M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.

indd Page 26 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2
Managing the Communication
Process: Analyzing,
Composing, Evaluating

Photo credit to come

MyBCommLab® Improve Your Grade!

Over 10 million students improved their results using the

Pearson MyLabs. Visit mybcommlab.com for simulations,
tutorials, and other helpful learning apps.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
LO 2.1 Why should you spend time analyzing? LO 2.3 How does evaluating improve your
pages xx–xx communication? pages xx–xx
Analyzing the purpose focuses the message Revise content: Improve effectiveness
Analyzing the audience helps you meet their needs Edit for style and tone: Project a professional image
Analyzing the content ensures a complete message Proofread to increase your credibility
Analyzing the medium helps you choose the best Review feedback to improve your communication
delivery option strategy

LO 2.2 What is involved in composing? pages xx–xx

Practise strategic time management
Organizing the message
Drafting the content
Designing a professional format and delivery

26

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 27 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

Farzana Mawani
Marketing and Communications
@ WORK
Manager
Altima Healthcare Canada Inc. Does your audience really matter?
communication piece needs to be customized to anticipate the
audience’s frame of reference and unique perspective. Sending
a letter to a healthcare provider (e.g., a dentist) requires a
different approach than sending an email reminder to your
internal sales team. A public document that is published on the

O
web needs to incorporate a different tone than a document
intended for company stakeholders. Every time you send a
FP
Photo courtesy of Farzana Mawani and JPB Photography.

message, giving careful thought to the intended audience is

one of the most important pieces of the puzzle.
For example, I prepare one-page “info sheets” that
describe medical or dental procedures to market those
services to the public. Sometimes these one-pagers are used
to simply raise awareness, such as to increase the uptake of
oral cancer screenings to help decrease mortality rates. Other
times they are distributed to promote limited-time offers.
The challenge lies in ensuring that these one-pagers focus
on the needs of average Canadians. The composition of the
message needs to answer questions from their perspective.
How will this healthcare information have a positive impact?
Why is this service important? How can this benefit the
individual or family in question?
Find out at the end of this chapter how Farzana uses ACE
One of the most important aspects of communicating,
to solve these communication dilemmas.
particularly in healthcare, is knowing your audience. Each

Introduction
Communicating in today’s workplace is 2. Analyze your audience. Who are the
Ana
complex. You could face communication lyz recipients of your communication? What
tasks that range from preparing simple e are their concerns and interests?
emails to planning critical presentations 3. Assess the content. What should be
to participating in online meetings included? What is the substance of this
involving people from around the globe. message? Do you have all the content
Evaluate

ACE
To help you adapt and thrive in these your audience needs? Have you included
too much?
situations, you will learn a flexible com-
munication process called ACE: Analyz- 4. Choose the best medium. How will
you deliver your message? What are
ing, Composing, and Evaluating. You
your options? Should you communicate
can apply ACE in any situation, no mat- face to face, by phone, email, text mes-
ter how simple or complex. As FIGURE 2.1
s sage, Facebook, Twitter, or some other
e

shows, each ACE step plays a unique

mpo medium?
role in successfully communicating a Co
message.
Analyzing helps you make effective Analyzing The process of looking critically at four
elements of your message: purpose, audience, con-
and professional decisions about each
tent, and medium.
message you prepare and send. Before
ACE ACE ACE Purpose The reason for communicating.
creating your message, you prepare by
Audience Anyone who receives a message and for
analyzing the following four important whom a message is intended. The audience can be one
steps. Analyze Compose Evaluate person or many, depending on the number of recipients.
Content The substance of your message.
1. Determine your purpose. What is the FIGURE 2.1 The ACE Communication Medium The method you use to deliver your mes-
reason for your communication? What Process sage (e.g., telephone, face-to-face meeting, email,
is the outcome you want to achieve? text message, website, or other).

   27

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 28 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

28    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

When you take the time to analyze the purpose, audience, appropriate to the task. Finally, consider whether the document
content, and medium, your next step, composing, will be much format or planned delivery approach will make the message easy
easier. to understand and communicate a professional image. As part of
Composing involves much more than putting words on a the evaluating process, share your draft or practise your oral com-
page or speaking them aloud. Use what you learned while ana- munication with others to get feedback. Reviewing your message
lyzing to plan your message so it has the highest chance of effec- and considering feedback may lead you to return to the first step of
tively achieving your purpose. Determine the content you need the process (analyzing) to reconsider the decisions you made about
and pay special attention to how you organize it. Your message purpose, audience, content, and medium. This circular approach
must flow logically and make sense from your audience’s per- helps ensure effective communication.
spective. Once you have this plan in place, you are better able to This process may, at first, seem awkward and time consum-
draft your message skillfully. If it is a written message, you will be ing. However, once you are familiar with these steps you will get
A a easily
able to format it appropriately so that your audiencenwill lyz more consistent results with far less effort and in far less time.
understand it. e
Evaluating is the process of reviewing your message with care Composing The process of drafting content, organizing it so that it is understandable
and attention to detail. First, determine whether you have included from the audience’s perspective, putting it into coherent sentences and logical para-
graphs, and then designing a format or delivery approach that is professional and
all the content necessary to achieve your goal. If you have all the
Evaluate

ACE
makes the communication easy to follow.
content you need, ask yourself if you have organized it well. Next, Evaluating The process of reviewing your communication to ensure it is complete,
evaluate whether the word usage and style are professional and accurate, clear, concise, easy to understand, and error-free.

s
e
mpo
LO 2.1 Why should you spend time analyzing? Co
Many attempts to communicate fail. Usually these failures happen because the message
senders did not think carefully about what they wanted the message to accomplish and
ACE howACEthey wanted ACE
their audience to respond. Instead, in a rush to communicate, many
people instinctively jump into composing their messages without adequate preparation.
This section describes four important elements you should analyze before you start to
Analyze Compose Evaluate
compose: purpose, audience, content, and medium. Analyzing each element serves a
distinct purpose.

Analyzing the purpose focuses the message

Before thinking about what you are communicating, analyze why you are communicat-
ing. Think about “why” from two points of view:
1. What is your purpose for communicating?
2. What is the outcome you would like to achieve?

What is your purpose?

Every business message should have at least one purpose. Here are some common pur-
poses that business communications serve:
• Inform a client about a problem
• Persuade a supervisor to implement something new
• Request permission to extend a deadline
• Report financial information to a client
• Propose a solution to a problem
• Create goodwill with a co-worker or business partner

What outcome do you want to achieve?

Goodwill The positive relationship between you (or
your company) and your audience.
Purpose statements alone are not enough to help you think clearly about the best con-
tent to use. As part of your analysis, identify your desired outcome. What do you want
Outcome The result of your communication. What
you want the recipients of your message to know, do, your audience to know or do as a result of the communication? FIGURE 2.2 compares
or feel about the subject of your message. three purpose statements and related outcome statements.

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 29 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.1 Why should you spend time analyzing?     29

PURPOSE DESIRED OUTCOME FIGURE 2.2 Examples of Purpose and

Outcome Statements
• To inform my client that I cannot take on a • My client will postpone the project rather
new project right now. than hire someone else to do it.

• To persuade my supervisor to approve a • My supervisor will present the plan to

summer-hours work schedule. upper management.

• To ask my supervisor for an extension on • My supervisor will let me submit the

a project deadline. project next Friday so I can finish it
during the week.

Why do you need to be able to clearly state the purpose and outcome, even if only
to yourself? Clarifying both your purpose and desired outcome will help you make the
best choices when it comes time to craft an effective message. For example, consider
how you would address the first item in Figure 2.2. If you think only about your purpose,
which is to inform your client that you cannot take on the project, you might draft a
message that could cause your company to lose this project.
Consider the revision in FIGURE 2.3, which is designed to achieve both the purpose
and the desired outcome.

Will the outcome require persuasion?

Persuasion is the ability to influence an audience to agree with your point of view,
accept your recommendation, or grant your request. You will find it useful to consider
whether achieving your outcome will require simply providing information or if it will
also require some persuasion.
If your message is purely informative, no persuasion is necessary. For example, an
email to all department employees about a room change for a meeting simply needs to
provide clear and complete information, as shown in FIGURE 2.4.
However, many business messages require a persuasive approach. They need to
influence a recipient either to agree with an idea or to take some action. For example,
assume you want to convince your supervisor, Cherilyn Martins, to implement a
­summer-hours work schedule for your department. Your standard workday hours begin at
9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. A flexible summer-hours schedule would allow employees to
begin and end an hour earlier so that they can take advantage of the increased daylight Persuasion The process of influencing your audience
to agree with your point of view, recommendation, or
and warmer weather during the summer. You propose that your department’s workday request.

First Draft:
Thank you for contacting us. We are
Purpose: fully booked right now and cannot
Where do I start?
To inform my client that I cannot meet your schedule. We are grateful
Purpose!
take on a new project right now. that you thought of us and look
forward to working with you in the
future.

Revised Draft:
Thank you for contacting us about your new
project. We are confident we can do an
outstanding job because we have worked with
you so closely in the past. However, we are Desired Outcome:
What would
fully booked until June. My client will postpone the
improve this?
project rather than hire
Desired Outcome!
If you are able to postpone your project for six someone else to do it.
weeks, we can provide you with our top
marketing team. We will be glad to extend a
10% discount on this project to acknowledge
your patience. FIGURE 2.3 Achieving a Desired
Outcome

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 30 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

30    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

PURPOSE DESIRED OUTCOME

To persuade my supervisor to approve My supervisor will support the proposal
a summer-hours work schedule. and believe it is in the best interests of the
department to adopt the plan. She will
All Mail (31) 1 of 50
forward the proposal to upper management
From: Bill Wembly Details
and request a meeting to discuss it, with the
goal of having the proposal accepted in time
Room change for Wednesday’s to implement it for June 1.
meeting
March 28, 2016 2:54 PM
FIGURE 2.5 Sample Purpose and Outcome Statements
To all Department Employees:
Because of scheduling conflicts,
Wednesday’s 2:30 PM meeting will be
held in the second floor lounge rather
than Conference Room B. hours begin at 8 a.m. between June 1 and August 31. Because you want to motivate
Bill
action, this message clearly needs to be persuasive. FIGURE 2.5 shows your purpose
statement and desired outcome statement. With this desired outcome in mind, you can
Bill Wembly begin to analyze your audience to get a clearer idea of how you can influence her and
Purchasing Manager
Radnor Partners, Inc. achieve the outcome.
[email protected]

Analyzing the audience helps you meet their needs

Audience analysis may seem counterintuitive to you. After all, if you have something to
communicate, shouldn’t the message itself be the main focus? In fact, until you have
carefully considered your audience, you cannot be certain that your message will be
FIGURE 2.4 Informational Message: No appropriate in terms of content, format, medium, or tone.
Persuasion Needed Here are three main elements to consider with regard to your audience:
Photo courtesy of L_amica/Fotolia.
• The primary audience is the direct recipient of your message, or in other words the
person or people to whom your message is addressed. In our example, the primary
audience is Cherilyn Martins.
• The secondary audience is anyone else who may receive a copy of your message or
be influenced by it, usually from the primary audience. In our example, if Cherilyn
Martins likes the idea of a summer schedule, she may forward your message to the
vice-president of operations. Although you planned your message to be read by your
supervisor (the primary audience), the vice-president became the secondary audi-
ence. Audience benefits are the advantages that message recipients (either within
the primary or secondary audiences) could receive from agreeing with or acting on
your message. People are more likely to go along with what you propose if they
understand the advantages they or their business will gain from granting your
request. In the case of the summer schedule, the audience can potentially benefit by
improving employee morale, which usually leads to overall increases in
productivity.
FIGURE 2.6 shows the relationship between the primary and secondary audience.
Once you have identified your audience, consider the questions listed in FIGURE 2.7 to
determine what content to include as well as how and when to deliver the message. The
answers in the figure relate to our example of the summer-hours work schedule.
Unfortunately, people who are trying to persuade others often make an error in
Tone The image your language projects about you judgment by emphasizing how their proposal or suggestion benefits them. This is a
based on how the message “sounds” to the audi- serious mistake. Focusing on the benefits to you is easy but is less likely to lead to
ence. Tone in writing is similar to your tone of voice
(e.g., friendly, angry, positive, negative, formal, casual,
your desired outcome. For example, by implementing a summer-hours schedule, you
professional, unprofessional, courteous, rude). get to leave work an hour earlier each day and you have more time to enjoy outdoor
Primary audience The person or people to whom activities and time with family and friends. These outcomes do not suggest any ben-
your message is directly addressed. efits for your supervisor or company. Therefore, those benefits are not persuasive to
Secondary audience People whom the primary audi- your audience.
ence may communicate with or influence, based on The challenge is to identify audience-focused benefits, like those listed in Figure
the content, format, or tone of your message. The
secondary audience may receive a copy or hear about
2.7, item 6, and then select the ones that will be most effective. You would certainly
your message without you knowing. want to stress that a flexible summer schedule may improve morale, reduce turnover
Audience benefits Advantages the recipient gains rates, and increase productivity. However, you may choose to leave out the other poten-
from agreeing with or acting on your message. tial benefits. It will be difficult to prove that quarterly sales figures will increase, and it

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 31 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.1 Why should you spend time analyzing?     31

would be unwise to suggest that summer hours will improve employees’ percep-
tions of your supervisor. Your supervisor (the primary audience) may find this a
valid reason to change the work schedule, but the vice-president (your secondary
audience) may not. Secondary Audience
Anyone else who may receive a copy
of the message or be influenced by it
Analyzing the content ensures a complete message
In addition to analyzing your purpose, desired outcome, and audience, you also
need to analyze your content requirements. Do you know enough about the situa-
tion to compose your message? Do you have convincing and credible evidence to
support your main ideas? Do you need to do additional research?
For example, assume you have identified a list of potential benefits for the Primary Audience
summer-hours plan illustrated in Figure 2.7, as well as a list of questions your Direct recipient(s)
of the message
supervisor may ask. Before composing, you will need to gather additional informa-
tion. You may be able to get information from internal sources such as company
reports, databases, and experts. Or you may have to consult external sources such
as industry journals, web-based search tools, or experts outside your company. For FIGURE 2.6 Primary and Secondary
Audiences

