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Lesson 26
Elements of Effective Written Communication
Because written communication plays such a significant role in our economy and in the daily routines of the vast majority of organizations, an understanding of the essentials of written communication is critical. You must know what you want to say and how to say it. In addition, you must design your messages to portray exact meaning as well as create a favorable impression. Well-worded messages not only bring you and your reader closer together, but also make you appear more friendly, helpful, and interested. In order to choose the right words and sentences for your letters, you need to be familiar with the elements of effective written communication. The elements are:
- Courtesy
- Correctness
- Conciseness
- Clarity
- Concreteness
- Completeness
1. Courtesy
Review of actual business correspondence reveals that special attention should be devoted to assuring the courtesy of business communication. Effective writers visualize the reader before starting to write. You will want to consider your reader’s desires, problems, circumstances, emotions, and probable reaction to your request. This step will enable you to develop your communication from the reader’s point of view.
You-Attitude
Writing with a you-attitude shows sincere concern for the reader. Emphasizing the reader’s (you) viewpoint rather than the writer’s ( I ) viewpoint demonstrates sincerity. Merely replacing a few I’s, we’s, our’s and my’s with you’s and your’s throughout a letter, however, will not guarantee the presence of the you-attitude. To establish a you-attitude, you must create a positive state of mind through your suggestions and decisions. A you-attitude is more than simple courtesy or politeness. It hinges on demonstrating a clear understanding of the reader’s problem or question. If a reader feels that you are genuinely concerned about his/her problem or question, the overall impact of the message will be greatly enhanced. Incorporating a you-attitude into your message will help give them reader benefit, which shows the reader how he/she will benefit by complying with your request or announcement. Readers are more likely to comply if the benefits appear to be worth their time, effort, or cost. Even though the benefits of compliance may not be readily apparent to the reader, your message can be made much more effective by including reader-benefit material. Understanding some basic truths about human nature helps us humanize our business messages. These truths are:
- People are self-centered
- People are defensive
- People are not perfect
- People expect courtesy
- People do the best they can
People are self-centered
Being self-centered does not mean egoistic and conceited. It means that people want to know what good they will get out of doing business with us. When a business executive receives mail, s/he asks two questions: what’s this and why me. Effective writers tell their readers how they will benefit from doing whatever they are asked to do. Readers are more likely to comply with your request if the benefit appears to be theirs. The first of the following two sentences got very little response when it was used in a collection letter; however, when the sentence was revised to include reader-benefit material, the letter was much more successful. Change : Please send your cheque for the amount you owe. To: By sending your cheque for Rs. 5,000, you will be able to maintain your good credit reputation. Merely inserting the second-person pronoun you into a sentence does not necessarily assure a you-attitude or reader benefit. The first version of the text example lacks reader benefit, although it does contain the word you. The revised version, by mentioning “shopping convenience,” contains reader benefit. Change: You will be glad to know that we are now open until 9:00 PM seven days a week. To : For your shopping convenience, we are now open until 9:00 PM seven days a week.
People are defensive
Put another way, it’s human nature to be suspicious of promises and to resist (at least initially) even the most well-meaning criticism. Constructive criticism can be seen as a personal attack. Since it’s normal for people to take what we say at face value, we need to be careful with the things we say and we say them.
People are not perfect
Error is a part of life, but no one likes having mistakes pointed out. Effective writers focus on solving the problem not pointing out mistakes. Example You go to a store, shop and return leaving an unsigned cheque behind. You receive a call. “You forgot to sign the cheque. Would you please come and sign it today before we close the store.” How would you like it? The message amounts to saying, it was your mistake. You did not sign it. This situation could be better handled by
3. Include courteous wording
Omitting discourteous wording does not necessarily guarantee courteous messages. Although some messages are void of discourteous word, they can be overly harsh or blunt. Notice how the blunt, harsh wording of the material in the example below can be revised to be more pleasant. Blunt, harsh wording: “You did not read my recent letter.” Courteous writing: “Please refer to my June 10 letter.” Similarly notice a difference between the begrudging tone in the first paragraph and the courteous tone in the second paragraph of the following illustration. Change: To change the closing date of your charge account will create a great deal of extra paperwork for us. However as you requested, we will comply with your desire to have the closing date of your account changed from the 15 th of each month to the 1 st of the month. To: The closing date for your account has been changed from the 15 th to the first of each month, as you asked, I can fully appreciate the reason for your wanting to have this change made.
4. Respond in a timely manner
Although one person’s priority may be another person’s timewaster, prompt attention to customer questions and needs is imperative. When we do not receive an answer to a letter within a reasonable time, we believe that our concerns are not important to the person to whom we wrote. Delaying a response can be severely damaging to the write-reader relationship. When the action requested by a customer cannot be competed in a reasonable time, he/she should be notified of the delay, sending a short note like the following will distinguish you as a courteous person. We will examine your camera to determine the shutter–response problem and have it back to you within three weeks. If repairs are needed, I will call you on Friday Dec. 11, for approval to make the repairs. Or, when the person to whom a business letter is addressed is out of town for an extended period, the following is a suitable response. Mr. X is out of the office until next Friday, I am sure he will be able to provide you with all of the information you requested when he returns. Many companies have found that prompt answer to question result in satisfied customers and help generate additional business. Courteous writing is more than words and sincerity. It is a total effort to demonstrate sincerity through positive writing and prompt attention to customer questions and inquiries.
5. Positive wording
In written communication, the use of positive wording is essential for building goodwill. The elimination of words that have negative connotations will provide a pleasing and comfortable link with the reader. Examples of positive and negative wording are: Negative wording: You do not qualify for the free gift because you did not respond within ten days. Positive wording: You probably did not notice that your order was mailed after our special gift order had expired. Negative wording: We are very sorry that we cannot send you our Communication Skills booklet by December 5. Positive wording: The publication department has assured me that you will have the Communication Skills booklet by January 20. Positive writing also requires a conscious effort to exclude words that readers normally consider to be negative. You cannot use such words as ”sorry” or unfortunately” without conveying to the reader that the situation is going to end with somewhat less than desired results.
5. Bias-free language
Most of us think of ourselves as being sensitive, unbiased, ethical, and fair. But being fair and objective isn’t enough; to establish a good relationship with your audience, you must also appear to be fair. Bias-free language avoids unethical, embarrassing blunders in language related to gender, race, ethnicity, age, and disability. a. Gender bias Avoid sexist language by using the same label for every one (don’t call a woman “chairperson” & then call a man “chairman”). Reword sentences to use they or to use no pronoun at all. The preferred title for women in business is Ms. , unless the individual asks to be addressed as Miss or Mrs. or has some other title, such as Dr. Change: Please share this report with your supervisor. He will find it interesting. To: Please share this report with your supervisor, who will find it interesting. You can also eliminate sexist language by using plurals as the following example illustrates. Change: The attitude of an employee is important if he expects to be promoted. To: The attitudes of employees are important if they expect to be promoted. Good communicators make every effort to change biased language such as:
