Writing skills success - LearningExpress 2009

Lesson 20. Communicating your ideas
Pretest

Often when I write I am trying to make words do the work of line and color. I have the painter’s sensitivity to light. Much (and perhaps the best) of my writing is verbal painting.

—Elizabeth Bowen, Irish novelist (1899-1973)

LESSON SUMMARY

The previous lessons have dealt with words and sentences. This final lesson is about the bigger issues involved in a piece of writing as a whole. By focusing on the purpose of your writing, you can develop your ideas in a logical, effective way to have the biggest possible impact on your readers.

Mastering writing detail is important, but the main purpose of writing is to communicate a message with a specific purpose to an audience. Most writing does one of three things: inform, explain, or present an argument. Writing effectively involves discovering what you want to say, organizing your ideas, and presenting them in the most logical, effective way. This lesson discusses all of these issues.

Writing to Inform

Good, informational writing is clear, simple, and orderly. In business writing, it’s important to get right to the point. No one has time to spend reading your warm-ups, the words you write while you’re trying to get to the point. The best communications state the point directly and present the information clearly.

However, sometimes getting started is difficult. Ask yourself a few key questions to help clarify your thoughts and get to the point.

1. Summarize the main idea of your communication in a single sentence. If you can do this, the rest of the writing will come more easily. State it as simply and clearly as possible. If your communication presents a list of information, facts, or statistics, try summarizing the purpose of the information. The sentence should answer the question: Why am I writing this?

2. Next, think about your audience. Who will be reading your writing? What is your relationship with the audience: superior, colleague, customer? Thinking about the audience helps you use an appropriate tone or attitude.

3. Brainstorm all the information that must be included in the communication. This can be in the form of a list or a piece of paper with words and pictures connected by lines; use whatever works best for you. Get all the information down on paper where you can look at it.

4. Once the information is assembled, think about the most efficient way to organize it. Think about your message as a train of thought, one in which all the parts are connected. How can you organize the information in such a way that connections seem easy and natural? Consider these organizational patterns:

■ Spatial order: the order in which items are arranged in relationship to each other

■ Chronological order: time order

■ Logical order: begin with the most basic premise, follow with what can be derived from the premise

■ General to specific: begin with a general statement, arrive at a specific fact

■ Specific to general: arrive at a generalization from a series of specific facts

5. Now it’s time to start writing. Begin with a sentence or short paragraph that states the purpose of the communication, revising what you came up with in Step 1 now that you know what your main points are.

6. Develop each of the ideas you identified in Steps 3 and 4 in a single paragraph. If the supporting ideas can be presented as effectively in list form as they can in sentence form, use a bulleted or numbered list similar to this one, which outlines organizational patterns. Stick to one idea in each paragraph, and keep the paragraphs as short and concise as possible.

If you’re writing for business, use numbered and bulleted lists like the previous ones. Strive for a clear, logical presentation, one that is well organized and free of excess words that say nothing. Here’s a map of one writer’s organizational process in responding to a request: the planning, the organization, the main idea, the audience, and the completed memo.

The Planning

Main idea: Ms. Rhinehart has asked for information about our accounting staff (how many, job titles, and levels) and justification for the personnel requests we made.

Purpose: Provide the information so the department can hire additional staff.

Audience: Ms. Rhinehart, vice-president and chief financial officer

I. Data

A. Current senior staff

1. One accounting manager

2. Two senior accountants

3. Three senior accounts receivable managers

4. Three senior payroll managers

B. Current entry-level staff

1. One assistant to the accounting manager

2. One assistant to the senior accountants

3. One assistant to the accounts receivable managers

4. One assistant to the payroll managers

II. Requests

A. Additional entry-level staff

1. Three assistants to provide support to senior accountants, accounts receivable managers, and payroll managers

2. One assistant to rotate throughout the department as needed

3. Reason: The acquisition of the new company has doubled the department’s workload. At the moment, senior staff members, with high salaries, are spending too much time on entry-level work. Hiring new assistants will allow senior staff to delegate much of this work and return their focus to more complicated projects.

