business and administrative communication eighth …€¦ · business and administrative...

Business andAdministrativeCommunicationEighth Edition

Book Summary

About

book

Kitty O. Locker and Donna Kiengler

701 pages

mind map

Lay ne Tinsley

My KTA

2010

Pa rt 1. T h e Bu ilding Blocks ofEffect iv e Messages

Business Communication,Management, and Success

Communicating on the Job

A ll documents hav e one or more ofth e th r ee ba sic purposes ofor g a n ization writing: to inform, tor equ est or persuade, and to buildg oodwill.

In form ,y ou explain something ortell readers something.

Requ est or Persuade,y ou wantth e r eader to act. Requestsu g g eststh at the action will be easy orr ou tine;persuadesu g g ests thaty ou will hav e to motiv ate andconv ince the reader to act.Bu ild Goodwill,y ou create ag ood im a ge of y ourself and of y ouror g a n ization-the kind of imageth a t m a kes people want to dobu siness with y ou.

Costs of Poor Communication

Wast ed T ime:Ba d w r iting takeslon g er to read as we struggle tounderstand what we’re reading.

Wast ed Efforts:In effectiv em essa g es don’t get results.

A r eceiv er who has to guess whatth e sender means may guessw rong.

A r ea der who finds a letter orm emo unconv incing or insultingsim ply won’t do what the messagea sks.

Lost Goodwill:Pa r t of building ag ood image is taking the time tow rite correctly .

Th e la n g uage is stiff and legalistic(u sin g w ords that come acrosssex ist or a r e obsolete, such as“ Gen tlemen,” “Please be adv ised,”“ h erein,” and “expedite).

Th e ton e is selfish (written fromth e w r iter’s point of v iew, lots of“us,” “we,” “I,” “me,” “our”).Th e m a in point is buried (lostsom ew here in the middle is thelea st emphatic part of aparagraph).

The request is v ague (what exactlya r e y ou asking for in order tor esolv e and process y our request?).

Wor ds are misused and can maketh e write appear ignorant orsloppy .

Lega l Problems.Ca r eful writersa n d speakers think about thela r ger social context in which theirwords may appear. What mightth ose w or ds m ean to other peoplein the field? What might theymean to a judge and jury?

Benefits of Improving Communication.

Sa v e time. Elim inate time torewrite badly written material.Redu ce the time taken asking,“What did y ou mean?”

Ma ke y ou r efforts moreeffective. In cr eases the numberof posit iv e and prompt responses.

Com m u n icate your pointsm ore clearly. Ma ke th e issuesclea r, to reduce them isunderstanding that occur whenth e a u dience has to supply missingor u nclear information.

Bu ild goodwill. Bu ild a positiv eim age of y our organization and anim a g e of y ourself askn ow ledgeable, intelligent, andca pable

Criteria for Effective Messages.

It ’s clear.The m eaning thea u dience gets is the meaning thecom m unicator intended. Thea u dience doesn’t hav e to guess.It ’s com plete. A ll of th ea u dien ce questions are answered.Th e a udience has enoughin formation to ev aluate them essage and act on it.

It ’s correct. A ll of th ein for mation in the message isa ccu r ate. The message is free fromer rors in spelling, grammar, wordor der, and sentence structure.

It sa v es the receiver’s time.Th e sty le, organization, and v isualor a u ral impact of the messageh elp the receiv er read, understand,a n d a ct on the information asqu ickly as possible.

It bu ilds goodwill. Th e m essagepr esen ts a positiv e image of thecommunicator and his or heror g a n ization. It treats the receiv era s a per son, not a number. Itcem en ts a g ood relationshipbetween the communicator andthe receiv er.

Understanding and AnalyzingBusiness Communication Situations

Wh a t 's at stake--to whom?

Sh ould y ou send a message?

What channel should y ou use?

Paper Documents

Presentation

Email

Phone Call

In Person

Meetings

Reports

Memos

Bulletins

What should y ou say ?

How should y ou say it?

How to Solve BusinessCommunications Problems

Ga ther knowledge.

Us th e six qu est ions for analy sis toanaly ze y our audience, y ourpu r poses, and the situation.

Br a in storm solutions.

If y ou want to add or changein for mation, get permission first.

Pr ocess to cr eate good messages.

A n sw er the six questions for analy sis.