1. What does the primary and secondary audience already know?

My supervisor and upper management already know about the structure of our
current workday, so I do not need to explain that.
2. What information does the audience need to know—and why?
Both audiences need to know what I mean by “summer hours,” how summer hours
will work in our department, and how the change will affect the productivity of the
department during the summer months.
3. When does the audience need this information?
My supervisor needs the information soon so we can gain support from upper
management in time to implement the change for June 1.
4. How will the audience react to this information?
I don’t know how my supervisor or upper management will react, so I will try to
anticipate potential problems and provide solutions.
If the purpose is primarily persuasive, also consider these questions:
5. What questions or objections will my audience have?
My audience may ask these questions:
• How will we ensure that someone is available to answer phone calls after 4 p.m.
if all employees ask to start and end their day earlier?
• When workdays begin and end earlier, will we have to rearrange lunch hours and
breaks? How will we handle that?
• Will there be additional costs?
• Has this plan worked well in other departments or companies?
• Will anyone think this schedule is unfair?
• Is there any evidence to support the benefits?
6. How will my audience benefit from my idea or proposal?
• Providing flexible summer hours may improve employee morale, which may
lead to the following additional benefits:
a. reduced employee turnover rates
b. increased employee productivity
c. Increased quarterly sales figures
• Providing flexible summer hours may improve employees’ perceptions of my
supervisor. FIGURE 2.7 Audience Analysis
Questions

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 32 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

32    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

the purposes of our example, the following types of research would provide you with
strong content:
• Investigate existing company information. Learn whether other departments in the
company have implemented summer hours. You may call or email other managers,
contact your human resources office, or research the company’s employee
handbook.
• Survey employee opinions or perceptions. Learn the degree to which employees will
support the summer schedule by conducting a survey.
• Research external sources of information. Learn whether other companies offer a
summer-hours schedule and if it provides tangible benefits. You can conduct pri-
mary research, which involves collecting your own original data. For example, you
might call the human resources departments of other local companies. A more effi-
cient method might be to look in libraries or online sources for secondary research,
which is information other people have collected. For example, the Canadian HR
Reporter (www.hrreporter.com) offers many recent articles and surveys on flex
hours as adopted in the Canadian workplace (Hunter, 2012).
While it may be tempting to postpone some of this time-consuming research,
your initial communication with your supervisor will be stronger if you can show
that you have done some preliminary research and have evidence to support your
proposal. More detailed information about finding and evaluating sources is available
in Chapter 10.

Analyzing the medium helps you choose the

best delivery option
You can use several methods to communicate a message. For example, you can send an
email, write a text message, have a face-to-face conversation, or publish your message
through a social media site. FIGURE 2.8 lists many common methods of communication
and identifies the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Making a smart and effective choice about the best medium to use is challenging.
For example, if you need to send detailed financial data to your supervisor, you might
choose to present that information in a spreadsheet and attach it to an email that sum-
marizes the data. However, if the spreadsheet requires a more detailed explanation, a
face-to-face meeting will be more effective. In many cases, selecting the medium actu-
ally means choosing more than one medium and then deciding how to proceed. In the
case of sending detailed financial information to a supervisor, you may decide to meet
face to face and follow up by sending a meeting summary and spreadsheet attachment
via email.
Social media has expanded the number of medium options available, and com-
panies are finding creative ways to use them. For example, when the software com-
pany Red Hat debates a company decision, managers invite employees to voice their
opinions and make suggestions on an internal social media site called Memo List.
Roughly 100 employees post opinions each day, and Red Hat’s president, Jim White-
hurst, reads every post to gain insight from his employees’ perspectives. Although
Whitehurst typically makes the final decision, he values the role of social media in
promoting deeper understanding: “Once you make a decision, you get flawless exe-
cution because everybody’s engaged. They know what you’re doing and they know
why you’re doing it” (Bryant, 2012). You might use social media in a similar way to
begin a departmental discussion about summer hours to give employees an opportu-
nity to express their point of view and contribute critical information to the decision-
making process.
Making a decision about which media to use to communicate and exchange ideas
Primary research Collecting your own original data.
also has an ethical component. What if the ideas under discussion could violate an
employee’s privacy or inappropriately distribute unauthorized intellectual property?
Secondary research Searching published reports,
articles, and books for information other people have Check out the Ethics box for an introduction to these concepts as they apply to busi-
collected. ness communications.

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 33 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.1 Why should you spend time analyzing?     33

MEDIUM ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Face to Face • Allows personal explanation targeted to an individual • Is not efficient for disseminating information to
(one-to-one conversation) • Provides for immediate feedback in the form of nonverbal many people
cues, such as facial expressions, gestures, and posture • Is not usually permanently documented
(recorded)

Meeting • Disseminates information to many people • Can be difficult to schedule

(several people) • Provides for immediate feedback • Is time consuming—takes employees away from
• Is documented by minutes assigned duties

Telephone • Allows personal explanation targeted to an individual • Is time consuming if individual calls need to be
• Allows short messages to be delivered via made to several people
voice mail if individuals are not at their desks • Is not usually permanently documented
• Can provide for immediate feedback if the (recorded)
person answers the phone

Text Message, • Allows quick communication • Is not efficient if message is long, complex,
Instant Message • Creates a permanent record (if saved) or sensitive
• Does not ensure immediate feedback

Email • Allows quick communication • May not be a private and secure medium for
• Disseminates information to one or many people sending sensitive content
• Creates a permanent record if saved or printed • Does not ensure immediate feedback because
not everyone checks email regularly

Memo • Can accompany original documents or forms • Incurs costs to copy to many people
(printed hardcopy to audiences that need signatures • Is delivered more slowly than email
within the organization) • Can be used for employees who have no • Does not provide for immediate feedback
access to email
• Creates a permanent record

Letter • Projects a more “official” or formal image than email • Incurs cost of letterhead and postage
(formatted on letterhead and either • Can accompany original documents, such as • Takes at least a day to deliver unless emailed as
mailed or emailed to audiences forms with signatures an attachment
outside the organization) • Can be emailed as an attachment for fast delivery • Does not provide for immediate feedback unless
• Creates a permanent record emailed as an attachment

Newsletter • Disseminates a lot of information to many • Incurs cost to copy and distribute by mail
(printed hardcopy, html-designed people simultaneously • Does not provide for immediate feedback
email, or attachment) • Creates a permanent record

Website • Makes information available to anyone with access • Is not effective with audiences who have limited
• Can be password protected to limit access Internet access
• Enables combinations of text, video, and audio through • Requires the audience to access the site
podcasts, MP3 files, webcasts, webinars, and web- • May not reach the audience
conferencing tools • Does not provide for immediate feedback
• Is easy to keep up to date • May not provide a permanent record,
• May provide for feedback (wikis) unless web files are archived

Social Media: • Allows you to communicate to a community of people • Requires the audience to access the site
Networking Websites who have linked with you and expressed an interest • May not reach the audience
(e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn) • Allows interactive communication • May reach unintended audiences
• Is easy to keep up to date

Social Media: • Disseminates information to many people simultaneously • Is not effective with audiences who have limited
Wikis, Blogs, and Microblogs • Encourages discussion Internet access
(e.g., Twitter) • Is easy to keep up to date • Requires the audience to access the site or
• Allows interactive communication actively request messages be sent to them
• Provides a complete record • May not reach the audience

FIGURE 2.8 Selecting the Best Medium to Communicate Your Message

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 34 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

34    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

ETHICS

Ethics are a set of values or beliefs we use to govern ourselves. Many experienced business professionals will tell you
Our ethics are based on moral ideals of what is believed to be that learning to navigate through complex ethical issues
“right” and “wrong” and informs and influences the way we is an ongoing task. Think of this as a lifelong learning
interpret information, think, and act. A culture can follow a project.
set of understood ethics. Therefore, living or working in a However, to simplify this process as you begin your
“multicultural” society means that we are also in a “multiethi- career, consider observing, asking, and researching (O-A-R).
cal” world. Ethics are not always governed by law, nor are they Soon you will develop a keen internal sense of when you
always explicitly stated. Yet ethics strongly influence relation- need to find out more before proceeding.
ships and business practices. Effective business communica- • Observe: Observing is the practice of “looking to learn.”
tions can become complex because you need to consider what From our childhood through to adulthood, we look to
is “ethical” by legal, business, and sociocultural standards. others to gain insight into how we relate and communi-
Therefore, considering ethics in your communications is cate. Now apply this more specifically to ethics. How do
extremely important. What may seem appropriate in one sit- the people around you, whom you respect, handle cer-
uation may not be appropriate in another situation. In busi- tain situations?
ness, recognizing when events, actions, or behaviours are
• Ask: Whether you are in the middle of a workday in
potentially unethical is a critical skill to have.
your organization or in a grocery store, be willing to
When is it an ethical issue? ask questions: “Should I include this attachment with
Here are some questions to ask yourself: this email if I am not sure of the source of the data?”
• Could an email potentially cause harm to a group, com- “Is it appropriate to blind copy my boss on this
munity, or individual? response?” Even when you feel the action is harmless,
there may be a business practice that is observed in
• Could a private meeting create uncertainty regarding
your organization that may not be the normal proce-
influence, morality, or respect?
dure elsewhere. There may also be other ethical expec-
• Is this communication that I am preparing based on my tations that you may not have considered or “observed”
beliefs or on actual facts? in this situation before.
• If I hit “send” on this email, will my employer face • Research: Use trusted Internet sources and social media
potential legal considerations, such as an action under to research common business, cultural, and ethical prac-
the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, provincial human tices. Many such resources will be able to alert you to
rights legislation, or the Criminal Code? expected behaviours and language. This can help frame
• Am I using any information in this report that violates the context of your meeting, team discussion, or conver-
another person’s privacy, uses their intellectual property,
A clause?
or violates a signed competition n aly
sation more professionally.
ze
How do you begin to adopt appropriate ethical behaviours
For an ETHICS exercise, go to Critical Thinking ­Question 6
when doing business with so many different people in differ- on page xxx.
ent situations?
Evaluate

ACE This section has served as an introduction to the decisions involved in selecting a
communications channel. This topic is covered in greater depth in Chapter 5 and in
Appendix B.

s
e

mpo
LO 2.2 What is involved in composing? Co
Composing involves more than just putting your thoughts into words. Composing
includes organizing the content so that it is understandable from the audience’s perspec-
ACE ACE ACE
tive, putting the content into coherent sentences and logical paragraphs, selecting a
medium that is professional, and then formatting your content in a way that makes the
communication easy to follow.
Analyze Compose Evaluate
Composing is certainly easier if you have effectively analyzed your communica-
tion situation before sitting down to write. However, even a simple and well-planned
message benefits from at least two drafts. The first draft allows you to get your thoughts
on paper. The second draft allows you to refine your thoughts and pay more attention

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 35 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.2 What is involved in composing?     35

to evaluating the language and grammar. More complex messages may require more
drafts to make the message complete, clear, and persuasive. This section will help you
think through some key elements of the composing process: deciding where and when
to compose, organizing the message, drafting the message, and designing a profes-
sional format.

Practise strategic time management

When you write a short email or plan a quick instant message exchange with a col-
league, you may not need to pay much attention to your environment. However, when
you are preparing a complex report or presentation, or planning an important phone
call, you must allow enough time to prepare and compose your message effectively. For
example, if you will be making a brief presentation to a new client, you might decide to
allocate four hours to prepare for the meeting. While you may be tempted to leave the
task to the morning of the meeting, you could also divide the four hours differently. You
could spend two hours preparing your presentation on one day and then one hour to
rehearse the presentation in front of a friend or colleague the next day. Based on the
feedback you receive, you could then spend the final hour developing your ideas and
refining your approach.
Planning your composing time is most important when you prepare long docu-
ments or presentations. Although estimating how much time you need may be diffi-
cult at first, you may find it useful to estimate at least two hours per page of actual
composing time. Work backwards from the due date. For example, assume that you
have a five-page report due in 10 days. During the analyzing phase, you have collected
the data you need. FIGURE 2.9 is an example of how you could manage this challenge.
This expanded process takes the pressure off cramming multiple types of tasks into
several hours the day before the deadline and ensures that you have a fresh perspective
every day.
One of the biggest enemies to managing time effectively is multitasking. Many
people allow their mobile devices to interrupt them and control how they use their time.
For example, if you have set aside 1.5 hours for editing and proofreading, yet you answer
12 text messages, post two status updates, and write three tweets during that time, your
focus and concentration will be seriously affected. For more information on the impact
of multitasking on your work, see the Technology box.

