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Instructor’s Manual to Accompany

BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONDeveloping Leaders for a Networked World (2e)

By Peter W. Cardon

Chapter 5:Creating Effective Business Messages

IM 5-1© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

Teaching Note

Hello Fellow Instructor,

This is a foundational chapter for developing written and oral business messages.

I think this chapter is a great opportunity to focus on the habits of great communicators, including the following:

Listening to your audiences (customers, clients, colleagues) and understanding their needs and aspirations

Scheduling the message development process to ensure you’ve got the right ideas that connect well with your audiences

Taking time to ask lots of questions about the issues at hand and to carefully evaluate the facts before developing conclusions and taking positions

Thinking about how audiences will receive messages and making sure the tone is right Reviewing over and over and over

Please contact me anytime – to share your experiences, your ideas, or your requests.

Best of wishes,

Peter W. Cardon, MBA, Ph.D.Associate ProfessorCenter for Management CommunicationUniversity of Southern California

Email: [email protected]: @petercardonFacebook: facebook.com/cardonbcommWeb: cardonbcom.com


Chapter 5 Summary and PowerPoint Notes

SLIDE 5-1

SLIDE 5-2

This chapter covers the following topics: goals of effective business messages; the AIM planning process, including audience needs, business ideas, and key points; and positive tones.

SLIDE 5-3

LO5.1 Explain the goals of effective business messages and the process for creating them.LO5.2 Identify the needs of your audience in the AIM planning process.LO5.3 Develop and refine business ideas in the AIM planning process.


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LO5.4 Develop your primary message and key points in the AIM planning process.LO5.5 Explain and apply positive and other-oriented tone in business messages.

SLIDE 5-5

Writing effective business messages involves a process—one that involves examining, developing, and refining business ideas in a way that provides business value to your audience. The very process that we explain in this section drives excellence in business thinking. Furthermore, it drives collaboration and productivity in your work relationships.

SLIDE 5-6

The process of developing business messages is fairly straightforward: plan, draft, and review. You’ve likely been trained and coached in a similar process many times during your education. Nearly all business professionals have been trained in this process. Yet few business professionals have the proficiency to produce excellent written communication. Creating effective business messages requires discipline and scheduling.


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Figure 5.1 depicts the three stages for creating effective messages. It’s worth noting that these stages are not necessarily linear and they often overlap one another. The first stage is the planning stage, and it involves thinking about the audience, ideas, and message. The goal of this stage is to get the content right, and it requires understanding the needs of the audience, generating the best ideas to address the business issue, and identifying the primary message and its key points.

SLIDE 5-8

The second stage in creating effective messages, as depicted in Figure 5.1, is the drafting stage, and it involves tone, style, and design. The goal of this stage is to get the delivery right, and it requires setting a positive and other-oriented tone, making the message easy to read, and making the message easy to navigate.

SLIDE 5-9

The third stage in creating effective messages, as depicted in Figure 5.1, is the reviewing stage, and it involves the FAIR test, proofreading, and getting feedback. The goal is to double-check everything, and it requires ensuring that the communication is fair, considering whether the message is effective, and removing any distractions.


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Expert writers are more likely to analyze the needs of the audience, generate the best ideas to tackle a problem, and identify the primary message and key points before starting a formal draft of a business message. In contrast, poor and average writers are more likely to begin drafting or writing right away. They often address planning issues—audience analysis, ideas for solving a problem, and message organization—as they go. Consequently, they tend to write in a less organized, perhaps even haphazard manner. They generally produce less strategic and influential messages.

SLIDE 5-11

In Figure 5.2, you’ll see a chart that contrasts the time that poor, average, and expert business writers commit to planning, drafting, and reviewing. Not surprisingly, poor writers spend less time overall than average and expert writers do. The difference between average and expert business writers is noteworthy. Expert business writers not only produce more effective written communications but also do so more quickly than average writers. Their secret is to devote a much higher percentage of their time to the planning and reviewing stages.

SLIDE 5-12

The most important stage of creating effective business messages is planning. Throughout the remainder of the book, we will refer to the three-component AIM planning process for developing influential messages. The AIM planning process unleashes your best thinking and allows you to deliver influential messages.


