Your MemoYour Memo Correct memo format

TONE

ORGANIZATION

Frontloading and common ground

Conclusion: goodwill, gracious close

Professionalism: proofreading, clarity

MAIBMAIB

Class 6: The Writing Process, Persuasion, and Reports

““Only 0.8% of the human race Only 0.8% of the human race is capable of writing is capable of writing

something that is instantly something that is instantly understandable.”understandable.”

H.L. Mencken

THE WRITING PROCESSTHE WRITING PROCESS

Writing is a high-level intellectual activity: it takes time

Create your own system for writing: make this process a new habit

Divide your time equally between thinking, writing, and revising

COMMON STEPS FOR COMMON STEPS FOR WRITINGWRITING

1) WORRYING AND PROCRASTINATING

2) LISTING IDEAS

3) ORGANIZING KEY POINTS

4) WRITING THE DRAFT

5) REVISING THE DRAFT

6) PROOFREADING

WORRYING AND WORRYING AND PROCRASTINATNGPROCRASTINATNG

These pre-writing “activities” can actually be productive

Let your subconscious deal with the problem but set a deadline, then start listing or writing

LISTING AND ORGANIZINGLISTING AND ORGANIZING

Jot down ALL your ideas randomly Come back to the list later and eliminate or add

ideas Organize these ideas into an order that best serves

your purpose (define it NOW) and the reader’s needs (analyze them NOW)

These actions constitute the major decision-making and planning moves of the writing process

WRITING THE DRAFTWRITING THE DRAFT

Remember: this is a ROUGH draft. Do not stop to edit or perfect anything.

Simply put your ideas down on paper as quickly and thoroughly as you can: keep ideas flowing

Note where graphics and data should be inserted later

The Importance of RevisingThe Importance of Revising

REVISING THE DRAFTREVISING THE DRAFT

Maintain your professional image by polishing the rough draft in this step

Try to read your document from the reader’s perspective

Analyze power of ideas and strength of structure Test logic and progression of thinking Rewrite weaker passages, paragraphs, and

sentences

PROOFREADINGPROOFREADING

Protect your credibility as a professional (writer and manager) by sweating the details

Check diction, tone, grammar, and punctuation Enlist the help of an outside reader Read aloud Use mechanical tools like spellcheckers and

grammar checkers

SOME PRACTICAL WRITING SOME PRACTICAL WRITING TIPSTIPS

Talk about your ideas first as a warm up Start with the easiest part of the document Set yourself a time limit and write uninterruptedly

for this period Be uncritical at first to encourage ideas Break big jobs into small chunks Realize that the first draft will be rough and wait

to edit until after larger revisions Set drafts aside for a “cooling-off” period

PERSUASION

The ability to influence others to accept your point of view

CLASSIC PERSUASIVE CLASSIC PERSUASIVE PRINCIPLESPRINCIPLES

LOGOS: your message (content, organization, format)

PATHOS: your reader’s needs

ETHOS: your credibility as writer/expert

Facts and figures alone will never persuade anyone. If you can’t connect your facts to the dreams of the client, then all the statistics and charts in the world won’t make any impression.

Rene Nourse, VP Investments: Prudential Securities, Inc.

Present AND Interpret FactsPresent AND Interpret Facts

This CD-ROM can store 600 megabytes of information

This CD-ROM can store 600 megabytes of information. With this capacity, you have enough space to store a complete set of encyclopedias and 15 minutes of informative videos.

Present AND Interpret FactsPresent AND Interpret Facts

DATA ALONE:

Strengths - The business plan states that Green Dolphin’s current products are in a “very large and rapidly expanding cap market”.The American Apparel Manufacturer Association (AAMA) estimates that retail sales of baseball caps increased from 1991 by 11.5% to $1.75 billion in 1992.

DATA INTERPRETED Strengths – Green Dolphin’s products will

sell in two rapidly expanding markets: baseball style caps and licensed sports apparel. According to statistics cited in their business plan, the cap market expanded 11.5% from 1991 to 1992, while the professional sports league apparel market segment has been growing even faster. Clearly these have been very profitable markets in the recent past and give indications that they will continue to be successful in the future. In addition, a few successful companies, such as Lucky (apparel), Fossil (watches), and Coopers town (major league baseball caps and jerseys), are beginning to focus on vintage style apparel. I believe that Green Dolphin is positioned to enter these expanding markets at a very opportune time.

3 Basics for a Persuasive 3 Basics for a Persuasive MessageMessage

1. Know your idea/product/abilities

2. Know your audience

3. Know the end result/action you seek

Successful Business Successful Business Persuasive StrategiesPersuasive Strategies

Making moneySaving moneyIncreasing efficiency (saving time)Making the best use of resources

3 Responses to Persuasion3 Responses to Persuasion

Compliance: the least effective response. Those who comply do so for reward or punishment, without consensus

Identification: a better response. These people accept your message because they like or respect you

Internalization: the best response. Those who internalize your message will actively change their ideas to your way of thinking because they recognize the benefits of your ideas

The ReportThe ReportFrom the beginning you should present

A clear purposeA clear and consistent structureA cohesive framework for evaluationAn idea of your report’s scopeExtensive supporting data and analysis

Recommendation ReportsRecommendation Reports

These reports analyze a problem/need/opportunity in detail

They evaluate the situation and the alternatives

They also recommend a solution/decision/or action based on the analysis and evaluation

STRUCTURE OF YOUR STRUCTURE OF YOUR REPORTREPORT

1. FRONT MATTER

2. ANALYSIS AND EVALUATIONS

3. RECOMMENDATIONS

4. END MATTER

FRONT MATTERFRONT MATTER

1. Transmittal memo/letter (N/A)

2. TITLE PAGE

3. Table of Contents (N/A)

4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

ANALYSIS and ANALYSIS and EVALUATIONSEVALUATIONS

Orient your reader to topic and purpose

Give criteria for selection and frontloaded recommendations

Systematically analyze and evaluate data collected about other companies’ strategies

Evaluation CriteriaEvaluation Criteria

Depending on your report’s purpose, you will need to select from some of the following criteria:

1. Technical Strategies: why and how the proposed strategy will work

2. Cost Strategies: Why the plan is cost-effective and competitive and any risks involved

3. Management Strategies: How the company will carry out its plan (personnel, experience, facilities, quality control mechanisms)

RECOMMENDATIONSRECOMMENDATIONS

Summary of pros and cons, relating to your company’s needs

Recommendations re-presented in the light of the analysis

Action plan and agenda

END MATTEREND MATTER

Appendixes (any extra data/reports in support of recommendations)

List of sources

SIX STEPS TO WRITING A SIX STEPS TO WRITING A REPORTREPORT

1. Define the situation and need

2. Gather the necessary data and information

3. Interpret the data

4. Organize and evaluate the information

5. Write the report

6. Revise the report with your reader in mind

The Importance of Document The Importance of Document DesignDesign

DOCUMENT DESIGNDOCUMENT DESIGN

Writing is purely VISUALVISUAL, so its arrangement and effect on the page are IMPORTANTIMPORTANT

DOCUMENT DESIGNDOCUMENT DESIGN

VISUAL CLARITY

HELPS

VERBAL CLARITY

DESIGN and LAYOUT HINTSDESIGN and LAYOUT HINTS

1. Use white space, varying paragraph lengths, and lists to emphasize ideas

2. Use headings to group ideas and lead the reader through your thinking

3. Limit use of capitals and number of typefaces

4. Put important elements in the top left and lower right quadrants of the page

5. Be sparing in use of highlighting and color

Use Graphics CarefullyUse Graphics Carefully