The purpose of responsive writing is to provide a response to previous communication. For responsive writing to be effective, it must be prompt and courteous, exact, sincere, and brief. It should be straightforward in providing what a reader has requested.

Examples

Thank-you note

[Production development staff],

All of you did an excellent job during our last sales quarter. You completed three big projects on tight deadlines. Consequently, our profits for the quarter look excellent.

On behalf of myself and the rest of the management team, let me say thank you and congratulations on a job well done.

Gratefully,

Michael Cassidy

Inquiry reply

Dear Mr. Ryan,

We received your inquiry yesterday regarding our latest software release. This letter will answer your questions concerning our technical support policy.

We handle a large volume of customer inquiries daily, and for this reason, the majority of our technical support is provided by e-mail, which allows us to respond more quickly to each customer. In addition, there is a technical support phone number you may call if you require further assistance. This number is 555-223-1212.

Sincerely,

Michael Cassidy

Sympathy note

Dear Jane,

I've been deeply concerned since I learned that Herb has been hospitalized two days ago. It was a shock to all of us because he seemed to be in such good health.

If you have any questions about company health insurance, I would be happy to help. Please call my office or cell phone directly if there is anything I can do.

Best wishes,

Michael

The purpose of informative writing is to transfer information to the reader. To make informative writing effective, you should explain your reason for writing at the start. It's also important to organize key ideas, be specific, and separate fact from opinion.

Examples

Simple announcements

Subject: Todd Brenner named head of the Marketing Department

The highly experienced Todd Brenner has accepted our offer to become head of the Marketing Department. Todd's duties will be effective as of September 1. His responsibilities will include formulating a sales and marketing plan, with specific reference to brand management, and handling the sales budget.

Todd previously held a similar role in a highly reputed company, where he helped increase sales by 12%. We are excited to welcome him on board.

Giving instructions

Subject: Policies affecting subcontractor agreements

Under normal circumstances, any preexisting subcontractor relationships can stay in place after you obtain a new contract. This also applies to arrangements you make after you have submitted an offer but before the contract is awarded to you. In all instances, please provide the following details:

1. name(s) of all subcontractors
2. effective dates of arrangement
3. names of the key contact individuals for each company

Please submit this information directly via e-mail.

Regards,

Tom

Answering questions

Please call me if you need more information.

Regards,

Ross

Answer the questions in relation to a business document you need to write.

1. Who are my readers?
2. How big is my reading audience?
3. What gender am I writing for?
4. How much do my readers already know about the subject?
5. What knowledge do they bring to the document?
6. What attitudes will they have about my document?
7. Is this a topic of interest to my readers?
8. What is the most important information I need my readers to know?
9. How will my readers benefit from my message?
10. Are some readers more important than others?
11. Do my intentions differ from those of my readers?
12. What do I want my readers to do in response to my message?
13. What do I want to achieve by writing this document?

To remind yourself of the appropriate business tone, ask yourself the following questions as you write:

1. Does the message in this document come across as confident?
2. Are there any places where the message sounds insecure?
3. Is the message positive?
4. Does the message emphasize benefits to the reader?
5. Does the message sound courteous?
6. Does the message sound condescending or stuffy?
7. Is the tone consistent throughout the message?
8. Have you taken the role of your reader into consideration?
9. Have you used a formal tone if you are writing to someone outside the organization?
10. Have you considered using a more informal or conversational tone if you are writing to a colleague?
11. Are you addressing a subordinate? If so, would using an authoritative tone be more appropriate?
12. Have you used an economical or direct tone if writing to a senior manager or executive?

To write effective and appropriate business messages, you need to identify the purpose of your writing. Taking a few minutes to define your purpose can dramatically improve your writing. It will help keep you focused on the point of your message and the reaction you want it to inspire.

There are two questions you can ask yourself to help identify your purpose in writing a business document:

• Why am I writing this document?
• What do I want my reader to do and know after reading the message?

Often your reason for writing and the response you want are similar. If you write to invite an important client to a company event, for instance, you want the client to be inspired to attend. Or there may be a more subtle link. For instance, you might regularly inform customers of new company developments because you want them to think of your company first when they need a particular service.

