Module 2
➢ Principles of effective writing
➢ The 3X3 writing process for business communication Pre writing
➢ Writing – Revising. Audience analysis, Writing Positive, Neutral,
Persuasive and Bad-news Messages
➢ Types of Written Communication in Business: Business Letters,
Employee Reviews, Recommendation Letters, Thank You
Letters, Memos, Proposals and Reports, Press Releases, Proactive
Media Writing and E-mail,
➢ SOW, SOP, SOME Templates
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Written Communication Purpose:
1. Writing to Inform – Expository writing – Expresses ideas & facts
2. Writing to persuade – Convincing the reader
Principles of effective writing:
Place the Keep to the Set the right
Reader First point tone
Write a strong Write a strong
opening close
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Guffey’s 3*3 Writing process for
business communication:
PHASE I PHASE II PHASE III
Pre-Writing Writing Revising
• Analyze • Research • Revise
• Anticipate • Organize • Proof
• Adapt • Compose Read
• Evaluate
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Business Letters
Introduction
A letter written for the purpose of business
STANDARD PARTS / STRUCTURE OF A BUSINESS LETTER
Signature & Reference
Letter Head
Designation Initials
Complimentary Enclosure &
Date
Closure Copy Line
Inside Name
Message
and Address
Courtesy Title Salutation
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Persuasive Letter
➢ Letters that sell ideas to others
➢ Creates interest on the subject
Opening Sentence:
Catches readers attention
“At last you can build your own house”
“Get 10% off on every purchase”
Middle Section:
Details of the product/Scheme/Job Description
Why reader should accept the proposal
Action to be taken – ‘Yes’ reply
Last Paragraph:
Reminder to the reader of special benefits
Deadline 5
Persuasive Letter
AIDA MODEL
in
Persuasive Message/Persuasive Letter
A ATTENTION Audience Attention – Encourage – Want to hear about your
Idea. Don’t be pushy. Aggressive Opening
I INTEREST Raises Audience Interest. Paint a picture of a problem that
you will solve
D DESIRE Change attitude – Offering Ideas – How change will benefit
personally and professionally. Answer expected questions in
the mind of the reader.
A ACTION Motivate to take action – Toll Free #, Website, Deadline
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Positive Letter/Good News Letter
➢ Opening Paragraph:
➢ State the good news
➢ Don’t wait till the end
➢ Middle Paragraph:
➢ State conditions if any
➢ If both Negative /Positive, then Positive first
➢ Reason – Negative
➢ Closing Paragraph:
➢ Call for Action
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Negative Letter/Bad News Letter
➢ Very Challenging
➢ Loss of friendship/Goodwill
➢ No direct statement – “NO”
➢ Hint of Apology
➢ Negative information first
➢ Don’t glow over bad news
➢ Gently
➢ Give reasons
➢ Don’t say “Sorry” directly
➢ Include positive message at the end of the letter
➢ Be sincere
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Employee Review Letter Template
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Thank You Letter Template
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Memo Template
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Press Release
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E-mail Writing
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General rule for professional writing
➢ Use simple language
➢ Tailor language to your audience
➢ Vary sentence construction – Avoid same phrase
➢ Proofread
➢ Consider length of the message
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Function-related e-mail etiquette
➢ Be familiar with company policy
➢ Don't use e-mail to avoid speaking
➢ Leave out-of-office notes
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Form-related e-mail etiquette
Addressing a message
➢ Use the Cc field sparingly
➢ Keep the original e-mail when responding as part of the same
thread
➢ Use the Subject field properly
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Always include a greeting or closing
➢ When writing the main body of an e-mail, you should always
include a greeting or closing with a business tone
Don't use all uppercase or lowercase
➢ Don't write words in uppercase in an attempt to add emphasis.
Similarly, it's inappropriate to write full sentences all in lowercase
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Never use offensive language
➢ Don't assume something won't offend others simply because
you aren't offended. Avoid misunderstandings by not including
anything that could be offensive to others.
Specify the response you need
➢ You should specify the response you need in every e-mail so
recipients are clear on what you're asking them to do.
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Show you take your job seriously
➢ Show you take your job seriously by being polite and factual.
Never write an angry message or use e-mail for gossip
Don't use emoticons or acronyms
➢ Business e-mails don't use emoticons, which are facial
expressions made from punctuation marks commonly used in
informal e-mails to show the emotions the sender is
experiencing. Also, don't make excessive use of acronyms that
have become standard in informal communication.
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Use attachments for long e-mails
➢ You shouldn't send lengthy communications such as proposals
and reports. Instead, use attachments to shorten potentially
long e-mails
Use a professional signature
➢ As a sign of professionalism and to facilitate contacts, you
should use a professional e-mail signature containing your
name, your title, your company's name, your telephone
number, and your company's web site address.
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Common Mistakes
➢ Not including the email thread in your reply.
➢ Not using a professional account. (love4all@yahoo.com)
➢ Not replying to all.
➢ Cc'ing the world.
➢ Rambling. (plz, u, tc,ur)
➢ Writing unprofessionally. (I want to inform to you).
➢ Creating unnecessary back-and-forth.
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Reply to Client in response to a Complain
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Informing that Candidate is Rejected
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Request for Leave
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Over Due Payment Reminder
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SIX TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA
➢ Collaborative Projects
➢ Blogs
➢ Content Communities
➢ Social Networking Sites
➢ Virtual Game Worlds
➢ Virtual Social Worlds
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Examples
➢ Collaborative Projects: Wikis and Social Book Marking
Websites are Internet users share their web pages, articles,
blog posts, images, and videos
➢ Pinterest
➢ Twitter
➢ Quora
➢ Instagram
➢ Facebook Groups
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➢ Blogs: Personal Web pages – Exchange of comments on
same theme
➢ Content Communities: Youtube, SlideShare, Journals, Flickr
➢ Social Networking Sites:Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
Instagram, Myspace, Orkut
➢ Virtual Game Worlds: Decentraland, Minecraft, World of
Warcraft
➢ Virtual Social Worlds: Second Life, Somnium Space
(Imagined and Designed by you)
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