BASICS OF PROFESSIONAL WRITING

1. BASICS OF PROFESSIONAL WRITING • Virginia Library Association • Paraprofessional Forum • May 22, 2012 • Suzy Szasz Palmer

2. Today’s objectives • Communication >>>> (Professional) Writing • Setting/audience sensitive • SMART analysis • Grammar and style • Email

3. COMMUNICATION: purpose • Disseminate information • Achieve common understanding • Create new or better awareness of issue(s) • Foster new and/or maintain relationships • Intentional – causes harmony or discord

4. COMMUNICATION: types • Verbal • Nonverbal • Visual • Written • Essay/paper/publication • Report • Letter • Memo • Email • Texting?

5. s.m.a.r.t. COMMUNICATION

6. OVERVIEW • Getting the right details for a specific situation, audience & response • Don’t jump into the writing process • Don’t become committed to details and wording • Allow time for sharply focused, situational analysis • Stay focused throughout the process • Adjust quickly based on unexpected audience response

7. Phase 1: smart STATEMENT: OVERALL PLAN • Situation: the immediate reason why the message is necessary now • Message: the essence of the message reduced to a single phrase • Audience: the primary receiver plus any key identifying characteristics • Response: the immediate action you need from the audience now • Tool(s): strategic choice of delivery service(email, letter, fax, memo, etc.)

8. TEMPLATE • Because of this situation(brief phrase about why the communication is necessary now) I will say/write (message) to (audience) to get it to (desired response) using (face-to-face/phone/email/fax/etc. – tool).

9. SCENARIOS – exercise • In order to meet today’s 4 p.m. deadline, I will communicate with my friends by phone about the concert to get them to order tickets through me using voice-mail by noon today. • I will write my boss using a company memo explaining why I should receive a raise so that she will set up a meeting with me to discuss the raise because my responsibilities have increased significantly over the past 3 months. • I will contact Verizon Customer Service about a serious billing problem by registered letter and a follow-up phone call in order to get Verizon to refund the $45 charged in error because my bill contains several long distance charges that are not mine.

10. SCENARIO 1 – CONCERT TICKETS In order to meet today’s 4 p.m. deadline, (situation), I will communicate with my friends (audience) by phone (tool) about the concert (message) to get them to order tickets through me using voice-mail by noon today (response.)

11. SCENARIO 2 - RAISE • I will write my boss (audience) using a company memo (tool) explaining why I should receive a raise (message) so that she will set up a meeting with me to discuss the raise (response) because my responsibilities have increased significantly over the past 3 months (situation).

12. SCENARIO 3 – INCORRECT BILL • I will contact Verizon Customer Service (audience) about a serious billing problem (message) by registered letter and a follow-up phone call (tools) in order to get Verizon to refund the $45 charged in error (response) because my bill contains several long distance charges that are not mine (situation).

13. Revise! • Adjust the statement repeatedly as a closer examination of the audience & situation starts to impact your thinking about the response you need, your choice of tool(s), and the amount and quality of message detail you will need to get that response under these circumstances. • Keep ALL your revisions until you complete the process – a record of the changes in your thought process.

14. Phase 2: INTERACTIVE ANALYSIS • Some details will be immediately obvious. Others don’t appear until you examine audience & situation more closely. • Suggestion: SMART Grid (see handout) to probe the situation, message, audience, response, and tool(s) • Dynamic Relationship: adjust each of these elements accordingly • Time Saving Approach: Determining precisely what you need to say, how and why before you commit any time to actually writing the document, dramatically reduces drafting and editing time later.

15. SMART Grid

16. Smart questions • Situation– anything that might influence audience response • What is the reason for delivering this message to this audience now? • Is this message independent or at the beginning, middle or end of a longer process? • Is the audience expecting to hear from me, or will this contact be a surprise? • What is my relationship to this audience: first contact, established association, familiarity, trust? • How formal/informal is the situation?

17. Smart questions • Message– precise details to get the job done and appropriate vehicle • What kinds of information (amounts, dates, times, etc.) does this audience need/want? • What explanations will help audience understanding? • What kinds of details would best be presented as graphics (figures, tables, etc.)? • What precautions in wording will be important given this audience and situation?

18. SMART QUESTIONS • Audience – primary & secondary • Who is my primary audience? Who else is likely to see this message, now or later? Consequences? • How will my audience benefit from this message? How can I make this benefit as clear as possible? • What does my audience already know about this information? Need to know? Want to know? • How technical/specialized is the audience?

19. SMART QUESTIONS • Response – immediate, mid-range & long-term • What do I want my audience to do/think immediately after receiving my message? • Why is this message needed? Now? Are there deadlines? Have I indicated that? • How do I want the audience to respond over the next few weeks, months, or longer? Unintended consequences?

20. SMART QUESTIONS • Tool(s)– considerations & choices • Given the situation, audience, type and volume of information to be communicated, what is the best tool or tools for THIS situation and message: • In person, telephone, fax, email, letter, memo, etc.? • What effect will my choice of tool(s) have on the audience understanding and response? Don’t forget to spend time thinking about the right tool for each situation!

21. FIRST THING YOU WRITE … • Closing: response, deadline, contact(RDC) • Why write it first? If you can’t state clearly what you want the audience to do up front, your audience will not be clear either. • Primary reason why the message is being written—audience action. • Opening: situation, message, response (SMR) • Simply announcewhy the audience is receiving this message, what it is about, and what he/she is supposed to do next.