2 hours to review 1.5 hours for

1.5 hours to 1.5 hours to
previously formatting, 1 hour for final
continue, complete and
collected research error-checking, proofreading
following outline review work
and create outline proofreading

Day One Day Two Day Three Day Five Day Six Day Nine
Day Four Day Seven Day Eight Day Ten
Organize Begin Continue Continue Complete Complete
Rest/Reflect Rest/Reflect Finalize Report Due
Research Composing Composing Composing Composing Report

1.5 hours to 1 hour for last

1.5 hours to begin,
continue, minute
following outline
following outline additions/changes

FIGURE 2.9 Managing Time (Analyzing – Composing – Evaluating)

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 36 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

36    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

TECHNOLOGY
Boost your brainpower: Become a single tasker
The psychologist who carried out the second study, Dr.
How to Gain Time and Optimize Your IQ!
Glenn Wilson of the University of London, notes that
“unchecked infomania reduces workers’ mental sharpness.
Focus on one thing at a time and gain up to a 40%
Multi-tasking can be incredibly stressful on the brain
increase in productivity
[because] it impairs short-term memory and concentration.
Optimize your IQ Multitasking can
Those who are constantly breaking away from tasks to react
Studies show that cause a drop in to email or text messages suffer similar effects on the mind
“single tasking” cognitive function, as losing a night’s sleep” (G. Wilson, 2013).
can allow you to similar to the ef- What does this mean to the business communicator? The
make optimal fects of missing a ACE model requires that you maintain sustained focus on spe-
use of your IQ. night’s sleep. cific tasks. It is hard to define your purpose, analyze your audi-
Multitasking can ence, do your research, organize your ideas, compose your
lower your IQ message, revise for completeness/clarity/conciseness, edit, and
by as much as proofread while being constantly interrupted or distracted.
10 points. Is it possible to become a “single tasker” in this age of
interruptions? Yes. In fact, it is essential for maintaining
Gain time Effective analyz- productivity and quality. Here are a few basic guidelines:
While your co- ing, composing,
1. Prioritize. One of the downsides of multitasking behaviour
workers will lose and evaluating
is that it programs us to believe we can achieve more in a
as much as 2.1 takes time, pa-
day than is actually possible (Taylor, 2011). Select fewer
hours per day by tience, and focus.
multitasking (the Give yourself this daily objectives and prioritize them in order of importance
equivalent of 546 extra time by and urgency. Following this process will allow you to be
working hours single tasking your more productive, not less productive, as you will have
annually), single way through your fewer unfinished tasks at the end of the working period.
tasking can give work day. 2. Use the timer function on your mobile device. Nass sug-
you an employ- gests creating 20-minute windows of working time, switch-
ment edge: ing between two prioritized tasks (Lapowsky, 2013). For
more time! example, you can work for 20 minutes on a focused activ-
ity (like analyzing, composing, or evaluating) and then take
Two employees, Hayley and Jayme, are working on a report a five-minute “connection” break to return texts, check
that is due tomorrow at noon. Hayley has turned off all her your email, or look at Facebook. Be sure to remember to
notifications (phone, voice mail, email, Twitter, Facebook, set the timer to alert you at the end of your five-minute
instant messaging). Jayme has not. Consequently, Jayme is break so you can return to your next working period.
being interrupted about once every 90 seconds with informa- 3. Turn “it” off. Researchers have found that employees
tion that is not relevant to her current task. Hayley is not who turn off their media notifications (email, Facebook,
being interrupted. Twitter, instant messaging, text messaging, and all other
interruptions) have less measurable stress, a stronger
• Who do you predict will finish the report on time, with- ability to focus on one task at a time, and do less screen
out working late or coming in early tomorrow? switching (Taylor, 2010). If you find this hard to accom-
• Who do you predict will create a well-organized, read- plish, consider that an entirely new realm of software
able report that will reflect well on her professional (Internet blocking productivity software) has been devel-
­reputation in the workplace? oped that will allow you to manage your connectivity in
If you think Hayley will do a better job, in a timely sync with your working priorities (Economist, 2010).
manner, on her report, you are probably correct. The late Here is the good news: Research shows that people who
Clifford Nass (2012), one of the leading researchers in “are focused on a task indicate that they are happier than
chronic media multitasking, found that heavy media multi- when their mind wanders” (Taylor, 2010). As an added
taskers (people who engage with three or more media at bonus, producing high-quality work will add positively to
once) experience dramatically reduced cognitive processes, your workplace reputation. If you consistently produce work
including executive (decision-making) function. A parallel of high quality, learning to be a single tasker could be one of
study found that a person’s IQ drops by 10 points when he the most powerful career management skills you acquire.
or she attempts to multitask. This means that people who
trye to write an email while checking Facebook and text
For TECHNOLOGY exercises, please go to Exercises 3 and 13
messaging have too many demands on their cognitive on pages xxx and xxx.
resources to perform optimally.

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 37 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.2 What is involved in composing?     37

Outline FIGURE 2.10 Traditional Outline

Proposal for Summer-Hours Work Schedule

PURPOSE: To propose that ABC Communication’s Sales Department adopt a summer-hours
work schedule between June 1 and August 31.
Introduction
• Statement of problem
• Proposed solution
Detailed Description of Proposed Summer-Hours Work Schedule
• Flextime options emphasizing core workday hours
• Suggested policies to ensure balanced staffing
Benefits (documented by primary and secondary research)
• Increased employee morale
• Reduced employee turnover rates
• Increased employee productivity
Implementation Plan
• Survey employees to assess flextime preferences
• Develop policies and procedures
• Create an assessment plan

Organizing the message

Composing is much faster and more effective if you make two decisions at the outset:
1. How will you organize the content of the message?
2. Where will you state your main point?

How will you organize the content of the message?

Whether you compose a short email or create a detailed presentation, every message you
prepare needs an organizational structure that is logical and easy for your audience to
follow. Outlining is a versatile and powerful tool that can help you get organized. An
outline allows you to break a topic into major ideas and supporting details and then list
that content in the order in which you will present it. For example, assume you
researched information about summer-hour schedules and need to put together a report
for your supervisor. FIGURE 2.10 illustrates a traditional outline format for a long docu-
ment, such as a report or proposal. Outlines like these may require several heading
levels with multiple points under each topic.
Outlines for smaller efforts can be less elaborate. You do not need a detailed tradi-
tional outline format for brief messages, such as emails or short presentations at meet-
ings. FIGURE 2.11 illustrates two short outlines for brief communications situations. A

(A) NOTES FOR PLANNING (B) OUTLINE FOR DISCUSSION

AN EMAIL AT A MEETING

Notes for Email to Cherilyn Overview of Summer-Hours Schedule

SUBJECT: Update on Summer-Hours Proposal
Schedule Proposal 1. What is a flexible summer-hours
• Ask for feedback on attached rough schedule?
draft 2. How will the company benefit from the
• Briefly explain research gathered to schedule?
date 3. How will we avoid/overcome potential
• Outline information to be included problems?
• Thank her for taking time to provide 4. When/how will we implement the
input schedule?
5. How will we assess the schedule’s
effectiveness?
FIGURE 2.11 Short Outlines

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 38 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

38    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

FIGURE 2.12 Tree Chart Outline

Topic
Proposal for a Flexible Summer-Hours Work Schedule

Main Sections

Introduction Detailed Benefits Implementation

Description

Improved Reduced Increased Survey Develop Create

Morale Turnover Productivity Employees Policies Assessment
Plan

Supporting Information

short informative email message may require only a few bullet points. Each bullet point
will become a short paragraph in the email. Outlining the content for a short discussion
during a meeting may require just a list of questions you will cover.
If you are a visual thinker, you might organize your communication using a tree
chart, like that in FIGURE 2.12, which lets you see the hierarchical structure and connec-
tions between your ideas. This method is especially effective if multiple writers are col-
laborating on a single outline.

Where will you state your main point: At the beginning

or the end?
Consider where you want to place the main idea. In basic informational messages (such
as the message in Figure 2.4 on page xx), no persuasion is required. The main point may
be the only content you include. However, in more complex, persuasive messages, you
need to determine whether you want to state the main point directly at the beginning of
the message or if you want to be indirect by building up to the point and placing it near
the end of the message.
In many situations, being direct is a better choice. Audiences will become impatient
if they do not know why you are communicating with them. To avoid this problem and
help your audience understand your message quickly, use direct organization by stating
the purpose and main idea of the message before the supporting details. Direct organiza-
tion follows this sequence:
1. Present the main idea of the message in the first paragraph, or in the beginning of a
long document.
2. Provide supporting information and related details in the middle paragraph(s).
3. Conclude the message with a call to action, any applicable deadlines, and contact
information.
However, in certain circumstances, you may want to use indirect organization.
This structure states the main idea after supporting information and related details. The
indirect approach may be effective when you are communicating negative news to peo-
ple who will not expect it, when you anticipate that your audience will be resistant, or
when you need to provide an explanation before your main point makes sense. To orga-
nize the content indirectly, follow this sequence:
Direct organization Stating the main idea of the
message before the supporting details.
1. Open with a general or neutral statement about the topic that usually indicates the
purpose.
Indirect organization Building up to the main idea
of the message after the supporting details. 2. Provide supporting information and related details in the middle paragraph(s).

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 39 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.2 What is involved in composing?     39

FIGURE 2.13 Direct and Indirect Organization

END
BEGINNING MIDDLE Conclude with
State the main Provide details to call to action,
idea support deadlines, or
contact info

DIRECT ORGANIZATION

END
BEGINNING MIDDLE MIDDLE Conclude with
General or Provide details to State the main call to action,
neutral statement support idea deadlines, or
contact info

INDIRECT ORGANIZATION

3. Present the main idea of the message after the supporting details.
4. Conclude the message with a call to action, any applicable deadlines, and contact
information.
FIGURE 2.13 illustrates this concept.
FIGURE 2.14 demonstrates the differences between the direct and indirect approaches
to communicate research on flexible summer hours. Imagine that you presented the
Use an INDIRECT
Use a DIRECT organization to
organization to explain the reasons
emphasize the before the main
(A) DIRECT ORGANIZATION main idea if (B) INDIRECT ORGANIZATION idea if the audience
the audience will will need to be
Cherilyn Martins have a positive or Cherilyn Martins
persuaded to agree
neutral reaction. with you.
Research Supports Benefits of Flexible Schedule Industry Perspectives on Flexible Schedules
SUBJECT LINE: SUBJECT LINE:
Preview main message Introduce the topic

According to a number of highly respected sources, As you requested, I researched several external resources
implementing a flexible work schedule can be an effective FIRST PARAGRAPH: about industry perspectives of flexible work hours. FIRST PARAGRAPH:
State main idea State the purpose
method of attracting and retaining employees. It also may
improve productivity. A Scripps news article about the future of the workplace
(Erickson, 20XX) offers evidence that creative work schedules
A Scripps news article about the future of the workplace are successful tools for attracting and retaining top talent.
(Erickson, 20XX) offers evidence that creative work schedules The article further suggests that, given today’s
are successful tools for attracting and retaining top talent. telecommuting capabilities, “face time is irrelevant … and …
The article further suggests that, given today’s balancing work and family is the priority among
telecommuting capabilities, “face time is irrelevant … today’s workers.”
and … balancing work and family is the priority among
today’s workers.” The Center for Services Leadership (20XX) also supports MIDDLE
MIDDLE flexible work schedules (throughout the year) to “simultane- PARAGRAPHS:
The Center for Services Leadership (20XX) also supports PARAGRAPHS: Provide details
Provide support ously achieve the seemingly conflicting goals of becoming
flexible work schedules (throughout the year) to “simultane- more flexible in employee work arrangements [while]
ously achieve the seemingly conflicting goals of becoming controlling costs and enhancing service.”
more flexible in employee work arrangements [while]
controlling costs and enhancing service.” Finally, the Society for Human Resource Management argues
that employees who have the option of flexible schedules
Finally, the Society for Human Resource Management argues have fewer sickness-related absences, thus improving
that employees who have the option of flexible schedules productivity and profits. None of the research revealed
have fewer sickness-related absences, thus improving negative consequences of offering a flexible work schedule.
productivity and profits.
All this research suggests that implementing a flexible work
None of the research revealed negative consequences of LAST PARAGRAPH: schedule offers substantial benefits at very low or no LAST PARAGRAPH:
offering a flexible work schedule. Please let me know if you Close additional cost. Please let me know if you need additional State main idea and
need additional information to support your presentation of close
information to support your presentation of our
our recommendation to upper management. recommendation to upper management.

FIGURE 2.14 Examples of Direct andIndirect Messages

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 40 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

40    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

summer-hours proposal to your supervisor in a meeting. She may request that you
email her some follow-up research to provide an industry perspective of the advantages
and disadvantages of summer hours. If your supervisor appeared to favour your pro-
posal, you might organize your email directly, with the main idea at the beginning of
the document. However, if your supervisor was unsure about your proposal, you might
organize your email indirectly, with the main idea appearing after the supporting
details.
Note the difference in the subject line of these two emails. In the direct approach,
the subject line previews the main message of the email. In the indirect approach, the
subject line matches specifically the audience’s request for industry context and does
not reference the main message.

Drafting the content

Once you have an outline and a decision on where to place your main message, you are
now ready to begin drafting your message. If you are writing, drafting involves getting
the information on paper (or the computer screen). If you are speaking, it means saying
your message aloud or in your head so that you can hear it and evaluate it. Drafting is
a creative process. Using your outline as a guide, you can begin to draft with a degree of
freedom knowing that your first draft will not be your final product.
Inexperienced writers often stop frequently to evaluate what they have written. If
you feel a sentence has to be 100% perfect before you begin the next sentence, you are
allowing your internal editor to take control. Writing and revising are different pro-
cesses, and switching between them is inefficient and slow. These two activities require
different mental processes. In contrast to the creative process of drafting, revising is a
logical process that involves evaluating the effectiveness of your message in relation to
your audience and purpose. Remember that by using the ACE system you have created
ample time to evaluate and edit later. Ultimately, this will produce a higher-quality
output in a shorter period of time.
Another barrier that many writers face at the drafting stage is writer’s block: an
Subject line The line in the header of an email that inability to begin or continue writing. Symptoms include staring at a blank page or a
communicates what the message is about and influ- blank computer monitor without a clue how to begin. Although using the ACE process
ences whether the audience will read the message. will help reduce the problem, you may still experience moments when you cannot think
Drafting A creative process that involves getting of what to say. When this happens, you can try several techniques to unblock your
information on the paper or computer screen before
thoughts, including the ones below:
revising and editing it.
Revising A logical process that involves evaluating 1. Free writing. One technique that you can use to overcome writer’s block is free writ-
the effectiveness of your message in relation to your ing. This means writing down anything that comes to mind regardless of whether it
audience and purpose and then making changes in
content, organization, or wording, as necessary.
is appropriate or even meaningful. As a result, you will create some content that is
usable for your message, even if you do not use all of it. See FIGURE 2.15 for an
Writer’s block An inability to begin or continue writ-
ing, often as a result of procrastination. The stress of example of free writing. Review your free-writing results to determine which points
shortened deadlines can block creative writing skills. you want to include, and then highlight or copy those points into a second

Okay . . . It is really hard to start writing this report as I can’t think of how to start. I know I
need to start the introduction of this report with a statement of the problem and the pur-
pose of the report. There really wasn’t a serious problem, but the summer-hours plan
sounded like a good idea to me. A friend told me about it at his company, I mentioned it
to some colleagues here, and they thought I should recommend it. So what’s the problem?
How do I describe it? I don’t know. Maybe I should get some coffee. Oh well, low morale
could be contributing to our typical third-quarter sales slump. The summer numbers are
always the lowest each year. I can document this with the data I collected from the last 10
years. But since I found that data after I started the research, it shouldn’t really be the prob-
lem we’re trying to solve, just a possible benefit of the schedule. So the summer flex hours
could be a solution that boosts morale and productivity, thereby potentially increasing
third-quarter sales. If I start with that in the introduction and then support the idea with
findings from sources in the middle, I could close with a recommendation to try summer
hours and assess its effect on both morale and sales. I should get more coffee.
FIGURE 2.15 Example of Free Writing

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 41 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.2 What is involved in composing?     41

document. Save all your original free-writing samples in a separate document in

case you need to refer to them again.
Thinking aloud is similar to free writing except that you speak rather than
write. Thinking aloud helps get your ideas “out in the air.” Some writers find it use-
ful to record their thoughts, play back the recording, and then type the most impor-
tant points they hear. In fact, writers who struggle with awkward wording often find
recording their thoughts to be an effective way to ensure that their business writing
has a conversational, welcoming tone.
2. Point form first. If you feel challenged by grammar, try writing your thoughts in
partial sentences or point form. You can structure entire sections of work this way,
ensuring that your best and most important ideas are at least on paper. Once you
have your most important ideas in point form, you can start a different kind of
task: expressing your thoughts using effective and clear sentence structure and
grammar. Completing the work in two stages (ideas first, then grammar) will help
you ensure your best ideas do not get lost while you address the challenge of
expressing them properly.
3. Use an outline. Writers who prepare an effective outline prior to composing find
that their struggles with writer’s block are significantly reduced. For example, you
can begin by creating a word processing document with headings that match the
outline you have created. Perhaps it is easier to start writing in the middle, with
your research evidence. The magic of word processing allows you to start in a place
that you find easier and work your way toward the more challenging parts. Many
writers find openings and conclusions difficult. However, using a content outline
within a word processing program gives you the option of completing these ele-
ments after you have built your confidence in the rest of the document.

