1. Business Writing Overview

2. Barriers to Communication • Verbal Barriers • Inadequate knowledge or vocabulary • Differences in interpretation • Language differences • Inappropriate use of expressions • Over abstraction • Ambiguity • Polarization • Nonverbal Barriers • Inappropriate or conflicting signals • Differences in perception • Inappropriate emotions • Distractions

3. Communication Cycle

4. PDA • Purpose • Details • Action

5. Rhetorical Awareness • Purpose • Audience • Stakeholders • Context http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/624/1/

6. User Centered Design • Focus on Audience • Expectation(s) • Characteristics • Goals • Context • Identify Audience Needs (Details) • Who, What, Where, When, Why, How or How Much http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/629/02/

7. Audience Analysis • Primary • Secondary • Shadow • Stakeholders • Questions to ask before writing • What is your relationship with the audience? • How will the audience react? • What does the audience already know? • What is unique about the audience?

8. Document Organization • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/548/1 • Explain purpose and present main ideas • What is this? • Why am I getting it? • What you do want me to do? • Logical progression of ideas • State most important information first • Keep like information together • Organize each paragraph around one main idea • Begin each paragraph with one key sentence

9. Document Design • Format must conform to document • Resume, cover letter, memo, report, email • Easy to locate information • Key points use bold, underline or italics • Clear headings and subheadings • Improve readability with indentation or bullets • HATS, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/632/01/

10. Document Development • Persuasive • Informative • Concise • Provide background information • Use specific examples to support • Use charts, diagrams and tables • Eliminate noise • Proof for clarity, further explanation, details • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/rresource/548/1

12. Choose the Right Words • Write Clearly • Accurate and complete • Familiar words; write to express not to impress • Specific, concrete language • Avoid dangling expressions • Avoid clichés, slang, jargon • Write concisely (redundancy and wordiness) • Write Effective Sentences • Simple sentence • Compound sentence • Complex sentence • Sentence variety

13. Active vs. Passive Words • Parallel Structure

14. Use Appropriate Tone • Write confidently • Use a courteous and sincere tone • Use appropriate emphasis and subordination • Use positive language • Stress the YOU attitude