Content Outline - University of Phoenix



Week Three Content Outline

TOPIC and Objectives

COMMUNICATION BASICS

• Demonstrate proper sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation.

• Choose appropriate media based on purpose and audience.

• Recognize the elements of effective messages.

• Create coherent paragraphs.

Content outline

1. UNDERSTANDING THE THREE-STEP WRITING PROCESS

a. Whether a writing task is routine or more complex, the goal is to create messages that have a clear purpose, meet the needs of the audience, and communicate efficiently.

b. The three-step writing process includes the following steps:

1) Planning business messages

2) Writing business messages

3) Completing business messages

2. To schedule time throughout the three-step process, do the following:

a. Use roughly half the available time for planning.

b. Use a quarter of the time for actual writing.

c. Use the remaining quarter of the time for completing the project.

3. Analyzing the situation

a. Successful messages start with a clear purpose that connects the sender’s needs with the audience’s needs.

b. All business messages have a general purpose and a specific purpose: how the audience should respond after receiving the message.

c. Audiences must know what is in it for them—which of their needs will be met or problems will be solved by listening to the advice or doing what is asked of them. Develop an audience profile by completing the following steps:

1) Identify the primary audience.

2) Determine audience size and geographic distribution.

3) Determine audience composition.

4) Gauge audience members’ level of understanding.

5) Understand audience expectations and preferences.

6) Forecast probable audience reaction.

4. Gathering information

a. After a clear picture of the audience has been generated, the next step is to assemble the information that will be included in the message.

b. Formal techniques for finding, evaluating, and processing information are discussed in Ch. 10 of Business Communication Essentials.

c. A variety of informal techniques enable one to gather insights and focus research efforts.

1) Consider other viewpoints.

2) Read reports and other company documents.

3) Talk with supervisors, colleagues, or customers.

4) Ask the audience for input.

d. Once the audience’s information needs have been identified, the next step is to satisfy those needs completely, with the right quantity of required information and verification of the quality of that information. Before including information in the document, the information must be

1) accurate,

2) ethical, and

3) pertinent.

5. Selecting the right medium

a. A communication medium is the form through which one chooses to communicate a message.

b. Oral media include the following:

1) Face-to-face conversations

2) Interviews

3) Speeches

4) In-person presentations and meetings

c. Oral media have many advantages, including the following:

1) Encouraging people to ask questions

2) Encouraging people to offer comments

3) Encouraging people to work together to reach a consensus or decision

d. Written media take many forms, including traditional memos and glossy reports.

e. Written media have many advantages, including the following:

1) They increase the communicator’s control.

2) They help the communicator reach dispersed audiences.

3) They minimize distortion.

f. Disadvantages of written media include the following:

1) The difficulty of receiving feedback

2) The lack of nonverbal cues

3) The extra time and skill sometimes required to prepare written messages

g. Other forms of written media include memos—used for day-to-day exchange of information within an organization—and letters, which are brief written messages sent to recipients outside the organization.

h. Visual elements usually support the text; however, in some instances the message can be presented more effectively by basing the message on a dominant visual and using small amounts of text to support the image.

i. Visual media are any formats in which one or more visual elements play a central role in conveying the message content.

j. Advantages of visual media include the following:

1) They are able to communicate quickly.

2) They are effective at describing complex ideas and processes because they reduce the audience’s work.

3) They can lower communication barriers in the multilingual business world through their use of diagrams, symbols, and other images.

4) They can be easier to remember than purely textual descriptions or explanations.

k. Examples of electronic media include the following:

1) Telephone calls

2) Podcasts

3) Blogs

4) Wikis

5) E-mail and text messaging

l. Electronic versions of oral media include telephone calls, teleconferencing, voicemail messages, audio recording, and animated customer service avatars on websites.

m. Electronic versions of written media range from e-mail and instant messages to blogs, websites, and wikis.

n. Electronic versions of visual media include electronic presentations such as PowerPoint®, computer animation, and video.

o. To select the best medium for a message, consider the following six factors:

1) Media richness

2) Message formality

3) Media limitations

4) Sender intentions

5) Urgency and cost

6) Audience preferences

6. Organizing the message

a. Organizing the message well saves time for both the communicator and the audience. Developing an organizational plan allows the communicator to avoid putting ideas in the wrong places or composing unnecessary material; to obtain advance input from the audience; and, in the case of larger projects, to divide the writing job among coworkers.

b. Good organization helps the audience do the following:

1) Understand the message

2) Accept the message

3) Save time

c. The topic of the message is the overall subject. The main idea is a specific statement about the topic of the message.

d. The following strategies may help determine the main idea:

1) Brainstorming

2) Journalistic approach

3) Question-and-answer chain

4) Storyteller’s tour

5) Mind mapping

e. The scope of the message is the range of information presented, the overall length, and the level of detail. It is important for the scope of the project to correspond with the main idea.

f. After the main ideas have been defined, the communicator must decide between two sequences to present the information: direct or indirect approaches.