Whether you're writing a 50-page proposal or a five-line e-mail, your business writing will typically fall into one of three categories. Depending on your main purpose, it will be

• informative – Informative writing conveys information to the reader. It may introduce, report, instruct, propose, summarize, or classify.
• responsive – Responsive writing provides a reply to some prior communication. It may confirm, acknowledge, follow up with, thank, sympathize with, remit, refer, refuse, apologize, or congratulate the reader.
• persuasive – Persuasive writing attempts to convince the reader.

It's important to remember that there's often some overlap in the message types.

It's helpful to know the message type you're writing. This is because the format and approach you use should differ depending on whether you need to inform, respond to, or persuade your readers.

Informative messages

The purpose of informative writing is to transfer information to the reader. So it must be direct, clear, concise, and accessible. It should use a neutral tone and present facts or events objectively.

To make informative writing effective, you should explain your reason for writing at the start. It's also important to organize key ideas, be specific, and separate fact from opinion.

Composing a clear and well-organized informative message ensures that the message will succeed in getting the required information across to your readers.

Responsive messages

Responsive writing is often required in the business environment. For responsive writing to be effective, it must be

• prompt and courteous – A good rule of thumb is to respond to a request within 24 hours, or sooner if the person is upset or has a complaint. Being prompt and remaining courteous lets the reader know that you've taken the request seriously and are addressing it in a professional way.
• exact – You should state your response in the first or second sentence, be sure to answer all questions, use direct specific language, acknowledge important details, and provide additional information if possible.
• sincere – To demonstrate your sincerity, you can open or close with a positive statement, use a conversational tone, or personalize your response.
• brief – A brief response containing only what the reader requires is usually the most effective. However, it shouldn't be so short that it seems inconsiderate or abrupt to the reader.

It should also be straightforward in providing what a reader has requested.

Persuasive messages

Persuasive writing motivates the reader to support an idea or take action. It takes skill to write a persuasive document. You need to overcome readers' resistance to change and make it clear how your idea could benefit them or their organization.

To make persuasive writing effective, you should ensure you

• attract attention – An engaged reader is more likely to be persuaded. To attract attention, you should begin with a lead-in that's interesting and relevant to the reader. Once you've hooked the reader, you can introduce your idea.
• stimulate interest – Self-interest usually plays an important role in persuasion. Personal advantages often convince a reader to agree with your message. Describe the pertinent points of your idea, but also explain how they will benefit the reader.
• maintain focus – To maintain focus, you should spotlight one key benefit and develop it more fully than the others. Focus on the benefit that's most important or motivating to the reader. This benefit may be specific to an individual reader or broad enough to appeal to diverse readers.
• create a desire – Once the benefits are clear to your readers, you can create desire. You must convince your readers that they will feel satisfaction if they achieve these benefits. The benefits should either provide something desirable to the readers or help them to avoid something undesirable.
• prompt a response from the reader – The final step is to prompt readers for a response. Once they agree with your message, they must know what steps to take to show their agreement. You can make it easier for readers to act by taking responsibility yourself for any necessary action steps.

In business writing, it's vitally important to choose the right message type for your purpose, and then to write appropriately based on that purpose. This will ensure you communicate as effectively as possible with your intended audience and prompt the desired responses.

Business writing may be informative, responsive, or persuasive. The main purpose of your message will help determine the type it should take.

When writing an informative message, you need to identify your purpose clearly at the start, organize key ideas, be specific, and separate fact from opinion. Responsive writing should be prompt and satisfy the reader's original request. Effective persuasive writing attracts attention, engages the reader, stimulates interest, maintains focus, creates a desire, and prompts a response.

Analyzing your audience and the purpose of your message is the key to successful business writing. As well as helping you decide what content and how much detail to include, it helps you apply the right tone in your writing.

Tone refers to the style or manner of expression you use, in your speech or writing. Just like in a conversation, the tone you use in your writing affects the way a reader interprets and responds to your message.

In a conversation, you can gauge the reader's immediate reaction and change your tone accordingly. But once you've committed words to paper, you won't have a chance to do this. So it's doubly important to choose the right tone in your written messages.

