Chapter 4: Planning Business Messages

Summary of Learning Objectives

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Describe the three-step writing process. (1) Planning consists of analyzing your purpose and your audience, investigating necessary information (whether formally or informally), and adapting your message by selecting the appropriate channel and medium and by establishing a good relationship with your audience. (2) Writing consists of organizing your ideas and actually composing words, sentences, paragraphs, and visual graphics. (3) Completing your message consists of revising your message by evaluating content and then rewriting and editing for clarity, producing your message by using effective design elements and suitable delivery methods, and proofreading your message for typos and errors in spelling and mechanics.

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Explain why it's important to define your purpose carefully, and then list four questions that can help you test that purpose. You must know enough about the purpose of your message to shape that message in a way that will achieve your goal. To decide whether you should proceed with your message, ask four questions: (1) Is my message realistic? (2) Is my message being delivered at the right time? (3) Is my message being delivered by the right person? (4) Is my message acceptable to my organization?

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Justify the importance of analyzing your audience profile, and list four ways of developing a profile. Analyzing your audience helps you discover who the members of your audience are, what their attitudes are, what they need to know, and why they should care about your purpose in communicating. An effective profile helps you predict how your audience will react to your message. It also helps you know what to include in your message and how to include it. To develop an audience profile, you need to determine your primary audience (key decision makers), the size of your audience, the makeup of your audience, the level of your audience's understanding, and your audience's probable reaction.

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Outline how you can collect information informally, clarify what your audience wants to know, and test the thoroughness of your information. You can collect necessary information informally by considering others' viewpoints, browsing through company files, chatting with supervisors or colleagues, or asking your audience for input. You can clarify what your audience wants to know by restating questions, establishing assignment priorities, and trying to think of information needs that your audience may not even be aware of. Finally, you can test the thoroughness of your information by checking whether your message answers who, what, when, where, why, and how. You also want to be sure that your information is accurate, ethical, and pertinent.

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Define media richness and then list other factors to consider when choosing the most appropriate channel and medium for your message. Media richness is the value of a medium for communicating a message. Richness is determined by the medium's ability to (1) convey a message using more than one informational cue (visual, verbal, vocal), (2) facilitate feedback, and (3) establish personal focus. Other factors to consider when selecting media include complexity, formality, confidentiality, emotional commitment, feedback needs, whether a written record is needed, urgency, cost, and audience expectation. Electronic forms are best for speed, to overcome physical separation and differing time zones, to reach a dispersed audience personally, and when confidentiality is not an issue.

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Discuss how you can establish a good relationship with your audience. Most important, be yourself and be sincere so that your audience won't be put off by falseness. Use the "you" attitude to project your audience focus and highlight audience benefits. Emphasize the positive by talking about what is possible, by not focusing on another person's mistakes, and by using euphemisms when appropriate. Establish your credibility by providing ample evidence for material outside your expertise, calling attention to what you have in common with your audience, explaining your credentials when necessary, and always providing the highest-quality information. Be polite by expressing yourself with courtesy, kindness, and tact and by being prompt in your correspondence. Use bias-free language to avoid blunders with respect to gender, race and ethnicity, age, and disability. And finally, be sure that you establish the right relationship with your audience by projecting your company's image.

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