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The AIM Planning Process focuses on three areas: (1) Audience analysis; (2) Idea development; and (3) Message structuring (see Figure 5.3). In short, the planning process should include analyzing the needs of your audience, developing sound ideas that meet those needs, and then structuring your message.

SLIDE 5-14

Effective business communicators possess an uncanny ability to step into the shoes of their audience members. They think about their audience’s needs, priorities, and values. They envision how their readers will respond when getting the message—in thought, feeling, and action. They also consider how the message will impact their working relationships.

SLIDE 5-15

Effective business communicators regularly take the following actions to tailor their messages to others: Identify reader benefits and constraints. Consider reader values and priorities. Estimate personal credibility. Anticipate reactions. Keep secondary audiences in mind.


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For many messages, identifying reader benefits and constraints is the single most important planning step. Simply put, your readers respond when you provide them with something that they value. When you communicate no apparent benefits, your readers are unlikely to engage. In addition, you need to consider the constraints your audience faces. Your readers may see value in your messages but not be able to respond to them because they don’t have enough time, resources, or authority to make certain decisions.

SLIDE 5-17

Being an effective communicator requires that you learn about other people—their values and priorities. Values refer to enduring beliefs and ideals that individuals hold. Since values are at the core of belief systems, appeals to an individual’s values can have strong influence. Generally, people hold workplace values—beliefs and ideals about the appropriate way to approach business problems, resolve issues, and choose goals. Priorities involve ranking or assigning importance to things, such as projects, goals, and tasks. Priorities tend to shift more often than values.


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Your readers will inevitably judge your recommendations, requests, and other messages based on their view of your credibility. If your credibility is low, consider how to strengthen your message in ways that overcome your lack of credibility. Many entry-level professionals face this situation; they have relatively low professional credibility because they are viewed as the newcomers. Establishing a professional reputation takes time. It takes less time, however, if you stay aware of your strengths, weaknesses, and goals. Most importantly, your reputation depends on adding value in the workplace.

SLIDE 5-19

Changing your reputation will likely take at least six months. To break out of a reputation as an inexperienced newcomer, consider the following options:● Set up a time to talk with your boss. Explain your growth in various areas and ask for ideas for improving your professional reputation.● Ask your boss if you can take on any higher-responsibility projects.● Make sure you fit in with the corporate culture in terms of professional dress and communication style.● Attend meetings to get to know as many colleagues as possible. Participate appropriately.● Create a professional blog about a niche area.


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Developing great business ideas involves sorting out business issues and objectives, collecting as many relevant facts as possible, and making sound judgments about what the facts mean. You are may need to make sense out of complex and confusing pieces of business information. Excellent business thinkers possess a number of characteristics. First, they clearly and precisely identify and articulate key questions and problems. Second, they gather information from a variety of sources. Third, they make well-reasoned conclusions and solutions. Fourth, they remain open to alternatives for approaching and reasoning about the business problem—that is, they are mentally flexible. Finally, they are skilled at communicating with others to figure out and solve complex problems.

SLIDE 5-21

Business professionals use many methods of bringing out their best thinking, such as writing notes, drawing diagrams, brainstorming with colleagues, writing ideas in outline form, or mentally examining ideas. For complex problems, such as the opening case, writing down ideas in some form is generally an important part of developing sound ideas. This section focuses on three broad areas: (1) identifying the business problem(s); (2) analyzing the business problem(s); and (3) clarifying objectives.


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Analyzing the business problem typically involves uncovering relevant facts, making conclusions, and taking positions. Facts are statements that can be relied on with a fair amount of certainty (most things are not absolutely certain in the business world) and that concern something that can be observed objectively. Conclusions are statements that are reasoned or deduced based on facts.

SLIDE 5-23

Positions on an issue are stances based on a set of conclusions. In the workplace, you will often make recommendations, which are a type of position.

SLIDE 5-24

Once you have analyzed the needs of your audience and developed your ideas for the message, you plan the basic message structure. This includes identifying and framing the primary message and setting up the logic with supporting points and a call to action. To frame the primary message, address the following questions:a. What is the primary message?b. What simple, vivid statement (15 words or less) captures the essence of your message?