1) Direct approaches are best used when the audience will be receptive to the message. Start with the main idea and follow with supporting evidence.

2) Indirect approaches are best used when the audience will be skeptical about or even resistant to the message. Begin with the evidence first, and build the case before presenting the main idea.

g. After the approach has been decided, use the alphanumeric or decimal outline.

h. Whichever outline form is used, the following three steps should be followed:

1) Start with the main idea.

2) State the major points.

3) Illustrate with evidence.

7. Adapting to the audience

a. Be sensitive to the audience’s needs.

1) Using the you attitude

2) Maintaining standards of etiquette

3) Emphasizing the positive

4) Using bias-free language

b. Build strong relationships with the audience.

1) Establishing credibility

2) Projecting the company’s image

c. Control style and tone.

d. Compose the message.

e. Choose strong words.

f. Create effective sentences.

g. Craft coherent paragraphs.

8. Building a relationship with the audience

a. Emphasize the positive.

b. Use bias-free language.

1) Avoid using words and phrases that unfairly and even unethically categorize or stigmatize people in ways related to gender, race, ethnicity, age, or disability.

2) Avoid gender bias by using the same label for everyone; in business, refer to women as Ms. unless invited to do otherwise.

3) Racial and ethnic bias: Avoid identifying people by race or ethnic origin unless such identification is relevant to the situation at hand.

4) Age bias: Avoid mentioning the age of a person unless it is relevant.

5) Disability bias: Avoid mentioning a disability unless it is pertinent; put the person first and the disability second.

c. Establish credibility by emphasizing the following:

1) Honesty

2) Objectivity

3) Awareness of the audience’s needs

4) Credentials, knowledge, and expertise

5) Endorsements

6) Performance

7) Confidence

8) Sincerity

9) Performance

d. Use a conversational tone and be sensitive to the audience’s needs.

1) Avoid obsolete and pompous language—use phrases you would use when talking face to face.

2) Avoid preaching and bragging—do not sound like you know everything.

3) Be careful with intimacy—do not be too familiar.

4) Be careful with humor—humor can backfire if the audience interprets it differently than you intend.

e. Use plain English—a way of presenting information in a simple, unadorned style so that the audience can easily understand the meaning. Using plain English, while mostly advantageous, does have some limitations: it sometimes lacks the precision or subtlety necessary for scientific research, legal documents, engineering plans, intense feeling, and personal insight.

f. Use active voice—when the subject performs the action and the object receives the action—in general because it is usually easier for the reader to determine who performed an action.

g. Avoid passive voice—when the subject receives the action—in general because it deemphasizes the subject and implies action done by something or someone.

h. Use passive voice to mitigate bad news or to create an impersonal tone.

9. Composing the message

a. Allow creativity to flow while composing the first draft. Do not try to draft and edit at the same time or try to make everything perfect. Realize that it may be revised and edited later.

b. When creating and refining the message, learn to view writing at three levels: strong words, effective sentences, and coherent paragraphs.

c. When trying to find words that communicate well, do the following:

1) Choose powerful words.

2) Choose familiar words.

3) Avoid clichés and use buzzwords carefully.

4) Use jargon carefully.

d. To create an effective sentence, begin by selecting the best type of sentence, then arrange words to emphasize the most important point in each sentence.

e. Four basic varieties of sentences:

1) Simple sentences: one main clause (a single subject and a single predicate)

2) Compound sentences: two main clauses that express two or more independent but related thoughts of equal importance

3) Complex sentences: expresses one main thought (the independent clause) and one or more subordinate clauses (dependent clauses)

4) Compound-complex sentences: two main clauses, at least one of which contains a subordinate clause

f. Emphasize key ideas through sentence style.

g. Develop unified, coherent, and logically connected paragraphs by ensuring that all the sentences in the paragraph pertain to a single thought.

1) Include a topic sentence.

2) Provide support sentences that develop the topic.

3) Provide transitions.

h. Transition words and phrases tie ideas together and show how one thought is related to another.

i. The best way to achieve coherence and unity is to use paragraph structures that are familiar to readers, appropriate to the ideas being presented, and suited to the purpose. The following are the five most common paragraph development techniques:

1) Illustration

2) Comparison or contrast

3) Cause and effect

4) Classification

5) Problem and solution

j. Use technology to compose and shape the messages.

1) Style sheets and templates assist writers in formatting documents.

2) Autocompletion software inserts ready-made blocks of text when the first few characters are typed.