Designing a professional format and delivery

After you have composed your message, arrange it into a professional format that is easy
to read and understand. A document’s format plays a role similar to your dress and
behaviour in face-to-face communication. If the style looks professional, then it com-
municates to an audience that you are professional. If the format is difficult to read or
confusing, then it undermines your credibility.
Although the specific techniques you use for designing your message will depend on
the medium you choose, some consistent design principles apply to all medium options.
For example, effective and experienced business communicators do the following:
• Start with a purpose-driven introduction
• Break their message into short chunks (paragraphs)
• Begin each paragraph with a strong topic sentence that identifies the main point or
overall idea of the paragraph
• Use bullet lists for easy comprehension and skimming
• End with a specific conclusion, recommendation, or action item
The following sections provide examples of professional formats for email messages,
letters, voice mail messages, and social media postings. Other chapters discuss methods
of creating professional formats for longer, more complex documents, such as reports
and presentations. For a comprehensive formatting guide, see Appendix C: Formats for
Business Documents and online at mybcommlab.com.

Email messages
Business email messages should focus on only one topic that is clearly identified in the
subject line. However, devoting a message to one topic does not mean that the mes-
sage should contain only one paragraph. Consider the two versions of the email mes-
sage in FIGURE 2.16. Both versions contain the same information: The subject line and
sentences are identical. However, the design is very different. Examine the layout.
Topic sentence A sentence that identifies the main
Which one looks more readable? Which one looks better organized? Which one looks point or overall idea of the paragraph. It is usually the
more professional? first sentence in a paragraph.

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 42 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

42    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

FIGURE 2.16 Poorly Designed versus Professionally Designed Email Messages

INEFFECTIVE EFFECTIVE

Jeremiah Thorpe <[email protected]> Jeremiah Thorpe <[email protected]>

Summer-Hours Policy Changes Summer-Hours Policy Changes Subject Line

Jeremiah: Salutation
Jeremiah: Please review the attached revised policies for our proposed summer-hours
work schedule. We will discuss these revisions plus any additional revisions you Please review the attached revised policies for our proposed summer-hours
propose at our next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 10. If you have the work schedule. We will discuss these revisions plus any additional revisions
opportunity to review the revisions and suggest additional changes by the 8th, you propose, at our next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 10.
please send me your input so I can update the agenda. Otherwise, plan to
present your findings at the meeting on the 10th. Thank you for your time
Paragraphs that Separate Content
If you have the opportunity to review the revisions and suggest
and effort to help us with this proposal. Sincerely, Tonya
additional changes by the 8th, please send me your input so I can update the
agenda. Otherwise, plan to present your findings at the meeting on the 10th.

Thank you for your time and effort in helping us with this proposal.

Sincerely, Complimentary Closing

Tonya

Tonya Wyoll
Assistant Manager, Sales
ABC Communication, Inc. Signature Block
PH: (419) 555-4533
FX: (419) 555-4501

When you write longer emails, you can enhance the organization and design even
further by using three important techniques:
• Begin with a focused first paragraph that identifies your purpose and previews your
content. Strong first paragraphs are increasingly important as more people read
emails on mobile devices with small screens. Those readers appreciate getting the
core of the message without having to scroll down.
• Use topic-specific headings or paragraph titles that are short but include a key idea.
For example, instead of using a generic heading like “Benefits,” compose a topic-
specific heading such as “Benefits of a Flexible Summer Schedule” that helps the
audience understand the content of the paragraph.
• Format important lists as bullet point lists, with each item preceded by a dot or
other simple shape. The content you are reading now is part of a bullet point list.
Notice that the listed items have a parallel structure, which means that each bullet
has the same grammatical structure. In this list, each item begins with a verb.
The email in FIGURE 2.17 illustrates all three techniques.

Letters
Letters are generally intended for external audiences. A letter is considered more
formal than an email. As a result, letters are sometimes used for internal audiences
when the situation calls for formality. For example, you might receive a letter offering
Topic-specific headings Section or paragraph titles
that are short but include key ideas. They are often in
you a promotion, or you might write a formal letter of resignation if you were leaving
the form of a short sentence and include a verb. a job.
Bullet point list A vertically formatted list with each When letters are sent in hardcopy on behalf of an organization, they are usually
item preceded by a dot or other simple shape. printed on the organization’s letterhead. Letters can also be sent electronically (i.e., in
Parallel structure Writing that features a series of softcopy) as email attachments. In fact, many companies use electronic letterhead tem-
ideas in identical grammatical structure, making it plates so that letters attached to emails will look the same as printed letters. An attached
easier to read and understand.
letter maintains the formality of the message, while the email transmission takes advan-
Letters Formal correspondence, generally intended tage of the quick delivery and electronic documentation.
for external audiences. Letters can be sent through
postal mail or by email attachment for quicker delivery. Several letter formats exist, such as block style, modified block, and simplified.
External audiences People outside your organiza-
However, block style, as shown in Appendix C: Formats for Business Documents and
tion (clients, suppliers, partners). throughout this text, is the most efficient letter style and the one most commonly used
Internal audiences People with whom you communi- in business. Block-style letters use no indentions or centring. Instead, all elements begin
cate inside your organization. at the left margin, and paragraphs are separated with a double space. For guidelines

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 43 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.2 What is involved in composing?     43

FIGURE 2.17 Email with Focused

Opening, Topic-Specific Headings, and
Cherilyn Martins <[email protected]> Bullet Points

Summer-Hours Work Schedule Proposal

summer_hours_proposal.pdf

Cherilyn:
At our last department meeting, we briefly discussed how a summer-hours work schedule
The first paragraph of this long email
might improve employee morale. I’d like to propose that we try a summer schedule this year.
I believe this change will be very easy and will benefit our company. This email summarizes
contains the purpose of the message,
the detailed content in my attached proposal. the main point, and a preview of the
content.
How the Schedule Will Work
The summer schedule will begin on June 1 and end on August 31. During those months,
employees can choose to work a normal 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. day or come in and leave an hour
earlier (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) This means all employees will be present during the core hours of
9 a.m. until 4 p.m., when we are busiest. It also means we will not need to adjust lunch hours Notice how the three topic-specific
or breaks, since the proposed hours are very similar to our current working hours. headings help the audience grasp the
organization and meaning of the
Benefits of a Flexible Summer Schedule document at a glance.
In an informal survey, departmental employees responded positively to the prospect of having
more flexibility in their schedules. In addition, industry research shows that flexible work hours
do the following:

• attract top talent Bullet points make important lists easy

• reduce employee turnover to skim.
• control costs
• improve productivity

Next Steps If the audience needs to refer to the

Please let me know if you need additional information or if you would like me to revise the document again, they will know exactly
proposal before next week’s management meeting. I look forward to your response. where to find the information they need.
Regards,
Tonya

Tonya Wyoll
Assistant Manager, Sales
ABC Communication, Inc.
PH: (416) 555-4533
FX: (416) 555-4501

about formatting letters and examples of modified block style, see Appendix C and refer
to mybcommlab.com.

Voice mail messages

You may think it is odd to consider the design of oral communication since design is a
visual concept. Nonetheless, a savvy communicator designs voice mail messages with
the same principles used in designing direct emails:
• Focus on one topic
• Keep the message short
• State the main point early
• Provide contact information
Take a few minutes to plan your message before dialing the recipient’s number. Use the fol-
lowing advice to design a professional voice mail message. See FIGURE 2.18 for a sample.
• Greet the recipient by name to personalize the message.
• Identify yourself and include your organization name and/or your position if the
recipient is not familiar with you. Leave a callback number if you want the recipi-
ent to return your call. Concentrate on speaking slowly and clearly.

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 44 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

44    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

FIGURE 2.18 Sample Voice Mail SAMPLE VOICE MAIL

Message
Hello, Ms. Nelson. This is Tonya Wyoll from ABC Greeting and
Communication. My number is (416) 555-4533. identification

I am calling in response to the proposal for professional

Purpose and
development that you sent recently. I have discussed this with
main point
my supervisor and would like to arrange a date for the
workshop.

Please call me at (416) 555-4533. I look forward to talking with Action, contact
you soon. Goodbye. information,
and sign-off

• State your main point. Let the recipient know why you are calling.
• Provide details (optional). Consider carefully whether you should leave many details
in your message or if you should send the details in an email. If you need to leave
additional details, do so after the main point and before the action items. Keep
details brief.
• Identify actions. Do you want the recipient to return your call, send you something,
or do something else? If you are requesting an action, be both polite and specific.
• Provide contact information. Even if you state your contact information at the
beginning, repeat it slowly at the end. When leaving your phone number, speak
especially slowly. The recipient should not have to listen to your message twice to
be able to write down the complete number to call.
• Sign off by saying goodbye.

Emerging media: Social, mobile, and instant media messages

The topic of communications technologies will be more thoroughly explored in Chap-
ter 5. Here are some introductory concepts to assist you in understanding message con-
struction across a variety of technology channels.
Although different forms of emerging media require slightly different approaches to
formatting and design, there are two key questions to consider:
1. Is the message for a business purpose? Many people use social media, mobile
devices, and instant messaging for personal as well as business use. Develop the
discipline to know which audience (business or personal) you are communicating
with. If you are sending a business message, audience expectations may be quite
different than if you were sending a personal message. Most social or personal mes-
sages do not require much planning. Any business message of any length, even 140
characters, requires planning and formatting.
2. Who is your audience? Many social media formats feature easy sharing and redis-
tribution. Therefore, you need to keep both your primary audience (the direct recip-
ients) and potential secondary audiences in mind as you craft your message. When
you hear that a message, photo, or video has “gone viral,” what this means in busi-
ness language is that the primary recipients of a message shared their information
with their own audiences, which is a vast and unpredictable secondary audience. Be
sure that everything you send or post is constructed in a way that will, at best,
reflect a positive image of you and your organization and, at least, not damage your
personal image or your company’s reputation.
Microblogs are short entries or updates on a blog or social media website, typically
posted via a mobile phone (“Microblogging,” n.d.). For example, a tweet is only 140 char-
acters long (roughly two lines of text). How can you “design” a tweet? Twitter experts
recommend making your tweets even shorter, less than 120 characters if possible. This
will leave room for your followers to reply and quote you while remaining within the
140-character limit (TurkReno, Inc., 2011). If needed, use a link-shortening site, such as
goo.gl or bitly.com, to cut down the character length of long URLs. Your tweets could,

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 45 11/3/15 5:54 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.2 What is involved in composing?     45

FIGURE 2.19 Composing for

• Use 120 characters or less to allow others Microblogs
Microblogs to modify when resending
(i.e., Twitter) • Keep links/URLs short
140 character max

FIGURE 2.20 Composing for

• Keep posts short than 250 characters; these Networking Sites
receive more shares, comments, and “likes”
Networking Sites
• Use photos and links to videos to enhance interest
(i.e., Facebook, LinkedIn)
• Keep posts on topic (i.e., industry or skill related)
No character limit

potentially, reach a much wider secondary audience. FIGURE 2.19 summarizes key tac-
tics that will maximize the effectiveness of your microblog posts.
Networking sites, such as Facebook or LinkedIn, allow you to communicate with a
wide audience, often based on individuals you have added or connected with as well as
their networks. Therefore, over time these sites form groups or communities of people
based on either your personal or business interests. Although there are few restrictions
on the length of posts you can add to these types of sites, experts recommend that you
keep your posts under 80 characters to maximize your readership (Geddes-Soltess,
2012). Facebook’s own research shows that short postings (between 100 and 250 char-
acters) receive 60% more shares, comments, and “likes.” FIGURE 2.20 summarizes the
key tactics that will maximize the effectiveness of your networking site entries.
A blog posting offers the most social media space for you to develop and explore
ideas. This could be a positive or a negative attribute. A disorganized, free-form blog
post will not receive the same attention as a well-organized blog post. Therefore, make
the extra space work for you and not against you. Take the same care as you would in
designing an email, letter, or report: short paragraphs, white space, informative head-
ings and subheadings, lists, and bold text all make posts more visually appealing and
easier to read (Vandelay Design, 2008). FIGURE 2.21 summarizes key tactics that will
maximize the effectiveness of your blog posts.
Text messaging is ideal for sending extremely short, time-sensitive, information-
based bursts of information. For example, if you need to clarify the location or time of a
meeting that is about to take place, sending a text can be the perfect option. The
­asynchronous nature of texts allows recipients to answer when it is convenient for them
to do so. However, texts are not the best media for transmitting complex or ambiguous
information that requires deep discussion or debate. “It’s in the area of customer rela-
tions, engagement, and interaction that text messaging holds the greatest potential to
solve a range of critical business issues,” says Naveen Gupta, chief product officer at
RingCentral. “Yet, many businesses don’t have a defined text messaging strategy”
(Gupta, 2013) Until text messaging is more widely adopted for business use, it is best to
use text messaging with clients and colleagues with whom you have an established
working relationship. Meaning can be easily misinterpreted in this truncated medium.
Asynchronous Refers to communication that takes
Therefore, it is inadvisable to use text messaging as the first point of contact with a
place with a time gap between the sending of the
potential business associate or client. FIGURE 2.22 summarizes key tactics that will max- message, the receiving of the message, and the
imize the effectiveness of your text messages. response (e.g., email, regular mail, or text messaging).