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To set up the logic of your message, address the following questions:a. What are your supporting points?b. What do you want to explicitly ask your readers to do (call to action)?c. How will you order the logic of your message?

SLIDE 5-26

Most business arguments employ a direct or deductive approach. In other words, they begin by stating the primary message, which is typically a position or recommendation. Then they lay out the supporting reasons. Most business messages conclude with a call to action. The call to action in many cases is a more detailed and elaborate version of the initial position or recommendation.

SLIDE 5-27

Figure 5.5 illustrates the framework of most deductive business arguments.


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Generally, a reader can get the gist of your message—the primary message, rationale, and call to action—simply by reading the opening paragraph, the first sentence of supporting paragraphs, and the final paragraph. In fact, many readers are generally busy, and they will skim the communication to understand its main ideas and implications. If they see merit in your ideas, they will go back and read the entire message more carefully.

SLIDE 5-29

As you set up the structure of the message, carefully test its logic. If you ensure that your messages are built on strong reasoning, you will be far more influential because your company will benefit and you will gain credibility. To build well-reasoned business positions, avoid the following types of logical inconsistencies: unsupported generalizations, faulty cause/effect claims, weak analogies, either/or logic, slanting the facts, and exaggeration.

SLIDE 5-30

People often build resistance not to the content of a message but to the way it is delivered. One of your primary goals as a communicator is to express your messages in ways that respect and inspire others. Readers judge a message partially by its tone—the overall evaluation the reader perceives the writer to have toward the reader and the message content. Readers will judge your message based on how positive and concerned they think you are. Business communicators generally aim to project positivity and concern for others in all business messages. By following the suggestions in this section, you will more effectively project messages with these tones.


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A positive attitude in the workplace improves work performance, allows more creativity, provides more motivation to excel, facilitates more helpfulness between co-workers, and gains more influence on clients and customers. The bottom line is that your ability to remain positive and exude optimism in your communications can strongly influence others. You can adopt a number of techniques to make your messages more positive.

SLIDE 5-32

In every facet of business communication, focusing on others is important. It is a basic component of your credibility (caring). In content and form, your message should show that you have the interests of your audience in mind. The following guidelines will help you demonstrate concern for others (also referred to as other-oriented language in some parts of the book): Avoid relying too heavily on the I-Voice. Respect the time and autonomy of your

readers. Give credit to others.


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A related notion to tone is that of meta messages. Whereas tone relates to the overall attitudes or feelings that writers convey toward a message and its recipients, meta messages are the overall but often underlying message people take away from a communication or group of communications. Meta messages are encoded and decoded as a combination of content, tone, and other signals. In your written and oral communications, think about the lasting meta messages you send. Over the course of sending many communications, you send meta messages that become the basis for your reputation. These meta messages form others’ impressions of your credibility: your competence, caring, and character.

SLIDE 5-34

Mixed signals occur when the content of a message conflicts with the tone, nonverbal communication, or other signals. Sending mixed signals is not only confusing but also commonly creates negative meta messages. Even if a business message is well reasoned and justified, if readers perceive a selfish or manipulative tone, they may decode meta messages such as “I’m not being straight with you” or “I’m opportunistic.” In a job interview, an applicant may say the right things but because of unprofessional dress send a poor meta message, such as “I’m not serious about this job” or “I don’t understand the culture of this company.”


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After studying this chapter, you should understand the following topics: the goals of effective business messages; the AIM planning process, including audience needs, business ideas, and key points; and positive tones.


Suggested Approaches and Solutions to Learning Exercises

In these suggested approaches and solutions, you’ll find key points to look for in students’ responses.

5.1 Chapter Review Discussion Questions (LO 5.1, LO 5.2, LO 5.3, LO 5.4, LO 5.5)

A. Audience analysis involves identifying the needs, wants, aspirations, expectations, and constraints of audiences. Idea development involves carefully identifying the key issues, collecting relevant facts, and forming conclusions and positions. Message structuring involves forming the primary message, key supporting points, and the underlying logic that connects the points to one another.

B. Good responses should include explanations about the connection between facts, conclusions, and positions. Students should be rewarded for providing their own ideas, especially for supplying thoughts about the process and time needed, the quality and potential biases of information sources, and the ability to view issues from various angles.