22. DRAFT OPENING & CLOSING • Draft action closing request response, give deadline & contact details clarifies/finalizes response • Draft summary opening announce situation, message & response final audience/situation check

23. SCENARIO 1 – CONCERT TICKETS In order to meet today’s 4 p.m. deadline, (situation), I will communicate with my friends (audience) by phone (tool) about the concert (message) to get them to order tickets through me using voice-mail by noon today (response.)

24. Closing/opening Scenario 1 RDC Closing Please call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx by 2 pm today to let me know whether you want tickets for tonight. SMR OpeningI’ve just come across a great deal on tickets to _____ tonight, but I need to know by 2pm today whether you want to go. Call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx. 19

25. SCENARIO 2 - RAISE • I will write my boss (audience) using a company memo (tool) explaining why I should receive a raise (message) so that she will set up a meeting with me to discuss the raise (response) because my responsibilities have increased significantly over the past 3 months (situation).

26. Closing/opening Scenario 2 RDC ClosingCan we meet at your convenience to talk about my raise? My local is xxx-xxx-xxxx and you have my email. SMR OpeningMy responsibilities increased significantly three months ago, but my salary remains the same. Can we talk about this? 29

27. SCENARIO 3 – INCORRECT BILL • I will contact Verizon Customer Service (audience) about a serious billing problem (message) by registered letter and a follow-up phone call (tools) in order to get Verizon to refund the $45 charged in error (response) because my bill contains several long distance charges that are not mine (situation).

28. Closing/opening Scenario 3 RDC Closing Please credit my account for $45 before the due date. You can call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx with any questions. Thank you. SMR OpeningMy (# and date) invoice has $45 in long distance charges that are not mine. I need a refund by (date). 24

29. Exercises: Party description You attended a great party last Friday night—describe it to each of the following audiences: • Friend invited but who had to work • Friend available but not invited • Your boss who tried to reach you to work an overtime shift that night • The owner of the party site: there was some damage...and you were not entirely sober 35

30. exercises: new job/new city You just moved to Richmond for a new job. Describe your move, the work, and how you are adjusting to your new surroundings to the following audiences. • New colleague • Friend from old hometown • Former colleague on Facebook • Someone new you meet at a party 36

31. exercises: Contract details Your house/apartment is 15 years old, and needs an interior paint job. A friend recommended a painting crew with reasonable rates but a very good record for quality and service. You called the painter, and over the phone, you verbally agreed upon colors, paint & wallpaper quality, timetable, & price, etc. Now it’s time to write an agreement to ensure that everything is done correctly. Fax or email all the relevant details to the painter so that he/she can write up a contract for both of your signatures. 38

32. Common grammar errors

33. Common grammar errors, cont’d.

34. Common grammar errors - blog • Want to learn something new every day? • http://commonerrorscalendar.blogspot.com/

35. Need more style tips? • Internet—Based Educational Component for Teaching Professional Writing and Editing Style • University of TN, Knoxville • http://www.designsensory.com/pws/index.html

36. EMAIL – 10 big rules • For every one message, write one email. • If you need one person to respond to five requests, write five emails. • Email in-boxes are to-do lists. • Subject headers should provide main message. • First paragraph should convey context, extended main message, and response required.

37. EMAIL…. • Write as if you are writing. • Text messaging is wonderful. • Email is not text messaging. • Write, using words, spelled correctly, in a sentence format that is punctuated, perfectly so. • You are being judged all the time.

38. Be polite! • Say please. • Provide reasonable deadlines. • Say enough. • Don’t say too much. • Be clear. • Think about things from your recipient’s point of view. • Don’t waste people’s time.

39. Style & grammar matter • If your email program doesn’t have a spell-check or grammar-check, compose important correspondence off-line in Word. • E-mails with no full stops or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes even change the meaning of the text. • Emails should be as well written as normal, professional prose.

40. Use proper structure & layout • Use short paragraphs and blank lines between each paragraph. • When making points, number them. • Short first paragraph should provide email’s context. • Last paragraph should specify response required – if no response is required, WRITE that no response is required!

41. Think long. Write short. • Do the work for your reader. • Keep sentences short (15 words or less). • Keep paragraphs short (6-7 lines max). • Keep entire email short (1 screen MAX!).

42. Abbreviations, emoticons, & fancy formatting • In business emails, don’t use abbreviations such as BTW (by the way) and LOL (laugh out loud) • Don’t use emoticons, such as the smiley :-) • Avoid special fonts. • When using colors, choose those that are easy to read on the background. • Remember that some email clients can’t handle HTML.

43. Read before you hit “send” • Too many people don’t read an email before they send it out. • Suzy’s rules: • Email to a friend: read it over once. • Email to a colleague: read it over twice. • Email to your boss: read it over three times. • Email to the “big” boss or an outside client: read it over four times. Seriously.

44. Who needs the reply? • Only use “reply to all” if you really need your message to be seen by each person who received the original message. • Try not to use the cc: field unless the recipient in the cc: field knows why s/he is receiving a copy of the message AND you a have a particular reason for wanting this person to see your response. • Use the bcc: field when you are sending a mailing to a large list… or, if you are consciously trying to hide something from the recipient in the to: field.

45. summary • Communication >>>> (Professional) Writing • Setting/audience sensitive • SMART analysis • Grammar and style • Email

46. QUESTIONS • Suzy Szasz Palmer • Dean of the Greenwood Library • Longwood University • palmerss@longwood.edu • 434-395-2083 • With thanks to Professor David Wiens& Professor Bob Basil • Applied Communications • Kwantlen Polytechnic University • Vancouver, Canada