The Truth About The New Rules Of Business Writing Part 2

Dear Pete: I'm happy to tell you that the Fairmont Chamber of Commerce has chosen me as Mover & Shaker of the Month, in recognition of both my professional standing and contributions to the community. I'll receive the award at a luncheon on Wednesday, November 12, and I very much hope you can be there as my guest.

I'll have an opportunity to speak briefly. I plan to talk about the company, and especially, how management supports community service. The Good Neighbor Program gives me wonderful opportunities to help local charities, and I welcome the chance to express my appreciation publicly.

Can you attend? I'd love to introduce you to the group.-Andrea Did it take more time to write this message compared to the one Andrea planned on? Of course...but think of the payoff. Beyond what she accomplishes for her own positioning, Andrea is able to reinforce a company policy from which she and others benefit. Learning that an employee is being honored for volunteer work, and will therefore deliver a positive company message to a significant audience, can only make management happy and confirm the program's value.

Truth 6. Cut to the chase: Put the bottom line on top.

Suppose you're reporting on the results of an extended project you supervised, whose purpose was to investigate a potential new workflow system. Your basic goal is to inform and doc.u.ment. But that's only part of the agenda. As in many situations, you want to accomplish much more. For example:

Goals checklist.

* Tell your boss that the project was a good investment and that his/her faith in your ability as a manager was justified.

* Let readers know that the results are significant.

* Demonstrate that you've done a careful, thorough job on the project.

* Make your interpretation or conclusions credible.

* Present your work in the way that's clearest, most logical, and, if possible, interesting.

* Persuade the rest of the organization or the higher-ups to act on your results.

If you articulate your goals in this way, think about how your content choice is affected-and content is always the heart of effective writing.

Content checklist.

* Include a clear statement about why the project was carried out and its importance.

* Indicate exactly what the results were and their significance.

* Outline or narrate what you did and how you did it.

* Marshal the evidence that supports your conclusions.

* Indicate who your project team or collaborators were and any information about time frame and budget that's relevant.

* Clearly state the course of action you recommend, and the benefits that may be expected.

In this situation, the order of the content checklist works. But often you may want to juggle. Be sure to establish why readers should care, and the results, right up front.

Almost always in business writing, put the bottom line on top.

Look at our two lists-goals and content-and you'll see that by articulating your goals and then figuring out how they determine content, you've created an outline (with no agony at all).

Check out the reasoning in the following examples. We think your approach to memos and e-mails will change.

Challenge 1: Write an e-mail memo to your boss about your project needs.

Yesterday's way.

Dear Ms. Smith:.

As you know from our previous meetings and earlier discussions, the Alliman Project has a major deadline that will be coming due in three months. To preserve the project milestones, our office will need to purchase a variety of tools and products at this time. I am including a list of project needs below, and am asking you via this memorandum to authorize these, so that the Purchasing Department will consider them legitimate company purchases.

Sincerely, Tom.

Goal a.n.a.lysis: You want a swift, affirmative response without provoking objections that could cause delay. So you need to say just enough for your message to be read quickly and instantly understood. You want to sound matter of fact, businesslike, and efficient. Combining this goal with the conversational approach would give you something like the following version.

Today's way.

h.e.l.lo Jessica,.

Please sign the attached list of project needs so that Purchasing will buy them for us.

As you know, the deadline on the Alliman Project is August 1, so I need your authorization quickly for these necessary tools and products.

Thanks for your help.-Tom.

The difference: The "call to action" is up front and center. The boss can't miss it; whereas in the traditional version, she'd have to search for it. Because you first articulated your goal, you didn't include all the extraneous information. And, the old-style memo is much more likely to generate an inquiry about how the project is progressing and whether the purchases are justified. Also, Tom comes across as efficient, effective, and reliable, so the memo contributes to advancing his sub-agenda.

Challenge 2: Your vice president has asked for a formal written update on your project.

Yesterday's way.

Enterprise Project Report.

a. Overview.

b. Timeline.

c. Products required; availability.

d. Staffing needs; new hires.

e. Sites.

f. Progress toward goal.

g. Steps required to complete project by August 1.

h. Antic.i.p.ated completion date with and without necessary resources.

Goal a.n.a.lysis: You want the VP to quickly see what's needed and support you. How to accomplish this? A lengthy, detailed doc.u.ment going over the same old ground, with the progress section buried, as in the outline above? Unlikely. Ask yourself, what does she really want to know? What's important for the company? What highlights your accomplishments? This should lead you to:.

Today's way.

