Busi

nessLet
ter
Abusinesslet
terisapr
ofessi
onal,
formallet
terthati
ssentbyonecompanytoanother.
Theselett
erscanbeusedf orprofessi
onalcorr
espondencebetweenbusi
nesscl
ients,
employees,st
akehol
der
saswel l
asi ndi
vi
duals.

Whetheryouneedtotel
lapotent
ialcli
entaboutyourpr
oduct
,coll
aborat
ewi
thanot
her
company,convi
ncesomeonet oattendyourevent,orgi
veat hankyounot
e–awel l
-
wri
tt
enbusinessl
ett
ercanst
andout .

Ty
pesofBusi
nessLet
ter
s

A.Ont hebasisofnat ur
eandt oneoft hemessage:
Allmessagesar enotofsamenat ure,thusinbusinessl
ett
ersometi
mesweare
toacceptsomet hing,sometimeswehav etorej
ectsomethi
ngorwe
canr equestforanaction.Ther
efore,itiscleart
hatthet
oneandplanni
ngof
dif
ferenttypesoflett
ershouldbedi ff
er ent
.

Onthebasi sofnatureoft
hemessagebusi
nessl
ett
erscanbeoff
our(
4)t
ypes:
1.Posit
ivelett
er
2.Persuasivelet
ter
3.Routinelett
er
4.Negat i
velatt
er

1.Posit
ivel
ett
er:
Thepurposeofposi
ti
vel
etter
sar
etoconveygoodnews,cr
eat
ionofgoodwi
l
l,t
o
congrat
ulat
esomeone,r
ecommendat
ion,
adjust
mentetc.

Di
rectpl
ani
sfol
l
owedt
owr
it
eposi
ti
vesl
ett
ers.

Str
ucture:
Prof.RicksandGowsuggesteda“posi
ti
vesandwi
chf
ormul
a”f
or
writ
ingposit
ivel
etters,
whichhast
hreepar
ts-
--
-
i
.Statetheposit
ivemessage
i
i.Provi
dedetail
s
i
ii
.Closeonaf ri
endlynote.

B.2.Persuasivelett
er:
Businessletter
smaybewr it
tentoconvi
ncesomeonetodosomethi
ngort
o
acceptani dea.Thist
ypeofl
etter
sisknownaspersuasi
vel
ett
er.

Pur
poses:
-Torepl
aceadefecti
veproduct
-Toaskforspeci
alf
avor
s
-Toconv
inceaboutanewpr oductet
c.
 Str
uctur
e:Likeposit
ivelet
terper
suasi
vel
ett
erhav
eal
sot
hreepar
ts:
i
.Getthereader’si
nterest
i
i.Expl
aint
hebenef i
ts
i
ii
.Askforactions.

C.3.Routi
nel
etter
s:
Lett
erswri
tt
enforregul
arbusi
nessact
ivat
escanbet
ermedasr
out
inel
ett
ers.

Pur
poses:
-Pl
acingor ders
-Respondingor ders
-Requesti
ngi nformati
on
-Provi
deinf or
mat i
onetc.

Str
ucture:
Itf
oll
owsthedi
rectpl
anofwr
it
ingwhi
chhast
hreest
eps:
i
.Conv eyt
hemessage
i
i.Provi
dedetai
ls
i
ii
.Expressgoodwil
l

D.4.Negat
iveLett
ers:
Whenbadnewsi stransmit
tedorar
equesti
sreject
edthenani
ndi
rectpl
anof
wri
ti
ngisfol
lowedwhi chi
sknownasnegati
velett
er.

Pur
poses:
-Conveybadnews
-Denyorrej
ectr
equestet
c.

Str
ucture:
Negat i
velet
ter
sfol
l
owdi
ff
erentst
ruct
urewhi
chhasf
our(
4)par
ts:
i
.Useofabuf fer
i
i.Provi
deexplanati
on
i
ii
.Of f
eral
ter
natives
i
v.Useapositiveclosi
ng

E.B.Onthebasisofpur
poses:
1.Or
derlet
ter
s:
I
norderlet
ter
sawr i
tt
enrequesti
smadef
orsuppl
yofgoods.

2.Cir
cularl
etter
:
Tointr
oducenewpr oducti
nthemarket
,changeofoff
iceaddr
ess,
ort
oinf
orm
anyimportantmessagecir
cul
arl
ett
ercanbeissued.

3.I
nqui
ryl
ett
er:
Tobeconf
irmingaboutt
heav
ail
abi
l
ityofapr
oduct
,toknowaboutcr
edi
t
 f
aci
l
iti
esort
ocheckr
efer
encesoft
hej
obappl
i
canti
nqui
ryl
ett
erscanbewr
it
ten.

4.Complaint
slett
er:
Toinfor
m aboutdefecti
veproducts,shor
tageofgoods,
andgoodsof
poorquali
tyortoinf
orm anymi st
akesintheinv
oice,
compl
aint
slet
ter
scanbe
wri
ttentotheconcernedpart
ies.

5.Col
l
ect
ionlet
ter:
Whenaremindersentt
oadebtorbyl
ett
err
equest
ingf
orpay
mentofduest
heni
t
i
sknownascollect
ionl
ett
er.

6.Adjustmentslet
ter
s:
Thistypeoflett
erisi
ssuedi
nrepl
ytoacomplai
ntlet
ter
.Onceacomplai
nt
l
etteri
sreceived,i
tmustbeanal
yzedandpr
operl
yansweredbyt
herespect
ive
tr
ader.

7.Lett
erofrecommendat i
on:
Thistypeoflett
erisusedtor
equestsomeonetopr
ovi
deassi
stancet
oanot
her
person(whoi sknowntothewri
terofthel
ett
er.
)

8.Lettersregardingcompanymat ters:
Correspondencewi t
htheshar eholdersofthecompanywil
lcomeunderthi
s
heading.Al l
otmentlett
er ,l
ett
erofregret,
reminderf
orcal
lmoneyetc.ar
e
exampl esofl et
tersrel
atingtocompanymat ers.
Besidest hesetypesofl ett
ers,t
herearesomeot herty
pestolet
ter
s.
Theyar e:
-Conf ir
mationofor ders
-Ref usaloforders
-Cancel l
ati
onofor ders,etc.

Ti
psonWr
it
ingBusi
nessLet
ter
s

1.Keepi
tshor
tandsi
mpl
e

Wordchoicecanmakeorbreakt
heeffect
ivenessofyourbusinesslet
ter
.Av
oidfl
ower
y
descr
ipt
ionsandj
argonunl
essyou’
resurethereci
pientwi
llunderst
andwhatyou’
re
tal
ki
ngabout.

AsBenj
ami
nFr
ankl
i
noncesai
d,“
Timei
smoney
.”

Keept
hel
ett
ercl
earandconci
se.Gett
othepoi
ntasqui
ckl
yaspossi
ble.
2.Ri
ghtTone

Keepyourt
oneconv
ersat
ional
,yetpr
ofessi
onal
.Youdon’
twantt
ocomeof
fasar
rogant
orboast
ful
,doy
ou?

Sav
ecasuall
anguageforemai
l
sandmessages–y
ourpr
int
edbusi
nessl
ett
ersshoul
d
beali
tt
lepr
ofessi
onal
.

Wit
hthatsai
d,makesur
ethaty
ousoundl
i
keyour
sel
f.Youdon’
twanty
ourl
ett
ert
o
comeoffassomethi
ngwri
tt
enbyamachi
ne!

Tip:Usev
erbst hathaveanacti
vevoiceinst
eadofpassi
ve.Act
ivevoiceshowsthaty
ou
careandthatyou’r
eresponsibl
eforyouracti
ons.(
Example:
“Wewi l
ldeli
veri
ttoyouby
December15.”Not …“Youri
tem wil
lbedeliv
eredbyDecember15.)

3.Pr
oof
read,
proof
read,
andpr
oof
read!

Asyoumi ghthaveal
readyunder
stood,
abusinesslet
teri
snott
hepl
acet
obesl
oppy
.
Tr
ipl
e-checkitf
orspell
i
ngandgrammat i
cal
errors.