B. Promoting current staff

1. Promote assistant to the accounting manager to executive assistant

2. Reason: In addition to assistant to the accounting manager, the executive assistant can also oversee all department assistants, again relieving the senior staff workload.

The Memo

To: Ms. Rhinehart

From: Allie Leonard

Re: Staff assessment and needs of accounting department as requested

Date: July 7, 2009

I am providing the information you requested about the accounting staff. I am also outlining our requests for hiring additional staff and the reasons for these requests.

This is the staff, both senior and entry-level, that we have at this time.

■ One accounting manager and one assistant to the accounting manager

■ Two senior accountants and one assistant to the two senior accountants

■ Three senior accounts receivable managers and one assistant to the three accounts receivable managers

■ Three senior payroll managers and one assistant to the three senior payroll managers

Due to the acquisition of the new company, the accounting department’s workload has doubled, and senior staff members are spending too much time performing tasks that can be handled by assistants. We are requesting four more assistants for our department as well as the promotion of one of the existing assistants. One assistant would work with the senior accountant, another would work with the accounts receivable managers, one would assist the payroll managers, and the fourth assistant would rotate as necessary throughout the department. Additionally, we request the promotion of the existing assistant to the accounting manager to executive assistant to the entire department. In this capacity, she will assist the accounting manager as well as oversee all department assistants. These changes will allow the senior staff to focus their time and energy on crucial high-level projects that are currently being ignored.

Thank you for considering our request.

Writing to Explain

Another form of writing you’re likely to use often is explanation. You may need to provide reasons for an action or policy, or you may need to explain how a product is used.

For this type of writing, follow the same planning process as you would for a written communication designed to present information.

1. Summarize the main idea and purpose.

2. Determine the audience.

3. Brainstorm ideas.

4. Organize the ideas.

5. Begin by stating the purpose.

6. Develop the ideas in paragraphs.

Keep these tips in mind as you write.

■ Present the steps in a logical order. Chronological order is usually best for a process.

■ Be certain you’ve explained each step clearly, accurately, and thoroughly enough so readers can understand.

■ Use the facts and examples to support each of your points.

■ Pay special attention to the introduction and conclusion. These two paragraphs lay the foundation for understanding and give the reader a quick review of the information you’ve just presented. Make the beginning and ending paragraphs work for you.

Here’s a real-world example: It outlines the planning a writer did before drafting a letter to a customer explaining how to operate a new copy machine.

Main idea: Explain how to use a new copy machine to new customers

Audience: Members of promotional staff at KCBD- TV, all of whom use the copier

Purposes: (1) Clearly explain use, (2) clearly outline maintenance procedures, (3) provide basic troubleshooting suggestions, (4) assure them that the copier is reliable and that service is quick, should they need it.

I. Daily use

A. Copying

B. Enlarging/reducing

C. Handling multiple-page documents

II. Maintenance

A. Routine

1. Loading paper

2. Adding toner

3. Clearing paper jams

B. Troubleshooting

1. Electrical problems

2. Paper jams

3. Failure to copy

C. Calling the technician

1. Business day number

2. Emergency service

III. Reliability

A. Warranties

B. Weekly maintenance checks

C. Service

D. Two-hour replacement guarantee

First paragraph: Everyone in the promotional department at KCBD-TV will find this new Sharp copy machine a huge improvement over the older model. You’ll appreciate how easy it is to use this new copier for daily tasks, and anyone can perform the routine maintenance on the machine. This, our most reliable copier, is backed by a long-term warranty and a quick, efficient service plan.

Writing to Persuade

The other most common type of writing involves presenting a clear, convincing argument. Your written communication may be a single message, or it may be the first in a series of exchanges that will eventually result in a compromise. Each type of argument requires a different approach; however, both kinds of persuasive communications must have three common characteristics: logical order, solid support, and credibility.

Logical Order

Even the brightest and best ideas make no impact if a reader cannot recognize or follow them. Arguments must be carefully organized to create the desired effect on the reader.

The strongest positions are the beginning and the ending of a communication. Place your strongest argument in one position or the other and arrange the rest in such a way that they can be clearly stated and easily linked together.

