writing for business (m3.05) corporate learning & development rebecca johnson
TRANSCRIPT
Writing for Business (M3.05)
Corporate Learning & Development
Rebecca Johnson
Aim
To enable you to write and present
reports appropriately
Objectives
• Recognise the value of the written word• Identify objectives & users of a report• Collect information for use in a report• Plan the structure, making appropriate use
of visual & basic statistical material • Use effective and appropriate tone,
language and level of formality in a range of cases
By the end of session you will be able to:
• Consider needs of recipient.
• Make appropriate use of info.
• Use of appropriate tone & level of language.
• Appropriate format.
• Give writing a clear & coherent structure.
• Layout.
• Including visual materials.
Planning your Writing - General
Effective Communication
• Who do I need to communicate with?
• What results do I want to achieve?
• What impression do I want to give?
To be effective, you should ask yourself:
Communication Purpose
• Reach some other person
• Achieve a result
Apart from self communication, all communication is designed to:
Whether the ‘result’ is to ask/order/persuade or to provide information, either way, it will
lead to action.
The Communication Process
Purpose
Sender Information messages
Receiver Action
Feedback
Effective Written Communication
• Reaches destination.
• Receiver notices it.
• Receiver understands & acts on it.
You should therefore choose material appropriate to the receiver & present in a
structure/language they understand.
What is lacking in this communication?
• ‘All my staff have worked very hard over the last year, and output is greatly increased. The team is successful all round, and everyone has contributed to this. I realise that this year things are tight, but I would like to recommend that my team should receive a performance bonus of 1% of annual salary, on top of any additional increases’.
Headings & Numbers
• Headings show points that go together logically.
• Numbering headings & subheadings can help reader if making notes.
Effective Communication
• Who do I need to communicate with?
• What results do I want to achieve?
• What impression do I want to give?
To be effective, you should ask yourself:
Objective Setting
• S pecific
• M easurable
• A chievable
• R elevant
• T ime-based
Visual Material • Be simple without over-crowding of
data. • Large enough. • Refer to in body of text (even when
placed in an appendix). • Complement, not replace the text
of the report.• Clearly and accurately labelled.
Visual MaterialAdmin
Production
Sales &Marketing
IT & Computing
Sales support 0 20 40
Sun
Sat
Fri
Thurs
Wed
Tues
Mon
0
10
20
30
0
50
100
0 5
East
West
North
Effective Communication
• Who do I need to communicate with?
• What results do I want to achieve?
• What impression do I want to give?
To be effective, you should ask yourself:
Other Considerations
• ‘Jargon’
• Quality
• Writing styles
• Spelling, punctuation & grammar
• Formality
Summary• Recognise the value of the written word• Identify objectives & users of a report• Collect information for use in a report• Plan the structure, making appropriate
use of visual & basic statistical material • Use effective and appropriate tone,
language and level of formality in a range of cases