Al
so,don’
tforgettor
evi
ewthespel
l
ingofy
ourr
ecipi
ent’
sname.I
fyouspell
it
i
ncor
rectl
y,t
hat’l
li
ncr
easet
hechancesofy
ourl
ett
erwindingupi
nthet
rash.

Atal
lcost
s,av
oidgr
ammat i
calmistakes.Theysuggestthaty
oulackpr
ofessi
onal
i
sm
andatt
ent
iont
odetai
l.Makesur
et oalsodoaspel lcheckwhil
eyou’
reati
t.

Howt
oWr
it
eaBusi
nessLet
teri
n9Si
mpl
eSt
eps?(
For
matorSt
ruct
ure)

St
ep1:
Sender
’sI
nfor
mat
ion

I
fyouwantar
epl
y,y
ouneedt
ounder
standhowt
oaddr
essabusi
nessl
ett
erpr
oper
ly.

I
nthi
ssect
ion,
you’
vet
owr
it
eyouraddr
ess,
cont
actnumber
,andemai
laddr
ess.

Manypeopleincl
udethei
rful
lnameatt
hetoptoo.However
,other
sthi
nkthati
t’
s
unnecessar
ybecauseyouaregoi
ngtosi
gnthelet
terwi
thyournameanyway.

Wantt
osav
esomet
ime?

Well
,i
fyourcompanyhasal
ett
erhead,
youcanuset
hati
nst
eadoft
ypi
ngoutal
lthe
i
nfor
mation.
St
ep2:
Dat
e

Rat
hert
hanabbr
evi
ati
ngwi
thnumber
s,wr
it
etheent
ir
edat
e.

Whenyou’
rewri
ti
ngt
oAmer
icancompani
es,
uset
heAmer
icandat
efor
mati
.e,
putt
he
mont
hbeforet
heday.

Exampl
e:Oct
ober20,
2016

Wr
it
ethedat
ebef
oret
hemont
hify
ou’
resendi
ngal
ett
eri
ntheU.
K.orAust
ral
i
a.

Exampl
e:20Oct
ober2016

St
ep3:
Reci
pient
’sAddr
ess

Thi
sist
headdr
esswher
eyourl
ett
erwi
l
lbedel
i
ver
ed.

Writ
ethereci
pient’
sname,t
heirt
it
le(Ms./Mrs.
/Mr.
/Dr)
,andtheiraddr
ess.Makesur
e
you’
reasspeci
f i
caspossi
blesothati
treachestheri
ghtdest
inati
on.

I
fyoudon’tknowtheperson’
sname,al
it
tl
eresear
chwon’
thar
my ou!Cal
lthecompany
orspeakt
ot heemploy
eesofthecompanytofi
ndoutt
hename.

Exampl
e:

Mr
.Mi
keBr
own

Execut
iveDi
rect
or

XYZ,
Inc.

602Mel
roseAv
enue

LosAngel
es,
Cal
i
for
nia90038

Ti
ps:

● I
ncasey ou’
reunsureaboutawoman’ spref
erencei
nbeingaddressed,use‘Ms’
.
● I
fyout hi
nkthatyourr
ecipi
entuses‘Dr’
orhassomeot hert
it
le,
uset hat.(
Usuall
y,
peopledon’
tmi ndbei
ngaddr essedbyahighertit
let
hantheyact ual
lypossess,
buttheydon’
twannabeaddr essedbyalowerone.)
St
ep4:
TheSal
utat
ion

Asalut
ati
onisn’
tjustasi
mpl
egreeti
ng,
it’
sani
ndi
catorofr
espect.Youcanchooset
he
sal
utat
ionbasedonhowwellyouknowtheper
sonandthecontextofyourl
ett
er.

I
fyouknowt hepersonyou’
resendi
ngthelet
tert
o,andyoumost l
yaddr
essthem wi
th
t
heirf
irstname,
it’
sokaytousethei
rfi
rstnameinthesal
utat
ion.(
Forexample,
Dear
Mike)

Howev
er,
ther
ear
eexcept
ionst
othi
scaset
oo.

Let
’st
akeanexampl
e.

ThedeanatXYZcollegemightbeyouruncle,
butifyou’
rewri
ti
ngtohimregardi
ngan
offi
cial
matt
er,
itwouldbebestify
ouuset hesalut
ati
on“Dean(LastName)”or“Dr
.
(LastName)
”becausether
e’sachancethatotherpeopl
ehandlehisl
ett
ersandemail
s.

I
fyoudon’
tknowsomeone,
alway
suset
heper
sonal
tit
leandt
hei
rlastname.

I
fyouarenotsur
eofsomeone’
sgender
,youcanuset
hei
rful
lname.(
Forexampl
e,Dear
Tay
lorBr
own)

Ify
oudon’tknowspeci
fi
cal
l
ywhom y
ou’
resendi
ngt
hel
ett
ert
o,use“
towhom i
tmay
concer
n.”

What
everthesi
tuat
ioni
s,makesur
ethaty
ouendt
hesal
utat
ionwi
thacol
on.(
Nota
comma!)

St
ep5:
TheBody

Thisi
sthemostimportantpartofy
ourl
ett
er.Thebodyshoul
dcont
ainaf
ew(
most
ly
thr
ee)conci
separ
agraphs,eachwithacl
earpurpose.

Ifyouwanty
ourr
eadert
ogett
hebestpossi
blei
mpr
essi
on,
keepy
ourmessagecr
yst
al-
clear
.

I
ntheopeni
ngpar
agraph,
int
roducey
oursel
fandcl
ari
fythepointofyourl
ett
er.Youcan
al
somenti
onmutual
connecti
onshere,
incaset
hereci
pientdoesn’
tknowwhoy ouar
e.

Notsur
ehowt
ost
art
?

Youcanwr
it
e“Iam wr
it
ingt
oyour
egar
ding…”ast
heopeni
ngl
i
ne.

I
nthenextpar
agr
aph,
goi
ntot
hedet
ail
sofy
ourmai
npoi
nt.
I
ntheclosi
ngparagraph,br
ief
lysummar
izey
ourpoi
nts,
rest
atet
hel
ett
er’
spur
poseand
t
ell
yourplannedcourseofacti
on.

Ti
p:Tr
ytoav
oidl
engt
hy,
meander
ingsent
encesandj
ustgetst
rai
ghtt
othepoi
nt.

St
ep6:
Closi
ng

Here,y
ou’
l
lmentionthatther
eci
pientcancont
actyouory
ourt
eam i
fhehasany
concer
nsorquesti
ons.Youcanal
sot hankhi
m orherf
orr
eadi
ngt
helet
ter
.

Makesur
ethatt
hecl
osi
ngi
sn’
tmor
ethant
wosent
encesl
ong!

Fori
nst
ance,
youcanwr
it
e:

● Ki
ndl
yemailmeat(
youremai
l)t
oschedul
eameet i
ng.Thankyou!
● I
fyouhav
eanyquer
ies,
don’
thesi
tat
etocallmeat(yourcont
actnumber
).

St
ep7:
Compl
i
ment
aryCl
osi
ng

Thi
sisashortr
emar
kthatmarkstheendofyourl
ett
er.You’v
egotal
otofopt
ionsher
e
butchooset
heonet
hatref
lect
sthefor
mali
tyofyourr
elati
onshi
p.

Recommendedf
ormal
closi
ngsi
ncl
ude“
Your
sTr
uly
”or“
Respect
ful
l
y”or“
Sincer
ely
”.

I
fyourl
ett
eri
slessf
ormal
,youcanwr
it
e“Al
lthebest
”or“
Thanky
ou”or“
Regar
ds”or
“
Best”
.

Regar
dlessofwhaty
ouchoose,
addacommat
otheendofi
t.

St
ep8:
Signat
ure

Bel
owt
hecompl
i
ment
arycl
ose,
signt
hel
ett
er.

