Written communication
Written communication is a creative activity that requires a lot of imagination and efforts to arrive at the finished product. Writing is a mode of communicating a message for a purpose. Writing reveals one’s ability to think clearly and to use language effectively.
Written communication is transmitted by written words in the form of letters, memos, circulars, bulletins, reports, instruction cards, manuals, magazines, handbooks, etc.
Purpose of writing
The first task for writing effectively is to identify the purpose of the communication. There are mainly two purposes of communication in business situations.
1. To inform and 2. Persuade
Features of effective writing
Effective writing is achieved when it has certain features. Writing will be effective if it is organized as appropriate and is readable.
Clarity : A messenger works out some scheme, a scientist or an engineer does a job. As the ‘doer’ he/she is clear about what he/she has in his/her mind. But the moment he/she takes up a pen and starts writing to communicate his/her ideas, he/she overlooks that fact that the structure of his/her thoughts has to follow the structure of language, that is to say, the structure of sentences, paragraphs and the whole composition.
Clear writing is coherent and avoids muddy, incorrect, overly complex phrases and jargon.
Brevity : A major determinant of readability is conciseness. Avoid wordy phrases and long, complex words; opt instead for short, familiar words. You can also improve conciseness by eliminating redundancies.
Appropriate tone : One of the major characteristics of effective writing is appropriate tone.
Readers are egocentric. They like to read about themselves and to see references to themselves. Business writing shares with direct-mail advertising the technique of personalizing messages to audiences to obtain a desired response.
Words that stir up positive meanings in the reader’s mind usually are best for achieving the letter objectives. Negative words stir up resistance and hurt goodwill.
Writing in conversational language is not easy, for we tend to be stiff and formal. The results are letters that convey the impression of a cold and formal institution rather than being friendly.
Written communication is a creative activity that requires a lot of imagination and efforts to arrive at the finished product. Writing is a mode of communicating a message for a purpose. Writing reveals one’s ability to think clearly and to use language effectively.
Written communication is transmitted by written words in the form of letters, memos, circulars, bulletins, reports, instruction cards, manuals, magazines, handbooks, etc.
Purpose of writing
The first task for writing effectively is to identify the purpose of the communication. There are mainly two purposes of communication in business situations.
1. To inform and 2. Persuade
Features of effective writing
Effective writing is achieved when it has certain features. Writing will be effective if it is organized as appropriate and is readable.
Clarity : A messenger works out some scheme, a scientist or an engineer does a job. As the ‘doer’ he/she is clear about what he/she has in his/her mind. But the moment he/she takes up a pen and starts writing to communicate his/her ideas, he/she overlooks that fact that the structure of his/her thoughts has to follow the structure of language, that is to say, the structure of sentences, paragraphs and the whole composition.
Clear writing is coherent and avoids muddy, incorrect, overly complex phrases and jargon.
Brevity : A major determinant of readability is conciseness. Avoid wordy phrases and long, complex words; opt instead for short, familiar words. You can also improve conciseness by eliminating redundancies.
Appropriate tone : One of the major characteristics of effective writing is appropriate tone.
Readers are egocentric. They like to read about themselves and to see references to themselves. Business writing shares with direct-mail advertising the technique of personalizing messages to audiences to obtain a desired response.
Words that stir up positive meanings in the reader’s mind usually are best for achieving the letter objectives. Negative words stir up resistance and hurt goodwill.
Writing in conversational language is not easy, for we tend to be stiff and formal. The results are letters that convey the impression of a cold and formal institution rather than being friendly.