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.

Author: Carol W. Ellis
Pub Date: July 2004
Your Price: $15.00
ISBN: 9780814408308
Format: Paper or Softback

Directing others can be challenging. Using a structured, four-step approach can help you direct others effectively and achieve organizational goals.

The four-step approach is as follows:

1. Set goals
   First you need to set a team goal that supports organizational goals. Goals don't need to be expressed in measurable terms; in fact goals are typically stated in abstract and general terms. They do need to support the organization's overall mission, vision, and values. Involving your team members in developing a goal will give them a sense of ownership and increase their commitment to achieving the goal.
2. Create objectives
   In line with the goals set for the team, you need to create objectives to make sure the team achieves those goals. Objectives must be measurable so that progress can be tracked. You should use the SMART model, ensuring that the objectives you set are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
3. Define a plan of action
   Once you've set goals and objectives, you have to specify what must be done to accomplish them. This is the action plan for your team. An action plan identifies the tasks and deliverables that must be completed to achieve objectives, which in turn enable the team to achieve its goals. You must also provide direction in the form of targets and timelines. At a team level, it's really the action plan that sets direction and pace. Define a new action plan for each budget period to ensure that your team's work is aligned with the goals and vision of the organization.
4. Follow up
   After providing direction in the form of an action plan, you need to monitor progress. This is the purpose of the final step of following up. You need to ensure that what's laid out in the plan is being achieved. If necessary, modify the action plan to get progress back on track or to reflect changes made at higher levels of the organization. During the follow-up step, you can also evaluate the overall performance of the team and the effectiveness of its goals and objectives, and provide feedback and encouragement to keep team members on track.

Can you recall a situation in your work experience where inadequate authority was provided to you? Do you remember how you felt? Was the task you were delegated completed successfully? The different degrees of delegated authority can be broken down into four categories. These are

• no authority
• minimal authority
• medium authority, and
• absolute authority

There are certain variables you should examine before deciding on the level of authority you should grant when delegating tasks. Some of these variables are the experience and competence levels of the employees, and the importance of the relevant tasks.

No authority

It's appropriate not to grant any authority when a task is especially important or an employee is new or inexperienced. When no authority is granted, you make all of the decisions and closely monitor the employee's progress in completing the task.

When you take this approach, you'll need to determine responsibilities and set goals, plans, and standards for completing a task. The employee will need to submit frequent progress reports to you and consult you about any problems encountered before, during, or after task completion.

Minimal authority

It's best to grant minimal authority when an employee has some experience with the task to be completed but still requires substantial guidance and input from to complete the task successfully. So you still maintain most of the responsibility for making decisions about the task.

You also monitor progress in completing the task closely, although not as much as you would if you weren't granting any authority. You determine responsibilities, and you and the employee set goals and standards together. The employee must submit progress reports to you and should consult with you about most, but not all, issues.

Medium authority

When you grant medium authority, an employee will make some decisions independently and consult you only about difficult decisions or problems they can't solve on their own. You'll still need to determine the employee's responsibilities. The employee is then responsible for setting goals, plans, and standards and for providing you with periodic reports on how the task is progressing.

Absolute authority

It's appropriate to grant absolute authority when the employee to whom you're delegating a task has earned your trust and demonstrated competence with similar types of tasks in the past. The employee completing the task makes all of the decisions. In other words, you hand over most of the responsibility for task completion.

When you grant absolute authority,

• you and the employee determine responsibilities
• the employee sets goals, plans, and standards
• the employee will submit periodic reports, and
• the employee won't consult you about problem areas

If you know the different characteristics of the four levels of authority, you'll be better able to delegate tasks. You'll also be able to clarify your responsibilities and those of the employees you've assigned to complete the tasks.

The management writer Rosemary Stewart explained that any job is subject to a range of demands and a series of constraints. Inevitably, you'll encounter demands on your time from your peers, your manager, and the employees you manage. You'll need to deal with external demands, such as those created by legislation. You may also be constrained by limits in a budget and resources, location, policy, or regulations.

To succeed as a manager, you need to find ways of working successfully within the relevant constraints while meeting the demands of your job.

You'll be faced with a number of different types of demands and constraints. Being able to identify them will help you to decide how best to deal with them. Some issues are easier to cope with than others, and this can depend on factors within your own organization.

Managers also impose demands on themselves, with high expectations about what they can achieve.

In addition, Rosemary Stewart identified five more demands that managers face:

• Manager-imposed demands
  Your boss is likely to have several expectations of you and to place demands on your time.
• Staff-imposed demands
  Your staff members will want and expect you to spend time with them, giving advice or training.
• Peer-imposed demands
  Other managers within the organization will often require information, support, or assistance from you.
• System-imposed demands
  Your organization will have its own set of systems that can't be ignored. These will include systems for creating and tracking budgets, reports, and meetings.
• Externally-imposed demands
  Customers, suppliers, or other stakeholders may require information or action from you.

The attitudes and expectations of those around you will constrain the ways you're able to act as a manager. In addition, Stewart identified five constraints for managers:

• Limited resources
  All resources are limited in some way. As a manager, you'll have to work with and make the best use of the types and amounts of resources that are available to you.
• Legal regulations
  As a manager, you have a responsibility to act within the law and to ensure that your team does too.
• Processes and equipment
  You'll be constrained by the processes and equipment available to you. This applies equally to the quality and types of resources available.
• Diverse teams and locations
  You may be working with a number of teams, some of which aren't at the same location. You may also find that you have to work with other departments, suppliers, or customers who are geographically remote.
• Policies and procedures
  Every organization has its own policies and procedures, and you'll have to work within them.

It might be helpful to consider how the demands and constraints of a manager's job differ from those of your current or previous non-managerial role. Being a successful manager involves juggling conflicting demands, and working within constraints to meet the needs of your organization.

In summary, demands can come from bosses, employees, and customer demands. They can also come from peers, the system, and the external environment. Of course, some of the toughest demands may come from you, yourself. Constraints can include the physical locations of teams, technological limitations, and regulations applied to your industry as a whole. Managers may also be constrained by limited resources, organizational policies, or people's attitudes.

Demands and constraints won't go away. Dealing with them in the best ways possible are what will distinguish you as a successful manager.