Makesurethaty
ouskipatl
eastf
ourl
i
nessot hatt
her
e’senoughr
oom f
ory
our
si
gnat
ure.Aft
erthat
,ty
peoutt
henamethathastobesigned.

Youcani
ncl
udey
ourj
obt
it
lebel
owy
ourf
ull
namet
oo.

Her
e’st
hef
ormat
:

Yoursi
gnat
ure
Ty
pedf
ull
name

Ti
tl
e

St
ep9:
Encl
osur
es(
Ifappl
i
cabl
e)

I
fyouplant
osendanyt
hingal
ongwit
hy ourbusi
nessl
ett
er,
youcani
ndi
cat
ethi
ssi
mpl
y
bywri
tngEncl
i osur
esaft
erthesi
gnat
ure.

Consi
deri
tthepr
intv
ersi
onof“
pleasef
indat
tached”f
oremai
l
s.

I
fyouhaveincludedmanydocument
s,makeal
i
stt
hatt
ell
sther
eci
pientwhatheneeds
t
olookfori
nt heenvel
ope.

Forexampl
e:

Encl
osur
es(
5):
2Br
ochur
es&3Fl
yer
s

Whati
saBusi
nessRepor
t?

Abusinessreporti
sabunchoff actswrit
teni
nasystemati
cwayrelat
edt oaspeci
fi
c
busi
nessmat terasperasetofstandardprot
ocol
s.I
thel
psconcernedstakehol
der
sto
getathoroughknowledgeoftheproblemsandhowtoov er
comethepr obl
em.

Businessreportsareaboutshowcasingasetofbusi ness-r
elatedi
nformati
onl i
kefacts,
anal
y si
s,fi
gures,andsuch.Theobjecti
veofbusinessr epor
tsi st
ogivetheinformati
on
i
nanor gani
zedmannerwhi chhelpstomakemaj ordecisi
onsandpl anfort
hef utur
e.
Repor t
shelpbusinessesplanbudgetsanddecideonpr omotionsandadverti
sements
basedont hedraftedinf
ormati
on.

Whentherearedi
ff
erentt
ypesofbusinessrepor
ts,f
ormatt
ingi
saconcer
ntodraf
ta
r
eportthatmakesi
teasyfort
hestakeholderst
oinstant
lyr
eadthr
ought
hedat
awi t
hout
missi
ngoutonanythi
ng.

Ty
pesOfBusi
nessRepor
ts

Ther
earemanyt ypesofbusi
nessr
epor
tsusedinanor
gani
zat
ionforvar
iouspur
poses.
Obvi
ously
,youcantusethesamerepor
ttoanal
yzeempl
oyeeper
formanceandsalesi
n
thel
astquar
ter
,ri
ght?

Her
ear
esomecommont
ypesofbusi
nessr
epor
ts:
1.I
nfor
mat
ional
repor
ts

Youuset hi
sr epor
twheny ourbossasksfordat
athatispurel
yobjecti
vei.
e.,
justpl
ain
factswit
houtanyr easoni
ngorpotenti
alout
comes.Forinst
ance,awor kf
orcerepor
t
stati
ngthenumberofempl oy
eesinthecompany,t
heirduti
es,depart
mentofwor k,
and
responsi
bil
i
ties.

2.Anal
yti
cal
Repor
t

Asthenamesuggest
s,t
hisrepor
tisusedwhensomecr
it
icalcompanydat
ahast
obe
anal
yzedi
nor
dertomakeinf
ormeddecisi
ons.

Forinstance,anal
yzi
ngthesalesdropinthel
astfi
nanci
alyear.Thi
srepor
tconsi
stsof
salesnumber s,acompari
sonofthosenumberswithearl
ieryear
s,andfi
ndingr
easons
forthef al
l.Therepor
twil
lalsoindicat
epossi
blemeasuresthecompanycant aketo
solvethisprobl
em.

3.Resear
chRepor
t

Youusearesear
chreportwhensomethi
ngbigiscomingup!I
tcoul
dbeapot
ent
ial
merger
,oranewproductli
ne,orashi
fti
nthecurr
entwayofworki
ng.

Abigchanger
equir
esacompr ehensi
vereportst
udyingall
itsimpli
cati
ons.Forexampl
e,
i
fthecompanywantstoint
roduceanewpr oduct,
theresearchreportwi
llconsi
stof
el
ementsli
ketar
getaudi
ence,market
ingcommuni cati
onstrat
egy,advert
isi
ng
campai
gns,et
c.

4.Expl
anat
oryRepor
t

Youusethisrepor
twhenyouwanttoexpl
ainy
ouri
ndi
vi
dualpr
ojectt
otheent
ir
eteam.
Let
’ssupposeyouper
for
medresear
ch.

Anexplanat
oryr eportwil
lshowcasethefact
s,l
istthefi
ndings,anddet erminethe
concl
usi
onoft heresear
ch.Itshoul
dbewri
tt
eninv
erysimpl
e,concise,
andcl earwords.
Alt
houghthereadersaremost l
ypeer
soft
hesameindust
ry,
jar
gonshoul dbeav oi
ded.
5.Pr
ogr
essRepor
t

Thi
sisasmal
lrepor
tusedt
onot
if
yupdat
esi
nacompany
.

Howwast
hepr
evi
ousweek?

Howi
sthesal
efort
hisquar
tercomi
ngal
ong?

Whati
stheper
cent
agechangei
nconv
ersi
onssi
ncet
hel
astweek/
mont
h?

Quest
ionsli
kethesear
eansweredi
napr
ogr
essr
epor
t.I
tdoesnotcont
ainanal
yti
cs.
Onl
yinfor
mat i
onandchanges.

Progr
essr
eport
sar
eagoodmedi
um f
orcompaniest
otr
ackt
hei
rday
-to-
daywor
kand
comeupwithnewi
deasf
orgr
owt
handexpansi
on.

Sti
llnotconvi
nced?Her
ear
e4compel li
ngr
easonswhybusi
nessr
epor
tsar
eimpor
tant
foreff
ici
entworkf
lowi
nanorgani
zat
ion.

I
mpor
tanceofBusi
nessRepor
ts

1.ModeOfCommuni
cat
ion

Youknowhowy out
extorcalli
ndail
yli
fetocommunicat
e?Inbusinesses,r
eport
sare
prepar
edforit
.Wecansaythatbusi
nessrepor
tsactasamedium ofcommuni cat
ioni
n
anorgani
zati
on.

Butwhyi
sitdone?

Well
,i
nbigcompani es,t
herei
sanentir
eli
neofworkfl
owthattakesplace.Itisalso
knownasadel egat
ionofduti
es.I
nthi
sworkfl
ow,t
herearebranches,sub-branches,
depar
tments,andnichespeci
fi
czones.I
fcommunicati
oni
sdonev erball
y,informati
on
maygetlostorcontaminat
ed.

Soforeveryi
mport
antpi
eceofcommunicat
ion,awri
tt
enrepor
tiscreat
ed.Any
onewho
needsaccesstot
hati
nfor
mati
oncanreadtherepor
tandequipthemsel
veswit
hfi
rst
-
handdata.
2.Deci
sionmaki
ng

Thi
nki
ngaboutl
aunchi
nganewpr
oductl
i
ne?Pr
epar
ear
epor
t.

Ai
mingt
ocutcompanycost
s?Pr
epar
ear
epor
t.

From deci
dingt
hetar
getaudi
encetol
ayi
ngoffemploy
ees,ev
erydeci
sioni
stakenon
thebasisofdet
ail
edr
eport
sprepar
edwit
hfactsandstat
s.

Report
saretransfer
redtwo-
wayi nanorgani
zati
on.Empl
oyeescreat
ebusi
nessreport
s
andsendthem tohighermanagementfordeci
sionmaki
ng.Uppermanagementcreat
es
repor
tstoci
rculat
einfor
mati
on,tasks,
etc.amongthewor
kforce.

3.Cr
isi
smanagement

I
ncaseofacr
isi
s,chaos,andpani
cout
breaks,
ever
yonehasanopini
onont
hemat
ter
,
andt
hetr
ansf
erofthoughtsver
bal
lygi
vesri
setoworkpl
acegossi
p.

