Unit 3 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

UNIT- III

BUSINESS LETTERS AND REPORTS: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS LETTER

WRITING ROUTINE AND PERSUASIVE LETTERS

Routine Letters- A business letter is a letter written in formal language, usually used when writing from
one business organization to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and their
customers, clients and other external parties.

Types of Routine Business Letters”: Persuasive Letters

Persuasive Letter- Persuasive Letter is a letter written to persuade (make someone to become agree or
accept) an organisation/s or individual/s towards accepting the writer’s (sender’s) issue, interest or
perspective. It can be written to any type of organisation i.e. school, bank, college, NGO, municipality
etc. The individuals can be a director, CEO, government official etc. The motive of the persuasion letter
is to ‘Get your work done’.

The persuasion can be related to any matter, it can be:

 A complaint
 A sale
 A petition
 A request or any other matter which requires convincing

Persuasion letter is a broad term inclusive of Cover Letter, Complaint Letter, Petition Letter, Request
Letter, and Sales Letter. This is because in all of the above mentioned there is moderate to maximum
amount of persuasion on part of the sender.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE MESSAGES

Positive Letters or Positive Messages

Delivering Good or Neutral News

Hopefully, most of the communication you will do in the workplace will involve giving neutral or good
news. Usually, a direct approach is best. Consider the context in which most people receive workplace
communication. Some studies have found that the average worker receives 90 emails per day and sends
40 emails per day. Now, imagine that every time the worker receives an email, they need to spend 1
minute re-reading it because the point of the email was not immediately obvious. That would be 1.5
hours of wasted time! If you factor in lost productivity due to miscommunication, the cost is even
higher.

When it comes to neutral or positive messages, usually the best strategy is to get to the point. Make it
clear:

 Why you’re writing.

 What supporting details the reader needs to know.
 If the reader needs to do anything.
It’s this last point that business communicators often stumble on. They give the information, but forget
to tell the audience what to do with the information. The reader is left wondering whether they’re just
supposed to be aware that the information exists, or if they’re supposed to act on it in some way.

One helpful tip is to end the communication by looking towards the future. Tell the reader what you
want them to do. If they merely need to be aware of the information, you could use a phrase like “If you
have any questions, let me know.” If they need to do something, state it clearly. For example, you might
say, “Please send your changes to this document to me by Thursday at 10 am so that I can get them into
the final draft.”

You might find this format helpful:

 Be direct:start with the good news to put the reader in a positive frame of mind.
 Give supporting details, explanation and commentary. These should be clearly organized. If you
have a large amount of information, you may choose to use bullet points, headings or
links/attachments.
 If there are any drawbacks, state them clearly but positively. (“Please mail the defective phone
back so that we can issue you a new model).
 End with a note of thanks or congratulations.

Negative

A bad news message (or negative news message) delivers news that the audience does not want to hear,
read, or receive. Delivering negative news is never easy. Whether you are informing someone they are
being laid off or providing constructive criticism on their job performance, how you choose to deliver
the message can influence its response.

Some people prefer their bad news to be direct and concise. Others may prefer a less direct approach.
How you break bad news will also depend on your culture, your family and norms of your industry. For
example, people in India might be very direct with their family and close friends, but use an indirect
approach in a workplace setting.

Regardless of whether you determine a direct or indirect approach is warranted, your job is to deliver
news that you anticipate will be unwelcome, unwanted, and possibly dismissed.

There are seven goals to keep in mind when delivering negative news, in person or in written form:

1. Be clear and concise to minimize the chances of confusion or back-and-forth communication.

2. Help the receiver understand and accept the news.
3. Maintain trust and respect for the business or organization and for the receiver.
4. Avoid legal liability or erroneous admission of guilt or culpability.
5. Maintain the relationship, even if a formal association is being terminated.
6. Reduce the anxiety associated with the negative news to increase comprehension.
7. Achieve the designated business outcome.

WRITING MEMOS

Report Writing Purpose

A report is a written account of something that one has observed, heard, done, or investigated. It is a
systematic and well organized presentation of facts and findings of an event that has already taken place
somewhere. Reports are used as a form of written assessment to find out what you have learned from
your reading, research or experience and to give you experience of an important skill that is widely used
in the work place.

KINDS OF REPORT WRITING

Technical and Business report- disciplines with an applied focus such as Engineering, Information
Technology, Commerce, Accounting and Finance, will set report writing assignments that simulate the
process of report writing in industry. Assignments are set in the form of a problem or a case study. The
students research the problem, and present the results of the research in a report format to an imaginary
client.

Field reports- These reports are used in Law, Industrial Relations, Psychology, Nursing, History and
Education. These types of reports require the student to analyze his observations or events in the real
world in light of theories studied in the course. Example- Court observation report, an observation report
of a child or a patient for Developmental psychology or Nursing, a History site report, and a teaching
observation report for Education.

Scientific reports (Laboratory reports) - They are common in all the Sciences and Social Sciences.
These reports use a standard scientific report format describing methods, results and conclusions to
report upon an empirical investigation. A more detailed and extensive type of this report is the research
project report for fourth year honours students or research students involved in postgraduate studies.

