Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 1

Completing Completing Business MessagesBusiness Messages

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 2

Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives• Revising your message• Improving readability• Improving clarity and conciseness• Understanding effective design• Proofreading your message• Distributing your message

Revising Your Message: Revising Your Message: Evaluating the First DraftEvaluating the First Draft

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 3

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 4

The Revision ProcessThe Revision Process

• Content • Organization• Proper tone

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 5

Review Work of OthersReview Work of Others

• Help the writer succeed• Understand the writer’s intent

Revising to Improve Revising to Improve ReadabilityReadability

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 6

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 7

Sentence LengthSentence Length

• Short—up to 15 words• Medium—15 – 25 words• Long—over 25 words

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 8

Paragraph LengthParagraph Length

• Appearance• Readability• Emphasis

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 9

Use Lists and BulletsUse Lists and Bullets

• Show sequence of ideas• Heighten visual impact• Simplify complex subjects• Identify main points• Promote “skimming”• Give readers a break

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 10

Headings and Headings and SubheadingsSubheadings

• Descriptive or informative– Organization– Attention– Connection

Editing for Clarity and Editing for Clarity and ConcisenessConciseness

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 11

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 12

Editing for ClarityEditing for Clarity

• Break up overly long sentences• Rewrite hedging sentences • Impose parallelism• Correct dangling modifiers

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 13

Editing for ClarityEditing for Clarity

• Reword long noun sequences• Replace camouflaged verbs• Clarify sentence structure• Clarify awkward references

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 14

Editing for ConcisenessEditing for Conciseness

• Delete unnecessary words and phrases• Shorten long words and phrases• Eliminate redundancies• Recast “It is/There are” starters

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 15

Revising with Revising with TechnologyTechnology

• Text tools• Spell checker• Thesaurus

• Revision tools• Grammar check• Style checker

Producing Your MessageProducing Your Message

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 16

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 17

Design for ReadabilityDesign for Readability

• Consistency• Balance• Restraint• Detail

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 18

Design TechniquesDesign Techniques

• White space• Margins • Justification• Typefaces• Type styles

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 19

Multimedia DocumentsMultimedia Documents

• Level of skills• Tools• Time and cost• Content• Message structure• Compatibility

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 20

Production TechnologyProduction Technology

• Templates, themes, and style sheets• Page setup features• Column and paragraph formatting• Numbered and bulleted lists• Information in tables• Photos, images, textboxes, and objects

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 21

Format for Business Format for Business LettersLetters

• Letterhead stationery• Date• Inside address• Salutation• The message• Complimentary close• Signature block

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 22

Format for MemosFormat for Memos

• Memo title• Headings • The message

Proofreading Your MessageProofreading Your Message

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 23

Careful ProofreadingCareful Proofreading• Make multiple passes• Use perceptual tricks• Double-check high-priority items• Give yourself some distance• Be vigilant and stay focused• Print complex electronic documents• Take your timeCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 24

Distributing Your MessageDistributing Your Message

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 25

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Chapter 6 - 26

Distributing MessagesDistributing Messages

• Cost concerns• Convenience• Time constraints• Security and privacy

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education 27Chapter 6 -

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.