3) Autocorrection corrects spelling and typing errors.

4) File merge and mail merge allow documents to be merged and mailings to be quickly produced.

5) Endnotes, footnotes, indexes, and a table of contents can be generated by the computer.

6) Wizards guide through the process of creating common documents.

10. Revising the message

a. Careful revision can mean the difference between a rambling, unfocused message and a lively, direct message that gets results. It also sends a strong signal to readers that you respect their time and care about their opinions.

b. To evaluate content, ask the following:

1) Is the information accurate?

2) Is the information relevant to the audience’s needs?

3) Is the information complete?

c. To review organization, ask the following:

1) Are all points covered in the most logical order?

2) Do the most important ideas occupy the most space and greatest emphasis?

3) Are any points repeated unnecessarily?

4) Are details grouped together logically rather than scattered throughout the document?

d. Ask whether the right style and tone have been achieved.

e. Give the beginning and ending of your message extra attention because they have the greatest effect on the audience.

1) The opening must be relevant, interesting, focused on the reader’s probable reaction, and should convey the subject and purpose of the message.

2) The ending must conclude with a summary of the main idea and leave the audience with a positive impression.

f. Rewrite and edit to improve readability.

1) Varying sentence length is an effective way to assist readers.

2) Keeping paragraphs short is another way to assist readers. The best paragraph length is short to medium in most cases.

3) Using lists and bullets allows writers to show their sequence of ideas, heighten their impact visually, and increase the likelihood that readers will find their key points. Lists also simplify complex subjects, highlight main points, ease the skimming process for busy readers, and give readers a break from reading long pieces of text.

4) Headings and subheadings also assist readers by telling them the content of the upcoming section. Headings and subheadings help in three important ways: they show readers at a glance how the material is organized, they call attention to important points, and they highlight connections and transitions between ideas.

g. Impose parallelism by using the same grammatical structure to indicate to the audience that the ideas are related, are of similar importance, and are on the same level of generality.

h. Correct dangling modifiers by making sure that modifier phrases are really connected to the subject of the sentence.

i. Watch for nominalizations—endings that camouflage a verb by changing it into a noun or adjective, which requires you to add another verb to complete your sentence.

j. Clarify awkward references by avoiding expressions such as the former, the latter, and respectively. Readers may become confused when they have to jump from point to point.

k. Moderate your enthusiasm to avoid sounding insincere.

l. Edit for conciseness.

1) Delete unnecessary words and phrases.

2) Shorten long words and phrases because shorter words are more vivid and easier to read.

3) Eliminate redundancies. For example, visible to the eye is redundant because visible is enough to convey your meaning.

4) Recast it is/there are starters.

m. Use technology to revise your message.

1) Computer functions such as cut and paste and search and replace can assist writers.

2) Software correction tools such as revision marks and commenting offer a convenient way for groups to edit work.

3) Four software functions can help bring out the best in students’ documents: Spell Checker, Thesaurus, Grammar Checker, and Style Checker.

11. Producing the message

a. Once a message is revised and refined, the production quality of the message—the total effect of page design, graphical elements, typography, and screen presence—may be addressed.

b. Adding graphics, sounds, video, and hypertext is an effective way to communicate a message.

c. To design for readability, consider the following:

1) Any space free of text or visuals is considered white space; provide adequate white space to provide visual contrast for the reader.

2) Use margins and justification to effectively frame the text. Justified type—flush left and flush right—is frequently used in magazines and newspapers.

3) Flush left, ragged-right margin is the best choice for most business messages because it creates an informal, open, and contemporary feel.

4) Centered type is rarely used for paragraphs, but is commonly used for headings and subheadings.

5) Flush right, ragged-left type is rarely used in business documents.

d. Limit the number of typefaces within a document.

12. Proofreading the message

a. Proofreading is an essential step in completing the message because it is the writer’s last chance to ensure the quality of the documents—and to protect or enhance his or her reputation as a thinker and writer.

b. Look for two types of problems when proofreading:

1) Undetected mistakes from the writing, design, and layout stages

2) Mistakes made during production

c. Professionals recommend the following steps for proofreading:

1) Read the document several times, focusing on something different each time.

2) Use perceptual tricks such as reading backwards.

3) Focus on high-priority items such as the spelling of names, accuracy of dates, and any numbers that could cause misunderstanding if incorrect.

4) Get some distance from the document, then come back and review it again.

5) Stay focused and vigilant by blocking out distractions while proofreading.

6) Take your time when proofreading.

13. Distributing the message

a. Cost to reproduce the document

b. Convenience of the reader to access the document

c. Time it will take for the message to reach the audience

d. Security and privacy issues surrounding the distribution of the message

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