While preparing a written or an oral business message, you need to plan, organize, compose, edit and revise it. The message must also be proofread and corrected before it is mailed. Apart from the steps mentioned above the writer must take care of seven C qualities and also of legal aspect. Careful preparation of communication is important, even if the writer / speaker has the modern technology. The basic planning steps are as follows:
Five Planning Steps
Before writing a message, the following steps are necessary for effective communication.
1. Define the purpose of the message.
2. Analyze your audience – readers or listeners.
3. Choose the ideas to include.
4. Collect all the facts to back up these ideas.
5. Outline – organize – your message.
1. Define the purpose of the message.
1. General Purpose
To inform, to persuade, to collaborate with your audience
This deters the amount of audience participation and amount of control your have over your message.
to inform: you control is high you inform you need with interaction. Audience absorb or reject the information
to persuade: you require a moderate amount of participation / moderate amount of control.
to collaborate: with audience you need maximum participation / you control is minimal.
Specific purpose
That purpose you be clear and straightforward.
To achieve this are your self what you want to achieve / accomplish with your message and what your audience should think after receiving the message.
Is you purpose realistic
Is this the right time?
Is the right person delivering the message?
Is your purpose acceptable to you organization?
2. Analyze your audience – readers or listeners.
It is very important to write the message to the recipient’s views and needs. You might or might not have met the recipient. It is better to visualize the individual. Try to picture that person – business or professional person or labourer, superior (boss) colleague, or subordinate, man or woman, new or longtime customer, young, middle-aged, or elderly client. Also, consider the person’s educational level, attitudes, and so on. If the message is for many people, try to find some common characteristics. In all communications, the areas must be considered on which the recipient is likely to be well informed or uniformed, pleased or displeased, positive, negative, or neutral, interested or uninterested and unreceptive.
As yourself some key question about your audience
1. Who are they?
2. What is their probable reactor to your message?
3. How much do they already know about the subject?
4. What is their relationship to your
Audience profile
1. Who is your primary audience?
2. How big is your audience?
3. What is your audience’s composition?
4. What is your audience’s level of understanding?
5. What is your audience’s probable reaction?
3. Choose the ideas to include.
While answering a letter, one can underline the main points to discuss and get the ideas briefly on a pad. If one is writing unsolicited or a complex message, one can begin by listing ideas as they come to mind. Then most important facts can be changed into message. It is better that the message written to welcome a customer should have other incentives or policies what the firm offers.
* Consider your reader’s viewpoint (be in his place)
* Read company’s document
* Talk with your colleagues, customer etc.
* Ask your audience for input
4. Collect all the facts to back up these ideas.
After the main ideas, the writer / speaker should ask himself what specific facts, updated figures or quotations he needs. The knowledge of the company’s policies, procedures, and product details is necessary for an effective communication. A brochure, table picture, or product sample is also useful to enclose.
Find out
* be sure the information is accurate
* be sure the information is ethical
* be sure the information is pertinent
* select appropriate channel
5. Outline – organize – your message.
The order in which the ideas are to be presented is as important as the ideas themselves. Disorganized writing reflects disorganized, illogical thought process or careless preparation.
Choose the organizational plan after the purpose has been finalized collecting all necessary facts. Ask yourself: “How will the reader or listener react to these ideas?”
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