1. Best Practices in Business Writing and Communication A D R IA N ME DINA MA R CH 1 , 20 1 4

2. Introduction and Agenda Communication is the transmission of information and meaning from one individual or group to another (Guffey & Loewy, 2011, p. 13). Communication is a highly important skill to possess for employees. Organizations want the best communicators so the organizations message will be properly conveyed. To be able to properly communicate effectively, we will look at the following practices to becoming a better in business writing and communication. Effective and ethical business communication Professionalism in the workplace

3. Introduction and Agenda cont. Intercultural Communication Business professional writing tips Digital media and electronic messaging Positive and negative messages Business presentations Reports, Plans and Proposals for Business

4. Effective and Ethical Communication

5. The Four Communication Channels Oral Written Electronic Nonverbal Each of these channels has certain characteristics that can either help or hinder communication, depending on the circumstances, the message, and the sender and audience (Bowman, 2004, p. 1). Do not worry it is not the end of the world.

6. The Four Communication Channels advantages/disadvantages Oral Immediate interaction and discussion among individuals. Inefficient in that there is no way to store information and retrieve it for later use. Written Can cross barriers of time and provides that permanent record. Is a slow channel of communication and clarity is very important. Electronic Very fast, convenient, cost effective. Can have a great record for historical data. Uses both synchronous and asynchronous messaging and cause problems if both parties are not available. Nonverbal Is able to communicate feelings, status and other emotional messages. Cultural differences can be a concern when it comes to eye contact or body language.

7. Ethical Communication Ethical communication enhances human worth and dignity by fostering t r u t h f u l n e s s , f a i r n e s s , r e s p o n s i b i l i t y, p e r s o n a l i n t e g r i t y, a n d r e s p e c t f o r s e l f a n d o t h e r ( M c G r a w - H i l l , 20 0 0 , p a r a . 7 ) . Honesty is of the up most importance. Understand and respect others that are communicating. Do not allow communication that degrades others. Everyone must be held accountable for their communication efforts. Have policies that promote and encourage ethics. Ethics training is essential to learn and maintain ethics in the organization. Have leadership that exemplifies ethics. Give credit where credit is due.

8. Workplace Professionalism

9. Professionalism in Workplace The definition of professionalism indicates that each person perform their tasks with genuine earnest and honesty (JWilliamsStaffing , 2013, para. 1). There are many ways to show professionalism in the workplace. This list will help employees and employers know how to be successful in being professional. Treat everyone with respect. Stick to your commitments. Admit to your mistakes. Take on leadership roles when they are presented. Separate work and home life. Honesty is the best policy.

10. Professionalism in Workplace cont. There are many characteristics that can hurt professionalism in the workplace A negative attitude can destroy everything. It will undermine everything that the organization has worked for. Tardiness and poor attendance hurts others when they have to pick up your slack. Inappropriate body language can speak louder than words. Professionalism must be established at the top and it must flow down. The same goes for a positive attitude. Positive communication is a good way to keep up the attitude in the organization.

11. Intercultural Communication Understanding other cultures can be difficult. The key is to study and do your home work and take an interest in the cultures you are doing business with. Here are some pieces to remember when doing business around the world. Know the customs and the culture. Show respect. Speak clearly and write clearly. Must be able to adapt to meet the needs of all the organizations involved. Ethnocentrism cannot be avoided, but to be developing more balanced understandings is to recognize that we do not understand, that we are falsely assuming something that is not the case and is out of context (Barger, 2008, para. 22).

12. Business Writing Tips 3 As: Analyze, Anticipate, Adapt. Decide the direction. Profile the audience. Establish techniques. Prewriting Writing Research the topic. Establish a rough draft. Compose the writing. Revising Proofread, proofread, proofr ead. Evaluate the writing. Cutout unnecessary pieces.

13. Business Writing Tips cont. The audience is the most important. Without them there is not a purpose for writing at all. The audience must be thought of and they must be engaged by the writer. Be sure to be inclusive. Addressing everyone keeps everyone engaged. Do not waste time. Be informative and concise. Set a tone that is easy to follow and that is consistent throughout your writing. Stay on track, do not deviate from the topic. Makes stories and examples relevant.

14. Electronic messaging and digital media

15. Electronic messaging Electronic messaging allows for faster and more efficient way of communicating. It is becoming the standard in business in the way to correspond with different organizations. There are many reasons to use electronic messaging. Speed. Messages are now immediate. Record keeping. Still provide a record the way hard copies do. Lower cost than any other type of messaging. Can be formal and informal. Simple and complex. Easier to share among larger groups. Multi purpose use in communicating with people and organizations.

16. Digital Media Social Media is a staple in doing business. Everyone is using it and organizations are using it to get their name out there and in the minds of people. Facebook has made interaction between businesses much easier. They have also included the customers and have brought a new dynamic in doing business. Adding YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin, Wikipedia, and flickr into the mix creates a network of never -ending possibilities.

17. Positive and negative messages Positive messages are often the easiest to write because the audience is expected to be fairly receptive of the presented information. Negative messages are usually difficult to write because the audience is being told exactly what they dont want to hear (Writing Center, 2000, para. 2). There is a happy and sad, a ying and yang type of interaction that is present that many have seen in life. Where these typically represent a balance in life in business it is the same. There must be balance, but the positive is more appealing in communication.

