Stages of Message Writing

Three Steps Writing Process
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These three steps will help you create more effective messages in any medium. As you get more practice with the
process, it will become easier and more automatic.
PLANNING WRITING COMPLETING
1) Analyze the situation:
i. Define your purpose.
ii. Develop an audience
profile.
1) Adapt to your audience.

2) Compose the message.
1) Revise the message.

2) Produce the message.

2) Gather information:
i. Determine audience
needs.
ii. Obtain the
information necessary
to satisfy those needs.
3) Proofread the message.


4) Distribute the message
3) Select the right medium.
4) Organize the information:
i. Define your main idea.
ii. Limit your scope.
iii. Select direct or
indirect approach.
iv. Outline your content.


PLANNING STAGE
1) Analyzing the Situation
A successful message starts with a clear purpose that connects the sender’s needs with the audience’s needs.
Identifying your purpose and your audience is usually a straightforward task for simple and routine messages.
However, this task can be more demanding in more intricate situations. If you launch directly into writing
without clarifying both your purpose and your audience, you‘ll waste time and energy and you’ll probably
generate a less-effective message.
i. Defining Your Purpose
All business messages have a general purpose: to inform, to persuade or to collaborate with your
audience. This purpose helps define the overall approach you’ll need to take.
Within the scope of its general purpose, each message also has a specific purpose, which identifies what
you hope to accomplish with your message and what your audience should do, or think after receiving
your message.
Defer a message, or do not send it at all, if
Nothing will change as a result of sending
The purpose is not realistic
The timing is not right
The purpose is not acceptable to your organization
ii. Developing an Audience Profile
Before your audience will take time to read or hear your message, they need to be interested in what
you are saying. They need to see what’s in it for them.
To make your message effective for audience, analyze your audience.
Identify your primary audience.
Determine audience size and geographic distribution.
Determine audience composition (attitudes, interests, age, culture, education).
Gauge audience members’ level of understanding.
Understand audience expectations and preferences.
Forecast probable audience reaction.


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2) Gathering Information
With a clear picture of who your audience is, your next step is to assemble the information that you will include
in your message. For simple messages, you may already have all the information at hand, but more complex
messages can require considerable research and analysis before you’re ready to begin writing.
You can often use a variety of informal techniques to gather insights and focus research efforts:
Consider other viewpoints by putting yourself in someone else’s position.
Read reports and other company documents.
Talk with supervisors, colleagues or customers.
Ask your audience for input.
If you are given a vague request, ask question to clarify it before you plan a response.
Include any additional information that may be helpful, even though the requester didn’t specifically ask for it.
Test the completeness of your documents by making sure it answers all questions: who, what where, why and
how.
Points to Remember
 Be certain that the information you provide is accurate and that the
commitments you make can be kept.
 Be sure the information is ethical.
 Be sure the information is pertinent.

3) Selecting The Right Medium
Selecting the best medium for your message can make the difference between effective and ineffective
communication.
Oral Media
Primary oral media include face-to-face conversations, interviews, speeches and in-person presentations and
meetings. By giving communicators the ability to see, hear, and react to each other, traditional oral media are
useful for encouraging people to ask questions, make comments, and work together to reach a consensus or
decision. Of-course, if you don’t want a lot of questions or interaction, oral media can be an unwise choice.
Written Media
Written media include letters, memos, proposals and reports.
Memos are used for the routine, day-to-day exchange of information within an organization.
Letters are brief written message sent to recipients outside the organization.
Reports and Proposals are usually longer than memo and letters, although both can be created in letter or
memo format.
Visual Media
Visual media include charts, symbols, graphs and diagrams.
Although you probably won’t work with many messages that are purely visual (with no text), the importance of
visual elements in business communication continues to grow. Messages that combine powerful visuals with
supporting text can be effective for a number of reasons. Today’s audiences are pressed for time and
bombarded with messages, so anything that communicates quickly is welcome. Visuals are also effective at
describing complex ideas and processes. Visuals can lower communication barriers by requiring less language
processing. Visuals can be easier to remember than purely textual descriptions or explanations.
Electronic Media
Electronic media include telephones, podcasts, blogs, wikis, emails, and text messaging.
When you want to make a powerful impression, using electronic media can increase the excitement and visual
appeal with computer animation, video, and even music.
Electronic media is used to deliver messages quickly, to reach widely dispersed audiences, and to take
advantages of rich multimedia formats.
There are three versions of electronic media.
1) Electronic version of oral media.
2) Electronic version of written media.
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3) Electronic version of visual media.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING MEDIA
Choosing the right medium for each message is a question of balancing your needs with your audiences’ needs.
You certainly want to select the medium whose advantages offer you the best fit with the situation and your audience.
1. Media-Richness
Richness is a medium’s ability to:
i. Convey a message from more than one informational cue (visual, verbal, vocal);
ii. Facilitate feedback; and
iii. Establish personal focus.
The richest medium is face-to-face communication. It is personal, it provides immediate feedback and it conveys the
emotions behind a message.
Face-to-face conversations
Multimedia presentation
Multimedia WebPages Highest Rich
Virtual reality