• Use blogs to present detailed and organized ideas FIGURE 2.21 Composing for Blogs
• Create opportunities for discussion and feedback
from your audience
• Design using standard elements for business
Blogs
writing: headings, subheadings, bullet points, short
paragraphs, white space

• Keep messages short, clear, and to the point FIGURE 2.22 Composing Text
• Establish a professional tone by using “please,” Messages
“thank you,” and other courtesies
• Limit the use of short forms and emojis; use full words for
Text Messaging
clarity
• Get permission from business contacts before texting them

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 46 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

46    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

FIGURE 2.23 Composing Instant • Keep conversations short, clear, and to the point
Messages • Establish a professional tone by using “please,”
“thank you,” and other courtesies
• Limit use of short forms and emojis; use full words
Instant Messaging for clarity
(i.e., Skype) • Respect the other person’s time management; ask
first if they have time at that moment; respect the
answer; book a better time to correspond online

Ana With our workforce becoming more global and mobile, the use of instant,
lyz s­ ynchronous, screen-to-screen communication is becoming more widespread. It is an
e ideal way for teams or groups of people to “meet” and communicate across vast dis-
tances simultaneously. One of the key factors in planning a synchronous communica-
tion, such as instant messaging, is an awareness of the recipient’s availability. While
you may be motivated to have an instant messaging exchange with a business partner
Evaluate

ACE in another time zone or country, that person may not be available to chat at that
moment. Therefore, plan to ask first if the person has time to have a conversation and,
if he or she does not, plan to book an appropriate time to continue. FIGURE 2.23 sum-
marizes key tactics that will maximize the effectiveness of your instant messages.

s
e

mpo
LO 2.3 Co
How does evaluating improve your communication?
The final step in the ACE process is evaluating your communication to ensure it is com-
plete, clear, concise, easy to understand, and error-free. This section describes four ways
ACE ACE ACE to evaluate your communication:
• Revise the content
Analyze Compose Evaluate • Edit for style and tone
• Proofread for errors
• Review feedback to improve your future communications
When preparing written communications, you need to plan to reread, revise, and
edit before sending. Inexperienced business writers often skip the evaluating stage of
writing because they believe it is more time efficient to treat their first draft as a final
draft. Experienced business writers know that a first draft is rarely good enough. If you
write your first draft quickly to get your ideas on the page, you may include incom-
plete thoughts, awkward sentences, and grammatical errors that computer editing
tools such as spelling and grammar checkers may miss. In addition, by the time you
get to the end of your first draft, you may have altered or reprioritized your original
ideas. The evaluating phase gives you the opportunity to make those changes before
you send the message.
By contrast, oral communication allows you to evaluate while you are delivering
the message based on immediate feedback you receive from your audience. For exam-
ple, imagine that you are making a point in a meeting. As you look around the room,
you can gauge your audience’s reaction and begin to adjust or revise your explanation
on the spot.

The White House published this photo of Revise content: Improve effectiveness
President Barack Obama editing a
Even the best writers need to review and revise the content of a first draft. First drafts
speech.
are opportunities for you to examine and think through your ideas. As you review the
Official White House photo by Pete Souza. Courtesy of Flickr.
draft, you may see that you have left out an idea, changed your logic, or written a
lengthy explanation because you did not understand your material well enough to be
concise. As you reread your content, ask yourself these questions:
• Is it complete and well organized?
Synchronous Refers to communication that takes
• Is it clear?
place in “real time,” such as a phone conversation,
meeting, or instant messaging exchange. • Is it concise?

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 47 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.3 How does evaluating improve your communication?     47

Completeness
As a first step in the revising process, reread the entire document from the audience’s
perspective. Think about the analysis stage of the ACE process (i.e., the purpose and
outcome you identified for the communication) and the audience you defined. Ask your-
self if the document has the right information and the right approach to achieve your
goal. Here is a list of questions you can ask yourself:
• Is your main point clear? Underline your main point. Does it appear in the appro-
priate place in your document? If not, consider reorganizing so that the main point
appears where it should. If you cannot find an explicit statement of your main
point, add it to the draft document.
• Have you provided all the information your audience needs? Consider all the infor-
mation you believe your audience will need to know. Then review your draft docu-
ment, putting a mark next to each of these items. If any information is missing,
revise. If you cannot imagine what your audience will need to know, ask friends or
colleagues to provide feedback. Do they have any unanswered questions after read-
ing your draft? If so, revise.
• Are the benefits to the audience clear? Your audience needs to know how to benefit
from the information you provide. If you have not stressed this, revise.
• Is the information well organized? Read the topic sentences of each paragraph. Does
each topic sentence identify the main idea of the paragraph? If not, revise. Does each
sentence within the paragraph relate to the topic sentence? If not, revise. Does the pro-
gression from one topic sentence to the next seem logical? If not, reorganize and revise.
You will find it easier to revise if you spend some time away from your draft. Put it
away overnight or for a few hours and then read it with fresh eyes.

Clarity
Clarity refers to using clear wording that an audience can easily understand. One of the
first mistakes many new employees make is to try to impress colleagues, managers, and
customers by using big words in long sentences. People are rarely impressed by writing
that is long and difficult to understand, like the poorly worded sentences in FIGURE 2.24.
The best business writing communicates its meaning as quickly and as simply as pos-
sible and does not attempt to impress people with vocabulary. The clearly worded sen-
tences in Figure 2.24 intend the same meaning, but use natural-sounding language that
is easy to understand.
Experienced business communicators also avoid abstract wording. Any language
that refers to broad concepts with multiple meanings should be avoided. Consider the
sentence “We need to examine the transportation situation ASAP.” In this sentence, the
terms “transportation,” “situation,” and “ASAP” (as soon as possible) are abstract.
What do they mean? A dictionary defines transportation as conveyance (carrying,
moving, shipping, or hauling). Therefore, not everyone thinks of the same kind of trans-
portation when they visualize the word. Similarly, the word “situation” is open to inter-
pretation based on the reader’s perspective or role. It could have a positive or a negative Clarity The quality of being unambiguous and easy
connotation. Does it mean that the transportation is delayed, has improved, or is too to understand. Clear communication uses relatively
expensive? Does “ASAP” mean by today, by the end of the week, or whenever you have simple words in well-constructed sentences and well-
organized paragraphs.
the time to do it? Using ambiguous wording results in miscommunication if your audi-
Abstract wording Language that refers to broad
ence infers a different meaning than you intend. Concrete wording is specific. The concepts that an audience can interpret in multiple
more concrete the language is, the more likely it is that you and your audience will ways.
interpret the same message in the same way: “By tomorrow morning, we need to deter- Concrete wording Language that is specific, making
mine why shipments are leaving the warehouse two days late.” it likely that everyone will interpret it the same way.

POORLY WORDED CLEARLY WORDED

• Please affix the appropriate amount of • Please put a stamp on the envelope.
postage to the mailing package. • Thank you for your work on this
• I sincerely appreciate your exertion on important project.
this critically important endeavor.
FIGURE 2.24 Using Clear Wording

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 48 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

48    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

FIGURE 2.25 Using Concise Wording WORDY CONCISE

• This email is in reference to our approval • Your request has been approved.
of your prior request.
• Attached herein are the agenda for this • Attached are the documents you will
month’s meeting, the minutes from last need for this month’s meeting:
month’s meeting, and the report we dis- • the agenda
cussed last month and will review this • the minutes from last month’s meeting
month. • the report we will discuss
• If you have any questions, concerns, or • Please contact me if you have any
suggestions, please do not hesitate to questions.
contact me.

Conciseness
In business communication, shorter is usually better. Conciseness refers to communi-
cation that is short and to the point, expressing ideas clearly in the fewest possible
words. Whether your message is oral or written, a well-constructed, concise message
saves the audience time. As entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, managing director of Garage
Technology Ventures, explains, schools “should teach students how to communicate in
five-sentence emails and with 10-slide PowerPoint presentations. If they just taught
every student that, American business would be much better off. . . . No one wants to
read ‘War and Peace’ emails. Who has the time? Ditto with 60 PowerPoint slides for a
one-hour meeting” (Kawasaki, 2010).
FIGURE 2.25 provides examples of how you can edit wordy phrases to be more clear
and concise.
You can also make writing more concise by eliminating obvious fillers and any
information that is not necessary or helpful to achieve your purpose. When you include
extra words and unnecessary information, you waste your time as well as the audience’s
Conciseness Using no more words than necessary for time. Consider the examples in FIGURE 2.26.
a message to accomplish its purpose. Concise wording also eliminates redundancies. Consider the examples in FIG-
Redundancy Unnecessary repetition of an idea. URE 2.27 (redundant phrases appear in red in the left column).

FIGURE 2.26 Eliminating Unnecessary WORDY CONCISE

Words
• As you know, we met yesterday to discuss • Based on the auditor’s review of our bud-
next year’s budget. Based on the audi- get, we recommended the following
tor’s review, we recommended the fol- actions.
lowing actions.
• As your assistant manager, I am suggest- • I suggest we review our departmental
ing that we review our departmental procedures.
procedures.
• There are three people who will attend • Three people will attend the meeting.
the meeting.

REDUNDANT CONCISE

• Please refer back to the minutes from our • Please refer to the minutes from our last
last department meeting. department meeting.
• Advance planning on your project will • Advanced project planning will allow our
allow our departments to combine departments to combine resources and
together our resources and divide up the divide the work.
work to be done.
• The first issue we need to address is • First, we need to address travel reim-
travel reimbursement. Travel reimburse- bursement because nearly 70% of our
ment is an important issue to address employees have expense accounts.
because nearly 70% of our employees
have expense accounts.
FIGURE 2.27 Avoiding Redundancies

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 49 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.3 How does evaluating improve your communication?     49

Edit for style and tone: Project a professional image

Effective business communicators evaluate their documents to ensure a professional
style and tone. Style refers to how you express yourself rather than what you say. Do
you use positive or negative language, big words or small words, long sentences or short
sentences, strong active verbs or weak passive voice?
The style you choose will affect the tone of your communication. Tone is the image
your language projects about you based on how the message sounds to the audience.
Tone in writing is similar to your tone of voice when you speak. Your tone can be
friendly or angry, positive or negative, formal or casual, professional or unprofessional,
courteous or rude.
Many beginning business writers have trouble identifying tone in the passages they
read and in establishing appropriate tone in their own work. This makes editing for tone
quite challenging. As a rule, in all business messages keep your tone professional and
courteous at all times. This is especially important when you are frustrated and angry.
For example, when replying to an angry customer about a problem with a recent pur-
chase, ensure that the tone of your message is polite and reassuring, even if this particu-
lar customer often complains or does not understand how to use the product correctly.
If you choose to respond in an irritated or angry tone, that customer can, in this age of
email, social media, text and instant messaging, choose to damage your reputation and
your company’s reputation. To ensure a professional style and tone, follow the guide-
lines below:
• Use positive wording
• Establish a conversational style
• Maintain the active voice as much as possible
• Avoid slang and clichés

Use positive wording

Effective business writers choose positive wording to communicate their messages, even
in negative situations. Positive wording creates an optimistic, encouraging, and often
more informative message. For example, consider the sentences in FIGURE 2.28. The
sentences on the left are expressed as negative ideas. Note how, in each example, subtle
changes in wording focus on the positive expression of the same ideas.

Use a conversational style

Business writing also should be conversational rather than academic. Academic writing
often sounds too formal for everyday communication. A conversational writing style
uses relatively short sentences and familiar words. When read aloud, the text should
sound like the writer is talking with the audience. This style is especially important in
social media messages where the goal is to create interaction and build a positive image
for your corporate brand. Because they are so short, tweets are naturally conversational.
To make blog posts conversational, experts suggest being personal in your writing, ask-
ing questions to promote a sense of dialogue, splitting up paragraphs for better flow, and
proofreading out loud to hear how the words sound (Peters, 2012). To test the power of
reading out loud, see the examples in FIGURE 2.29. Read the sentences on the left aloud.
It is unlikely that you would speak this way in conversation with someone. The sen-
tences on the right convey the same meaning but with a better conversational style. Style How you express yourself.

NEGATIVE POSITIVE

• We will not be able to approve a new • We will be able to approve a new budget
budget until the analysis is complete. when the analysis is complete.
• The board has not yet voted on the • The board will vote on the salary
salary increases. increases at the next meeting.
• If you do not sign the form before 5 p.m., • If you sign the form before 5 p.m., we will
we will not be able to fund your travel be able to fund your travel request.
request.
FIGURE 2.28 Using Positive Wording

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 50 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

50    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

FIGURE 2.29 Using Conversational TOO FORMAL CONVERSATIONAL

Style
• Henceforth all documentation is to be • Please complete all forms within two
completed within two business days. business days.
• As per your instructions, I have initiated • I opened discussions with the employees
discussions with the previously identified you mentioned last week.
employees.
• This new policy will facilitate the imple- • This new policy will let us schedule
mentation of more beneficial scheduling ­shipments more efficiently.
decisions.

Use active voice

Voice refers to the relationship between the subject and verb in a sentence. In active
voice sentences, the subject performs the action of the verb:
subject verb

∂
ACTIVE VOICE: The employees completed the project early.
In business writing and speaking, choose active voice for a clear and precise style of
writing. Not only does the active voice enliven your writing, it allows you to give credit
to individuals or groups who have achieved positive outcomes. See the examples below:
• Sandrine designed and implemented our department’s winning strategy.
• The Eastern sales team set a new record for revenues last quarter.
In passive voice sentences, the subject does not act. Instead, the subject receives
the action expressed by the verb:
subject verb phrase

∂
∂

PASSIVE VOICE: The project was completed early.