C. Students should be rewarded for carefully discussing an audience’s needs, wants, aspirations, and constraints. They should also be rewarded for distinguishing between primary and secondary audiences.

D. Good responses should include explaining that the frame is a way of showcasing the entire message in a short, vivid statement. It should highlight a key argument or premise that impacts how readers interpret the message and leaves a lasting impression.

E. Good responses should include explanations and examples of the following: unsupported generalizations, faulty cause/effect claims, weak analogies, either/or logic, slanting the facts, and exaggeration.

F. Students should be rewarded for explaining and providing examples of how positive and other-oriented tones motivate others more so than negative and self-centered tones.


5.2 Communication Q&A Discussion Questions (LO 5.1, LO 5.2, LO 5.3, LO 5.4, LO 5.5)

A. Asbill states that the first thing she does is listen to her clients and ask lots of questions. She emphasizes the importance of taking notes, paraphrasing to capture the ideas and intentions of clients, and corresponding with clients about the working draft to get additional input throughout the writing process. Students should be rewarded for carefully developed responses about strategies they will adopt.

B. Asbill mentions that you should adapt your tone to the needs of the client so that you can reinforce their brands.

C. Asbill implies that the digital age has led to sloppy writing, and she encourages people to write often and carefully to avoid basic mistakes. Students should be rewarded for carefully developed responses about strategies they will adopt.

D. Responses will vary widely. Students should be rewarded for giving well-reasoned and justified answers.

5.3 Worst Words to Use at Work? Displaying Confidence with Words (LO 5.5)

Students should be rewarded for well thought out and nuanced responses. This exercise is well suited for a fun and engaging 15-to-20-minute group exercise in class.

5.4 Evaluating Latisha’s Proposal for an Implementation Plan of a Wellness Program (LO 5.2, LO 5.3, LO 5.4, LO 5.5)

Students should be rewarded for well thought out and nuanced responses. This exercise is well suited for a 20-to-30-minute group exercise in class. Students should be encouraged to express their real views. This is an opportunity to discuss the business relationship between Latisha and Jeff and discuss other options for communicating this message.

5.5 Evaluating a Business Message (LO 5.2, LO 5.3, LO 5.4, LO 5.5)

Students should be rewarded for choosing a relevant business message and carefully analyzing its logic.

5.6 Self-Assessment of Approach to Writing (LO 5.2, LO 5.3, LO 5.4, LO 5.5)

Students should be rewarded for their careful self-evaluation and goal-oriented approach to this exercise.


5.7 Avoiding Logical Errors (LO 5.4)

Responses will vary widely. Reward students for reasonable changes and explanations. Emphasize to students that they can make reasonable embellishments. Possible answers include the following:

A. This statement may be exaggerated. A possible revision: Currently, 35 percent of regional directors graduated from the training program at Jim’s Old Fashioned Burgers, far outpacing any other management training program in the industry.

B. This statement may be exaggerated. A possible revision: The training consists of five stages: manager-in-training, second assistant manager, first assistant manager, restaurant manager, and regional director. Advancing from one stage to the next takes from as few as three months up to just two years.

C. This statement may be a faulty cause/effect claim. A possible revision: Many trainees eventually become upper-level executives, showing that hands-on training can help you advance through the management ranks.

D. This statement may be a faulty cause/effect claim. A possible revision: Eventually, approximately ten percent of trainees become regional directors. Employees from this elite group have demonstrated exceptional performance and determination.

E. This statement may be an unsupported generalization. A possible revision: We typically select just five percent of our employees for the training program. Your acceptance in the program shows that we believe in your leadership potential.

F. This statement may unnecessarily use either/or logic. A possible revision: We encourage you to apply for the training program so that you can increase your promotion opportunities here at Jim’s.

G. This statement may involve slanting the facts. A possible revision: The annual salary for restaurant managers has grown at approximately five percent per year during the past three years, far outpacing income growth for restaurant managers at McDonald’s or Burger King.

