1. Preparing Effective
Business Messages

2. 5 PLANNING STEPS:
1. Identify your purpose- the objective of your
message is almost twofold: the reason for
the message itself and the creation of
goodwill.
2. Analyze your audience- see the message
from your receiver’s point of view: their
needs, interests, attitudes, even their
culture.

3. 3. Choose your ideas- the ideas you include depend
on the type of message you are sending, the
situation & the cultural context.
4. Collect your data- be sure to collect enough data
to support your ideas; check names, dates,
addresses & statistics for precision.
5. Organize your message- organizing your material
before writing your first draft can prevent rambling
and unclear messages.

4. APPROACHES
 DIRECT (deductive) APPROACH:
 When your reader or listener will have a
favorable or neutral reaction to your
message, use the direct approach.
 Begin with the main idea. After the opening,
include all necessary details and end with
an appropriate, friendly closing.

5.  INDIRECT (inductive) APPROACH:
 When your reader or listener might react
negatively to your message, you should not
present the main idea in the first paragraph.
 Begin with a buffer, give an explanation and
then introduce the main idea.

6. BEGINNINGS & ENDINGS:
 “first impressions are lasting”
 “we remember best what we read last”

7. BEGINNINGS:
 The opening of a message determines
whether the reader continues reading,
puts the message aside or discards it.
1. Choose openings appropriate for
message purpose and reader.
2. Make the openings considerate,
courteous, concise, clear.
3. Check for completeness.

8. ENDINGS:
 Closing should be strong, clear & polite,
they should leave a sense of closure &
goodwill with the receiver.
1. Make action request clear and complete
with 5 W’s and the H.
2. End on a polite, courteous thought.
3. Keep last paragraph concise and correct.

9. Appearance & design of business
messages:
 BUSINESS LETTER:
 Standard parts of the Letter:
1. HEADING – LETTERHEAD AND DATE:
Headings-either letterhead or your own
address- should be at the top of the letter
before the date and before the name and
address of the receiver of your message.

10. 2. INSIDE ADDRESS: The inside address
should begin with the addressee's name,
professional title and address.
3. SALUTATION: They are typed below the
inside address & two lines above the body
of the letter.

11. 4. BODY: Should be typed single spaced,
with double spacing between paragraphs,
before and after the salutation, and before
the complimentary close.
5. COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE: Sincerely,
Sincerely yours, Very truly yours, Warm
regards, With best wishes, etc.

12. 6. SIGNATURE AREA: Can include in the
signature area several identifications: name
of your company, your signature, your
typewritten name & business title.
7. REFERENCE SECTION: May include
information about the message composer,
the typist & sometimes word processing
data.

13. LETTER LAYOUT:
 PUNCTUATION STYLES:
1. OPEN: No line of any letter part (except
body) has any punctuation at the end.
2. MIXED: A colon follows the salutation; a
comma follows the complimentary close.

14. LETTER STYLES:
1. FULL BLOCK: every line begins at the left
margin.
2. MODIFIED BLOCK: the date,
complimentary close, and signature
sections are at the right margin. Rest
everything on left margin.
3. MODIFIED BLOCK WITH PARAGRAPHS
INDENTED

15. MEMORANDUMS:
 Standard memos consist of a heading with
TO, FROM, SUBJECT and DATE.
 On preprinted forms, the word MESSAGE
may also appear.