Passive voice may be a better choice in a few special circumstances:
• To avoid assigning blame. To maintain a positive tone in your writing, avoid the
appearance of assigning blame by using the passive voice:
• Camilla misfiled the contract. (active voice, sounds like blame)
• The contract was misfiled. (passive voice, sounds like a statement of fact)
• To emphasize the most important word. Use passive voice to highlight the most
important word in a sentence. In the example below, the meeting scheduler’s name
is not as important as the meeting itself:
• Roger scheduled the meeting for Friday at 2 p.m. (active voice)
• The meeting is scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m. (passive voice)
The passive voice presents information diplomatically, and this can be appropriate
in some circumstances. However, inexperienced business writers tend to overuse the
passive voice in an effort to “sound businesslike.” When possible, use the active voice to
express your ideas more directly. One way to achieve this is to write your first drafts
entirely in the active voice and then to reread and identify any areas where you need to
be more cautious in your expression. Then you can rewrite only the ideas that require
diplomacy in the passive voice. FIGURE 2.30 provides an example of this technique.
Active voice A sentence structure in which the sub- Active voice passages are shown in red, and passive voice is shown in green.
ject performs the action of the verb.
Passive voice A sentence structure in which the sub-
ject is passive and receives the action expressed by
Eliminate slang and clichés
the verb. To communicate effectively in business, you need to use words that your audience will
Slang Nonstandard, informal language that may understand. Slang is nonstandard, informal language that may work well within a cer-
communicate well within a certain group but often tain group but often excludes people from different countries, cultures, and social groups.
excludes people from different countries, cultures,
and social groups. This type of casual and colourful
Examples of slang include cool, my bad, off the chain, plugged in, and go missing. As you
language tends to confuse others when translated. edit, eliminate all slang and clichés.
Clichés Commonplace and often overused phrases Clichés are commonplace and often overused phrases that have lost their force and
that have lost their force and meaning. meaning. Like slang, clichés are also very specific to cultures and languages, and they

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 51 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.3 How does evaluating improve your communication?     51

Second Draft: Revised

FIGURE 2.30 Using Active and Passive
First Draft: All Active Voice Voice
(Blend of Active and Passive)

I am writing to apologize for the delay in Please accept the delay in presenting this
presenting our report. John couldn’t get the report. Technical issues prevented our origi-
printer to work and, when it did work, the nal report from rendering properly. We are
printer did not render Kumar’s charts prop- confident that this version is the clearest
erly. So, Mona had to redo all the charts to possible expression of our research. Thank
that you could understand the data. We you for your patience.
want to ensure that you have the clearest
possible understanding of our research.

Cliché Meaning
FIGURE 2.31 Eliminating Clichés

Her proposal is all over the map. Her proposal is disorganized.

The bottom fell out of that investment. The investment lost money.
Hiring him was a bad call. Hiring him was a bad decision.

may exclude international audiences. Would a businessperson who learned English in

India or China understand the clichés in FIGURE 2.31?
If you speak to your classmates about their perceptions of “style” and “tone,” you may
soon discover that many people have a slightly different opinion on what is formal or
informal, or professional or unprofessional. What you may be experiencing is a variation
based on “culture.” Your experience in future workplaces, either in Canada or abroad, will
be similar. You will be around people with different cultural perceptions than your own
and, often, you will need to adopt communications habits that are based on cultures dis-
similar to your own. For an introduction to this idea, see the Culture box.

CULTURE

Skylar is excited and a bit nervous as she starts her first may be more appropriate and culturally sound. “As a leader,
week as an intern at the swanky uptown marketing firm you need to recognize the culture of the people you’re work-
Couture Ads. She arrives early on Tuesday morning and ing with” (McCarthy, 2009). In our diverse global network,
receives a voice mail message from the managing partner considering the culture of both the profession as well as the
instructing her to receive their newest client, Simon Wu, person is an important skill to have in business
who is arriving from Hong Kong today at noon. Skylar needs communications:
to arrange for a limo to pick Mr. Wu up from the airport
Culture is socially constructed. It is a set of implicit and
upon his arrival. Skylar is anxious to impress her employer
explicit social expectations, values, and norms, shared
and hopes to be offered employment after her internship.
between members of the same group. The characteris-
She asks the interns’ assistant to announce the client when
tics of a culture include, but are not limited to: music,
he or she arrives. Skylar then begins to arrange a meeting
religion, traditions, etiquette, moral values, rules, gender
back at the office for the marketing team to brief the client
roles, language, art, and history. Although cultural ex-
on his important project.
pectations, values and norms remain clearly identifiable,
All Skylar’s preparations are complete by 11:30 a.m., and
they evolve to varying degrees over time. Culture often
she departs for the airport. However, Mr. Wu seems confused
connects to a strong value system, and governs how peo-
by being whisked back to the office and being placed immedi-
ple relate, trust and exchange ideas. Therefore, because
ately into a meeting. While he is too gracious to state that
culture is a strong component of each individual’s and
anything is wrong, Skylar senses that something is amiss.
group’s identity, it is an extremely important consider-
Things to Note: In some business organizations, it is
ation in business communications. (Satov, 2013)
common practice (the business “culture”) to greet clients at
the airport. Expectations about working upon arrival may be
For CULTURE exercises, go to Critical Thinking Question 7 on page xx
the practice in Canada, but in other cultures a more infor- and Exercise 16 on page xx.
mal welcome, like a lunch with partners or team managers,

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 52 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

52    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

Proofread to increase your credibility

Proofreading is a critical step in the evaluation process. When you have analyzed,
researched, and composed your written work, much remains to be done. If your work is
full of misplaced pieces, your audience will focus more on those mistakes than on your
intended message. Furthermore, your audience may assume that you lack attention to
detail. Your communication efforts should enhance your reputation with your audience,
but presenting work with errors will achieve the opposite effect.
Proofreading is like solving a puzzle. You need to find the errors that exist, rear-
range or revise them, and put them in their proper place. To fully understand the
importance of this, assume that your audience will find any misplaced puzzle pieces
faster and more accurately than you will. When this happens, your credibility with
your audience decreases. Here are some techniques that will help you present error-free
work to your business audience. Check out FIGURE 2.32 for a summary of the kinds of
errors you will need to watch for.

Learn to recognize the five most common errors

Most writing errors fall into one of five categories: content errors, typographical and
spelling errors, usage errors, grammatical errors, and format errors.
• Content errors are mistakes in the substance of a message. Content errors include
incorrect or missing information. Pay special attention to
Proofreading A systematic process of reviewing writ-
• dates and days of the week,
ing for errors. • locations and times stated,

S
Typo pelling &
grap
hical
Erro
rs

rrors Tran Misspell

ent E spos ings
Cont Dupli ed Lette
cate rs
or • Do Word
rect
Incor g Info • Ch
not r
ely o s
ec n
Missin • Ge k all det spell che
ails t a Se ail ck
ll det Opinion! cond s yourse
eck a Opin lf
• Ch a Second ion!
t
• Ge

Gram
matic
Sent al Er
Usag ence rors
e Err Incor Struc
Wron ors rect ture
g Wo Defin Su Pr
Adve rd Se ite vs bject/Ve oblems
r . Inde rb
Misu bs vs. Ad lection • Do fi nite A
nder
stoo jectives not u
se su rticle
s
d Me gges
• Ge aning tions
taS s • Ge gram from
econ t a Se m
d Op
inion cond ar check
! Opin
ion!

rors
at Er
Form
esign
nt D ts
n siste n
In c o d o ts
F
atche lle
Mism arallel Bu
Non
p paste
t c u t and urces
no so
• Do from tencies
c o n sis
for in
mine
FIGURE 2.32 Identifying Five Common • Exa
Error Types

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 53 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.3 How does evaluating improve your communication?     53

• lists of details,
• numerical data (look for misplaced decimals and commas),
• the spelling of names (both of people and organizations), and
• the accuracy of titles (e.g., president or CEO or both?).
You may be too familiar with the material to determine if content is missing. Get a
second opinion! Ask a colleague to help you proofread and ask for specific feedback
about information you should include.
• Spelling errors result from a lack of knowledge about how to spell a word. Typographi-
cal errors are mistakes made in typing. Typing too quickly often results in misspellings,
transposed letters, and duplications. Spell checkers within word processing programs
may help you proofread for spelling and typographical errors, but they will not find all
your mistakes. For example, if you type the word “saw” instead of “was,” the spell
checker will not identify the word as incorrectly spelled. To catch these errors, look up
the spelling of all words that you are not confident you have spelled correctly. Pay spe-
cial attention to any information expressed in numbers, including addresses and phone
numbers. Spell check will not be able to identify if numbers are incorrect.
• Usage errors are errors in the way language is used. For example, if you use the word
“imply” when you mean “infer” or use the word “economical” when you mean “eco-
nomic,” you have committed a usage error. It is difficult to catch these errors when
you proofread on your own because you chose the wrong words originally. Get a
second opinion! Ask colleagues to help you proofread since they may be able to
identify these types of errors.
• Grammatical errors are violations of grammar rules. These errors include sentence frag-
ments, run-on sentences, shifts in tense, incorrect pronouns, and incorrect subject–verb
agreement, to name but a few. Grammar checkers can help you identify some problems,
but the automated tools will miss many critical errors. Furthermore, grammar checkers
are known to offer weak corrections as alternatives. When errors are not properly cor-
rected, they will reflect poorly on you. You need to identify and correct grammatical
errors on your own and validate all suggestions offered by the automated tools.
• Format errors are inconsistencies in design techniques within a document, such as
including both indented and block-style paragraphs, bullets that do not align correctly,
and differences in font sizes or styles. These errors often occur when you cut and paste
text from other sources such as documents or webpages. Correctly using word process-
ing formatting techniques improves the professional design of your documents.

Check systematically for errors

To check systematically for all of these types of errors, follow these guidelines:
• Read your work multiple times. The errors listed in the previous section are different
from each other and difficult to catch in one reading. If you proofread just once for
all errors, you most likely will not find them all. Instead, focus on one type of error
in each proofreading scan. You will be more successful in finding your mistakes.
• Identify your own common errors. Over time, you will come to recognize a pattern
of common errors you make. Make a list of these errors and look for them in your
drafts. For example, if you often misuse commas, proofread your draft once only for
commas. If you also notice that you often use the word “there” instead of “their,” Your
proofread a second time just for those words. See FIGURE 2.33. Most Common Errors?
• Read your work later. If possible, put some time between your composing and evalu-
ating stages. Too often, writers quickly compose a first draft and immediately try to
proofread their work. Taking even a five-minute activity break can clear your
thoughts and let you proofread with a fresh perspective. What are they?
• Read your draft out loud. Generally, people speak more slowly than they read. Read- How can you find them?
How can you fix them?
ing your draft aloud slows your reading pace and helps you focus on the text and
find more errors. Also, when you hear what you have written, you are more likely
to identify a missing word or notice awkward phrasing and punctuation.
• Read from the bottom up. Some writers find it helpful to read from the bottom up. FIGURE 2.33 What Are Your Most
They start with the last sentence and read up the page sentence by sentence. This Common Errors?

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 54 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

54    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

FIGURE 2.34 Examples of Reading INAPPROPRIATE APPROPRIATE

Levels
Grade Level 12.3: Grade Level 5.2:
Henceforth, all documentation is to be Please complete all forms within two
­completed within two business days. ­business days.

Grade Level 14.8: Grade Level 16.6:

As per your instructions, I have initiated I began talking with the employees you
­discussions with the previously identified mentioned last week.
employees.

Grade Level 6.0: Grade Level 8.3:

This new policy will facilitate the This new policy will let us schedule
­implementation of more beneficial ­shipments more efficiently.
­scheduling decisions.

backward approach slows your reading pace and lets you examine the information
out of context to help you find typos and missing words.
• Change it up. Another effective technique for nonformatting mistakes is to tempo-
rarily change the font style and size before proofreading. This tricks your brain into
thinking it is reading an entirely new document not written by you. Once you have
found and corrected errors, you can revert to the original font size and type and
examine for formatting problems.
• Get a Second Opinion. For a more objective perspective, ask a colleague to proofread
your draft. Even the most experienced writers miss some of their own writing errors.
Because you wrote the content and you know exactly what you meant when you
composed the draft, your brain will fill in missing words or information as if it is
actually there. An objective reader can often find errors that you have overlooked.

Take advantage of technology tools

Many word processors contain additional tools to help you evaluate, revise, and edit.
For example, Microsoft Word includes a readability tool that assesses your writing
based on sentence length and average word length. The analysis then assigns your
writing a grade-level rating. Business writing should be short and simple, therefore
most messages should be written at the Grade 8 level or less. The grade-level rating
will increase when your style includes long sentences and polysyllabic words. See
FIGURE 2.34 for examples.
A thesaurus is a reference tool that provides synonyms and antonyms. Synonyms
are words that have the same or similar meaning, such as “quickly” and “rapidly.”
­Antonyms are words that are opposites, such as “clear” and “confusing.” When you
have trouble looking for the right word to express the meaning of your message, your
word processing software’s thesaurus can identify options. However, choose carefully
among the words that you see in the thesaurus, and look up unfamiliar words in the
dictionary before using them. Even when a thesaurus lists two words as synonyms,
they may not have the exact same meaning. For example, a thesaurus could list the
word “privilege” as a synonym for “benefit” (Princeton Language Institute, n.d.). How-
ever, if you were writing about “employee benefits,” you could not simply swap the
word “privileges” for “benefits.” “Employee benefits” has a different meaning than
“employee privileges.”

Review feedback to improve your

communication strategy
Polysyllabic Having more than one syllable.
Thesaurus A reference tool that offers alternative As discussed in Chapter 1, business communication is a two-way transaction. In its
words, specifically synonyms and antonyms. simplest form, you send a message and, whether you ask for it or not, you often get
Synonyms Words that have the same or similar feedback that indicates how effectively you have communicated. This feedback may
meaning. take the form of a smile, a puzzled look, a phone call asking for clarification, or compli-
Antonyms Words that have opposite meaning. ance with your request. Even a lack of response is a type of feedback.

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 55 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2.3 How does evaluating improve your communication?     55

You may receive more subtle feedback. Pay special attention to these cues. For
example, if you receive no response to an email message, does that mean the audience
did not believe a response was important? Did the subject line fail to capture the audi-
ence’s attention? If you write a set of directions and your audience gets lost, does that
mean they are poor readers, or that you included ambiguous information, or that you
missed a step? What you learn from this feedback will help you make better decisions
the next time you communicate.
To take full advantage of feedback, ask for it early in the communication process
and use it to evaluate and revise your communication strategy. For example, when you
share your summer-hours proposal with your supervisor, she may suggest that you reor-
ganize your content, include additional possible disadvantages, or develop an assess-
ment plan as part of the proposal. This feedback will require you to spend more time
analyzing, composing, and evaluating, which may be disappointing if you thought the
writing process was complete. However, it will lead to a more successful proposal. Ulti-
mately, professional communicators develop the ability to seek out and take in feedback
as part of their skills development and growth.