5.8 Displaying a Can-Do, Confident Tone (LO 5.5)

Responses will vary. Allow students to embellish within reason. These exercises provide a good opportunity for in-class discussions about tone. Possible answers include the following:

A. I have strong leadership skills. B. I have strong leadership skills, and I’m sure I can make a positive contribution while I’m in

the training program. C. I think I would be a successful manager-in-training and would make a positive impact right

away. D. Once we fill our management positions, our profitability will increase. E. Improving customer service increases our revenues.


5.9 Focusing on Positive Traits (LO 5.5)


A. All employees who show commitment and strong leaderships skills are eligible for the management training program.

B. All of the training is at corporate locations and involves hands-on, practical, and engaging exercises.

C. As a manager-in-training, you will immediately take part in management activities such as scheduling shifts, training employees, hiring, and inventory control.

D. Employees who demonstrate exceptional leadership skills at the manager-in-training stage advance to the next stage of training.

E. We are seeking individuals who demand exceptional customer service.F. By applying before July 1, you will be considered for a manager-in-training position. G. Employees who have excelled on their performance reviews are eligible to apply for the

program.

5.10 Using Diplomatic, Constructive Terms (LO 5.5)


A. Before applying to the management training program, we encourage you to work for a minimum of one year at our company.

B. We’re looking for a background with more supervisory experience for this position.C. I think you should consider offering higher salaries earlier in the management training

program so that you can attract and retain better managers.


5.11 Using Appropriate Voice (LO 5.5)

Responses will vary. Emphasize that typically these strategies convey a tone over an entire message (rarely simply on sentence level). These exercises provide a good opportunity for in-class discussions about tone. Possible answers include the following:

A. I’m happy to offer you a spot in the manager-in-training program. (unchanged)B. I’m positive that this opportunity will help your career. (unchanged)C. Please turn in the application before July 1. (retains you-voice but in politer terms)D. We’ll have an orientation session first, and then my colleague will run our afternoon

meetings. (starts with we-voice and emphasizes the team nature of the meetings)E. Please let me know when we can meet to discuss some ideas I’ve come up with for the

training program. We could focus most of our conversation about the salaries and benefits that would motivate more employees to apply for the program. (Employs you-voice in the first sentence and we-voice in the second sentence.)

5.12 Respecting the Time and Autonomy of Others (LO 5.5)

Rewrite each of the following items twice. Rewrite the first time assuming that you are writing to a peer. Rewrite the second time assuming that you are writing subordinate.

A. To a peer: Can you let me know by Friday afternoon about your availability for an interview? To a subordinate: Please get back to me by Friday afternoon about your availability for an interview.

B. To a peer: I think we should review the manager-in-training applicants. Can you meet on Tuesday morning–what times are convenient for you? To a subordinate: I think we should review the manager-in-training applicants. Can you meet in my office on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.?

C. To a peer: I have chosen the five applicants who I think are most strongly suited for the training program. Could you send me your feedback on these applicants? To a subordinate: I have chosen the five applicants who I think are most strongly suited for the training program. Could you send me your feedback regarding my selections?

D. To a peer: I don’t think I can provide my input about selections for the training program. Would you mind reviewing the applications and submitting selections for me by Friday at noon? Thank you. To a subordinate: I’d like you to make selections for the training program. Please take care of this before this Friday at noon. Thank you.


5.13 Idea Development by Organizing Facts into Conclusions and Recommendations (LO 5.2)

Responses will vary. One way of organizing the information follows:

Conclusion #1: Stress is one of the most common health problems among employees, and it is among the most harmful health problems commonly encountered by employees.

According to the American Medical Association, stress is as bad for your heart as smoking and high cholesterol.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, employees suffer the following risk factors: stress, 44%; overweight, 38%; use alcohol excessively, 31%; high cholesterol, 30%; have cardiovascular disease, 25%; don’t exercise, 24%; smoke, 21%; don’t wear seatbelts, 20%; are asthmatic, 12%; are diabetic, 6%.

Conclusion #2: Stress costs businesses significantly in terms of healthcare costs, lost productivity, and turnover costs.

