The document outlines the process for preparing effective business messages, which includes five key planning steps: 1) Identifying the purpose, 2) Analyzing the audience, 3) Choosing ideas, 4) Collecting data, and 5) Organizing the message. It emphasizes analyzing the audience and purpose, and choosing an organizational structure, such as direct or indirect, based on the intended message. Additionally, it stresses the importance of revising, editing, and proofreading to ensure the message is clear, concise, and error-free.

1. The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Messages
PREPARED BY: AMNA SALEEM

2. Introduction
• Whether we are preparing a written or an oral message, to be
effective we need to plan, organize, draft, revise, edit, and
proofread.
• Even with the most advanced office technology, the need for careful
preparation of either written or oral messages demands efforts .

3. Five Planning Steps
Identify your Purpose
Analyze your Audience
Choose your Ideas
Collect your Data
Organize your Message

4. Step 1: Identify your purpose
The reason of writing a message could be:
 Mainly informational (announcement) etc.
 Persuasive, (promotion of product), etc.
 Negotiating, (deals, agreement)
 Creating goodwill, (Narrate Good Bout You)

5. Step 2: Analyze your Audience
While preparing a message the care must be taken for the following
aspects:
 Member of a group, such as business or professional person;
laborer, colleague, or subordinate; woman or man.
 New or long time customer; young, middle-aged, or elderly.
 Receivers educational level, attitudes and probable values (often
culture specific)

6. Step 3: Choose your Ideas
 With the purpose and receiver in mind, the next step is to choose the
idea for message.
 The idea of writing a message depends on the background, situation,
cultural context and location of the receiver (national or international)

7. Step 4: Collect Your Data
Data Should be.
Logical,
Reality Based
Researched Based
 Company’s policies, procedures, and product detail if
needed to support the main idea.
 Enclose, if needed, a brochure, table, picture, or product
sample.

8. Step 5: Organize your message
• Idea is presented is as important as the ideas themselves.
• Disorganized, rambling messages often seem careless, confusing,
and unimportant.
• Different approaches of organizing the business messages are
necessary for different cultures.

9. Basic Organizational Plan
Direct (Deductive) Approach:
Use the direct approach when the audience is receptive of your message.
(Good News Messages)
Indirect (Inductive) Approach:
When you expect resistance to your message, choose the indirect
approach, (bad-news message or a persuasive request).

10. Basic Organizational Plan
For writing letters and memos, one of four basic organizational plans
can be selected according to the situation:
1. The direct request (Deductive Approach)
2. Good news (Deductive Approach)
3. Bad-news (Inductive Approach)
4. Persuasive request plan (Inductive Approach)

11. Beginning and Ending of Message
The most important part of Business Message is its opening and
closing paragraphs.
Why ?
• Because “First Impression is the last impression”
• “We remember best what we read last”

12. Opening Paragraph
The opening of message determines whether
the reader continues reading, puts the message
aside, or discard it.
The rules of good opening paragraphs are:
1. Choose openings appropriate for Message Purpose
and for the Reader.
a) Main Idea or good-news first for direct-request,
neutral, and good news messages.
b) Buffer first for bad news messages.
c) Attention-getting statements first for Persuasive
requests
2.Make the opening considerate, courteous , concise ,
clear.
a) Get reader into opening.
b) Keep first paragraph relatively short
c) Focus on positive
d) Use courteous, conversational language
e) Avoid repetition
3. Check for completeness regarding:
a) Sentence structure
b) Date of letter you are answering.

13. Closing Paragraph
The closing is more likely to motivate the reader to act as requested if it
is appropriately strong, clear, and polite.
1.Make your action request clear and complete with the five W’s.
2. End with a positive, courteous thought.
a) Include any apologies and negative before the last paragraph
b) Be friendly
c) Show appreciation
d) Occasionally add a personal note
3. Keep the last paragraph concise and correct
a) Avoid trite expressions
b) Omit discussion of trivial details
c) Use relatively short and complete sentences

14. Composing the Message (End of planning
Stage)
Drafting Your Message
• When you have completed the five planning steps and considered the
opening and closing, you are ready for your first draft.
• The important thing in preparing a draft message is to get the most
important information in your message on the paper

15. Revising the message
• After finishing the first draft of the message, it is important to evaluate its
content, organization, and style.
The following are the suggestions for revising:
• Does your message accomplish its purpose?
• Have you chosen the most effective organizational plan?
• Are your points supports the adequate material?
• Is your language complete, concise, considerate,
• concrete, clear, courteous, and correct?
• Have you used variety in sentence structure?

16. Editing & Proofreading Your Message
Editing and proofreading are important to ensure that your
documents have no mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation,
or word choice.