As with any effective strategy, planning your business message can arguably be the most critical stage in the process, when composing a business message. Bovee & Thil indicates that to plan any message you should first analyze the situation by defining your purpose and developing a profile of your audience. The authors continued, when you are sure what you need to accomplish with your message, gather information that will meet your audience's needs. This is followed by selecting the right medium (oral, written, visual or electronic) to deliver your message. Finally, you should organize the information by defining your main idea, while limiting your scope, selecting the direct or indirect approach, and outlining your content.
I find this topic intriguing because in business communication, composing effective and efficient business messages is critical. In the business environment where there are numerous scheduling conflicts, the business message has become a key method of communication. However, ineffective and/or inefficient business messages can be costly and hazardous to an individual's credibility. In an effort to retain credibility, individuals should plan effectively when writing business messages.
There are multiple stages in the planning stage of the business writing process and it starts with analyzing the situation. The writer should be considerate of the specific message, which he/she is trying to send to his/her specific audience relative to a specific set of circumstances. The writer should be considerate that situations will vary and he/she must make the right choices, which starts with defining your purpose clearly and understanding your audience's needs.
The writer's message should have a general purpose, which may be to inform, persuade or collaborate with his/her audience. The general purpose helps to define the overall approach the writer will need to take form gathering information to organize his/her message. Within the scope of the general purpose there should be a specific purpose, which would identify what you hope to accomplish through your message and how your audience should interpret your message.
After the purpose has been defined the writer should develop an audience profile, which should include information relative to the audience's identity, the size and geographic distribution, the composition of the audience, the audience's level of understanding, an understanding of the audience's expectations and preferences and lastly a forecast of the possible reaction of the audience.
The writer should then gather information, which would include information relative to the audience's perspective – imagine what the audience is planning, thinking or feeling. The writer should read reports and any other company documents that would give him or her insight on the potential audience. The writer could also ask supervisors, employees or members of the potential audience for information, which can give insight into what type of information, would persuade the audience to sway in the direction of the writer.
The writer should select the right medium through which he/she wants to deliver his/her message. Based upon the information which has been gathered the writer would know which medium would be most effective and efficient. There are four possible medium; oral media, written media, visual media and electronic media.
After selecting the right medium the writer should organize the information and then define the main idea. The main idea would be a specific statement about the topic, which is the overall subject of the message.
In a Wall Street Journal article title A New Course for Tepper by Melissa Korn, she discusses how the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, which has built its reputation on teaching quantitative skills, is now broadening its approach and is incorporating more leadership and writing into its curriculum. In the article, Melissa shared excerpts from an interview with Robert Damon, Dean and professor of Financial Economics at Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business, who indicated that the new curriculum strengthens the focus because it gives students better opportunities as a result of being able to communicate. Mr. Damon indicated "you can do the best analysis in the world on a problem, but you are going to have no effect on anybody if you can't communicate."
Proper planning will be critical in effectively and efficiently composing business messages for communication in all areas of business.
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