The document provides an overview of best practices for business writing and communication. It discusses effective and ethical communication, including recognizing communication barriers and evaluating ethics. It also addresses professionalism in the workplace, intercultural communication, various writing tips, and positive and negative messages. The document reviews different communication channels, such as email, letters, oral communication, and text/IM. It provides guidance on business writing techniques including the prewriting, writing, and revising process.

1. Business Writing and
Communication
Best Practices
Christine Miles

2.  Effective and Ethical Communication
 Professionalism in the Workplace
 Intercultural Communication
 Writing Tips
 Electronic Messages and Digital Media
 Positive and Negative Messages
 Presentations
 Reports, Plans and Proposals
Agenda

3.  Recognize communication barriers
 Select the appropriate method for
communicating
 Evaluate the ethics in a problem
Effective and Ethical Communication

4. Bypassing
• Definition:
Misunderstanding a word.
• Avoid vague words
including: probably, always
never, usually, often, soon
and right away.
Frames of
reference
• Because of different
experiences everyone has
different expectations for the
same event.
• Seek to understand others
expectations early, and
clearly communicate your
own.
Distractions
• Forms of distraction include:
emotional (both sender and
receiver), physical and
digital.
• Solutions:
• Remain objective and focus
on the content of a message.
• Avoid background noise for
oral communication
• Practice good grammar and
formatting for digital
communication.
Communication Barriers
(Guffey and Loewy, 2011)

5. Email
• Meeting
minutes
• Request for
information
• Status
updates
• Quick digital
delivery of
documents
• Benefits:
• Documented
• Timely
• Multiple
people can be
included in
the same
message.
Letter/Proposal
• Job Offers
• Sales
proposals
• Appraisals
• Benefits:
• Formal
• Detailed
• Can be legally
binding
• Documented
for future
reference
Oral
• Delivering
bad news
• Reaching a
consensus
• Need real
time
feedback
• Benefits:
• Provide
nonverbal
cues
• Reduced
mis -
communica
tion
Text/IM
Communication Channels
Image Source:
onwardstate.com
Image Source:
www.mywordtempl
ates.org
Image Source:
www.actioncoach.c
om
Image Source:
www.huffingtonpo
st.co.uk
• Need a
quick
answer
• Urgent
news/
data
Benefits:
• Very
timely
• To the
point
(Guffey and Loewy, 2011)

6. Evaluating Ethics
Use these questions to evaluate ethical dilemmas and make the right choice.
 Is it legal?
 How would the other side view this?
 Are there alternative solutions?
 Can you discuss the problem with someone in a position of trust?
 How would you feel if other people knew about your decision? This
includes family, friends and coworkers.
Source:college.monster.com
(Guffey & Lowey, 2011, p29)

7. Professionalism – Confrontation
Picture Source: themindsetmaven.com
 Share responsibility – Both parties need to
be involved in finding the solution
 Never attack the other person – Focus on
the issue, situation or behavior.
 Define the problem and agree on the
problem 1st.
 Control emotions – If your emotions are
rising, take a break and then revisit the
conversation.
 Listen – Learn their point of view, don’t
just focus on convincing them of your own.
A great phrase to use is “Help me
understand. . .”(Katz, 2006)

8.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlcFB0NZHLo
 Learn about other cultures behaviors (Newman and Ober, 2012).
 Behaviors
 Attitudes
 Customary traits, including nonverbal communication
 Avoid ethnocentrism. One culture is not superior to another (Barger, 2008).
Intercultural Communication
Source: anyainvestigatingcultures.wordpress.com
Intercultural communication
includes:
 Race
 Gender
 Socioeconomic status
 Age
 Sexual orientation
 Religion
(Fritscher, 2007)

9. Oral
 Learn foreign phrases
 Use simple English, avoid
jargon, slang and idioms.
 Listen without interrupting
 Check frequently for
comprehension
 Follow up a oral conversation in
writing
Intercultural Environment
Communication Best Practices
(Guffey and Loewy, 2011)
Written
 Observe title and rank.
 Use short sentences and
paragraphs.
 Avoid idioms, slang and
ambiguous expressions.
Image source: www.areyounet.com

10.  Adapt to the culture by observing body language
and listening strategies. Mirror what is
observed. Be careful to avoid appearing as if
you are making fun of them.
 Watch nonverbal cues. Make adjustments if the
other person appears uncomfortable.
 Understand cultural expectations around time
and personal space (Chitakornkijsil, 2010).
Avoiding Misunderstanding
Source: voices.yahoo.com(Fritscher, 2007)

11.  Prewriting:
Analyzing, Anticipating, Adapting
 Writing:
Researching, Organizing, Composing
 Revising:
Revising, Proofreading, Evaluating
Business Writing – 3x3 Process
} 50%
} 50%
(Guffey and Loewy, 2011)

12. Business Writing - Prewriting
The purpose of the writing is to communicate with the audience. The
audience’s needs are central to how the writing is created.
 Conduct an audience analysis
 Who is the audience?
 How do you know them? What is your
relationship?
 How do you expect them to react?
 What knowledge do they already have?
(Guffey and Loewy, 2011)

