Business Writing Basics
Business Writing Basics
• The goal is to learn as much as possible about your audience. Learn things such
as their biases, education, age, status, style, as well as personal and professional
concerns.
• Writers who have “you” attitude, prepare messages matching the reader’s
interest.
• They do this by putting themselves in the reader’s place. They begin by asking, “
How would I feel if I were this person in this situation ? What would I want to
read in this message?”
Planning
• Gather Information
Determine the needs of the audience and gather information required to satisfy
those needs.
What ? : The “what” question deals with the nature of the message. A manager should
have a fairly clear idea of what needs to be communicated early in the planning
stage.
Why? : Many miscommunications occur because the sender does not know why a
message is being sent or does not bother to share with the reader the reason for the
message. Humans are complex creatures who like to deal with cause and effect.
When an effect is imposed and the cause is withheld, one likely result is resistance.
Who? : The time spent on reader analysis may vary with the relative importance of the
message. Routine messages will improve as a result of audience analysis and
adaptation. For a truly thorough reader analysis, a writer should consider the
following points :
Contd..
• The relative power position between the writer and reader.
• The business functions the writer and reader work in.
• The reader’s reaction to past messages from the writer.
• The relative sensitivity of the message.
When?: for a non-routine message, the decision on when to send it may directly affect how the
message is received. Sending the message too early or too late can have adverse
consequences.
Where?: The “where” question sometimes has to be addressed at both ends of the
communication spectrum: from where should the message come and to where should it be
directed? We may also have to decide where the reader should be while receiving the
message.
How?: the “how” question is largely a matter of media selection. The choice of medium is
determined at least in part by how personal the message needs to be, how widespread its
distribution, and how exactly it needs to reach the audience.
Write/Composing
While the process of writing may seem challenging at first, practicing often and
implementing the three-step writing process will help improve communication. The more that
a business professional writes and uses the three-step process, the more automatic it
becomes.
Persuasive Messages
• Persuasion is an attempt to change someone’s attitude, beliefs, or actions.
• Speech consists of three things: the speaker, the subject that is treated in the speech,
and the listener to whom the speech is addressed. This is why only three technical
means of persuasion are possible.
• Technical means of persuasion are either (a) in the character of the speaker (ethos),
or (b) in the emotional state of the hearer (pathos), or (c) in the argument (logos)
itself.
Elements of Persuasion
Ethos (Ethical appeal)
• The English word “ethics” is derived from this Greek word.
• Your audience must find you ethical and believable. As a speaker, it is your job
to convince your audience that you are credible and that you are worth
listening to.
• Speak with authority, but not arrogance. Be confident, but not condescending.
Be the best version of your truly authentic yourself.
• But your credibility alone is not enough. You also need these other elements:
Contd..
Logos (Logical appeal)
• The English word “logic” is derived from this Greek word.
• Check that every element of the speech relates to the point you are trying to
make.
• Do not ramble or go off on tangents. Focus on the point you want to make
and stick to your topic.
• Scientists and academics will often have a speech that is laden with logical
arguments, but forget to include this next critical element…
Contd..
Pathos (Emotional appeal)
• The English words “passion” and “compassion” are derived from this Greek
word.
• Engage their imagination. Take them on a journey of hope. Say something they
will remember and that will impact them on a deep level.
• End your speech on a positive note to ensure that you are using pathos for
maximum effect. Just remember to include your ethical appeal and a logical
argument to balance off a passionate delivery.
• Attention is the first step of the AIDA process. Attention is usually grabbed
by the use of image, color, layout, typography, size, celebrity, model etc. It
can also be gained through product knowledge, free product samples.
• The second step is interest, or wanting to know more, and can be achieved
by highlighting the benefits of the product or service. Once attention is
grabbed, it’s necessary to create interest in the viewers mind so that they
will read more about the brand being advertised.
• By the use of an attractive sub head, interest can be invoked. In this stage,
the message should keep the attention of the consumer.
AIDA Model
• The third step is desire, or a strong want, and focuses on the audience and
adds supports for the product's claims. The element of desire is usually
created by the use of body copy where you write in detail about the
necessity of buying the brand, thereby explaining the features of the brand,
facts and figures.
• The last, and final step, is action, and the marketing message should create
a sense of urgency to buy.
• Towards the end, the contact information of the brand will be given where
they expects the viewers to take action immediately. It can be in the form of
shop address, toll free numbers or website address.
Principles of Persuasion
• The six principles of persuasion are as follows:
1. Reciprocity:
(a)Humans are programmed to reciprocate when we are given something. The act of
receiving from someone else instills in us the need to repay that favour (however
small). There are evolutionary reasons for this (i.e. it supports cooperation).
(b)Reciprocation “pressures the recipient of an already-made concession to respond
in kind”.
3. Social Proof:
(a)This principle states that we learn what is correct by finding out what other
people think is correct. This can be done through asking, or observing the
behaviour of others. Conditions under which social proof can most strongly
affect behaviour include:
(i) Situations of extreme uncertainty (i.e. when a person has no idea what is going
on)
(a)Physical attractiveness: People who are physically attractive also enjoy the
“halo effect”, in which people think that because they’re attractive, they are
also more intelligent, kind, etc.
(b)Similarity: We like people who are similar to ourselves (in dress, age,
expressed background and interests, etc.)
(d)Cooperation: When someone works with you to achieve a shared goal, you
like them more.
Contd..
(e) Compliments: People who give compliments are more liked.
(f) Association: People who are associated with good/positive people, events,
etc. are more likely to be liked (e.g. it’s the “don’t kill the messenger”
phenomenon. A weatherman can be disliked simply because he predicts
bad weather).
6. Scarcity:
(a)The psychological underpinning of this principle is that “opportunities
seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited”.
(b)Related to this, people are more motivated to avoid losing something, than
to potentially gain something of equal value. (This ties in with Kahneman’s
prospect theory.)
Contd..
(c) When our desire for something scarce grows, we make sense of the desire
by assigning it “positive qualities to justify the desire”.