Chapter 6 Reading Reflection

If businesses wish to be successful, managers and employees must have good communication. And since it's not always possible to talk face-to-face or even on the phone, written communication has become one of the most important forms of communication in businesses today. The essentials of business writing are thorough planning, composing, and formatting for the various types of written communication (e.g., memos, e-mails, and letters).

As my dad always said, "proper prior planning prevents poor performance." It is no different in business writing. Before ever putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, we must first determine a few important points:

(1) Determine the purpose of the message. Are we simply informing someone? Are we trying to persuade someone to take a certain action? 

(2) Analyze the audience. To successfully influence the audience, we must understand who they are, how they feel about us, and how they feel about the subject matter. Only then can we, as writers, make the message clear and impactful for the receiver(s) of the message.

(3) Create a brief outline, implementing a strategy to accomplish the purpose. Outlines keep writing neat and organized, giving the reader a step-by-step guide after the final draft is complete.

Next, we put our plan into action by composing the message. Messages are most effective when they are clear, correct, complete, and compelling. Different approaches should be taken depending on the type of message we are writing. For example, a bad-news message normally calls for an indirect approach. This means that the writer softens the blow of the bad news by putting the main idea later in the message, surrounding it with as much positive information as possible.

The last step of the composition process is formatting. The rules for formatting memos, e-mails, and letters are nearly endless, but it is important to agree with both general formatting rules and those of the specific business. This makes the writing look more professional. Also, the reader will focus on the content of the message rather than on distracting formatting errors. 

Successful business writing is a process involving several steps. But following these steps results in clear and effective communication, which is well worth any time and effort necessary.