13.  Steps involved in revising include:
 Reviewing the content - Have enough
supporting information and be as streamlined
as possible.
 Style – Style should be consistent throughout
the document. Avoid long sentences
 Correctness – Spelling, grammar and
punctuation.
 Evaluate – Is the message communicating
what you want it to? Is the purpose being
met?
Business Writing - Revising
(Guffey and Loewy, 2011)

14. When to Use and Popular Uses
 Reaching people often tied to their computer monitor or phone.
 Convey urgent information without interrupting like a phone call or meeting
would.
 Get to the point without having to exchange pleasantries.
 Identifying if a person or multiple people are available for a meeting
(Primeaux, 2004).
 Carries a higher read and response rate than email (Henn, 2013) and
(Lacey, 2009).
Electronic Media – IM and Text
(Guffey and Loewy, 2011)

15. When not to use
 Delivering bad news (such as firing
someone) (Guffey and Loewy, 2011)
 Relaying confidential information – IM is
not as secure as email (Primeaux, 2004).
 Sending a lot of detailed information. Text
has a 140 character limit, and neither
application allows for formatting of any
type (Business Today, 2013).
Electronic Media – IM and Text
Source: blog.privacychoice.org

16. Positive and Negative Messages
Ways to organize your message
Indirect Plan
State the main
idea
Direct Plan
Provide
explanation
Give details
Provide
explanation
State the main
idea
Give details
Close in positive
tone, not on topic
of message
Close expressing
appreciation, and
summarize the
request
Positive
and
Neutral
Messages
Bad
News
Messages
(Jansen and Janssen, 2013)(Newman and Ober, 2012)

17. Play to your
Strengths
Plan Delivery and
Develop Stage Presence
Frame the Story
Business Presentations
Introduce the topic – an idea, story or problem being solved
Explain why you care about it
Convince audience they should care too
Don’t read, avoid cue cards, memorize if you can.
Be conversational
Make eye contact with the audience
Be yourself in creation and
delivery.
When using
PowerPoint
keep them
simple. It is
not an outline
for delivery.
(Anderson, 2013)

18. Formal and Informal Reports
Audience/Purpose Formal Informal
Executive Audience x
Shared Externally x
Summarizing a meeting x
Updating polices/procedures x
Budgets x
Parts of the Report
Cover Page x x
Abstract/Summary x
Introduction x x
Body x x
Conclusion x x
References x
Recommendations x
Appendix x
(Rasel, 2013)

19. Many of the tips and ideas presented for different situations
can be summarized as:
 Know your audience. Chose communication
channels, content and formats based on the audience.
 Always employ the basics – grammar, spelling, formatting
 It’s possible to be professional in ethical situations and
confrontation. Follow the steps presented and you will be
able to respond positively and confidently.
Conclusion

20.  Anderson, C., (2013). How to Give a Killer Presentation. Harvard Business Review. 91(6), 121-125
 Barger, K. (2008). Ethnocentrism. Retrieved from http://www.iupui.edu/~anthkb/ethnocen.htm
 Baxamusa, B.N. (2011). How to write a formal report. Buzzle.com. Retrieved from
www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-write-a-formal-report.htm
 Business Today, (2013). Last but Not Least. Business Today. 22(2), 109-110
 Chitakornkijsil, P. (2010). Intercultural Communication Challenges and Multinational Organization
Communication. International Journal of Organizational Innovation. 3(2), 6-20
 Fritscher, L., (2007). Intercultural Communication: Surviving in a Global World. Retrieved from:
http://www.lifescript.com/soul/self/growth/intercultural_communication_surviving_in_a_global_w
orld.aspx?_page=4
 Guffey, M., & Loewy, D. (2011). Business communication: Process and product (7th ed.). Independence, KY:
Cengage Learning.
 Hen, S., (2013). Online Marketers Take Note of Brains Wired for Rewards. Retrieved from:
npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/1013/07/24/204621/ONLINE-REWARDS
 Jansen, F., & Janssen, D. (2013). Effects of Directness in Bad-News E-mails and Voice Mails. Journal of
Business Communication. 50(4), 362-382
 Katz, R., (2006, February). Positive confrontation? Strategic Finance, 87(8), 36-40
References

21.  Lacey, F. (1/18/2009). Text Messaging Offers a 97% Read Rate. Retrieved
from: http://www.betternetworker.com/articles/view/text-message-marketing-offers-97-read-rate
 Newman, A., & Ober, S. (2012). Business communication: In print, in person, online (8th ed.). Cincinnati,
OH: South-Western College Publishers
 Primeaux, R. O., & Flint, D. (2004). Instant Messaging: Does It Belong in the Workplace?. Intellectual
Property & Technology Law Journal, 16(11), 5-7.
 Rasel. (2013). Difference between formal and informal reports. Business Communication Articles.
Retrieved from: www.businesscommunicationarticles.com/difference-between-formal-and-informal-
reports/
 Rzadkiewicz, C. (2010). How to write a formal business report. Suite101.com. Retrieved from
suite101.com/a/how-to-write-a-formal-business-report-accurately-and-concisely-a270293
References cont.