I
nsuchasit
uati
on,busi
nessrepor
tsar
ecr
eat
edt
ogetev
ery
oneont
hesamepageand
t
henfact
ual
lyanal
yzethepr
oblem.

Cri
sismanagementreport
scompr i
seofthecauseoftheissue,
stepstotakef
or
damagecontrol
,andpoli
ciessuggest
ingf
utur
eprotect
ionfrom suchcr
isi
s.

4.Ef
fect
ivemanagement

Thedel
egati
onofdutiesisdonev
iarepor
ts.Ever
yemploy
eehast hei
rownt
o-dotasks
wit
hanassigneddeadli
ne.Thi
shelpsi
nmor esoundandeff
ect
ivemanagementofthe
company.

Allt
hei
nformati
oni
sinviablewri
tt
endocument
s,decisi
onsaret
akenuponcaref
ul
anal
ysi
s,andtheov
eral
lfuncti
oni
ngofthecompanyisbett
erusi
ngbusi
nessrepor
ts.

Sonowthatweknowt hatweHAVETOpr epar

ebusinessr
eport
st osur
viveinthe
cor
porat
ewor l
d,l
et’
smov eontot
henextandprobabl
ythemostimportantsecti
on
whereweteachyouhowy oucangetst
art
edonwr i
ti
ngaproperrepor
t.

Howt
owr
it
eabusi
nessr
epor
t?(
StepsandFor
mat
)

Fol
l
owt
hisst
ep-
by-
stepgui
det
ocr
eat
eyourpower
ful
busi
nessr
epor
t:
St
ep1:
Creat
eapl
anofact
ion

Youar ewri
ti
ngabusi
nessrepor
t,notaschoolessay.Youcan’
tbaseyourr
eporton
thoughtsasandwhentheycome.Befor
estart
ingtherepor
t,i
dent
ifyi
tspur
pose.

Defi
newhaty
ouaimtoachiev
ewitht
hereportandhowy ouplantopresenti
t.Donot
beatar
oundt
hebush!Thi
swil
lhel
pyouwrit
eacl earandconciser
eport.

St
ep2:
Checkf
orani
n-housef
ormat

Yourcompanymayhaveaspecif
icf
ormatf
orwri
ti
ngrepor
ts.Askyoursuper
visoror
checkthecompany
’shandbookt
ofi
ndit
.Donotbl
indl
ytr
usttheint
ernet
.

Howev
er,i
fnosuchf
ormati
sspeci
fi
ed,
youcanuset
hest
andar
dgl
obal
for
matl
i
stedi
n
t
hefol
lowi
ngst
eps.

St
ep3:
Addat
it
le

Theti
tl
eoft
her
epor
tmaybespecifi
edinthebr
iefy
our eceiv
edfr
om yoursuperv
isor
.If
not
,youmaywr
it
eyourownt
it
le.I
tshouldbecl
ear,cr
isp,andbeabl
etoconv eyt
he
pur
poseoft
her
epor
t.

Youshouldavoidusingverylongandcompl i
catedti
tl
es.Forinst
ance,use‘Salesr
eport
forFY2020-
21’insteadof‘Analysi
ngthecustomerinter
acti
onwiththecompanyi nthe
l
ast12mont hsincompar i
sont oprev
iousyears’
.Peoplewil
lyawnandl eav
et heroom at
thestar
tofyourreport
!

Al
so,addyournameandt
henamesofotherpeopl
einvol
vedi
nmakingther
eport
.
Por
tray
ingsomeoneel
se’
sbackgr
oundhar
dwor kasyourownishi
ghl
yunet
hical
int
he
workpl
ace.

St
ep4:
Wri
teat
abl
eofcont
ent
s

Youshouldi
ncl
udeat
abl
eofcont
ent
spageonl
yift
her
epor
tisl
ongandcont
ainssub-
sect
ions.

Ift
hispageisadded,makesur et
owr it
econtent
sexact
lyi
nthemannerheadi
ngsare
writ
teni
nsidetherepor
t.All
thecontentsshoul
dbeproper
lynumber
edforther
eaderto
easi
lynavi
gatethr
ought herepor
torjumponaspecifi
csecti
on.
St
ep5:
AddaSummar
y/Abst
ract

Thi
sisav er
yimport
antpageinanyreport
.Youshoul
dwrit
etheabstr
acti
nsucha
mannerthatev
enifapersondoesnotreadtheent
ir
erepor
t,t
hispagecangi
vethem a
cl
earanddetai
ledi
deaoftheenti
ret
hing.

Itshoul
dcont
ainyourt
it
le,
issue,keyf
indi
ngs,andconcl
usi
ons.Youshoul
dbasi
cal
l
y
summar i
seever
ythi
ngyouwr ot
eintherepor
ttofiti
ntheabst
ract
.

St
ep6:
Wri
teani
ntr
oduct
ion

Nowbegi
nsyouractual
repor
t.Onthi
spage,speci
fyt
hepur
poseofwr
it
ingt
her
epor
t
al
ongwit
habri
efideaofthemainargument
.

Youcanal
soi
ncl
udesomebackgr
oundoft
het
opi
cont
hispage.

St
ep7:
Stat
eyourmet
hodol
ogy

Onthi
spage,
tel
lther
eader
showyoucreatedthi
sreport.I
tincl
udesthesourcesof
i
nfor
mati
on,t
ypeofdata(
qual
i
tat
iveorquant
it
ati
ve),channelsofr
eceiv
inginfor
mati
on,
et
c.

Thisist
oequipy
ourr
eader
swiththeprocessyouwentthr
oughor,aswecansayi
nthe
urbansl
ang,
theBTSoft
hereport
.Itmakesyourrepor
tmorecredi
ble.

St
ep8:
Presenty
ourf
indi
ngs

Thi
sisthemainsecti
onwher
eyoupresentyourfi
ndi
ngs.Itshoul
dconveyt
hatyouhav
e
donethor
oughresear
ch.Soi
ncl
udestat
s,fact
s,andgraphstoportr
ayt
heinfor
mati
on.

Toprev
entitf
rom gett
ingmessy
, al
i
gnthedataintovar
iousheadi
ngsandsubheadi
ngs.
Usepoi
nter
s,bul
leted,
ornumberedwheneverrequi
red.

St
ep9:
Giv
eaconcl
usi
onorr
ecommendat
ion

Endy ourreportwi
thacompel
l
ingconcl
usi
on.Thi
sshoul
dbedr
awnf
rom pr
evi
ousl
y
stat
edf i
ndings.
Youcanalsogiv
er ecommendat i
onsf
orchangeori
mpr
ov ementi
napolicy
,support
ed
byval
iddocumentation.Theconcl
usi
onshoul
dcomeoffstr
ong,basedonfact
ualdata,
notbi
asedviewsoropi ni
ons.

St
ep10:
Addbi
bli
ogr
aphyandr
efer
ences

Addi
ngthi
ssect
ioni
salegal
compulsioninanyr
epor
twher
eint
hedat
aist
akenor
i
nspi
redfr
om pr
evi
ousl
ypubl
ishedsources.

Letusexpl
ainitsi
mpl
y.I
fy ouhaveaddedanydataorst
atisti
csinyourrepor
t,y
oumust
gi
veduecredittot
heori
ginalaut
hor
.Else,
itcount
sasplagiari
sm,whichisapunishabl
e
off
ense.

Also,
not
ethedi
ff
erencebet
weenr
efer
encesandbi
bli
ogr
aphy
,anddon’
tconf
uset
he
two!

Her
e’sanexampl
e:

Supposeyoureadabusinessr
eportonl
ineandgoti
nspir
edbyit
.Al
though,y
oudidn’
t
useanyofitsdat
ainyourownreport
.Inthi
sscenar
io,
youwil
ll
istt
hatrepor
tundert
he
bi
bli
ographysect
ion.

However
,ify
outookdataf
rom t
hatr
epor
ttodi
rect
lyi
ncl
udei
nyour
s,y
ouwi
l
lli
stt
hati
n
t
heref
erencesect
ion.

