1 / 23

Essential Guidelines for Writing Effective Business Communications

This document outlines the key elements and best practices for writing various types of business communications, including memorandums, emails, letters, and reports. It covers structure, tone, and format to ensure clear and effective communication. Special emphasis is placed on e-mail etiquette, the advantages of electronic communication, and writing transmittal letters to accompany larger documents. By following these guidelines, you can enhance the clarity and professionalism of your business correspondence while maintaining appropriate levels of formality and engagement.

kai-clayton
Download Presentation

Essential Guidelines for Writing Effective Business Communications

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Document Types • Memorandum • Electronic mail • Letters • Business letter • Transmittal letter • Reports • Progress report • Proposal

  2. Memorandum • Memorandum - a brief, informal report • Communicate technical and administrative information • Request information • Make announcements • Outline policies • Transmit meeting minutes • Establish a record of decisions, requests, and concerns

  3. Memorandum Headings • To: • From: • Subject: • Date:

  4. Memorandum Body • Arrange topics in the order of their importance • Key statements first • Details later

  5. Advantages of E-Mail vs. Hard Copy • Instant transmission of information • Easy distribution to a large number of recipients • Easy linking of one text to many others

  6. Characteristics of E-Mail • Popular • Immediate • Informal - not incorrect • Precise • Public (not private)

  7. Guidelines for Writing E-Mail Messages • Acknowledge recipient • Keep messages short • Make headings clear and exact • Use “urgent” only for urgent message • Use correct grammar, punctuation, and style • Proofread the message carefully

  8. Guidelines for Writing E-Mail Messages (2) • Tone: Informal and correct • Use headings and lists • Use caution with humor and sarcasm • Use caution with automatic replies • Length: Brief • Message: 60 characters wide (maximum) • Paragraphs: 7 lines long (maximum) • Subject: Specific – 25 characters wide (maximum) • Order: Most important information first

  9. E-Mail Etiquette • Do not forward an e-mail without permission • Keep e-mail addresses confidential • Avoid using all capital letters • Remember that electronic privacy does not exist • Include a short statement indicating to what you are responding

  10. Business Letter • Business letter – frequently used form of technical communication • More formal and reliable than electronic mail • More precise and permanent than telephone or face-to-face conversations • Format of a business letter • Block • Modified block • Modified block with indented paragraphs

  11. Elements of a Business Letter • Heading • Recipient’s/Inside Address • Salutation/Greeting • Body • Closing • Signature • Additional information

  12. Transmittal Letter • Accompanies a larger document • Provides the recipient with a context in which to place the larger document • Provides the sender with a permanent record of having sent the material

  13. Guidelines for Writing a Transmittal Letter • Describe what is being sent and explain the purpose for sending it • Summarize the key elements of the proposal (one or two sentences) • Provide other useful information • Conclude with a sentence that thanks or compliments the recipient

  14. Report • Report - a stand-alone document that conveys information of professional interest and importance to various individuals in an organization • Types of reports • Internal report • External report • Informal report • Formal report

  15. Progress Report • Progress report - objectives are project monitoring and accountability • Summary of project goal • Statement of progress toward goal • Discussion of costs and scheduling issues • List of future objectives

  16. Front Matter (Title Page) of a Progress Report • Name, position, and location of the designer • Name, position, and location of the person or agency to whom the report is being submitted • Period of investigation • Current date

  17. Body of a Progress Report • Abstract • Introduction • Technical progress • Technical issues • Future work

  18. End Matter of a Progress Report • References/Bibliography • Appendices • Résumés

  19. Proposal • Proposal – a document in which the writer identifies a specific problem and proposes a solution to this problem

  20. Front Matter of a Proposal • Title page • Executive summary • Table of contents • List of figures • List of tables • List of terms (optional)

  21. Body of a Proposal • Introduction • Technical approach • Management requirements • Work plan

  22. End Matter of a Proposal • References/Bibliography • Appendices • Résumés

More Related