In summary, the ACE process will help you communicate more effectively by
ensuring that you analyze, compose, and evaluate in a systematic way. In the following
chapters, you will have an opportunity to apply this process to a range of business com-
munications, from short, routine messages through complex reports and presentations.
Short email messages may take only a few minutes to analyze, compose, and evaluate,
while more complex communications will require more time. However, as you become
a more experienced communicator, you will increasingly be able to go through each step
of the process more quickly and effectively, regardless of the length or purpose of your
communication. If you follow the process well, your messages will more likely achieve
your purpose and project a professional image. FIGURE 2.35 offers a summary of how
ACE was used in this chapter to create the request for summer hours.

FIGURE 2.35 Request for Summer

Purpose: Supervisor approval Hours: Using ACE
Desired Outcome: Active support
and advocacy from supervisor
Primary Audience: Cherilyn
Martins (supervisor)
Secondary Audience:
Vice-president of operations
Audience Benefits: Improved
employee morale and productivity
Content: Supported by
appropriate, validated research
Media: Email, then face-to-face
meeting, followed by detailed report

Ana
lyz
e
Evaluate

Using A-C-E
to Request
Revising: Wording adjusted for Summer Hours
clarity; new research added for Organization: Outline created
completeness (direct) for report
Editing: Sections rewritten to add Drafting Report: Using point
active voice and more positive
s form first, based on outline;
e

wording
mpo then expanded into full
Co
Proofreading: Peer reviewed for sentences and paragraphs
errors and improvements; feedback Format: Headings and
incorporated using ACE cycle subheadings, based on outline

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 56 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

56    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

Farzana Mawani
Marketing and Communications
@ WORK
Manager
Altima Healthcare Canada Using ACE to craft my message!
Inc.
be appealing to the general public as well as to
­healthcare professionals. The average person looking
Photo courtesy of Farzana Mawani and JPB Photography.

for health and dental information will not relate to a

O technical document filled with medical terminology

FP
and complex charts. My understanding of my audience
tells me that the wording must be clear for the average
reader, the tone must be as positive as possible, and
the overall message must be organized in a logical,
compelling way.
• Evaluate. I spend quite a bit of time in the evaluation
process. All wording, data, and formatting must be error-
free prior to publishing. A best practice is to have more
than one person review and edit the final document to
ensure any text or layout errors are caught and corrected.
Even the most experienced writers can miss small errors
in their work. As for design, I double check to ensure each
At the opening of this chapter, Farzana Mawani described the one-pager is graphically intuitive and aesthetically com-
critical need to define both the purpose and the audience for pelling. Visual components, including photos, objects,
each marketing message her company issues. Let’s see how text layout, colours, typeface, logos, icons, and other ele-
she uses ACE to help her! ments, are carefully evaluated for best placement, size,
The key to getting communication right is to ensure you are formatting, and flow.
proceeding through the ACE process (analyze – compose – Ultimately, measuring audience response is the pri-
evaluate) with care. mary way to determine the success or failure of your mes-
sage. If my audience has acted upon the message the way I
• Analyze. To produce the one-page documents I men-
intended, then I know my communication efforts have been
tioned at the outset, I need to make sure I fully under-
successful. If not, then it’s time to reevaluate each step along
stand my audience and their needs. Then, I need to
the process and adjust as required for better results next
research to find recent data in health or medical journals,
time. Every setback is an opportunity and a challenge to
the latest publications by experts in the field, or current
improve and refine the process. The most fulfilling moment
industry best practices.
is when all of the pieces of the puzzle come together, and
• Compose. The one-pagers need to be concise, accu- everyone can see the picture.
rate, eye-catching, and persuasive. They also need to

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 57 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

2
End of Chapter

chap t er
Learning Outcomes in Review
LO 2.1 Why should you spend time analyzing? • Design a professional format and delivery. This
requires that you consider formatting emails, letters,
(pages xx–xx)
voice mail messages, and social media postings in a pro-
• Clarify your purpose and desired outcome. Be able to fessional manner. When appropriate, use topic-specific
state both your purpose and your desired outcome before headings to signal the structure of the document.
you continue. Consider how you will maintain goodwill and
determine whether your message will need to be persuasive.
• Meet your audience’s needs. Think about what the LO 2.3 How does evaluating improve your
audience needs to know. How will the recipients benefit communication? (pages xx–xx)
from your message? What objections might they raise? When you evaluate, you assess whether your communica-
Imagine receiving your message from the audience’s tion will be effective and then make changes to improve it.
point of view. Consider both the primary audience and You can evaluate in four ways:
secondary audiences.
• Ensure your message is complete. This step helps you • Revising the content improves effectiveness. Revising
determine whether you have enough information or need ensures your communication has the right information
to conduct additional primary or secondary research. and approach to meet its goals. As you revise, look to see
• Choose the most effective medium for delivery. Under- that your document is complete, clear, and concise.
standing your purpose and your audience will help you • Editing style and tone helps you project a professional
determine which medium (email, letter, face to face, image. Use positive wording, a conversational style, and
social media) will ensure that your message reaches your active voice. Eliminate slang, clichés, and unnecessary
audience effectively. passive voice.
• Proofreading increases your credibility. To improve
your proofreading skills, familiarize yourself with the
LO 2.2 What is involved in composing? (pages xx–xx) different kinds of errors: content, spelling and typo-
• Manage your time strategically. Allow time for each graphical, usage, grammatical, and format. Systemati-
stage of the composition. Avoid multitasking. cally check for these errors, and take advantage of
• Organize the message. This requires that you determine technology tools.
the overall structure of the communication. Long docu- • Reviewing feedback helps you improve your commu-
ments may benefit from using a multilevel outline. Short nication strategy. You can ask for feedback that helps
documents can start with a more informal outline. you revise a document, and pay attention to feedback you
Decide where to state the main point. Messages can be get in response to your finished communication. Using
organized either directly (main idea first) or indirectly social media allows you to get continuous feedback both
(supporting details before main idea). on your communication strategy and on your organiza-
• Draft the content. This is a creative process. Save revis- tion’s brands and business.
ing (a logical process) for later. Use strategies like free
writing to avoid writer’s block.

KEY TERMS
abstract wording p. xx concrete wording p. xx parallel structure p. xx slang p. xx
active voice p. xx content p. xx passive voice p. xx style p. xx
analyzing p. xx direct organization p. xx persuasion p. xx subject line p. xx
antonyms p. xx drafting p. xx polysyllabic p. xx synchronous p. xx
asynchronous p. xx evaluating p. xx primary audience p. xx synonyms p. xx
audience p. xx external audiences p. xx primary research p. xx thesaurus p. xx
audience benefits p. xx goodwill p. xx proofreading p. xx tone p. xx
bullet point list p. xx indirect organization p. xx purpose p. xx topic sentence p. xx
clarity p. xx internal audiences p. xx redundancy p. xx topic-specific headings p. xx
clichés p. xx letters p. xx revising p. xx writer’s block p. xx
composing p. xx medium p. xx secondary audience p. xx
conciseness p. xx outcome p. xx secondary research p. xx

  57

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 58 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

58    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

2

CASE STUDY
chapter

Using ACE to Improve Communication Results

This case study will help you review the chapter material by revise the communication, which questions and objections would
applying it to a specific business situation. you answer directly? How?

Suppose your employer asks you to inform everyone in the customer Which Medium Is Best?
relations department about an upcoming workshop on communica- You realize now that a flyer was not the most effective way to com-
tion skills. You quickly create the flyer below and post copies on the municate about the workshop because some people simply walk
breakroom bulletin board and in the cafeteria. You send a copy in a past flyers without reading them. Furthermore, many people do not
document as a file attachment to all employees by email. open email attachments without a compelling reason to do so.
Although your department includes 60 people, only four people
Question 2: What are the advantages and disadvantages of the follow-
attend. How could using ACE help improve the communication results?
ing other options: sending an email with an attachment to each
Communication Skills employee, making an announcement in a department meeting, send-
ing a tweet to an employee list, calling each employee, posting a notice
Workshop to the internal community Facebook page, sending an email with the
Wednesday, November 2 @ 2:30 p.m. information in the message rather than as an attachment. Would a com-
Training Room A bination of these options be optimal? If so, which combination?

What Is the Desired Outcome? How Can I Structure My Content?

You realize your audience may respond best to more than one expo-
Although your supervisor may have simply instructed you to tell
sure to the message in more than one medium. You decide to send
the employees about the workshop, a desired outcome was implied.
an email with the information in the message, make an announce-
Your supervisor wants most employees to attend. Merely informing
ment at a department meeting, and post a note (based on the email)
employees that the workshop exists will not make them attend. You
to the internal community Facebook page. Now you have the chal-
need to persuade them.
lenge of structuring the content. The next page shows a draft of the
What Content Does the Audience Need? proposed email message.
What will the audience need to hear to make them want to attend? Question 3: Review how the ACE process led to this improved mes-
To answer this question, you need to analyze the audience and sage by answering the following questions.
anticipate their questions and objections.
All 60 employees from customer rela- email
tions are busy. They also believe they are
already good communicators. They are, after
all, in customer relations. They will attend a Customer Relations Distribution
workshop only if they are required to do so, if
they believe they will benefit, or if they
believe it will be fun. Here are some ques- Communication Workshop – November 2
tions that will be on their minds when they
hear about the workshop and some possible
objections they may have to attending. To All Customer Relations Employees:

Possible Questions the Audience Please mark your calendars for 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday , November 2, and plan to attend a
two-hour workshop on Effective Communication Skills, facilitated by Fiona Barnes of MSA
May Have:
Consulting. The workshop will be held in Training Room A.
• Is this workshop required?
• How long will the workshop last? Those of you who attended Fiona’s session on CyberEthics know how engaging her
presentations are. Wednesday’s session will cover the basics of the communication process. It will
• How will I benefit from attending? also offer effective communication strategies that you can use on the telephone, in writing,
• Will my manager be upset if I don’t and in meetings.
attend?
Because communication is so important in our work every day, management is expecting
Possible Objections the Audience everyone in the department to attend. Employees from other departments are welcome, too.
Please respond before 5 p.m. on November 1 by replying to this email.
May Have:
• I have too much work to do. Thanks,
• I don’t need to attend. I studied com- Dale Levitz, Office Manager
munication in school. ABC Communication
• A workshop won’t help me get promoted. [email protected]
(416) 555-4525

Question 1: What other questions and objec-

tions can you anticipate? If you were going to Accompanies Question 3

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 59 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

Critical Thinking     59

2
chapter
Analyzing: Evaluating:
1. What information in the revised version addresses the need for 7. In evaluating content, are there additional persuasive points
persuasion? you could add?
2. How does the email message emphasize reader benefits? 8. Does this email message use clear and concise wording as well
3. What content appears in the email that was not included in the as professional tone and style?
original flyer? Why is that content useful? 9. Which elements promote a conversational style?
10. When proofreading this email, which content elements would
Composing: you proofread for accuracy?
4. Is the information in the email organized effectively? Explain. 11. Is the message designed well? Explain.
5. What determines which information goes in which 12. Would you keep the current subject line or would you revise
paragraph? it? Explain.
6. Is this email organized as a direct or indirect message? Why? Is
this the correct choice? Why?

Review Questions
1. Why is analyzing your purpose important to composing an 4. Why is it important to consider your audience when deciding
effective message? Is the purpose always the same as the the medium for delivery?
desired outcome?
5. What is the difference between direct and indirect message
2. Explain the difference between the primary audience and the organization? When would you use each?
secondary audience, and provide an example of a message that
6. Explain how reviewing feedback helps you improve your com-
would have audience benefits for both.
munication strategy.
3. What is the difference between primary research and second-
ary research? Describe a business communication situation in
which you would want to research both sources of information
to support your message.

Critical Thinking
1. Think about the last written assignment you completed. What 6. (Work with a partner or in a small group.) Take a look at the
percentage of your overall time did you spend on each element business scenarios given here. For each one:
of the ACE process (analyzing, composing, and evaluating)?
a. Decide with your partner or group whether or not this situ-
Will you change your approach in the future? Explain why or
ation is ethically challenging.
why not.
b. If yes, see if your group can define, in writing, why or how
2. Analyzing your audience helps you compose effective mes- the situation poses an ethical challenge.
sages. However, sometimes you may need to communicate c. Finally, write down the most appropriate response or behav-
with people you do not know. How do you learn about and iour that you would recommend in the situation.
analyze an unfamiliar audience?
• I am considering giving a small gift to a potential client
3. Assume you work for a supervisor who generally prefers to of our company.
receive email messages rather than have face-to-face meetings. • When I called to ask for the manager or project lead, I
Identify at least two circumstances in which you believe it asked if “he” was available.
would be better to request a meeting to discuss an issue rather • Last night I showed the meeting agenda for today’s strat-
than send an email. Explain your rationale. egy session to my friend who also works in this industry.
• I was told I could pick anyone I wanted for this project,
4. Retrieve a recent email message that you wrote to someone
so I picked my favourite people.
other than your family and friends. Do you believe that the
• Our company created a service that can’t be used by peo-
email portrays a professional image? If so, what elements of
ple with a visual impairment.
the email create that image? If not, what elements undermine
• Our new website launched last night in English only.
that image?
7. “Convince Me” Tic-Tac-Toe! A game to play with a partner. On
5. Read three recent pieces of your writing (either emails or
a blank piece of paper, create the following Tic-Tac-Toe grid:
assignments). Begin to create your custom list of common
errors. To help you develop your list, ask a friend to help you Greeting Networking Texting
assess your messages, or seek assistance from your school’s
writing centre. How can you ensure you do not continue to Informal conversation Colour Choices Emails
make these errors in the future? Use of words Body language Phone Etiquette

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 60 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

60    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

2
chap t er

a. One player chooses to be “X” and the other chooses “O.” ture have an impact on the colours people chose for
b. Take turns with your partner. designing documents or messages? If so, how? Give an
c. You are allowed to place your mark over a square once you example.
have convinced your opponent, with an example, that “cul- d. The first person to get three Xs or Os in a row (horizontal,
ture” affects the concept in the box. For example, does cul- vertical, or diagonal) wins!

