Learn It 2.2.1 Crafting Effective Messages

  • Explore strategies for writing with the audience’s needs in mind
  • Understand how to use language that is inclusive and avoids bias
  • Discover techniques for writing messages that are clear and concise
  • Understand what parallel structure is and how it can improve your writing
  • Understand how to highlight important points in your writing

Writing for the Reader

The audience (your reader, if the message is written) is the receiver of the business communication. In the social communication model, the choices a writer or sender of a message can make to best convey their message to the receiver will determine whether the communication is effective. If all choices prioritize the receiver’s needs over those of the sender, the message is more likely to achieve its purpose quickly. This concept is referred to as “you-view” in this module. 

you-view

You-view in business communication refers to framing messages from the perspective of the audience’s interests and needs, emphasizing benefits and considerations relevant to them, rather than focusing on the sender’s perspective.

To understand this concept, think about learning to change a tire on a car. One way people could learn about changing a tire is from a description in the owner’s manual produced by the auto manufacturer. Many people, on the other hand, have learned from watching or participating in the process through hands-on experience. Which is easier? For the manufacturer (sender), the information is easy and cheap to print. For the tire changer (receiver), a personal coach is easier but more expensive. The sender needs to find the best balance.

You-view, or putting the reader first, encompasses two skills:

  1. Put the receiver’s needs before the sender’s needs
  2. Start with what the receiver needs to know

Finding a Lost Shipment

Lynnette has worked hard to find a lost shipment. She finally has enough information to email the customer and provide an update on the situation. She begins writing up her draft:

You won’t believe how many people I had to contact to find this for you. I had to call Texas, send a copy to Dallas, and then…..

Stop! Lynnette likely thinks the customer will be impressed with her efforts and feel like a valued customer. However, nothing in this email so far has answered the customer’s primary need. Let’s focus on the customer’s primary need instead:

I have found your product at the Texas depot, and I have scheduled delivery for March 30.

This draft is direct and delivers the needed information. However, the email does not take the you-view. Notice how she talks about herself first with the use of the personal pronoun “I”? In a subtle, but important improvement, Lynette should write:

Your product is scheduled for delivery March 30. Your product was in the Texas depot.

While both versions of the email let the customer know the product’s delivery information, the second version emphasizes the customer and makes the customer most important.

definition