1 . What is (are) y our audience(s)?Wh a t audience characteristics arer elev ant for this particularm essage? If y ou are writing orspea king to more than one person,h ow do th e people in y oura u dience differ?

2 . What are y our purposes incommunicating?

3. What information must y ourm essage include?

4 . How can y ou build support fory ou r position? What reasons ora u dience benefits will y oura u dience find conv incing?5 . Wh a t objection(s) can y ouex pect y our audience to hav e?Wh at negativ e elements of y ourm essa g e must y ou de-emphasizeor ov ercome?

6 . Wh a t a spects of the totalsituation may affect audiencer espon se? The economy ? The timeof y ea r ? Morale in theor g a n ization? The relationshipbetween the audience and thecommunicator? Any specialcircumstances?

Or g a n ize y our information to fity ou r a u diences, y our purposes,a n d the context.

1 . Pu t g ood news first.

2 . In general, put the main point orqu est ion fir st. In the subject line orfirst paragraph, make it clear thaty ou 're writing about somethingthat is important to the reader.

3 . Disregard point 2 and apprachthe subject indirectly when y oum u st persuade a reluctanta u dience.

Make y our document v isually inv iting.

Use su bject lines to orient ther eader quickly .

Use h ea ding to group related ideas.

Use lists a n d in dented sections toem ph a size subpoints andex a mples.

Nu m ber points that must befollow ed in sequence.

Use sh or t paragraphs--usually sixty ped lines or fewer.

Rev ise y our draft to create afr ien dly , businesslike, positiv esty le

Em ph a size the positiv e when y oupu t positiv e information first, giv eit m or e space, or set it off v isuallyin a n indented list.

Em ph a size the positiv e when y ouelim inate negativ e wordsw h en ev er possible.Em ph a size the positiv e when y oufocu s on w h a t is possible, not whatis im possible.

Sometimes you must mentionlimitations, drawbacks, or othernegative elements, but don'tdwell on them. People willrespond better to you and yourorganization if you seemconfident. Expect success, notfailure. If you don't believe thatwhat you're writing about is agood idea, why should they?

Edit y our draft for standardspelling, punctuation, andg r ammar; double-check nam es andn umbers.

Bu sin ess people care aboutcor rectness in spelling, grammar,a nd punctuation.

A lw ay s proofread y our documentbefor e y ou send it out.Dou ble-check the reader's name,any numbers, and the first and lastparagraphs.

Use th e r esponse y ou get to planfu ture messages.

Ev a lu a te the feedback or response."Did y ou get what y ou wanted,w h en y ou wanted it?" If thea n sw er is no, the the message hasfa iled.

A n a ly ze y our successes, too.Youwant to know why y our messagew or ked. If y ou can find what it is,y ou 'll be m ore successful moreoften.

A solution to a businesscommunication problem mustboth solve the organization'sproblem and meet the needs ofthe writer or speaker, theorganization, and the audience.

We m u st a sk ourselv esnot what we want, butwhat they want. -John H.Joh n son

Business Communication Management and Success.mmap - 6/24/2010 - Mindjet

Business andAdministrative

CommunicationEighth Edition

Book Summary

About

Part 1. The Building Blocks ofEffective Messages



All documents have one or more ofthe three basic purposes oforganization writing: to inform, torequest or persuade, and to buildgoodwill.

Inform, you explain something ortell readers something.

Request or Persuade, you wantthe reader to act. Request suggeststhat the action will be easy orroutine; persuade suggests thatyou will have to motivate andconvince the reader to act.

Build Goodwill, you create agood image of yourself and of yourorganization-the kind of imagethat makes people want to dobusiness with you.






Adapting Your Message to Your Audience

Building Goodwill

Making Your Writing Easy to Read

Planning, Composing, and Revising

Designing Documents, Data Displays, and Visuals

We must ask ourselvesnot what we want, butwhat they want. -John H.Johnson

Part 2. Job Hunting

Resumes

Job Application Letters

Job Interviews, Follow-Up Messages,Job Offers, and First Jobs

Part 3. Basic BusinessMessages

Informative and Positive Messages

Negative Messages

Persuasive and Sales Messages

Part 4. InterpersonalCommunication

Communicating Across Cultures

Working and Writing in Groups

Part 5. ReportsPlanning, Proposing, and Researching Reports

Analyzing Information and Writing Reports

Making Oral Presentations

Business and Administrative Communication.mmap - 6/24/2010 - Johan DHaeseleer



Book Summary

About





Wasted Time: Bad writing takeslonger to read as we struggle tounderstand what we’re reading.

