Basic Business Communication. Lesson 4. The Nature of Written Communication

Basic Business Communication
Lesson 4: The Nature of Written Communication
1. The importance of effective written communication
The problem when using written communication in the workplace is that there is already an overload of
reports, memos, e-mails, and other documents. Only a small portion are these are ever read or used, and
when there is information overload it is easy for important information to get lost. If you read a million words a
month, and you do so with 80% recall, you are still going to forget 200 000 words, and some of those might
have been very important.
Since the business environment is so busy, your written communication must be simple and clear, so that
you can get a speedy reply. Good written communication will ensure the following:
• Misunderstandings can be avoided, as a paper is more reliable than human memory.
• The written record of events gives the company legal protection.
• When there is disagreement, written documents facilitates understanding.
• Written communication is permanent.
• It serves as an important record.
• It creates a professional image.
2. Working definition of written communication.
A communication process, where meaning is transferred from the writer to the reader, through information
that is recorded as written language.
The cyclical nature of this process and the typical barriers associated with written language is illustrated
below.

Without the benefit of non-verbal communication to enhance the meaning, the
written language ability of the parties will directly determine whether the
communication is successful or not as it is the only tool through which the encoding and decoding is
happening.
3. Reading techniques
There are only two tools available in written communication, and that is reading and writing. Whatever we
write, will be informed by what we have already read. In other words, if you want to be a good writer (sender)
you need to be a good reader (receiver) 1 st .
Depending on your goals, you can use different reading techniques to turn you into a better reader. The
different techniques are summarised below, and although clearly distinguishable, they are not necessary
mutually exclusive.
Scanning
Technique Description Example
You read to identify specific information by
scanning the text.
Reading the executive summary
of a report.
Skimming
Reading to only get a general idea of what
the text is about.
Reading your news feed on the
way to work.
Active Reading You read to gain an in-depth understanding. Preparing for a sermon.
Detailed Reading
Speed Reading
Intensive Reading
You read with the goal to remember the
details.
You read to re-familiarise yourself with
known texts.
You read to understand and evaluate the
text.
Studying for an exam.
Preparing for a meeting.
Reading for a dissertation.
Extensive Reading You read for pleasure. Reading a novel.

Structure-Proposition-
Evaluation Reading
Survey-Question-
Review Reading.
You read, not only to evaluate the text, but
also the underlying structure and arguments
You read so that you can understand and
teach the content to others.
Preparing to interview an expert.
Preparing for a lecture
4. Grammer
When writing, your communication can be either direct or indirect. The difference between the two is that
when your communication is direct, it is directed at a specific person or persons, and you expect a response,
but when it is indirect, you use an assortment of media and you do not expect a direct response. Once again,
the two are not mutually exclusive, for example, when you place an add using media, it is a mass
communication tool, but you are dependent on your prospects responding to it or you will not see a return on
your investment.
In order to get the desired response from your audience, we must consider the same principles we did in
spoken communication like audience, purpose, and style, but you must also use good grammar. Remember,
you cannot count on non-verbal communication to enhance the meaning when using written communication.
You can quickly improve your grammar by following the principles below.
• Develop your vocabulary. - The body of words used in a particular language.
• Rather use the active voice. - The verb follows a direct object.
• Pay attention to punctuation. - The correct use of spacing, marks and symbols.
• Use neologisms sparingly. - A new word or expression.
Then try to avoid the following in your writing.
• Irony. - The words contradict the meaning.
• Repetition. - Repeating what was already said.
• Redundancy. - Using words with the same meaning unnecessary.
• Verbosity. - Using more words than needed.
Below are a couple of examples of badly written communication.
• “I am here to tell you that this Government is a government for the people because we are serving
the people”.
• “The future potential of this investment is good for the future”.
• “The airline reservation system handles airline reservation data”.
• “In view of the downturn, we downsized”.
5. Punctuation
Make sure that you use the correct spacing, marks, and symbols in your writing. For example.
• Apostrophe (‘) - Shows that the noun owns something.
• Comma (,) - Used to separate parts of a sentence.
• Hyphen(-) - Used to join words.