40% of job turnover is due to stress. Health care costs of people suffering chronic, extreme stress are 46% higher than those who

are not. One study showed the annual per-employee absenteeism costs for the following conditions

as follows: stress, $136; weight issues, $70; tobacco use, $44; glucose problems, $29. Employees with various health risks directly increase health care costs to employers. For

example, compared to employees with low health risks, employees with the following conditions significantly increase costs to the employer: depression (70.2% higher cost); stress (46.3%); glucose (34.8%); weight (21.4%); tobacco (19.7%); blood pressure (11.7%); exercise (10.4%).

Conclusion #3: Stress management programs can significantly reduce stress among employees and the related adverse impacts.

Stress reduction programs can have major impacts. In one company, 42% of 5,900 employees suffered moderate to severe stress. In fact, 80 percent of doctor visits for these employees were related to stress. After a stress reduction program, employee physician services dropped from 7.4 million dollars annually to 5.3 million dollars annually.

The Canadian Institute of Stress showed the following results for corporate stress management programs: work stress: 32% improvement; work satisfaction: 38% improvement; absenteeism: 18% reduction; disability days: 52% reduction; grievances: 32% reduction; productivity: 7% improvement; quality measures: 13% improvement; work engagement: 62% improvement.

Stress management programs are most effective when offered in conjunction with broad wellness programs.


Conclusion #4: Designing and implementing stress management programs requires expertise and resources.

Setting up stress management programs is challenging. Other disease management programs are more easily defined in terms of who has a condition (such as diabetes or heart disease) and how to treat it.

Most employees do not enroll in stress management programs unless there are incentives. Stress management can be achieved through workplace policies that alleviate work and

personal stress. Some companies have tried flex time, allowing work at home, child care initiatives, sick child care, and other incentives to help employees reduce stress and be more productive.

Stress management can also involve training through workshops and professional coaching.

Recommendations Create a position for a full-time health coach with the following responsibilities and abilities:

o Run workshops, distribute educational materials, and also offer one-to-one coaching in stress relief.

o Possess qualifications to work on other wellness areas such as weight loss, exercise, and dietary improvements.

Hire a full-time professional coach at $60,000 per year. Offer $150 reductions on annual healthcare premiums for employees who participate in a

basic stress management program.

5.14 Writing a Proposal in Support of Developing a Stress Management Program (LO 5.2, LO 5.3, LO 5.4, LO 5.5)

The memo should reflect well-laid logic and justification based on case information. Ideally, it will emerge cleanly from the student’s solution to Exercise 5.13.

5.15 Writing a Proposal to Broaden the Focus of a Wellness Program (LO 5.2, LO 5.3, LO 5.4, LO 5.5)

Responses will vary. Reward students for integrating information from the chapter and case to provide a compelling logic and effective tone.


5.16 Review the semicolon and colon rules in Appendix A. Then, rewrite each sentence to add semicolons and colons where needed (you may need to replace other forms of punctuation in some instances).

A. IBM’s two most important business units are Global Technology Services and Global Business Services. (Co1)

B. IBM primarily focuses on B2B business; on the other hand, Microsoft primarily focuses on B2C business. (S2)

C. IBM’s has U.S. offices in Armonk, New York; New York City, New York; and Santa Clara, California. (S3)

D. Even though IBM is a well-recognized brand, most people don’t know much about its products or services for many reasons, including that it focuses mostly on B2B products and services; that its products and services are highly technical; and that it doesn’t explain its well-known products, such as Watson, to the public. (S4)

E. IBM’s two most important business units are the following: Global Technology Services and Global Business Services. (Co1)

F. IBM was forced to lay off roughly 15 percent of its North American employees; however, that does not indicate a decline in revenues. (S2)

G. IBM’s top executive team includes the following individuals: Virginia M. Rometty, CEO; Steven A. Mills, Senior VP and Group Executive of Software & Systems; Robert C. Weber, Senior VP of Legal & Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel; and John E. Kelly III, Senior VP and Director of Research. (Co1, S3)

H. IBM faces several major challenges: It’s so large that it’s difficult to lead and manage, it faces stiff challenges from cloud providers, and it’s not well equipped to deal with growing demand for rented software and computer systems. (Co1)

I. The top vendors for enterprise social networking platforms are IBM, Jive, Microsoft, Cisco, and Salesforce. (Co1)

J. I originally wanted to apply for a job at IBM; however, I ended up deciding to apply at Cisco. (S2)


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