St
ep11:
Proof
read

Proof
readingorrev
isi
ngi
sv eryimpor
tantbefor
efinal
izi
ngareport
.Inthi
ssect
ion,
checkforanyspell
i
ngerr
ors,grammaticalmi
stakes,orpunct
uat
ions.Thesear
esmall
mishapsthatcanmakeav erybadimpressi
on.

Also,
whil
eproofreadi
ng,checkt
heci
tat
ions,
footnot
es,
appendi
ces,et
c,accordi
ngto
thecompanystandards.Ther
emaybeguidel
inesyoumissedwhi
lewri
ti
ngt herepor
t!

Pur
poseofBusi
nessRepor
ts

Report
sareakeytocommuni
cat
ioni
nanyorgani
zat
ion.I
nbigorganizat
ions,t
her
ear
e
nootheropti
onsot
hert
hanr
epor
ts.I
thi
ghl
i
ghtsthekeypoint
sandt hepurposeof
busi
nessreport
s
Transmi
tti
ngInf
ormati
on:Busi
nessrepor
tsarethebestsourcet
otransmitinf
ormati
on
fr
om onepersontot
heother.I
nlar
geenterpr
ises,
wheretherear
ecompl exdatato
handler
eport
scomesinhandytomanager st
oacquirenecessar
yinfor
mat i
on

I
nter
pret
ati
onandExpl
anationofevent
:Report
shel
pstheuser
stounderstandthe
i
nfor
mationeasi
l
y.I
texpl
ainsandinter
pret
sthedat
atoanunderst
andablefor
mat.

MakingDeci
sions:
Ar eporti
satool
tohelpstakeholder
stakedecisi
ons.Arepor
tist
he
basi
cmanagementt oolformaki
ngdeci
sionsandt ohelpsol
veproblems.

Communi
cati
onwithext
ernalst
akehol
der
s:I
thel
pstocommunicat
einf
ormat
iont
onot
j
ustt
hei
nter
nalst
akeholdersbutal
sowit
hexter
nal
stakehol
der
s.

Developmentofknowl
edgebase:Report
sal
sohelpinestabli
shingarichsour
ceof
i
nformationbasei
nanorgani
zati
on.Itr
ecor
dsallt
heactivi
ti
esoft hebusi
ness
operati
onspermanent
lywhi
charearchi
vedforf
utur
ereferences.

Cont
rol
l
ing:
Repor
tspr
ovi
det
her
equi
redi
nfor
mat
iont
oenf
orcecont
rol
l
ingt
echni
ques.

Recommendingacti
ons:
Report
snotonl
ypr
ovi
dei
nfor
mat
ionbutal
sost
andsasour
ce
toprov
idesol
uti
onstoprobl
ems.

I
mpor
tanceofBusi
nessRepor
ts

Get
sev
ery
oneont
hesamepage

Businessrepor
tsarecrit
ical
andimpor t
antsourceofi
nformati
ontoallthest
akeholder
s
i
nv ol
vedinthebusiness.Whenthereisabusinesspl
an,suchreport
splayavit
al r
ole
anditoutl
inesthebusinessfi
nances,st
rat
egiesandfut
ureplansandgoalsforfutur
e
growth.I
tisamedi um tocommuni cat
eabouttheprogr
essoft hebusi
ness.

Ensur
est
omakequal
i
tybusi
nessdeci
sions

Reportsarecr
it
icalt
oshowcaseanalyt
icsofthebusi
nessdat
awhichi
scruci
alt
otake
businessdeci
si
ons.Therear
eeffect
ivesoft
wareproduct
savai
labl
ewhi
chhel
psto
accesscruci
aldatathr
oughfewcli
cks

Hel
pst
opr
otect
sYourI
nter
est
s

Thedatareport
scanbesav edforfuturepurposei
ncaseofanysecur
it
ybr
eachorany
othercr
it
ical
scenario.I
tisi
mportanttomoni t
orbackupsont
hecompany'
sser
vers
wouldserveufrom anyunpredi
ctabl
emi shaps.
Benef
it
sofBusi
nessRepor
tani
t'
scapabi
l
iti
es

Pr
ofi
tabi
l
ityanal
ysi
s

Qui
ckl
yseewherey
ourmakeandl
osemoneybasedonpr
ofi
tabi
l
itymet
ri
csandt
rue
empl
oyeecost
s.

Meani
ngf
ulmet
ri
cs

Opent i
cketcount
,ti
cketbackl
ogs,t
imet oresol
uti
on,
andpr
ojecthour
sspentonaper
-
pr
ojectbasi
stomaximi zer
esourceuti
l
izati
on.

Sal
esf
orecast
ing

Seewhichopport
uni
ti
esarel
i
kel
ytocl
oseandhowmuchy oucanexpecttomakefor
moreaccur
atefor
ecast
sandt
oesti
mat
epotent
ial
ROIbyoppor
tuni
tyandbyempl
oyee.

Memor
andumsorMemo
Amemo, shor
tformemorandum,i
sawayt oi
nfor
m agroupofpeopl
eaboutaspecif
ic
pr
oblem,
solut
ion,orev
ent
.Amemoshoul dbebri
ef,
str
aight
for
ward,
andeasytoread.
I
tinf
ormsreci
pient
sandprovi
desanact
ionpl
anwithspeci
fi
cnextst
eps.

Youmaysendamemoasapaperl et
ter
,fax,
orPDFat
tachedt
oanemail.Al
thought
he
widespreaduseofemai
lessent
ial
lyr
epl
acedmemosinmanycircumst
ances,memos
ar
est i
ll
helpful
forsomei
mpor t
antmessages.

Communi ti
escanusememost ot el
lpeoplewi t
hinitaboutpubl i
csaf etygui
del
ines,
promotev ar
iousevents,r
aiseawar enessonsubjectsthataff
ecttheirli
ves.
Businessescan use memos t or el
ay i
nformati
on i nv
olvi
ng newl y updat
ed poli
cy,
changesi nprocedure,orper suadeempl oyeestot akeanact ion,suchasat t
endan
upcomi ngmeeting,
convention,oracelebrat
ionfororganizat
ionalmilest
ones.

Whati
sthepur
poseofamemo?

Memosar edesi
gnedf orof
fici
ali
nternalcommunicati
onsofabusi
nessororganizat
ion.
Theyareoft
ensenttoanent ir
eorganizati
onbutareal
souseful
forinf
ormingasingl
e
depar
tment,t
eam, orsmall
ergroupofpeopl e.Memosdisper
senecessar
yinfor
mat i
on
usi
ngasimple,easy-t
o-f
oll
owf or
mat .
 Whent
owr
it
eamemo

Youshouldwrit
eamemor andum whenyouneedtorel
ayoffi
cialbusi
nessi
tems
eff
ici
ent
ly.Theaim ofy
ourmemoshoul dbetoinf
orm,bringat
t ent
iontoaprobl
em,
or
answeraquesti
on.Thef ol
lowi
ngpurposesar
esuit
ableforamemo:

● br
oadcasti
nter
nal
changes

● di
ssemi
nat
enews

● shar
eanupcomi
ngev
ent

● updat
epubl
i
csaf
etygui
del
i
nes

● r
aiseawar
enessaboutani
ssue

● addr
essapr
obl
em

● makear
equest

● shar
epr
ojectupdat
es

Howt
oWr
it
eaMemo

Youcanputt
oget
heramemoi
naf
ewshor
tst
eps.Al
lmemosshoul
dincl
udet
he
fol
l
owing:

1.Wr
it
eaheadi
ng.

Nomat terwhatkindofmemoy ou’

rewr
it
ing,you’
l
l needt
oi ncl
udeaheading.Thi
s
secti
onshouldincludewhot
hememoi sfor(whetheranindivi
dual
ordepartment
),t
he
date,whothememoi sfr
om,andasubj
ectli
ne.

Yoursubj
ectl
i
neshoul
dbe,
shor
t,at
tent
ion-
grabbi
ng,
andgi
ver
eader
sagener
ali
deaof
whatthememoisabout
.