And the tone you choose in your writing should be guided by who you want to read the material, why you want them to, and what reaction you hope to get.

Using the appropriate tone will

• prevent you from alienating the reader – If you use a tone that's too casual, you may cause offense. Similarly, using a tone that's too formal with teammates could appear "high-handed" and unfriendly.
• positively influence the reader's attitude – Using the right tone can help set the mood and form the attitude of your reader. This makes it more likely you'll get the desired response to your message.
• help the reader connect with your message – By using the right tone and choosing your words carefully, you can help readers "hear your voice." You can make them feel more connected to what you are writing about.

Choosing the appropriate tone

In all business writing, you should strive for an overall tone that is confident, conversational, positive, and courteous. This applies no matter who you're addressing.

Confident tone

A confident tone conveys your authority and helps assure the reader your message is important enough to warrant attention.

To use a confident tone, you should avoid qualifying your message with phrases such as "I think," "in my opinion," and "if you agree." Instead you should use words like "will" and "can," and state everything as a matter of fact. Also avoid undermining the importance of your message by using phrases like "I know you are busy but..." or "Although we're a relatively new company..." These convey insecurity.

Conversational tone

The norms for business communication have changed. Where highly formal, stilted wording was often used in the past, a more conversational tone is now preferred. This involves using natural-sounding wording similar to that used in everyday speech. For example, include contractions like "I'm" or "we've," and avoid highly formal language or dense jargon.

Positive tone

To maintain a positive tone, you should avoid expressions like "cannot" or "unable to." Instead, focus on the benefits of a message for the reader and on company strengths.

Courteous tone

A courteous tone is polite and respectful. It does not lecture the reader, state obvious truths, or use language that suggests that the reader is at fault or unreasonable. It's important that the way you write does not offend the reader.

Instinctively, most people adjust the way they speak depending on their relationships to those they're addressing. It's important to do this in your business writing also.

As well as keeping your tone appropriate overall, you should adjust your tone based on the reader's role. Generally, the role of the reader will determine whether your tone should be formal l, informal, economical and direct, or authoritative.

Formal

A formal tone is appropriate when you're writing to anyone outside your organization, such as clients, customers, vendors, or the public. Formal doesn't mean stuffy though. You should use conversational language but follow more formal protocols.

You should also remember to avoid using organizational jargon. Instead, stick to commonly understood words you know your reader will be familiar with.

Informal

An informal tone is suitable for communicating with coworkers and peers. It assumes familiarity and involves writing simply, without overly long sentences or technical terms. It also involves using devices like contractions to make text read more naturally.

However, note that it's never appropriate to use slang or too casual a tone in a business context. You also shouldn't assume a tone that's too familiar just because you're above someone else in an organization's hierarchy.

Economical and direct

Using a tone that's economical and direct is most appropriate for managers, executives, and those at higher levels of an organization. These individuals are often pressed for time and appreciate writing that gets to the point quickly and concisely.

Executives also tend to focus on bottom-line information, so it's best to avoid unnecessary or overly technical details. Instead, start by making the benefits of reading your messages clear. Use straightforward language and cover critical information first.

Authoritative

It's appropriate to use an authoritative tone when you need to instruct or reprimand your subordinates. This type of tone involves using concise language to make instructions or requirements clear. Although your wording should be simple, it will lack the "friendliness" of more casual correspondence.

This doesn't mean you should always use this tone with subordinates though. Using the imperative and sounding too high-handed could cause offense and resentment. It's better to reserve this for when it's really important to exert your authority.

Although business writing is generally becoming more informal and straightforward, you still need to use your judgment to find the right tone. Ultimately, the best approach is to put yourself in your readers' place and consider the message from their viewpoint.

It's important to use the appropriate tone in business correspondence.

Your overall tone should always be confident, conversational, positive, and courteous. But you also need to adapt your tone based on the role of the reader you're addressing.

Typically, a formal tone is appropriate for people outside your organization. It's appropriate to use an informal tone for colleagues and peers, an economical and direct tone for senior managers, and an authoritative tone for instructing or reprimanding subordinates.