Long Report and Short Reports: These kinds of reports are quite clear, as the name suggests. A two-
page report or sometimes referred to as a memorandum is short, and a thirty-page report is absolutely
long. But what makes a clear division of short reports or long reports? Well, usually, notice that longer
reports are generally written in a formal manner.

Internal and External Reports: As the name suggests, an internal report stays within a certain
organization or group of people. In the case of office settings, internal reports are for within the
organization. We prepare external reports, such as a news report in the newspaper about an incident or
the annual reports of companies for distribution outside the organization. We call these as public reports.

Vertical and Lateral Reports: This is about the hierarchy of the reports’ ultimate target. If the report is
for your management or for your mentees, it’s a vertical report. Wherever a direction of upwards or
downwards comes into motion, we call it a vertical report. Lateral reports, on the other hand, assist in
coordination in the organization. A report traveling between units of the same organization level (for
example, a report among the administration and finance departments) is lateral.

Periodic Reports: Periodic reports are sent out on regularly pre-scheduled dates. In most cases, their
direction is upward and serves as management control. Some, like annual reports, is not vertical but is a
Government mandate to be periodic in nature. That is why we have annual or quarterly or half-yearly
reports. If they are this frequent, it only makes sense to pre-set the structure of these reports and just fill
in the data every period. That’s exactly what happens in most cases too.

Formal and Informal Reports: Formal reports are meticulously structured. They focus on objectivity
and organization, contain deeper detail, and the writer must write them in a style that eliminates factors
like personal pronouns. Informal reports are usually short messages with free-flowing, casual use of
language. We generally describe the internal report/memorandum as an informal report. For example, a
report among your peers, or a report for your small group or team, etc.

Informational and Analytical Reports: Informational reports (attendance reports, annual budget
reports, monthly financial reports, and such) carry objective information from one area of an
organization to maybe a larger system. Analytical reports (scientific research, feasibility reports, and
employee appraisals) show attempts to solve actual problems. These analytical reports usually require
suggestions at the end.
Proposal Reports: These kinds of reports are like an extension to the analytical/problem-solving
reports. A proposal is a document one prepares to describe how one organization can provide a solution
to a problem they are facing. There’s usually always a need to prepare a report in a business set-up. The
end goal is usually very solution-oriented. We call such kinds of reports as proposal reports.

Functional Reports: These kinds of reports include marketing reports, financial reports, accounting
reports, and a spectrum of other reports that provide a function specifically. By and large, we can
include almost all reports in most of these categories. Furthermore, we can include a single report in
several kinds of reports.

OBJECTIVES OF REPORT WRITING

Decision Making Tool: Today’s complex business organizations require thousands of information. A
Reports provide the required information a large number of important decisions in business or any other
area are taken on the basis of information presented in the reports. This is one of the great importance of
report.

Investigation: Whenever there is any problem, a committee or commission or study group investigates
the problem to find out the reason behind the problem and present the findings with or without the
recommendation in the form of a report. It is another importance of report.

Evaluation: Large scale organizations are engaged in multidimensional activities. It is not possible for a
single top executive to keep personal watch on what others are doing. So, the executive depends on
reports to evaluate the performance of various departments or units.

Quick Location: There is no denying the fact that business executives need information for quick
decision-making. As top executives are found to be busy for various purposes), they need vital sources
of information. Such sources can be business reports.

Development of skill: Report writing skill develops the power of designing, organization coordination,
judgment and communication.

Neutral presentation of facts: Facts are required to be presented in a neutral way; such presentation is
ensured through a report as it investigates, explains and evaluates any fact independently.

Professional Advancement: Report also plays a major role in professional achievement. For promotion
to the rank and file position, satisfactory job performance is enough to help a person. But for promotion
to high level position, intellectual ability is highly required. Such ability can be expressed through the
report submitted to higher authority.

Proper Control: Whether activities are happening according to plan or not is expressed through a
report. So, controlling activities are implemented based on the information of a report.

A managerial Tool: Various reports make activities easy for the managers. For planning, organizing,
coordinating, motivating and controlling, manager needs help from a report which acts as a source of
information.

Encountering Advance and Complex Situation: In a large business organization, there is always some
sort of labor problems which may bring complex situations. To tackle that situation, managers take the
help of a report.

WHAT IS A PRESENTATION?
 A presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations.
Example- Talking to a group, addressing a meeting, briefing a team. A presentation can also be used
making a speech at a wedding, or getting a point across in a video conference.

A presentation requires a message across to the listeners and will often contain a 'persuasive'
element. Example - talk about the positive work of your organisation, what you could offer an employer,
or why you should receive additional funding for a project.

The formal presentation of information is divided into two broad categories: Presentation Skills and
Personal Presentation.

EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION SKILLS

Presentation skills are the abilities one needs in order to deliver compelling, engaging, informative,
transformative, educational, enlightening, and/or instructive presentations.