Developing Your Communication Skills

LO 2.1 Why should you spend time analyzing? (pages x–x) a. Your employer leaves a message on your voice mail asking you
to work overtime this weekend, but you plan to attend your
EXERCISE 1 Improved Communication: Knowing the purpose cousin’s out-of-town wedding. What medium would you use to
and the audience explain why you cannot work overtime?
You are part of a five-person team at work. The team’s goal is to b. You are developing a new procedure manual for the sales as-
redesign the way in which customers apply for refunds. The team sociates in your department and need input on several issues
meets twice per week, on Mondays and Thursdays. The Monday from your department manager and training staff. What me-
meeting occurs online using appropriate meeting software, and the dium would you use to gather the input you need?
Thursday meeting is face to face. Typically, four out of five people c. You ordered 14 boxes of 8 1/2” × 11” copy paper from a local of-
show up for each meeting. In the four weeks you have been working fice supply store, but you received 11 boxes of 8 1/2” × 14” legal
together, you have not yet had 100% attendance, and this has ham- paper. You call and speak with Karamjeet, an associate manager
pered the team’s progress. Your supervisor has asked you to reassess of the store. Within an hour of your call, he personally delivers
how your team communicates and to find a solution that will result the 14 boxes of standard copy paper to your office, carries the
in 100% attendance at each meeting. What do you need to know boxes into your supply room, and retrieves the boxes of legal
about your audience (i.e., the team) to proceed? Make a list of ques- paper. You are so impressed with Karamjeet’s personal attention
tions that you would need to have answered before you can propose and quick service that you want to inform his supervisor. How
a viable solution. do you contact Karamjeet’s supervisor to praise his efforts?
EXERCISE 2 Do you have everything you need for
a complete message? LO 2.2 What is involved in composing? (pages x–x)
Your supervisor asks you to give a brief presentation at your com- EXERCISE 4 Using your time effectively
pany’s annual sales meeting that analyzes sales trends for each of
the company’s three regions over four years. You collect the data Assume you are interning part time for a marketing company this
about gross sales and then create the following exhibit: semester while taking classes. Your supervisor’s project team is
working on an ad campaign for a new client that produces nutri-
tional yogourt drinks. In preparation for the team’s initial brain-
storming session next week, you have been asked to gather
100
90 preliminary information about the client’s leading competitors.
80 You have researched the three companies that currently dominate
70 the market and have gathered sample TV ads, website screen-
60
Million $ 50 shots, and print media sources. You need to create a five-page
40 North America report that summarizes your research. The report is due in seven
30 South America
days. How much time do you estimate you will need to compose
20 Europe
10 and evaluate this report? How would you spread that work over
0 the seven days, considering that you also have school assignments
2013 2014 2015 2016 and other commitments to manage? Create a timeline similar to
Years
that shown in Figure 2.9 to plan how you could use your time.
Accompanies Exercise 2
EXERCISE 5 Getting Organized!
Compare the following email messages. Email A is organized
As you look at the graph, you realize it will raise questions dur- directly, and Email B is organized indirectly. Note that the only dif-
ing the presentation and that you should prepare answers. What ference between these two messages is the placement of the main
questions and observations about sales do you think your graph idea: “My analysis determined that Adaptive Solutions’ website is
will raise? What additional research would you do to answer those more effective based on its ease of use, comprehensive content, and
questions? general appearance.”
EXERCISE 3 Finding the most effective medium of delivery a. Under what circumstances would Nichole choose to write a
[Related to the Technology feature on page xxx] direct message to Susan? Explain at least two circumstances.
For each of the following scenarios, identify which medium would b. Under what circumstances would Nichole write this same
be the best choice to communicate your message. Select your choice message indirectly? Explain at least two circumstances.
from the list of medium options in Figure 2.8 on page xx or other c. How would you revise each message to emphasize audience
options you deem appropriate. Explain your reasoning. benefits?

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 61 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

Developing Your Communication Skills     61

2
chap t er
EMAIL A - DIRECT EMAIL B - INDIRECT

[email protected] [email protected]

Competitors' Website Comparison Competitors' Website Comparison

Susan: Susan:

As you requested, I compared the websites of our two main As you requested, I compared the websites of our two main
competitors: Creative Communications (CC) and Adaptive competitors: Creative Communications (CC) and Adaptive
Solutions (AS). My analysis determined that Adaptive Solutions’ Solutions (AS).
website is more effective based on its ease of use,
comprehensive content, and general appearance. The AS website uses a consistent navigation format throughout
its site. The CC menus differ on several pages, which make
The AS website uses a consistent navigation format throughout. finding specific information very difficult. Additionally, the AS
By contrast, the CC menus differ on several pages, which make website describes workshop topics, provides sample PowerPoint
finding specific information very difficult. Additionally, the AS demonstrations, and links their handout examples. The CC
website describes workshop topics, provides sample PowerPoint site lists their workshop topics with a brief description of each,
demonstrations, and links their handout examples. The CC but does not provide additional materials. Finally, the overall
site lists their workshop topics with a brief description of each, appearance of the AS website is more professional. The content
but does not provide additional materials. Finally, the overall is well organized and the text is easy to read. I found it difficult to
appearance of the AS website is more professional. The content find information on the CC site and had a hard time reading the
is well organized and the text is easy to read. I found it difficult to 10-point text.
find information on the CC site and had a hard time reading the
10-point text. My analysis determined that Adaptive Solutions’ website is
more effective based on its ease of use, comprehensive
Let me know if you need a more detailed analysis of these two content, and general appearance. Let me know if you need a
sites. I look forward to working on our own company’s web more detailed analysis of these two sites. I look forward to
design team. working on our own company’s web design team.

Best, Best,
Nichole Nichole

Nichole Perkins, Consultant Nichole Perkins, Consultant

The Fields-Patterson Group The Fields-Patterson Group
50 Robson Street 50 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 1B0 Vancouver, BC V6E 1B0
www.fieldspatterson.com www.fieldspatterson.com
PH: 604-633-2646 PH: 604-633-2646
FX: 604-633-2601 FX: 604-633-2601

Accompanies Exercise 5

EXERCISE 6 Moving past the first draft a. Computer technology and its associated software applications
Select a topic you are researching for a class or group project or use in conjunction with the widespread usage of the World Wide
a topic assigned by your instructor. Use the free-writing technique Web have had the most profound and visible effects of any
to fill at least a page (typed and single spaced). Save this work, not- invention in modern history.
ing that it is a first draft. Save another copy of this work titled b. Technologies have dramatically impacted and modified our
“second draft.” Revise the “second draft” version into something complex communication systems, exchanges of information,
more presentable to your instructor. Print both versions and com- and our commercial endeavours.
pare. How did the freedom of the first draft influence the quality of c. As technology permeates nearly every facet of business entities,
the second draft? In what ways is the second draft improved? Do the question is whether today’s college students receive adequate
you need a third draft? information and assistance as they prepare for the high-tech world
of business.
LO 2.3 How does evaluating improve your communication? d. A multitude of employers are now testing prospective employ-
(pages x–x) ees prior to employment to determine if their information
technology knowledge and skill levels will meet or exceed their
EXERCISE 7 Sifting for meaning: Improving clarity and conciseness technology expectations in terms of meeting their workplace
needs.
Edit the following sentences to improve their clarity and conciseness:

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 62 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

62    Chapter 2 Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

2
chap t er

EXERCISE 8 Trimming the excess: Removing unnecessary EXERCISE 12 Project professionalism: Improving reading level
wording and redundancies Using Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.ca), find a paragraph
Edit the following sentences to eliminate unnecessary wording and that you find complicated and difficult to read. Copy and paste
redundancies: the paragraph into your word processing program. Using the
a. You asked me to provide you with my recommendation for the software’s assessment tools, or using an online tool you find
new sales position, and I believe that Sarah Miller is the best through a web search, determine the grade level of the
candidate. paragraph.
Rewrite the paragraph in a conversational style using simple
b. We combined together the proposals, and after close scrutiny
words and short sentences. Determine the new version’s grade
of the results have come to the consensus of opinion that this
level. Identify which version you believe is most effective and
project will be our first priority.
explain why.
c. Foreign imports are an essential necessity in our business.
d. We respectfully and humbly extend our grateful thanks that EXERCISE 13 Project professionalism: Proofread for error
your future plans have secured our company’s good success. reduction [Related to the Technology feature on page xxx]
Type the following paragraph into any word processing program:
EXERCISE 9 Project professionalism: Positive wording
Edit the following sentences to give them a more positive tone:
Do to recent security events, are technology upgrades our
a. She will not do well on the employment exam if she does not scheduled to be implemented at the beginning of next months.
review the company’s procedures. This change requires you to ask yourself what applications you
b. The committee will not make their decision until next week. current use and predicted those you may knee during the next
c. The employees will receive no bonus if they do not submit fiscal year. How will you now what you what you might need in
their performance evaluations on time. the future? That is a difficult question to answers. However, you’re
in put is necessary to assure that hour resources our used correct.
d. I cannot attend the meeting if this report is not finished on time.
Thank in advance for you’re effort too improve this process.
e. Because the construction plans were not delivered, we could
not determine a timeline for completion. Accompanies Exercise 13

EXERCISE 10 Project professionalism: Active voice

Enter the words and punctuation exactly as shown. Highlight any
Edit the following sentences to change passive voice to active voice:
errors that you see. Then run the application’s spelling and gram-
(Note: You will need to supply a subject for the active verbs in some
mar tools. Make a list of any (a) spelling errors that the spelling
sentences.)
checker did not find and (b) changes the grammar checker suggested
a. The proposal was written by the marketing team based on in- that would create an error. Do the results of this exercise change
depth research. the methods you will use for proofreading in the future? Summa-
b. The decision was made to extend overtime allowances by 10%. rize your findings in an email message to your instructor.
c. Because two proposals were submitted, a meeting was sched-
uled to discuss the differences. EXERCISE 14 Revising and designing an email message

d. Positive feedback about the presentation was received from the François and Darryl work for a product design firm in Montreal.
clients. This morning, François received a call from a client asking if he
and Darryl could fly to Edmonton to consult on a new project.
e. The salary increase will be seen on your next paycheque. François and Darryl agreed, checked their calendars, and chose a
2 p.m. flight from Trudeau Airport the next day. However, when
EXERCISE 11 Project professionalism: Eliminating François called Air Canada to book two seats for the flight, he
slang and clichés learned that no seats were available. He did a little research and
Edit the following sentences by removing the slang and clichés (in decided that he would prefer to take a charter flight leaving from a
italics) to clarify the meaning. If you are unfamiliar with the cliché, Saint-Hubert airport, switching planes in Winnipeg. See the fol-
look it up online before editing. lowing draft of François’ email to Darryl on the next page. Revise
this email to (1) use a direct organization, (2) arrange the material
a. Everyone in the department knows that the buck stops here.
into effective paragraphs, (3) ensure all information is complete
b. She needs to dangle some carrots in front of her team to get and clear, and (4) improve the subject line.
anything done.
c. She has really been a good soldier about the change in leadership.
d. The union representative said that management needs to
sweeten the pot if we want to end the labour strike.
e. He will be swimming with the sharks if he tries to present that
proposal to the management team.

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp

M02_SHWO7660_01_SE_C02.indd Page 63 11/3/15 5:55 PM s-w-149 /205/PHC00204/9780133427660_SHWOM/SHWOM_BUSINESS_COMMUNICATION_POLISHING_YOUR_PR

Developing Your Communication Skills     63

2
chap t er
EXERCISE 16 Exploring cultural
communication [Related to the Culture
[email protected] feature on page xxx]
Review the Culture box on page xx. To
answer the following questions, you may
Plans
need to conduct some additional research.
This could include searching for “intercul-
tural business communications” online,
Darryl, interviewing classmates or professors from
the relevant cultures, or reading materials
available in your campus library.
I just got off the phone with Air Canada. There are no seats available on the 2 p.m.
flight from Trudeau that we planned to take tomorrow. If we have to take a later a. I dentify the specific cultural mistake or
flight, I’d like to attend my staff meeting at 3 p.m. I checked on the late flights out of mistakes that Skylar made in her
Trudeau. They are at 7 p.m. and at 9:30 a.m. and are very expensive. Also I remember attempt to efficiently meet and transport
that the last time we flew out of Trudeau in the late afternoon, the traffic was awful. Mr. Wu to the downtown office. How
I also checked charter flights from Saint-Hubert and we can take a hopper from could Skylar have improved the out-
Montreal to Winnipeg and board a direct flight from Winnipeg with a 1.5 hour layover. come of this task?
This is a cheaper option but we arrive a bit later than we would like. Let me know b. C
 onsider the exact same scenario, ex-
what you think. cept that the incoming executive is Ms.
Alejandra de Vieira from Spain. Should
François Skylar’s response to this situation
change? How?
François Drapeau, P. Eng.
Lead Design Engineer
EXERCISE 17 Impromptu presentations
Fortune Designs Select one of the following topics and plan
[email protected] a brief one- to two-minute presentation
514.555.2395 that you organize directly. Begin with the
main idea followed by supporting informa-
tion and conclude with a short summary or
Accompanies Exercise 14
wrap-up. Then select a second topic and
plan a brief presentation that you organize indirectly. For this pre-
EXERCISE 15 Revising and designing a voice sentation, begin with supporting information, followed by the main
mail message point, with a brief summary or wrap-up at the end.
Alex and Marika are planning to attend an 8 a.m. meeting with a. Describe your last experience travelling.
their boss to discuss a report they completed the night before. On b. Describe your dream job.
the way to work, Alex gets into a car accident. The paragraph on
the right is the voice message Alex leaves Marika to tell her that he c. Where do you see yourself in five years?
will not be able to get to work in time for the meeting. He also
needs to tell Marika where to find the photocopies of the report he
made last night. Before Alex gets to the end of his message, the
electronic “operator” interrupts and says: “If you are satisfied with MyBCommLab®
this message, press 1. If you would like to record the message again, Improve Your Grade!
press 2.” Alex realizes he should revise the message, and he presses Over 10 million students improved their results using the Pearson MyLabs.
2. Revise this message for Alex. Visit mybcommlab.com for simulations,
tutorials, and other helpful learning apps.

Marika, this is Alex. You won’t believe what happened on the way
to work today. I was driving down Sherman Avenue when a car ran
a red light and hit me. I’m okay, but I’m at least 30 minutes from
work and my car is undrivable. I can’t leave anyway because the po-
lice officer is writing up the report really slowly, and I need to wait
to get my licence back and to make sure the tow truck comes for my
car. Then I’ll need to get a taxi. I’m really glad I have my cellphone
with me. Otherwise, I’d be in big trouble. I don’t know when I’ll get
to work, so can you present our report at the meeting this morning?
The photocopies are on Lucy’s desk because . . .”

Accompanies Exercise 15

Gridline set in 1st-pp to indicate safe area; to be removed after 1st-pp