2.Wr
it
eani
ntr
oduct
ion.

Youri
ntr
oducti
onshouldsummari
zethepur
poseofy ourmemointwotothr
ee
sent
ences.I
tshoul
dhighl
ightt
hei
ssueorpr
oblem andthesol
uti
onyoudeci
dedt
o
moveforwardwit
h.
 3.Pr
ovi
debackgr
oundont
hei
ssue.

Inthissecti
on,expl
ainthereasoningbehindthememo.Forexampl e,
itcouldbe
changesint hebudget,
acompanyr estr
uctur
ing,
oranewr ol
loutofprocedures.Thi
s
explanati
onshouldprovidejust
if
icati
onforthechangesbei
ngimplement ed.

4.Out
li
neact
ioni
temsandt
imel
i
ne(
Opt
ional
).

Dependi
ngont hepur poseofyourmemo,youmayhaveactionit
emsf oremployeest
o
complet
eorprov i
deat imel
ineofwhenchangeswi
ll
takeplace.Forexample,t
heymay
needtocompleteat askorprovi
deinf
ormati
onbyacert
aindeadli
ne.Thissecti
on
shoul
dincl
udet hefoll
owing:

● Whenempl
oyeescanexpectchangest
ogoi
ntoef
fect

● Whatchangeshav
eal
readybeenmadeandwhatt
oexpecti
nthef
utur
e

● Deadl
i
nest
heyneedt
oadher
eto

I
fnoact
ioni
sneededont
heempl
oyee’
sbehal
f,y
oucanl
eav
ethi
ssect
ionout
.

5.I
ncl
udeacl
osi
ngst
atement
.

Yourcl
osi
ngstatementwil
li
ncl
udeanyinf
ormati
onyou’
dliketorei
nforce.Aret
hereany
speci
fi
ccont
actsreader
sshoul
dreachouttof
orquesti
ons?Ifso,i
ncludethem her
e.

6.Rev
iewandpr
oof
readbef
oresendi
ng.

Thisstepmayseem l i
keano-br
ainerbuti
t'
simportanttor
evi
ewy ourdocumentbef
ore
sendi
ngi tout.Memosaremeantt oinf
ormreadersofupcomingchangesandrel
ay
i
mpor tanti
nformati
on.Youdon'
twantt or
iskcausingconf
usi
onwi t
hat ypoor
misstatement.

Busi
nessMemoTempl
ate
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
I'
m wri
tingtoi
nfor
my out hat[r
easonforwri
tingmemo].
Asourcompanycont inuest ogrow … [
evidenceorreasont
osuppor
tyouropening
paragr
aph].
Pleaseletmeknow i fyouhav eanyquest i
ons.Inthemeant
ime,I
'
dappreci
ateyour
cooperati
onas[of
fi
cialbusinessi
nfor
mat i
on]takespl
ace.
 APr
esent
ati
onI
s..
.
Apresentati
onisameansofcommunicat
ionthatcanbeadapt
edtov ar
iousspeaki
ng
si
tuat
ions,suchast
alki
ngtoagroup,
addressi
ngameet i
ngorbri
efi
ngat eam.

Pr
esent
ati
on
Apresent
ati
oncanalsobeusedasabroadter
mt hatencompassesother‘
speaking
engagement
s’suchasmakingaspeechatawedding,orget
ti
ngapointacrossina
vi
deoconfer
ence.

Tobeef
fect
ive,
step-
by-
stepprepar
ationandthemet
hodandmeansofpr
esent
ingt
he
i
nfor
mati
onshouldbecaref
ull
yconsidered.

Apresentationrequir
esyoutogetamessageacrosstothel
ist
ener
sandwi l
lof
ten
contai
na' persuasi
ve'el
ement.I
tmay,forexampl
e,beatal
kabouttheposi
ti
veworkof
yourorganisati
on,whatyoucouldof
feranemployer
,orwhyyoushouldr
ecei
ve
addit
ionalfundingforaproj
ect.

TheKeyEl
ement
sofaPr
esent
ati
on
Consi
dert
hef
oll
owi
ngkeycomponent
sofapr
esent
ati
on:

Cont
ext

Askyour
sel
fthefol
l
owi
ngquest
ionst
odev
elopaf
ull
under
standi
ngoft
hecont
extof
thepr
esent
ati
on.

● Whenandwher
ewi
l
lyoudel
i
very
ourpr
esent
ati
on?

Thereisawor l
dofdif
ferencebetweenasmallr
oom wi
thnat
urall
ightandaninfor
mal
setti
ng,andahugelectureroom, l
i
twithst
agel
i
ght
s.Thetworequir
equitedi
ffer
ent
present
ations,
anddif
ferenttechni
ques.

● Wi
l
litbei
naset
ti
ngy
ouar
efami
l
iarwi
th,
orsomewher
enew?

I
fsomewherenew,itwoul
dbewortht
ryi
ngt
ovi
siti
tinadv
ance,
oratl
eastar
ri
vi
ngear
ly,
t
ofamil
i
ari
seyourselfwi
thther
oom.

● Wi
l
lthepr
esent
ati
onbewi
thi
naf
ormal
orl
essf
ormal
set
ti
ng?

Aworksett
ingwil
l
,mor
eorlessbydef
ini
ti
on,
bemor
efor
mal
,butt
her
ear
eal
sov
ari
ous
degr
eesofformal
it
ywi
thi
nthat
.

● Wi
l
lthepr
esent
ati
onbet
oasmal
lgr
ouporal
argecr
owd?
● Ar
eyoual
readyf
ami
l
iarwi
tht
heaudi
ence?

Wit
hanewaudience,
youwi
l
lhav
etobui
l
drappor
tqui
ckl
yandef
fect
ivel
y,t
ogett
hem
onyoursi
de.

● Whatequi
pmentandt
echnol
ogywi
l
lbeav
ail
abl
etoy
ou,
andwhatwi
l
lyoubeexpect
ed
t
ouse?

I
nparti
cul
ar,
youwil
lneedtoaskaboutmi
crophonesandwhet
hery
ouwi
l
lbeexpect
ed
t
ostandinonepl
ace,ormovearound.

● Whati
stheaudi
enceexpect
ingt
olear
nfr
om y
ouandy
ourpr
esent
ati
on?

Checkhowyouwil
lbe‘bil
l
ed’togi
vey
oucl
uesast
owhati
nfor
mat
ionneedst
obe
i
ncludedi
nyourpr
esentat
ion.

Pr
esent
er

Ther ol
eoft hepr
esent
eri
stocommuni
cat
ewi
tht
heaudi
enceandcont
rol
the
presentat
ion.

Remember ,t
hough,
thatt
hismayalsoincludehandi
ngov
ert
hecont
rol
toy
ouraudi
ence,
especi
all
yifyouwantsomekindofint
eracti
on.

Audi
ence

Theaudi
encer
ecei
vest
hepr
esent
er’
smessage(
s).

However,
thi
srecept
ionwi
llbef
ilt
eredt
hroughandaff
ectedbysuchthi
ngsast
he
l
ist
ener
’sownexperi
ence,
knowledgeandpersonal
senseofval
ues.

Message

Themessageormessagesar
edel
i
ver
edbyt
hepr
esent
ert
otheaudi
ence.

Themessageisdeli
verednotjustbythespokenword(verbalcommunicat
ion)butcan
beaugmentedbytechniquessuchasv oi
ceproj
ecti
on,bodylanguage,
gestures,
eye
cont
act(
non-ver
balcommuni cati
on),
andv i
sualai
ds.

Themessagewi ll
alsobeaffectedbytheaudience’sexpectat
ions.Forexample,ifyou
havebeenbi l
l
edasspeaki ngononepar ti
culart
opic,andy ouchoosetospeakon
another,
theaudienceisunli
kelytotakeyourmessageonboar dev eni
fyoupr esentver
y
well
.Theywi l
ljudgeyourpresentat
ionafail
ure,becauseyouhav enotmett heir
expectat
ions.
React
ion

Theaudience’
sr eacti
onandtheref
orethesuccessoft
hepr
esentat
ionwil
ll
argel
y
dependuponwhet heryou,
aspresent
er,ef
fect
ivel
ycommuni
catedyourmessage,and
whetheri
tmett heirexpect
ati
ons.