Standard reports
Static Web Pages
Mass media Lower Rich
Posters & Signs

2. Message Formality
Your media choice governs the style and tone of your message. If the purpose of your message is to share simple
information with employees, you probably send an email message or post an announcement.

3. Media Limitation
Every medium has limitation, although face-to-face communication is one of the richest media, it is also one of
the most restrictive because you and your audience must be in the same place at the same time.

4. Sender Intentions
Your choice of medium influences your audience’s perception of your intentions. If you want to emphasize the
formality of your message, use a more formal medium such as a memo or a letter. To convey emotions use a
visual medium. For immediate feedback use face-to-face, or make a call. If you want a written record, use one of
the written media.

5. Urgency and Cost
If your message is urgent you probably use in-person conversation or a phone call but don’t forget to weigh cost
against speed as more speedy media are more costly.

6. Audience Preferences
Make sure to consider which media or medium your audience expects or prefers.


Media Advantages Disadvantages
Oral
Provide opportunity for immediate feedback. Restrict participation to those physically present.
Allow a certain ease to interaction. Reduce communication control over message.
Invoice rich non-verbal cues. Unless recorded, provide no permanent, verifiable record
of the communication.
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Allow you to express the emotions behind your
message.
Other than for messages that are pre-written and
rehearsed, offer no opportunity to revise or edit your
message.

Media Advantages Disadvantages
Written
Allow to plan and control your message. Usually non conductive to speedy feedback.
Reach geographically dispersed audiences. Lack the rich non-verbal cues provided by oral media.
Offer a permanent, verifiable record. Often take more time and more resources to create and
distribute.
Minimizing the distortion that can accompany
oral messages.
Elaborate printed documents can require special skills in
preparation and production.
Can be used to avoid immediate interaction.
De-emphasize any inappropriate emotional
component.


Media Advantages Disadvantages
Visual
Can convey complex ideas and relationships
quickly.
Can require artistic skills to design.
Often less intimidating then long blocks of text. Can require some technical skills to create.
Can reduce the burden on the audience to
figure out how to pieces fit.
Can require more time to create than equivalent amount
of text.
More difficult to transmit and store.

Media Advantages Disadvantages
Electronic
Deliver message quickly. Easy to overuse.
Reach geographically dispersed audiences. Privacy risks and concerns.
Offer the persuasive powers of multimedia
formats.
Security risks.
Can increase accessibility and openness in an
organization.
Productivity concerns.
(frequent interpretations)

4) Organizing The Information
For anything beyond the simplest message, organization can make the difference between success and failure.
To organize a message:
i. Define your main idea
ii. Limit the scope
iii. Choose the direct or indirect approach
iv. Outline your content

Define Your Main Idea
The broad subject or topic of every well -organized business message can be condensed to one idea.
For tough assignments, consider a variety of techniques to generate creative ideas:
a. Brainstorming
b. Journalist approach
c. Question and answer chain
d. Storyteller’s tour
e. Mind mapping

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Limit Your Scope
The scope of your message is the range of information you present, the overall length, and the level of detail, all
of which need to correspond to your main idea.
Choose the Direct or Indirect Approach
After you have defined the idea, you are ready to decide on the sequence you will use to present your points.
- When you know your audience will be receptive to your message, use a direct approach.
- When your audience will be skeptical about or even resistant to your message use an indirect approach.
Outline Your Content
Once you have chosen the right approach, it’s time to figure out the most logical and effective way to present
your major points and supporting details. When you are preparing a longer, more complex message, an outline
is indispensible because it helps you visualize the relationship among the various parts. Without an outline, you
may be inclined to ramble.







