MESSAGE DESIGN

CHAPTER-6

The Process of Preparing Effective

Business Messages
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Why preparing for effective business message?

 Whether we are preparing a written or an oral business message, to be

effective we need to plan, organize, draft, revise, edit, and proofread.

 Essential also is thoughtful adherence to communication principles- the

seven C qualities and awareness of legal and ethical aspects as well.

 Even with the most advanced office technology, the need for careful
preparation of either written or oral messages demands efforts
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Five Planning Steps

1. Identify Your Purpose

2. Analyze Your Audience
3. Choose Your Ideas
4. Collect Your Data
5. Organize Your Message
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Step 1: Identify Your Purpose
It is important to determine first the specific reason of writing. The
reason of writing a message could be:

 Mainly informational, such as announcement etc.

 Persuasive, such as promotion of product or sending applications

for personal reasons, etc.

 Negotiating

 Creating goodwill
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Step 2: Analyze Your Audience
It is important to adapt to the message according to the receivers views,
mental filters, needs, and culture. 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)

 Finally consider and decide whether the receiver or listeners are informed or
uninformed on the subject and whether they will react to the message positively or
negatively, with interest or disinterest.
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Step 3: Chose Your Idea

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)
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Step 4: Collect Your Data
After deciding about the idea to be included in the message, it is
important to determine if the same requires specific facts, figures
quotations, or other types of evidence to support the main idea of the
message. It is important to know and take care of:

 Company’s policies, procedures, and product detail if needed to support

the main idea.

 Enclose, if needed, a brochure, table, picture, or product sample.

 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Step 5: Organize Your Message
Before you write the first draft of the letter, outline your message (mentally or on
paper). The order in which the 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. While the direct style is often preferred by US and European
business people, the indirect plan is often more effective while writing to
business people from South America, Middle East, and Asian Countries.
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
What is Organizational Plan
Organizational Plan is the choice of sender to prepare a message in a particular manner.
There are two approaches of planning a message as follows:

 Direct (Deductive) Approach: Use the direct approach when the audience is receptive of your
message.

 Indirect (Inductive) Approach: When you expect resistance to your message, choose the indirect
approach, such as bad-news message or a persuasive request.

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)
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Direct (Deductive) Organizational Plan
Direct Request Plan: This type of plan is used when the main purpose of message is to
make a request that requires less persuasion.
1. Main Idea
a) Request, main statement, assertion, recommendation, question
b) Reason, if desirable
2. Explanation
a) All necessary and desirable detail and data
b) Numbered questions, if helpful
c) Easy reading devices
3. Courteous Close

a) Clear Statement of action desired

b) Easy Action, dated when desirable
c) Appreciation and goodwill
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Direct (Deductive) Organizational Plan
Good News Plan: This type of plan is used when the main purpose of message is to grant
requests, announce favorable or neutral information, and exchange routine information within or
between companies.
1. Best News or Main Idea

2. Explanation
a) All necessary and desirable detail and data
b) Resale material
c) Educational material
d) Sales promotional material

3. Positive, Friendly Close, Including, if appropriate:

a) Appreciation
b) Clear Statement of action
c) Offer of further help, reader benefits
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Indirect (Inductive) Organizational Plan
Bad-News Plan: This type of plan is one of the most difficult to prepare because your reader
may react negatively.
1. Buffer (Pleasant or Neutral Statements, reader-oriented)

2. Explanation
a) Necessary data, tactfully stated
b) Pertinent favorable, then unfavorable acts
c) Readers benefit reasons
3. Decisions (Implied or Expressed) along with the offer of additional help or suggestions

4. Positive, Friendly Close

a) Appreciation
b) Invitation to future actions desired
c) Easy action, dated when desirable
d) Willingness to help further
e) Reader benefit and goodwill
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Indirect (Inductive) Organizational Plan
Persuasive Request Plan: This type of plan are also difficult in a sense that you may one of the most difficult to
prepare because your reader
may react negatively.
1. Attention
a) Reader benefit
b) Reader-interest theme

2. Interest
a) Descriptive details and data
b) Psychological appeal
c) Reader benefit

3. Desire
a) Statement of request
b) Supporting data to help create reader’s desire to grant request

4. Action
a) Clear statement of action
b) Easy action, dated when desirable
c) Special inducement
e) Reader benefit and goodwill
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message

The Beginning and Ending of Business 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”
The trick is:
 Whenever possible, place the main favorable ideas at the beginning and
ending of a message. This advice is also applies to the paragraph.
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
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 an opening appropriate for the 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

1. 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

1. Check for completeness regarding:

a) Sentence structure
b) Date of letter you are answering
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
Closing Paragraph
The closing is more likely to motivate the reader to act as requested if it appropriately strong,
clear, and polite. Here you have the opportunity to bring the final focus on the desired action
and leave a sense of goodwill with the reader.

1. Make your action request clear and complete with the five W’s and the H (how) if you want your
reader to do something.
a) What and who: Clearly state when action you desire and who should do it.
b) How and where: Make action easy
c) When: Date the action if desirable
d) Why: Show reader benefit, if possible.

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
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message
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.

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?
 The Process of Preparing Effective
Business Message

Editing & Proofreading Your Message

Editing and proofreading are important to ensure that your
documents has no mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation,
or word choice.

Persons writing in a second language will find it helpful to read

their written material aloud.