Met
hod

Howwi
l
lthepr
esent
ati
onbedel
i
ver
ed?

Presentati
onsareusual
lydel
iv
ereddirectt
oanaudience.However,
ther
emaybe
occasionswheretheyaredel
iver
edfrom adist
anceovertheI
nter
netusi
ngv
ideo
conferenci
ngsystems,suchasSkype.

Iti
salsoimportantt
or emembert hati
fyourtalki
srecordedandpost
edont hei
nter
net
,
thenpeoplemaybeabl et oaccessitf
orseveraly
ears.Thiswi
ll
meant haty
our
contemporaneousreferencesshouldbekepttoami ni
mum.

I
mpedi
ment
s

Manyf
actor
scani
nfl
uencet
heef
fect
ivenessofhowy
ourmessagei
scommuni
cat
edt
o
t
heaudi
ence.

Forexamplebackgr
oundnoi
seorotherdi
stract
ions,
anoverl
ywarm orcoolroom,or
theti
meofdayandst at
eofaudi
encealer
tnesscanalli
nfl
uencey
ouraudience’sl
evel
of
concent
rat
ion.

Aspresent
er,y
ouhav etobeprepar
edtocopewi
thanysuchpr
obl
emsandt
ryt
okeep
youraudi
encefocussedonyourmessage.

Bestpr
act
icesf
ordesi
gni
ngpr
esent
ati
onsl
i
des
Whendesi gningpr
esentati
onsli
des,y
ouneedt ofindabal ancebetweenkeepi
ngt he
i
nt er
estofyouraudienceandmaintai
ningthei
ratt
ent i
on,whil
enotdistr
acti
ngthem
from yourkeymessage.Theai
m ofpresentati
onslidesistoenhancelearni
ngand
understandi
ng,bysupplement
ingwhaty ou'
resayi
ng( notbet hemainfocusofyour
talk)
.Bel
owwedi scussthebestpract
icesfordesi
gningpresentati
onsli
des.

Keepi
tsi
mpl
e

Ifyoursl
idesaremor eimpor
tantt
hanwhatyou'
resay
ingthenyourmessagewil
ll
ose
i
mpact .Yoursl
idesmustbeanaccompanimentandnotdistr
actfr
om yourwor
ds.Av
oid
sli
deswithlot
soft extanddon'
tfi
l
lupemptyspaceswit
hunnecessar
yelements.
Deci
dey
ourpr
esent
ati
on'
ssl
i
desr
ati
o

Youmustdeci
dewhi
chr
ati
ofory
oursl
i
deswi
l
lbestsui
tthecont
extoft
hepr
esent
ati
on:

● A4:3rat
ioifbenefi
cialf
orpr
esentat
ionslidesthatneedt
obev
iewedacr
oss
mul
ti
pledevi
ces.
● A16:
9rati
oshouldbeusedconf
erencepresentat
ions.

Hav
eat
it
lepaget
hatst
andsout

Creat
eavisual
l
yengagingt
itl
epagesot
heaudi
encei
sint
erest
edandr
eadyt
oli
sten
befor
eyoubeginspeaki
ng.

Li
mitt
ransi
ti
onsandani
mat
ions

Usinglotsofani mati
onsisdistr
acti
ngandamat euri
sh.Itdoesn'
taddmuchmeaningt
o
yourpresentationandit
'sboringfortheaudienceiftheyarewatchi
ngconstant
animation.I
tcanal sobeproblematicandfrustrat
ingtov i
ewthepresent
ati
onon
dif
ferentdevicesduetothis.

Usev
isual
aids

Vi
sual
aidsar
echosendependi
ngont
hei
rpur
pose,
forexampl
e,y
oumaywantt
o:

● Summar i
seinformati
on.
● Reducetheamountofspokenwor ds.
● Clar
if
yandshowexampl es.
● Creat
emor eofani mpactbymaki ngt heaudiencef
eelacer
tai
nemot
ion.
● Emphasisewhaty ou'
resay i
ng.
● Makeapoi ntmemor able.
● Enhanceyourcredibi
li
ty.
● Engagetheaudienceandmai nt
aintheiri
nter
est.
● Makesomet hi
ngeasi erfortheaudiencetounderst
and.

Usehi
gh-
qual
i
tygr
aphi
cs

I
fyouwanty ourpresent
ationsli
destolookprof
essionalthenyouneedtousehigh-
qual
i
tygraphi cs.Mainpointscanbeill
ustr
atedwit
hi magesbuttheseimagesshoul
dn't
beastret
chedl ow-r
esol
utionphotoasthiswil
ll
ooksl oppy.Al
so,avoi
dusingCl
ipArtas
i
t'
sli
kelytheaudi encehasalreadyseentheimagesandi tgener
all
ylooks
unpr
ofessional.
Al
teri
magest
ofocusonel
ement
s

Ifanimageisnotthefocalpoi
ntconsi
derdecreasi
ngi t
sopacityandifi
t'
sthecurr
ent
focusthenmaket heimagemor epr
onounced.Maskingcanbeausef ulwayof
achiev
ingtheseresul
tsanditcanal
sobeusedt odirectat
tenti
ont osomethi
ng
i
mpor tantwi
thi
nani mage.Itl
ooksmoreprofessi
onalthanhighli
ghti
ngorusingar
rows
etc.

Usepanni
ngf
orl
argei
mages

Youmaywanttoshowal ar
geimageinyourpresentat
ion,suchas,awebpage.
Consi
derusi
ngt
heChr omeextensi
ontocapt
urethis.Thiswill
preventyoufrom scal
i
ng
thei
mageanddist
ort
ingit
.Inst
eadyou'
ll
beabletopanasy outalkaboutit
.

Usesui
tabl
echar
tsanddi
agr
ams

Presentdatausingchartsanddiagramsbecauset heydi
splaydat
ainav i
suall
y
compelli
ngwayandy ou'l
lavoi
dov erwhel
mingtheaudiencecomparedto,forexample,
present
ingalistofst
atisti
cs.Sel
ectdatamostrelevantt
othepointsyou'
remaki ngand
ensurethatyourchart
sar enecessary.

● Hori
zontalbarchartsshouldbeusedf orcompari
ngquantit
ies.
● Vert
icalbarchartsarefordisplayingchangesinquanti
ti
esov eralengt
hofti
me.
Thereshouldbeamaxi mum ofei ghtbars.
● Pie chart
s highli
ghtper centages.They shouldi ncl
ude a maxi mum ofsix
segments.
● Li
nechar t
sshowt r
ends.
● Tabl
esar eusef ulforside-
by-sidecompar i
sonsofquant i
tati
vedatebutchart
s
aregeneral
lybetterastheyarequi ckertounder
standandtheyclearl
yemphasi
se
si
gnifi
cance.

Usev
ideooraudi
o

Usingvideosandaudi
oclipsar
eagreatwaitt
oengagetheaudienceandi
ncreaset
hei
r
i
nterestbecauset
heyint
roduceachangeofpaceandtheyenhanceunder
standi
ng.

● Ensuret hatanyv i
deosoraudi oclipsusedarer elev
anttothepr esent
ati
on'
s
content.
● On l
yplayasmuchoft hecl
i
pasnecessar y.
● Ne vershowar eal
lylongcli
p.
● Videoandaudi ocanbedi ff
icultt
of i
tintothestructur
eofapr esentat
ionso
ensuret haty
out ellthataudiencewhyy ou'
replay
ingt hem acl
i
pandt el
lthem
whatt olookfororli
stenoutfor.
Av
oidusi
ngaut
opl
ayf
orv
ideos

Withautoplayitcantakeamomentf oravi
deotostartplay
ingwhichcanleadtothe
speakercli
ckinginthi
stime.Thiscausesthesli
deshowt omov eontothenextsl
ide
rat
herthanpl ayi
ngthevideo.I
nsteadofal
lowingautopl
ayensurethatyouhavetocli
ck
somethingf ort
hev i
deotoplayast hi
swil
lgiv
ey oumor econtr
ol.