• Dash (–) - Used to indicate a range or a pause.
• Quotation (“”) - Indicates direct speech.
The two sentences below illustrates how punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence completely.
• The panda eats shoots and leaves.
• The panda eats, shoots, and leaves.
6. Style considerations
Consider the person in which you are going to write.
• First person (I say…)
• Third person (He/ she said…)
• Impersonal (It was said…)
Are you going to use active or passive voice?
• John kicked the ball. Vs The ball was kicked by John.
Are you going to use short or long sentences?
If you decide to use archaic expressions, will your audience understand what you are saying?
• “John went to see the landlord” or “John went forth to pay homage to the lord of the manor”.
• “My wife is expecting a baby” or “My wife is in confinement”.
• “Herbert is friendly.” or “Herbert is a gay fellow.”
The general rule is that it is better to use simple, concise, and correct English.
• State the purpose and get to the point quickly.
• Only use everyday words that you understand.
• Remain professional and positive.
• Avoid too much emotion.
• Avoid to many words.
• Do not discriminate.
• Use short sentences.
• Use the active voice.
When using word processing software, remember to always do a spell check, but know it’s not fool proof.
7. Effective headings
If you know how to use effective headings, layout, and graphics, you will be better able to capture and
keep your audience’s attention. Follow the principles below when you decide on a heading for your piece
of writing.
• It must not be too short & meaningless or too long.
• It must describe what is to follow in the body of your writing.
• It must set the correct tone.

• It must draw the reader in.
• It must be a complete thought.
• It must be relevant.
• It must be clear & unambiguous.
Fonts and effects must be easy to read, and the following characteristics must be used sparingly.
• Upper & lower casing.
• Different font sizes.
• Bold and italics.
8. Layout and graphics
A simple, uncluttered layout will make the reader think the content will be good too. Keep the following layout
principles in mind when writing.
• Use short paragraphs.
• Make use of headings & sub-headings.
• Use bullet points for lists.
• Save the colour for your graphics.
• Watch your numbering. Auto numbering and auto correct might not give you the intended results.
If you are going to use graphics remember that it must be interesting and that it must provide the reader with
a visual summary of what you already stated. It is also important that you use the correct type of graphics for
the purpose of your writing. Some of these graphic types are listed below.
• Signs & symbols
• Illustrations
• Graphs
o Pie - , Bar – and line graphs.
o Know when to use which one.
• Flow charts
o for a step-by-step process.
• Tables
o Must have headings.
o Can be re-ordered.
• Organograms / organisational charts
• Maps
When using word processing software like MS Word, you must know how to use the Insert, Design, and
Layout tabs.
9. Precis
Since we live in a world of information overload, you can’t just dump all the information on your audience.
Ask yourself “Who will read it?” and “How much information do they need?” before you send or publish your
message.

You will then use the techniques of summarising and paraphrasing to present
your message as a precis to your readers.
• A summary is a brief statement of the main points.
• Paraphrasing means using your own words.
When summarizing, you must be able to identify the topic, the main idea, and the supporting ideas as in the
illustration below.
You can follow the process below to write a precis.
• Look for clues in headings and the table of contents.
• Read with understanding.
• Identify the topic.
• Highlight or underline key ideas.
• Reduce any unnecessary words / ideas.
• Eliminate supporting ideas.
• Edit & check if it makes sense.
• Reduce it to the desired length.
10. Editing
Remember to edit & proofread everything that leaves your desk, for both internal & external customers.
• Edit: check and try to improve the accuracy and clarity. – Best done by the writer.
• Proofread: read & correct. – Best done by a third person.
The figure below shows a useful editing spider diagram that you can use to make sure your editing is
complete.

11. Persuasive Writing
To persuade your audience is one of the main purposes of communication as can be seen below.
• Express emotion.
• Influencing others.
• Maintain contact with the world.
• Pleasure – prose & poetry.
Persuasive writing can have one of two aims.
• To persuade in order to make someone do something through reason or charm.
• To manipulate in order to control someone through cunning, deception, and threats.
The basis of persuasion can be either facts or opinion. If it is facts, then the truth of the statements can be
proven by experience or observation, but when it is opinion, the statements are not necessary founded on
the certainty of proof, but rather the conviction of the writer. The difference between informative writing and
persuasive writing is summarised in the table below.