Enterprise Project Report.

a. Progress toward goal.

b. Steps needed to complete project by Aug. 1, including consequences if necessary resources are not provided c. Brief project recap, including timeline, personnel, products, and sites The difference: Because you defined your goals first, this report is likely to be read and is likely to be pa.s.sed up the chain of command to people who can provide the resources you need. What's important is succinctly stated, right up front, and those who want detail will find it in the recap.

Notice that often the more closely you define your goal and articulate what you want to accomplish, the less you have to include-because you've figured out what counts and can focus precisely on it. That means less writing.

Truth 7. "Me"-focused messages fail.

"Who's the target?" That's a question every professional writer working in a business environment asks before writing anything, right along with, "What's my goal?" The target is the intended audience, the one person or many people you're addressing. Does it make a difference?

You bet. So: Define your audience and a.n.a.lyze it as completely as you can.

Let's a.s.sume that you're writing to an individual, or to a few people. What can determine how they will receive your message-and therefore influence how you shape it?

It depends on the particular situation, but you may need to take factors such as the following into account: * Age/generation * Gender * Educational level * Role in the organization * Your relationship to the persons (Peers? Superiors? People who report to you?) * Strong suits (Technical? Relationships? Detail oriented? Big-picture thinkers?) * Weak suits (Technology challenged? Impatient? Short attention span?) * Cultural/ethnic/religious background * Language (Native English speakers or a global audience?) * Their interests and what they care about.

* Their hot b.u.t.tons.

* Your compet.i.tion for their attention.

* Their preexisting beliefs about whatever you're trying to pitch.

Only some of these factors are usually relevant to a particular writing situation. But you need to understand the target audience's viewpoint as well as you can and take it into account. You can't communicate successfully if the message doesn't reach the receiver in his or her own language and terms.

Many communications fail because the message senders are so focused on what they want to get across or accomplish that they almost totally ignore the receivers.

There's an old lawyer's axiom that says: Never ask a question you don't know the answer to. For writers, the rule is: Always know how you want the reader to react. To do that, know who they are.

Primary and secondary audiences-Professional writers think in terms of primary audiences and secondary audiences, and it's a useful concept. Primary are those you're directly addressing. Secondary audiences can include others who may also end up seeing your message. You report in writing to your boss, and he or she reports to his or hers-perhaps incorporating what you sent him-and so on up the line. Your innocent e-mail can wind up in the organizational stratosphere. So can e-mails you send to a colleague or buddy.

But, we hear you saying, how can I run through a list of audience characteristics like this one every time I write an e-mail or letter? To do that, we have some terrific shortcuts for you.

Quick audience visualizing trick-To get on the same wavelength as your target audience, visualize that individual in your mind.

Take the time to really see him or her: facial expressions, gestures, clothing, stance, mannerisms; hear the person's voice talking to you, maybe even laughing. Automatically, your writing will adopt the right tone because you're triggering the same instincts that guide you in face-to-face conversation. Your writing becomes almost an interaction, tailored to that target.

If you're writing to a prospective customer you've met, for example, visualize that customer in as much detail as you can and ask yourself, what would this person want to know? What would his/her questions or objections be? What would show this customer that I understand the company's problems and can offer solutions?

Once you've brought the person alive in your mind, visualize a conversation with him or her on the subject you're writing about. Doing so will often provide you with important clues to how that person would respond in a face-to-face situation, and you can take account of this in shaping your message.

What if you're writing to a group? Think individual anyway. Pick a "typical" member of the audience to visualize. If you don't know one, think of someone you know well who could be a recipient. Warren Buffett, the financier famous for his clear communications, was asked how he wrote so well about complicated subjects. I always think of my two sisters, he reportedly said, who are very intelligent but not sophisticated about finance, and write to them.

See the world through other people's eyes-Here's another way to cut to the chase. Put yourself in your target audience's shoes and answer this one question: What's in it for me? Thinking about this before you write (or speak) will always make you a better communicator. This is the WIIFM principle referred to throughout this book.

Ask why they should care. What do they have to gain or lose? How will they be affected? Employee communication provides a good example of why a whole program can succeed or fail based on whether the WIIFM question is posed. A company cannot gain support for a change in health benefits by explaining how much money management will save. Every employee will want to know exactly how he or she is affected. If the effect is adverse, it may be important to explain what trade-offs were involved, again in personal terms (for example, a higher deductible is necessary to counter rising insurance costs while maintaining good health benefits).

How messages are delivered-If you've attended a workshop on interpersonal communication, you may have heard the presenter cite a study about message delivery. The trainer asks: In sending a message, what do you think is the relative importance of body language, tone of voice, and words?

Unless audience members have been in similar workshops before, most are astounded to learn that 55% is body language; 38% is tone of voice; and only 7% is words.