Wasted Efforts: Ineffectivemessages don’t get results.

A receiver who has to guess whatthe sender means may guesswrong.

A reader who finds a letter ormemo unconvincing or insultingsimply won’t do what the messageasks.

Lost Goodwill: Part of building agood image is taking the time towrite correctly.

The language is stiff and legalistic(using words that come acrosssexist or are obsolete, such as“Gentlemen,” “Please be advised,”“herein,” and “expedite).

The tone is selfish (written fromthe writer’s point of view, lots of“us,” “we,” “I,” “me,” “our”).

The main point is buried (lostsomewhere in the middle is theleast emphatic part of aparagraph).

The request is vague (what exactlyare you asking for in order toresolve and process your request?).

Words are misused and can makethe write appear ignorant orsloppy.

Legal Problems. Careful writersand speakers think about thelarger social context in which theirwords may appear. What mightthose words mean to other peoplein the field? What might theymean to a judge and jury?






Building Goodwill





Part 2. Job Hunting

Resumes





Negative Messages











Book Summary

About






Save time. Eliminate time torewrite badly written material.Reduce the time taken asking,“What did you mean?”

Make your efforts moreeffective. Increases the numberof positive and prompt responses.

Communicate your pointsmore clearly. Make the issuesclear, to reduce themisunderstanding that occur whenthe audience has to supply missingor unclear information.

Build goodwill. Build a positiveimage of your organization and animage of yourself asknowledgeable, intelligent, andcapable





Building Goodwill





Part 2. Job Hunting

Resumes





Negative Messages











Book Summary

About







It’s clear. The meaning theaudience gets is the meaning thecommunicator intended. Theaudience doesn’t have to guess.

It’s complete. All of theaudience questions are answered.The audience has enoughinformation to evaluate themessage and act on it.

It’s correct. All of theinformation in the message isaccurate. The message is free fromerrors in spelling, grammar, wordorder, and sentence structure.

It saves the receiver’s time.The style, organization, and visualor aural impact of the messagehelp the receiver read, understand,and act on the information asquickly as possible.

It builds goodwill. The messagepresents a positive image of thecommunicator and his or herorganization. It treats the receiveras a person, not a number. Itcements a good relationshipbetween the communicator andthe receiver.




Building Goodwill





Part 2. Job Hunting

Resumes





Negative Messages











Book Summary

About








What's at stake--to whom?

Should you send a message?

What channel should you use?

Paper Documents

Presentation

Email

Phone Call

In Person

Meetings

ReportsMemos

Bulletins

What should you say?

How should you say it?



Building Goodwill





Part 2. Job Hunting

Resumes





Negative Messages











Book Summary

About









Gather knowledge.

Us the six questions for analysis toanalyze your audience, yourpurposes, and the situation.

Brainstorm solutions.

If you want to add or changeinformation, get permission first.

Process to create good messages.

Answer the six questions for analysis.

1. What is (are) your audience(s)?What audience characteristics arerelevant for this particularmessage? If you are writing orspeaking to more than one person,how do the people in youraudience differ?

2. What are your purposes incommunicating?

3. What information must yourmessage include?

4. How can you build support foryour position? What reasons oraudience benefits will youraudience find convincing?

5. What objection(s) can youexpect your audience to have?What negative elements of yourmessage must you de-emphasizeor overcome?

6. What aspects of the totalsituation may affect audienceresponse? The economy? The timeof year? Morale in theorganization? The relationshipbetween the audience and thecommunicator? Any specialcircumstances?

Organize your information to fityour audiences, your purposes,and the context.

Make your document visually inviting.

Revise your draft to create afriendly, businesslike, positivestyle

Sometimes you must mentionlimitations, drawbacks, or othernegative elements, but don'tdwell on them. People willrespond better to you and yourorganization if you seemconfident. Expect success, notfailure. If you don't believe thatwhat you're writing about is agood idea, why should they?

Edit your draft for standardspelling, punctuation, andgrammar; double-check names andnumbers.

Use the response you get to planfuture messages.

A solution to a businesscommunication problem mustboth solve the organization'sproblem and meet the needs ofthe writer or speaker, theorganization, and the audience.


Building Goodwill





Part 2. Job Hunting

Resumes





Negative Messages







