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Completing Completing Business MessagesBusiness Messages

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Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives

• Discuss the value of careful revision and list

the main tasks involved in completing a

business message

• List four writing techniques for improving the

readability of your messages

• Describe the steps you can take to improve

the clarity and conciseness of your writing

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Chapter 6 - 3

Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives

• Explain how design elements help determine

the effectiveness of your documents

• List eight tips for improving message quality

through careful proofreading

• Discuss the most important issues to

consider when distributing your message

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Chapter 6 - 4

Beyond the First DraftBeyond the First Draft

• Content

• Readability

• Clarity

• Conciseness

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Revising the MessageRevising the Message

• Type of message and choice of media

– Correctness

– Clarity

– Conciseness

– Readability

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Evaluating the MessageEvaluating the Message

• Content

• Organization

• Style and tone

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Review for ReadabilityReview for Readability

Readability Indexes Document Skimming

Word Length

Number of Syllables

Sentence Length

Paragraph Length

Sentence Length

Paragraph Length

Lists and Bullets

Headings and Subheadings

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Vary Sentence LengthVary Sentence Length

• Short (up to 15 words)

• Medium (15–25 words)

• Long (over 25 words)

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Keep Paragraphs ShortKeep Paragraphs Short

• Boost readability

• Emphasize ideas

• Stress transitions

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Use Lists and BulletsUse Lists and Bullets

• Show sequence of ideas

• Heighten visual impact

• Emphasize key points

• Simplify complex subjects

• Provide visual breaks

• Expedite skimming process

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Headings and Headings and SubheadingsSubheadings

• Descriptive or informative

– Organization

– Attention

– Connection

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Editing for ClarityEditing for Clarity

• Break up overly long sentences

• Rewrite hedging sentences

• Impose parallelism

• Correct dangling modifiers

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Editing for ClarityEditing for Clarity

• Reword long noun sequences

• Replace camouflaged verbs

• Clarify sentence structure

• Clarify awkward references

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Editing for ConcisenessEditing for Conciseness

• Delete unnecessary words and phrases

• Shorten long words and phrases

• Eliminate redundancies

• Recast “It is/There are” starters

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Chapter 6 - 15

Evaluate, Edit, and Revise Evaluate, Edit, and Revise the Work of Othersthe Work of Others

• Help the writer succeed

• Understand the writer’s intent

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Revising with Revising with TechnologyTechnology

• Revision tracking

• Spell checker

• Thesaurus

• Commenting

• Grammar checker

• Style checker

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Producing the MessageProducing the Message

• Production quality

– Effectiveness

– Professionalism

– Importance

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Design for ReadabilityDesign for Readability

• Consistency

• Balance

• Restraint

• Detail

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Design TechniquesDesign Techniques

• White space

• Margins

• Justified type

• Typefaces

• Type styles

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Multimedia DocumentsMultimedia Documents

• Level of skills

• Tools

• Time and cost

• Content

• Message structure

• Compatibility

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Production TechnologyProduction Technology

• Templates and style sheets

• Page setup features

• Column and paragraph formatting

• Numbered and bulleted lists

• Information in tables

• Images, text boxes, and objects

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Chapter 6 - 22

Format for Business Format for Business LettersLetters

• Letterhead stationery

• Date

• Inside address

• Salutation

• The message

• Complimentary close

• Signature block

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Format for MemosFormat for Memos

• Memo title

• Headings

• The message

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Proofread the MessageProofread the Message

• Writing errors

• Design flaws

• Layout problems

• Production issues

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Distributing MessagesDistributing Messages

• Cost concerns

• Convenience

• Time constraints

• Security and privacy