Solid Support

Good persuasion not only makes a clear, strong claim but also proves the claim with solid support. Here are some ways to support your assertions:

■ Examples, either personal or researched.

■ Objective evidence, such as facts and statistics.

■ Citing an authority. Use a qualified, timely authority whose opinions are applicable to your special situations. If the reader is not familiar with the authority, explain why the person is qualified.

■ Analogy. If you can think of a clear comparison with which the reader is automatically familiar, present the comparison clearly. Carefully point out all the similarities and explain why the comparison is useful and applicable.

If you are supporting a moral or emotional claim, use logic or emotional appeals made with vivid description and concrete language.

Credibility

A written communication is credible if the reader believes the writer or finds the writer trustworthy. Regardless of the history between the writer and reader, each communication provides a fresh opportunity to establish credibility.

In any communication, you can establish credibility in one of three ways:

1. Demonstrate your knowledge of the subject. Show that you have personal experience that makes your perspective on the subject reliable. If you have no personal experience from which to draw, show that you have consulted a variety of reliable, neutral sources and that your views are based on your research.

2. Demonstrate fairness and objectivity. Show that you have taken into account all of the significant viewpoints. Convince your reader that you understand and value other perspectives on the subject and that you see their merit. Show that you have carefully considered all of the evidence, even that which does not support your point of view.

3. Seek areas of agreement. This is especially valuable if your communication is the beginning of a process that will result in a compromise. Find out what the viewpoints have in common and begin building trust and credibility on common ground.

Use the same six steps outlined on page 158 to plan a persuasive communication. Examine the following writer’s plan for a written communication that argues in favor of a new scheduling policy.

Claim: Store needs a better system for scheduling employees.

Audience: Store’s general manager

Purposes: (1) Point out problems inherent in the current policy, (2) outline the qualities a new scheduling policy should have, (3) point out the advantages

of a scheduling policy with those qualities, (4) show that customers will receive better service, (5) show that employees understand and are willing to share the burden of developing and implementing a new policy.

I. Problems with current policy

A. Based solely upon seniority

B. Arbitrary within seniority brackets

C. Equal number for all shifts

1. Doesn’t allow for employees willing to be flexible

2. Not enough employees during peak sales times

3. Too many employees during off-peak sales times

4. Leads to minimal employee commitment D. No incentive for good attendance

II. Qualities of an effective scheduling policy

A. Continues to take seniority into account

B. Allows for individual preferences

C. Allows for flex time

D. Allows for increased numbers during peak times, reduced numbers during off times

E. Provides an incentive for reliable attendance

F. Provides an incentive to work least desirable hours

III. Advantages of a policy with these characteristics

A. Improved customer service

1. Better service during peak times

2. Quality service during off-peak times

B. Less absenteeism

C. Improved employee morale

D. Sense of ownership among employees

IV. Development and implementation

A. Management responsibilities

B. Employee responsibilities

1. Committee willing to develop plan during unpaid time

2. Willing to assume some responsibility for implementation

First paragraph: Since we value customer service, our store needs to develop a scheduling system that will provide better customer service, while at the same time fostering an increased sense of commitment among employees.

Whenever you write, keep in mind that you want to present your message as clearly and simply as possible. Write to express, not to impress. The words should deliver the message, not get in the way of it.

TIP

Write a memo asking for a raise. If you can do that, you know the time you’ve spent with this book has been worth your while. Go ahead, do it. Worst case scenario: Whoever reads the memo will speak or write back and deny the request. Even if this happens, your writing will have made an impression. If you presented a few good arguments, they’ll stick in your supervisor’s mind even if you don’t get the raise. The next one will come sooner than it would have if you hadn’t written the memo. Best case scenario: You get a raise. How can you lose? Even if you don’t send the memo, write it. It will build your confidence, and maybe you’ll send it at a more opportune time. You can think about it, revise it, add to it, and then send it.

Whenever you have an idea you want to be taken seriously, write a memo. It won’t be long before people begin to notice that you have the power of the pen. A word of caution: Some people are intimidated by others who can write, and they may even try to discourage you. Don’t let them. Just use softer words when you write, and write to them often. In time, they will come to appreciate your ideas and your ability.