Writing Direct Messages Sda

Strategies for Effective Letter Writing
Session 6
Session objectives
At the end of this session, you will be able to
• Analyze the audience for your communication

• Plan the purpose, content & organization of your message
• Compose the 1st draft of your message
• Revise for content, style, & correctness
• Proofread your message
The 5-Step Writing Process
Step 1: Audience Analysis
Step 2: Planning
Step 3: Drafting
Step 4: Revising
Step 5: Proofreading
Step 1: Audience Analysis
• Who is the audience?

- Primary audience e.g. Decision maker
- Secondary audience (others who will also read & be affected by your
message)
• What is your relationship with your audience?

- Does your audience know you?
If not: Establish credibility by assuming a professional tone
Give enough evidence to support your claims
Step 1: Audience Analysis (contd.)
• Are you writing to someone inside or outside your org.?

- If outside, your message may be more formal & contain more background
info, less jargon
• What is your status in relation to your audience? Writing to your manager? Your
peers? Your subordinates?
• How will your audience likely react?

• If positive, use direct approach – begin with most important info (e.g., your conclusions
or recommendations) & then provide details
• If neutral, use 1st few lines to get reader’s attention & convince him/her that your
message is important & that your reasoning is sound
• If neg., use external source & expert opinion to bolster your position
• What does the audience already know?
This determines:
- How much content to include
- What writing style is most appropriate
When writing to multiple audiences, adapt to the key decision maker (primary
audience)
Better to provide more rather than too little information
• What is unique about the audience?

Their interests, demographics, concerns
Make the reader feel important by personalizing the content

Step 2: Planning
• Involves making conscious decisions about the purpose,

content & organization of the message
Purpose to be specific
General-Purpose Statement Specific Communication Objective
To communicate the office move To explain the rationale & process for the
move to employees, while maintaining
morale & minimizing employee turnover
Step 2: Planning (contd.)
Content
How much background info is needed?
What statistical data best supports the conclusions?
Is expert opinion needed?
Would examples, anecdotes, or graphics help comprehension?
Will research be needed?
Options: Brainstorming & mind mapping/clustering

Step 2: Planning (contd.)
Organization
Indicates the order in which you’ll discuss each topic
1. Classify or group related ideas
2. Differentiate between major & minor points
2 Possibilities:
Direct Approach
Indirect Approach
Direct Approach
Introduction explains:
Why you’re writing (the purpose)

What your conclusions are (your main points)
What topics the reader can expect (the preview)
Indirect Approach
Provide more background information
Discuss your purpose & main points later in the introduction

Step 3: Drafting
• Compose a preliminary version of a message
• Let your ideas flow as quickly as possible
• Do not worry about style, correctness, or format
• Separate drafting stage from revising stage

Step 4: Revising
Revising for content
Is the content appropriate for the purpose I’ve identified?
Will the purpose of the message be clear to the reader?
Have I been sensitive to how the reader might react?
Is all the information necessary?
Is important information missing?
Is the order of my main points logical?

Step 4: Revising (contd.)
Revising for style

• Read each paragraph again (aloud, if possible)
Reading aloud gives you a feel for the rhythm & flow of your writing
• Long sentences which made sense may leave you out of breath
Revising for correctness

• Check grammar, spelling, punctuation, word usage
Step 5: Proofreading
• Content errors
Any material omitted unintentionally? Any repetition of information?
• Typographical errors
Proper names & numbers; form for from; repeated or omitted words such as articles
(a, an, the); titles & headings
• Formatting errors
Visually inspect the message for appropriate format
Are all the parts included & in the correct position?
Does the message look attractive on the page or online?

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Strategies for Effective Letter Writing

At the end of this session, you will be able to

• Analyze the audience for your communication

Step 1: Audience Analysis

• Who is the audience?

• What is your relationship with your audience?

• Are you writing to someone inside or outside your org.?

• How will your audience likely react?

• What does the audience already know?

• What is unique about the audience?

Make the reader feel important by personalizing the content

• Involves making conscious decisions about the purpose,

General-Purpose Statement Specific Communication Objective

How much background info is needed?

What statistical data best supports the conclusions?

Is expert opinion needed?

Would examples, anecdotes, or graphics help comprehension?

Will research be needed?

Options: Brainstorming & mind mapping/clustering

Indicates the order in which you’ll discuss each topic

1. Classify or group related ideas

2. Differentiate between major & minor points

Why you’re writing (the purpose)

Provide more background information

Discuss your purpose & main points later in the introduction

• Compose a preliminary version of a message

• Let your ideas flow as quickly as possible

• Do not worry about style, correctness, or format

• Separate drafting stage from revising stage

Revising for content

Is the content appropriate for the purpose I’ve identified?

Will the purpose of the message be clear to the reader?

Have I been sensitive to how the reader might react?

Is all the information necessary?

Is important information missing?

Is the order of my main points logical?

Revising for style

Revising for correctness

Any material omitted unintentionally? Any repetition of information?

Visually inspect the message for appropriate format

Are all the parts included & in the correct position?

Does the message look attractive on the page or online?

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