Usecol
our

Researchsuggest
st hatusi
ngcolourincr
easespeople'
smot i
vat
iontoreadandthei
r
enthusi
asm forapresentat
ion.Col
oursalsoevokeemotionsandcanimpr ov
e
understandi
ngby,f
orexampl e,hi
ghl
ighti
ngcertai
nthemesinspecif
iccolour
s.

Choosef
ont
scar
eful
l
y

Uset hesamecl earfontsthroughoutyoursl

ideshowandusenomor ethant
wofonts
thatgowell t
ogether.AvoidusingSeriff
onts,suchasTimeNewRomanbecause:
they'
redesignedtobeusedi ntext-
heavydocuments,they’r
eeasiert
or eadi
nsmall
er
sizesandtheycannotbeseenwel lwhenproject
ed.San-seri
ffont
s,suchasAri
alar
e
usuallybet
terforpresentati
ons.

Usel
argef
ontsi
zes

Yourfontsi
zeshoul
dbeami nimum of24ptsoever
ythingcanbeeasi
lyr
ead.Ensur
e
thaty
oukeepfontsi
zesconsist
entt
hroughoutt
heslidesoritcanl
ookmessy.

Cr
eat
econsi
stentsl
i
des

Theslidesshouldhavethesamedesign,includi
ngcolourscheme, f
ontsi
ze,f
onttype,
etc.Thismakesthepresentati
onfl
owbet terandemphasisesthateachsl
ideispartof
samest oryyou'
retel
l
ingsot hi
sconsi
stencywi l
lhel
pwi t
hunderstandi
ngandit'
sless
fr
ustrati
ngfortheaudience.
Sor
tyoursl
i
des

UsetheSli
deSort
erviewtoconfi
rmthaty
ourpresent
ati
on'
sstr
uct
urei
seff
ect
ive.Sl
ide
Sort
ershowsyouhowl ogi
calt
heflowofyourpr
esent
ati
onisandi
t'
seasyt
ore-
arrange
yoursl
i
desinthi
sview.

I
ncl
udewhi
tespaceony
oursl
i
des

Emptyspacei sneededony oursl

i
desoritwil
llooktooclut
tered.Makesur
ethaty
ou
haveempt yspacebetweeneachelementinyoursli
des.Don'ttr
ytofi
llt
hewhit
espace
unnecessari
l
yory ou'
ll
reducethesigni
fi
canceofyourpoint
s.

Pr
emadet
empl
ates

Exper
tsdonotagr
eeontheuseofpremadetemplat
esbutifyoudouseapr
emade
templ
ate,
ensur
ethatt
herei
sconsi
stencyandthati
tlookspr
ofessi
onal
.

Pr
esent
ati
onsl
i
descomel
ast

Designyourpr
esentat
ionsli
desaft
erdeci
dingonyourmessageandyoursupport
ing
evi
dence.Remembert hatt
hesli
desenhancetheexper
iencebutt
heact
ualspeech
needstostandoutonitsown.

10-
20-
30sl
i
deshowr
ule

GuyKawasaki
,anent
repr
eneurandaut
hor
,suggest
sthatsl
i
deshowsshoul
dfol
l
owa10
-
20-30r
ule:

● Thereshoul dbeamaxi mum of10sl i

des-peoplerarel
yr emembermor ethan
oneconceptaf ter war
dssot here'
snopoi ntov
erwhel
mingthem withunnecessary
i
nformat i
on.
● Th epresentat
ionshoul dlastnol ongerthan20minutesasthiswil
lleavet
imef or
questionsanddi scussion.
● Th efontsizeshoul dbeami nimum of30ptbecauset heaudiencereadsfaster
thany outal
ksol essi
nf ormationonthesl i
desmeansthattherei
slesschanceof
theaudiencebei ngdistracted.
GoodVi
sualAi
dsDur
ingaBusi
nessPr
esent
ati
on
Goodv i
sual
si nabusinesspresentati
oncanr angef r
om complexvi
deost
oasimpl e
poster.Forthosepresenterswhoar enotskil
ledinthev i
deoart
s,t
herear
eseveralways
topresentinformati
onwi thvi
sualsthatwil
lhelpy ouraudi
encerememberkeypoints
l
ongaf teryourpresentati
onhasended.Thr eeeffecti
vemethodsincl
udePowerPoint
presentati
ons,fl
ipchartsandposters.

Power
Poi
ntPr
esent
ati
ons

Power Poi ntoffer

shundr edsoff ont,audioandi mageopt i
onsf oritsuser s.Thef ir
st
thingpr esentersshouldunder standist hatjustbecauset herear e350f ontoptionsdoes
notmeany oushoul duset hem.Al way suseei t
herlightf ontov eradar kbackgr oundor
dar kfontov eralightbackground.Av oidredfontandgr eenbackgr oundsorf ontsand
backgr oundst hatarecloseont hecol orwheel astheywi l
lbedi ff
iculttor ead.Foll
ow
ther ul
eof8.Ther ul
eof8st at
est haty oushouldbeabl et oready ourpr esentationwhil
e
standing8f eetawayf r
om t hest andardcomput erscreen.I ft
hef onti stoosmal lt
oread
from thisdistance, i
twil
lbet oosmal ltoreadiny ourpresent ation.Includeamaxi mum
off i
vepoi ntsperpage.

Ef
fect
iveFl
i
pChar
ts

Fli
pChar t
sarenotonlyinexpensivebuttheycanal sobeusedf ori
deasand
brai
nstormingwit
hinthecontextoft hemeeti
ng.Usedar kmar kerstowr i
teonaf l
i
p
chartandmakesur eyouhav eplentyofpaperont hef l
ipchartpad.Somef l
ipcharts
nowhav eadhesiv
eont hebackofeachpagesot hepr esenterwhenf i
nished, cansti
ck
thepaget oacorr
espondingwal lt
hattheaudiencecansee.Thi sfeatur
epr events
havingtofli
pbackandforthfrom pagetopagewast ingvaluabletimeandal lowsf or
writ
ingafreefl
owofideaswi thease.

Ef
fect
ivePost
ers

Postersar epreparedmuchi nadv anceofapr esentation.Thesi mplestpost erscanbe

madef r
om post erboardwithgr aphi csandt extaddedwi thglueort ape.Mor eadvanced
posterscanbemadeusi ngPower Poi ntandt henpr i
nt edandl aminat edf oramor e
professionallook.Changet hesizeofy ourPower Pointslidetoagoodpost ersize,such
as2- by-
3f eet,anddecreaset hev iewper cent ageony ourcomput erscr eent oaround
25per cent,orthesmal l
estv i
ewt hatst il
lal
lowsy out oseeeachel ementcl early.
Power Pointhintsalsoapplytopost erdesign.Av oiddesi gningpost er sthataret oobusy
orhav etoomucht ext.Apost ershoul dhav eaney e-catchingvisualt hattell
st hestory
withoutv i
ewer shavingtoreadpar agr aphsofaccompany ingtext.

Consi
der
ati
ons

Simpl
icityiskeyinconveyi
nginf
ormati
onvi
suall
y.Themorecomplexthevisual
,the
morelikelyyouaretolosethemessageyouaretr
yingt
oconvey
.Visualscanhelpyour
audi
encer etai
ninfor
mat i
onuptosixti
meslonger
.Beware,
however,ofst
ay i
ngonone
vi
sualfortoolong.AccordingtoTheEggl estonGroup,
studi
esshowt hataudi
ence
member sbecomebor edwithav isualaf
ter7to10seconds.Alway srehear
sewi t
hyour
vi
suals.Don'tforgett
oinspectther oom whereyouwil
lbepresentingtomakesur et
he
el
ement srequiredforyourpresentati
on,suchasproj
ector
s,screensandout l
ets,
are
avai
l
abl e.