Business Writing Secrets Vol. 1
by Christos Varsamis
Published on this site: July 16th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
One of the most important aspects in the business world is
writing. It is the critical process of communication inside
a corporation and of course in the B2B (Business to Business)
and B2C (Business to Consumer) trade.
Writing memos, letters and reports is the daily task for the
employers and the executives inside the company. Every firm
follows some specific rules for their communication needs
but they all have as a cornerstone of their standards thesecritical
questions:
INITIAL ANALYSIS
- What is it?
- What is the purpose of the document?
- When is it due?
- How much time should you spend preparing it?
- What key information should you cover?
AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
- Who are the readers?
- What is their knowledge of the subject?
- What is their opinion of the subject?
- What actions do you want them to take?
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS
- What format should you use?
- What style should you follow?
- In what order should you present the information?
- What attachments should you include?
INITIAL ANALYSIS
What is it?
The first question asks you to identify the type of business
communication you are going to write.
What is the purpose of the document?
You must identify what is the purpose you are writing for.
You must be as specific as possible. For example, you can
write a memo for a specific problem with a client in your
corporation.
When is it due?
If you have a deadline for completing your letter or memo
then the procedure is easy but if you don't , then you must
determine by yourself all the facts you need for completing
your document.
How much time should you spend preparing it?
You must estimate the time you are going to spend for the
preparation of your document. For example, 8 hours for contacting
a business proposal letter is reasonable but spending 8 hours
for a memo is not reasonable at all.
What key information should you cover?
That question defines what kind of information you should
include in your memo,letter or report. For example, should
a business proposal letter contain all the technical requirements
for the potential prospect or not?
Who are the readers?
In this step you must identify who is the reader. Is it a
co-worker or an important client?
What is their knowledge of the subject?
This is very important. Think wisely who are your readers.
Do they have a decent knowledge about the subject or they
don't know anything about it. If they have a great familiarity
with the subject, then you don't have to explain much. If
they have basic familiarity then you must explain more in
order to be understandable. Finally, if they don't know anything
about the subject, you must analyze it in detail and take
nothing for granted.
What is their opinion of the subject?
Knowledge of a subject is not the only issue on your writing
acceptance from your readers. The opinion they have about
it has the same importance. Your primary task is to identify
if they have a positive , negative or neutral opinion about
your subject.
In most cases when the readers have positive or neutral opinion
there are no serious problems for the writer. On the other
hand, when your reader is negative on the subject you are
dealing with, you should be extra careful with your letter
or memo.
What actions do you want them to take?
If you have a clear goal for what you expect your readers
to do, then your writing will be more succesful. Don't forget
to clarify the action you want your readers to do.
What format should you use?
Before you start formatting your document ask if your company
has a formatting standards. Most of them have specific standards
for writing letters, memos and reports. In that case you should
follow them.
What style should you follow?
Style is the way you use words, abbreviations, punctuation,
and other elements. If your corporation use a specific style,
use it. Otherwise follow the commercial standards available.
Capitalization is an element you should use systematically.
You must capitalize proper nouns and the first word of sentences.
In what order should you present the information?
The Classic standard applies here too, which is the introduction,
body, and conclusion.
The introduction informs the reader what the subject is all
about and provides all the necessary information the reader
needs to understand.
The body emphasizes and analyzes the subject .During that
process always keep in mind that your points should be stressed
according to their importance. The most important should be
first.
The conclusion sums up the points given in the body and directs
to an action to be taken.
What attachments should you include?
The last question asks you to identify if and what kind of
attachments you may need for your project. Sometimes extra
information helps the readers to understand better the subject
you have prepared.
Christos Varsamis is an internet marketing consultant
and the creator and publisher of http://www.settinglifegoals.com
|
