1. LESSON FOR WEEK THREE
Chapter 3
PLANNING THE BUSINESS MESSAGE
Step 1 - Planning

2.  Understand
the business message
 Understand the three-step writing
process
 Begin with Step 1 – Planning
 Analyze situation
 Gather information
 Select the right medium
 Organize your message
 Conclusion & ground for Step - 2

3. Planning
Writing
Adapt to the Audience
Use ‘YOU’ attitude
Polite, Positive, Bias-free
Credibility, conversational
Gather Information Appropriate voice
Audience needs; satisfy needs
Analyze Situation Purpose & Audience Profile
Select Medium
Best medium to deliver
Get Organized
Main idea, Scope, approach,
outline
Compose the Message
Choose strong words that
will be effective
Completing
Revise
Evaluate, edit, rewrite
Produce
Design, Layout, Clean
Proofread
Review Mechanics/ Layout
Distribute
Deliver using choice medium

4. Planning
Analyze Situation Purpose & Audience Profile
Gather Information Audience needs; satisfy needs
Select Medium
Best medium to deliver
Get Organized
Main idea, Scope, approach,
outline

5.  Analyze
your situation
 Gather information
 Select the right medium
 Organize the information
As a general rule, try to use half the time you
got for the work for planning; one-quarter
for writing; and one-quarter for completing
your messages

6. To analyze the situation, you two THINGS
1. Define the purpose - general or specific
2. Develop an audience profile
 General
 Specific

Inform

Realism

Persuade

Timing

Collaborate

Delivery

Acceptability

7. Audience profile require you know your
audience to a point

8. Gathering information is a herculean task that
demands tact and time. Techniques that could
help include:
 Seek viewpoints of others

Read reports and other company documents

Interview supervisors, colleagues, customers

Ask your audience for input

Informal chat with customers, employees
In so doing you will be able to uncover audience
need and satisfy same by providing required
information

9. Uncovering audience needs

Sometimes needs are known, apparent; then act
on them and advice

Most times they are not clear; then ask questions
and be suggestive
Providing required information

Be sure information is accurate

Be sure information is ethical

Be sure information is complete

Be sure information is pertinent

11.  Selecting
the best medium can make the
difference between effective & ineffective
communication
 Media

Leaner


leanness & richness
Fliers, bulletins, and reports
Richer

Conversations, meetings, presentations
 Thus
your medium could be oral, written,
visual or electronic

12. Richer
Leaner
Notes, Letters,
Memos
Face-to-Face
Telephone
E-mail
A Continuum of Media Richness
Fliers, Bulletins,
Standard Reports

13.  Use





an oral channel
Need immediate
feedback
Relatively simple
message
Don’t need a
permanent record
Easy to assemble the
audience
Encourage interaction
 Use
a written
channel





Don’t need immediate
feedback
Detailed, complex
message
Need a permanent
record
Large, dispersed
audience
Minimize distortion

14. 
Use a visual channel



Graphical presentation
of details
Use an electronic
channel


Time-zones


Speed

Dominated by graphics,
but complemented by
texts.
Useful for multi-lingua
business
Advantages
Dispersed audience
Disadvantages

Content issues

Easy to remember

Privacy

Encourage interaction

Productivity

15. WRITTEN




Memo
Letters
Proposals
Reports
ELECTRONIC

Oral – phone calls,
teleconferencing, internet
telephony, VoIP [skype, Tango]

Written – IM, email, hangout, blogs,
websites, wikis
Visual - PPT, computer animation,
video [vidcasts, vblogs],
multimedia


16. Voice Mail
Electronic
Media
Teleconference
Videotape
Computer
Conference
Faxing
E-mail
Instant
Messages
Global Communication
Websites

17. Factors to consider when choosing media
 Media
richness
 Message formality
 Media limitations
 Sender intentions
 Urgency and costs
 Audience preferences

18. Organizing the message helps your audience:



Understand the message
Accept the message
Save time in following your ideas
Therefore you could achieve good organization
through:
 Defining your main idea
 Limiting your scope
 Choosing between direct/indirect approaches
 Outlining your content

19. Defining your main idea.
 In defining your main idea, you should focus on
crafting the topic as a summary to the
communication
 Make sure the idea establishes good relationship
with customers/audience
 The following guide could help





Brainstorming
Journalistic approach – 5W & H
Question & answer chain – ask questions from audience
view
Storyteller’s tour – talk it out, record yourself
Mind mapping – start with main & then branch out to
connect other ideas that come to mind

20.  Limit
your scope
 Scope is the range, length & level of
information to be presented
 Some message have preset length limit
 Always limit supporting points to a maximum
of six through categorization/ grouping
 Make it brief but not too brief
 You need fewer words to present routine
message to a knowledgeable audience and
more words to build consensus on new/
complex/ controversial subject

21.  Choose
between direct/indirect approaches
 Use direct when audience is positive,
receptive; start with main idea
[recommendation, conclusion, request] and
follow with supporting facts]; deductive.
 Use indirect when audience is skeptical,
resistant, negative; start with supporting
evidences first and build up to your main
idea; inductive.
 Choices is dependent on purpose and
message and medium.

22.  Outline
your content
 Outlining helps you to save time as well as
provide logical & effective way to deliver
your message
 Your word processor can help, but you need
to understand the mechanics
 A good outline divides the topic into major
parts, sub-points, evidence and details.
Anything beyond this is clumsy
 The extent of proof for the subject may
require more evidence

23.  Outline
Therefore do three things
 Start with the main idea.
 State the major points
 Illustrate with evidence.
See the diagram below
your content

24. Alphanumeric
First Major Part
I.
Decimal
1.0 First Major Part
A.
First subpoint
1.1 First subpoint
B.
Second subpoint
1.2 Second subpoint
1.
1.2.1
Evidence
2.
C.
Evidence
Evidence
1.2.2
Evidence
Third subpoint
Second Major Point
II.
1.2.3Third subpoint
2.0 Second Major Point
A.
First subpoint
2.1 First subpoint
B.
Second subpoint
2.2 Second subpoint

25. The Main Idea
I. Major Point
II. Major Point
III. Major Point
A. Evidence
A. Evidence
A. Evidence
B. Evidence
B. Evidence
B. Evidence
C. Evidence
C. Evidence
C. Evidence

26.  In
conclusion understand that analyzing the
situation, gathering information, selecting
the right medium and organizing the
information are prerequisite proper writing
of the business communication.
 Thank you.

27. 1. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of
the following medium – oral, written, visual,
electronic.
2. Which medium is most suited for business
communication?
3. Prepare an outline on the just completed topic
4. Which approach will be better to address the
following?
An email asking about the availability of specific
car.
b. A letter turning down a job applicant
c. Application for a job
a.