18. Positive Messages Should have a direct approach. Used in all types of communication. Uplifting to person or group. Can be motivating. Positive messages are the easiest to write. They will have a clear statement and have a sense of gratitude and appreciation. The message should conclude with courteous and a request for action if needed.

19. Negative Messages Should have an indirect approach Need to be empathetic. Must contain a reason. Need to be explained very clearly. Negative messages can be difficult especially when it is firing someone. Buffers must typically be used when presenting bad news. Empathy is important and must be sincere. People want to know why when bad news arises so clear answers must be given when they can. Always close in a pleasant way.

20. Business Presentations

21. Business Presentation Gathering all the information is done. Writing everything out is complete. Now everything must be brought together in a format that will make sense to the audience. According to Guffey and Loewy (2011) there are eight steps when it comes to making a powerful presentation and they are explained below. Start with the text. This is the foundation of the presentation. The words must be clear and concise. This must be completed first before concerning yourself with anything else. Select background and fonts. Starting with a template is the easiest way to begin. This will allow for consistent font styles and backgrounds. Choose a font that is easy to read and do not use more than two fonts in your presentation. Ensure the colors are contrasting so everything stands out applicably.

22. Business Presentation cont. Choose images that help communicate your message. A picture is a worth a thousand words, is how the old saying goes. Pictures need to compliment what is going on with the text. Clip art images are a great and easy way to add pictures to a presentation. Always check for copyright issues when using pictures from other sources. Photographs are the preferred type of images in a presentation. Create graphics. Like pictures a graphic can speak volumes. Charts and SmartArt are great graphics when you are trying to get a specific point across. The graphics need to be even more concise than the words that are put down in the presentation. Use the handouts more for the greater detail than the presentation itself, this way it does not get so cluttered. Add special effects. Animations will help keep your audience focused on the discussion. Having bullets appear one at a time gives the audience time to take notes and discuss the bullet topic.

23. Business Presentation cont. Create hyperlinks to approximate the Web browsing experience. This will make your presentation more interactive. It does not have to be to a website, another presentation, a spreadsheet or any other type of file or media. It provides a different level that is engaging. Engage your audience by asking for interaction. Asking questions is great for interaction, but taking a step further with polling questions is even more engaging. Using handheld devices that use PowerPoint add-in program to rate the audiences responses and put the results in a chart for the audience to see. Move your presentation to the Internet. Posting your presentation online allows others to access it anytime they need to for reference. This ease of access is growing with more organizations all the time. This is the best way for Web conferencing especially when there are international borders to cross. Chart Title 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

24. Reports, Plans and Proposals

25. Reports There are formal and informal business reports. Each have the advantages and disadvantages. It is knowing when to use the right one at and for the right time. Formal Reports Executive audience. More specific and direct, provide facts and data. Not as routine, more formal language. Informal Reports Quick retrieval of information, no set structure. More routine and typically internal. Communication can come in different formats.

26. Plans Business plan is a formal statement that lays out the business goals of an organization. They provide reasons why the goals are attainable. It also spells out how goals are going to be reached. There is typically background information about the organization. It is not just for new businesses, but also for changes in such things as branding, customer service, or overall organization change. Plans can be externally or internally depending on what the plan is geared towards. There is really no set structure and is dependent on what the desired outcome is and who it involves.

27. Proposals Proposals can be for several types of scenarios. Proposals can be used for providing services, the sale of a product or to solve a problem. Proposals can be informal or formal depending on the audience. A successful proposal will consist of a checklist when being written. They will contain several pieces to include: Title page Introduction Plan and schedule Authorization Appendix (Guffey & Loewy, 2011)

28. Conclusion Effective Business Writing and Communication consists of: Communication Channels Oral Written Electronic Nonverbal There are ethical communication standards that enhance the people and the organization that will make it better. Keeping a professional environment keeps things safe and comfortable keeping the negativity down. Intercultural communication allows for people to understand and communicate effectively with others from other countries.

29. Conclusion cont. Prewriting, writing and revising are the three steps to effective writing for business communication. Electronic messaging and digital media are becoming the staple of all businesses. They provide another means of getting the name of the organization out for customers, share and stakeholders. Positive and negative messages are always going to exist. The key is to keep the negative messages down as much as possible. Presentations are the tools used to communicate to a group a topic that needs better clarification. Presentations need to be presented in a format that the audience can understand. A lot of time and effort need to go into them Reports, plans and proposals are all specific to a topic. They provide the necessary information to complete a task.

30. Questions?

31. References Barger, K. (2008). Ethnocentrism. Retrieved from http://www.iupui.edu/~anthkb/ethnocen.htm Bowman, J.P. (2004). Business communication: Managing information and relationships. Retrieved from http://homepages.wmich.edu/~bowman/mir.html Guffey, M., & Loewy, D. (2011). Business communication: Process and product (7th Ed.). Independence, KY: Cengage Learning. JWilliamsStaffing. (2013). Professionalism in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.jwilliamsstaffing.com/job-tips/professionalism-in-theworkplace/ McGraw-Hill. (2000). Ethical communication in small groups. Retrieved from http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/comm/group/students/ethics.htm Writing Center. (2000). Writing in the disciplines: Business. Retrieved from http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/business/message.html