmentthefirst:”Thechairpersonoftheboardcalledforavoteoftheshareholders.Shehasconsiderableexperienceincorporatetakeoverbattles.”Youcanalsocallattentiontoathoughtbymakingitthesubjectofthesentence.Inthefollowingexample,theemphasisisontheperson:“Icanwritelettersmuchmorequicklybyusingacomputer.”However,bychangingthesubject,thecomputertakescenterstage:”Thecomputerhelpsmewritelettersmuchmorequickly.”Anotherwaytoemphasizeanideaistoplaceitateitherthebeginningortheendofasentence:LessEmphatic:Wecuttingthepricetostimulatedemand.MoreEmphatic:Tostimulatedemand,wearecuttingtheprice.Incomplexsentence,theplacementofthedependentclausehingesontherelationshipbetweentheideasexpressed.Ifyouwanttoemphasizetheidea,putthedependentclauseattheendofthesentence(themostemphaticposition)oratthebeginning(thesecondmostemphaticposition).Ifyouwanttodownplaytheidea,burythedependentclausewithinthesentence.e.g.sMostEmphatic:TheelectronicpartsaremanufacturedinMexico,whichhaslowerwageratesthantheUnitedStates.Emphatic:Becausewageratesarelowerthere,theelectronicpartsaremanufacturedinMexico.LeastEmphatic:Mexico,whichhaslowerwagerates,wasselectedastheproductionpointfortheelectronicparts.Techniqueslikethisgiveyouagreatdealofcontroloverthewayyouraudienceinterpretswhatyouhavetosay.Paragraphcanbedevelopedinmanyways.Yourchoiceoftechniquedependsonyoursubject,yourintendedaudience,andyourpurpose.FivewaystodevelopaparagraphIllustrationgivingexamplesthatdemonstratethegeneralideaComparisonorcontrastusingsimilaritiesordifferencestodevelopthetopicCauseandeffectfocusingonthereasonsforsomethingClassificationshowinghowageneralideaisbrokenintospecificcategoriesProblemandsolutionpresentingaproblemandthendiscussingthesolutionInpractice,you’lloftencombinetwoormoremethodsofdevelopmentinasingleparagraph.Toaddinterest,youmightbeginbyusingillustration,shifttocomparisonorcontrast,andthenshifttoproblemandsolution.However,beforesettlingforthefirstapproachthatcomestomind,considerthealternatives.Thinkthroughvariousmethodsbeforecommittingyourself.Ifyoufallintotheeasyhabitofrepeatingthesameoldparagraphpatterntimeaftertime,yourwritingwillbeboring.eg.saythatyouwanttoannouncetothemediathatyou’vedevelopedanewproductorhiredanexecutive.Suchannouncements—calldepressreleases———ususallyendwithastandardparagraghaboutthecompanyandItslineofbusiness.Someoftheparagraghsthatbusinesscommunicatorsuseintheirdocumentsare““prewritten”.boilerplateAboilerplateisanystandardblockoftextusedinvariousdocumentswithoutbeingchanged.Usingboilerplatessavestimeandreducesmistakes,becauseyou’’renotretypingtheparagrapheverytimeyouuseit.Explainhowtocaptureaudienceattention&bemorepersonaline-mailmessagesGroup81、Thewaytograbaudienceattention①CreateinformativesubjectlinesThereasonsforitWhene-mailrecipientsaredecidingwhichmessagestoreadfirst,theylookatwhosenteachmessage,theycheckthesubjectline,andtheymayormaynotscanthefewlines.Amessagewithablanksubjectlineorageneralone(suchas“Question““or“Readthis!”)willprobablygounreadandwillbeperhapsbedeleted.Tip:domorethanjustdescribeorclassifymessagecontent.youhave25to40characterstobuildinterestwithkeywords,quotations,direction,orquestions.②changesubjectlinesinmultiplee-mailsonthesametopic.ThereasonsforitMoste-mailsprogramswillcopythesubjectlineswhenyoupresstheReplykey.however,multiplemessageswithhensamesubjectlineswillbeconfusing.Infact,newermessagesmayhaveevolvedsothattheynowhavenothingtodowiththeoriginaltopic.Tip:modifyingthesubjectlinewitheachnewresponsecanmakeiteasiernotonlyforyouraudiencebutalsoforyoutolocateamessageatalatertime.2、Thewaytopersonalizeyourmessages①u(mài)seagreetingtomakeyoure-mailmorepersonal.tipAddingagreetingtoyoure-mailmakesitmorepersonal.naturally,whetheryouuseaformalgreetingoramorecasualonedependsonyouraudienceandyourpurpose.②yourclosingandsignaturealsopersonalizeyoure-mail.tipsInmostcases,selectsimpleclosing,suchanThanksorRegards,ratherthantraditionalbusinessclosingsuchasSincerelyyours.however,youmaywanttouseamoreformalclosingforinternationale-mail.DifferentsignaturesForyoursignature,youcanjustsimplytypeyournameonaseparateline.Oryoumaywanttouseasignaturefile,ashortidentifiercanincludeyourname,company,postaladdress,faxnumber,othere-mailaddresses,andsometimesevenaquotationsorthought.Youcanalsouseadigitalcopyofyourhandwrittensignature,whichisbecomingacceptableaslegalproofinbusinesstransactions,especiallywhenaccompaniedbyadatastamp,whichisautomaticallyinsertedbyyourmailprogram.HowtoDevelopaWell-OrganizedHyperlinkerStructureandModifyyourmessagestyleandformatWhatIsHyperlink?Anelementinanelectronicdocumentthatlinkstoanotherplaceinthesamedocumentortoanentirelydifferentdocument.Typically,youclinkonthehyperlinktofollowthelink.Hyperlinksarethemostessentialingredientofallhypertextsystems,includingthewordWideweb.Developawell-organizedhyperlinkstructure1.planyournavigationfirst2.letyourreadersbeincontrol3.writeeffectivelinksYouShouldDevelopaSiteNavigationSystemThinkaboutwhoyourreadersareWhatpathstheywillfollowtogetkeyinformation.DecideupfronthowmuchinformationyouwillactuallywriteHowmuchyourreaderswillaccessvialinkstoothersites.LetyourreadersbeincontrolBesurethateachstepmakessenseLeadreaderseagerlytothenextstepIncludeasearchengine,asitemap…andanindexoratableofcontents…WriteEffectiveLinksHowtouselinks(suchaswordsgraphics,phrasesorcompletesentences)isthemostessential.--a