Variety Of Techniques To Generate Creative Ideas
Brainstormi ng
Working alone or with others, generate as many ideas and questions as you can without stopping to
criticize or organize.
After you capture all these pieces, look for patterns and connections to help identify the main idea
and the groups of supporting ideas. Identifying such groups helps you see the major issues that will
lead you to a conclusion you can feel confident about.
Journalistic
approach
The journalistic approach asks who, what, when, where, why and how questions to distill major ideas
from piles of unorganized information.
Question and
answer chain
Start with a key question, from the audience’s perspective, and work back toward your message. In
most cases you will find that each answer generates new questions until you identify the information
that needs to be in your message.
Storyteller’s
tour
Some writers find it easier to talk through a communication challenge before they try to write.
Pretend you’re giving a colleague a guided tour of your message and capture it on a tape recorder.
Then listen to your talk. Identify ways to tighten and clarify the message and repeat the process.
Working through this you will distill the main idea down to a single, concise message.
Mind
mapping
You can also generate and organize ideas by using a graphic method called mind mapping. Start with
a main idea, and then branch out to connect every other related idea that comes to mind.

WRITING STAGE
1) Adapting To Your Audience
By adapting your message to the needs and expectations of your audiences, you’ll provide a more compelling
answer to the “what’s in this for me?” question and improve the chances of your message being successful.
Note that adapting to your audience is not always a simple task. Some situations will require you to balance
competing or conflicting needs.
Be sensitive to audience needs with:
- A “you” attitude.
- Politeness
- Positive emphasize; and
- Bias-free language.
Build a strong relationship with your audience by establishing your credibility and projecting company’s
image.
Explain why good organization is important to both you and your audience.
When you organize messages carefully, you save time and conserve creative energy because the writing
process is quicker. You can also use your organizational plan to get advance input from your audience
members and to make sure you are on the right way. Finally good organization can divide the portions of the
writing assignments among co-workers.
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Control your style with a conversational tone, plain English and appropriate voice.
2) Composing The Message
Composing is much easier if you have already figured out what to say and in what order. Feel free to arrange,
delete and add ideas, as long as you don’t lose sight of your purpose.
Choose strong words usually denotative.
Create effective sentences.
Crafting unified coherent paragraphs.

COMPLETING STAGE
1) Revising Your Message
Revising simple messages does not take much time or effort. But with more complex messages, try to put your
draft aside for sometime or days before you begin the revision process so that you can approach the material
with a fresh eye.
Evaluating your Content, Organization, Style and Tone. Start and end of the message impacts a lot.
Reviewing for readability.
Editing for clarity & conciseness.


2) Producing Your Message
The production quality of your message plays an important role in the effectiveness of your message. A
polished, inviting design not only makes your material easier to read but also conveys a sense of professionalism
and importance.

3) Proofreading Of Your Message
Thinking of proofreading as the quality inspection stage for your documents, as your last chance to make sure
that your document is ready to carry your message and your reputation to the intended audience.
i. Look For Writing Errors
Typographical mistakes
Misspelled words
Grammatical errors
Punctuation mistakes
ii. Look for Missing Elements
Missing text sections
Missing exhibits
Missing source notes, copyright notices, or other references items
iii. Look for Design, Formatting and Programming Mistakes
Incorrect or inconsistent font selection
Column sizing, spacing and alignment
Special characters
Page header & footer
Adherence to company standards
Margins & Page numbers

4) Distributing Your Message
With the production finished, message is ready for distribution. When planning for distribution, consider the
following factors:
Cost
Convenience
Time
Security and Privacy