Following effective presentation skills are necessary in speaker-

1. Public speaking- The speaker should not be afraid of speaking in front of people. He should
speak with confidence.
2. Tone of voice- The tone should be clear and soft. His voice should be audible to audience
properly.
3. Body language- The presenter must have a good body language. He should be energetic. He
should not do too much hand movements, leg shaking. He must maintain eye contact to
audience.
4. Creativity- He should be creative while designing presentation. Audio- visual presentation with
suitable picture and graphs.
5. Delivery- He should deliver presentation with full energy and enthusiasm.
6. Informative and interesting- The presenter must prepare informative and interesting
presentation for the audience.
7. Persuasive- The presenter must prepare persuasive presentation for the audience.

Presentation can be defined as a formal event characterized by teamwork and use of audio-visual aids.
The main purpose of presentation is to give information, to persuade the audience to act and to create
goodwill. A good presentation should have a good subject matter, should match with the objective,
should best fit the audience, and should be well organized.

Characteristics of a Good/Effective Presentation

1. The presentation ideas should be well adapted to audience. Relate your presentation
message/idea to the interests of the audience. A detailed audience analysis must be made before
the presentation, i.e., an analysis of the needs, age, educational background, language, and
culture of the target audience. A good presentation should be concise and should be focused on
the topic.
2. A good presentation should have the potential to convey the required information.
3. The fear should be transformed into positive energy during the presentation. Be calm and relaxed
while giving a presentation. Before beginning, wait and develop an eye contact with the
audience. Focus on conveying your message well and use a positive body language.
4. To communicate the desired information, the speaker should use more of visual aids such as
transparencies, diagrams, pictures, charts, etc. Each transparency/slide should contain limited
and essential information only. No slide should be kept on for a longer time. Try facing the
audience, rather than the screen. The speaker should not block the view. Turn on the room lights
else the audience might fall asleep and loose interest. Organize all the visuals for making a
logical and sound presentation.
 5. A good presentation must be planned. The speaker must plan how to begin the presentation, what
to speak in the middle of presentation and how to end the presentation without losing audience
interests at any point of time.
6. Rehearse and practice the presentation. This will help the speaker to be more confident and self-
assured. The more the speaker rehearses the better the presentation turns to be.
7. The speaker should encourage more questions from the audience. He should be honest enough to
answer those questions. If any biased question is put forth by the audience, rearticulate it before
answering.
8. Summarize the presentation at the end. Give final comments. Leave a positive impact upon the
audience.
9. The speaker must be affirmative and optimistic before giving presentation. He should ensure all
tools and equipments to be used in presentation are working well.
10. The speaker must state the objectives of the presentation at beginning of the presentation.
11. The speaker must have a presentable appearance while giving a presentation. The speaker should
stand with feet far apart maintaining a good balance. He must use confident gestures. He must
use short and simple words.

Advanced Visual Support for Business Presentation: Types of Visual Aid

Good visuals in a business presentation can range from complex videos to a simple poster. For those
presenters who are not skilled in the video arts, there are several ways to present information with
visuals that will help your audience remember key points long after your presentation has ended. Three
effective methods include PowerPoint presentations, flip charts and posters.

1. PowerPoint Presentations- PowerPoint offers hundreds of font, audio and image options for its
users. The first thing presenters should understand is that just because there are 350 font options does
not mean you should use them. Always use either light font over a dark background or dark font over a
light background. Avoid red font and green backgrounds or fonts and backgrounds that are close on
the color wheel as they will be difficult to read. Follow the rule of 8. The rule of 8 tells that you should
be able to read your presentation while standing 8 feet away from the standard computer screen, If the
font is too small to read from this distance, it will be too small to read in your presentation. Include a
maximum of five points per page.

2. Effective Flip Charts- Flip Charts are not only inexpensive but they can also be used for ideas
and brainstorming within the context of the meeting. Use dark markers to write on a flip chart and
make sure you have plenty of paper on the flip chart pad. Some flip charts now have adhesive on the
back of each page so the presenter when finished, can stick the page to a corresponding wall that the
audience can see. This feature prevents having to flip back and forth from page to page wasting
valuable time and allows for writing a free flow of ideas with ease.

3. Effective Posters- Posters are prepared much in advance of a presentation. The simplest posters
can be made from poster board with graphics and text added with glue or tape. More advanced posters
can be made using PowerPoint and then printed and laminated for a more professional look. Change
the size of your PowerPoint slide to a good poster size, such as 2-by-3 feet , and decrease the view
percentage on your computer screen to around 25 percent, or the smallest view that still allows you to
see each element clearly. PowerPoint hints also apply to poster design. Avoid designing posters that
are too busy or have too much text. A poster should have an eye-catching visual that tells the story
without viewers having to read paragraphs of accompanying text.

Considerations- Simplicity is key in conveying information visually. The more complex the
visual, the more likely you are to lose the message you are trying to convey. Visuals can help your
audience retain information up to six times longer. Beware, however, of staying on one visual for too
long. According to The Eggleston Group, studies show that audience members become bored with a
visual after 7 to 10 seconds. Always rehearse with your visuals. Don’t forget to inspect the room where
you will be presenting to make sure the elements required for your presentation, such as projectors,
screens and outlets, are available.