1、TEAMFLYTeam-FlyJANE K.CLELANDHow to Create a Sense of Urgency and Increase Response to All of YourBusiness CommunicationsBusinessWritingfor ResultsCopyright 2003 by Jane Cleland. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as per-mitted under the United States Copyright
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12、036/0071426221My father, a non-native speaker, struggled to make himself understood in English. He often wished for simple ways to remember complex writing rules so thathe could produce professional letters quickly and easily. This book is for my father.This page intentionally left blank.ContentsEIn
13、troduction ixCHAPTER ONEArrange Your Thoughts 1A Methodical Process 1Set Action Objectives 1Exercise 1: Write a One-Sentence Objective 3Analyze Your Target Readers 5Exercise 2: Target Your Readers Personality 10Create the Right Image 11Exercise 3: How Formal Should Your Communication Be? 18Big Pictu
14、re: Use the Matrix of Persuasion 20Exercise 4: Put the Matrix of Persuasion to Work 23CHAPTER TWOCreate a Draft on Paper(or on Your Computer) 25Good Writing Starts with Clear Thinking 25Choose Your Organizational Structure 25Exercise 5: Select an Organizational Structure 40Organize Your Thinking Usi
15、ng an Outline or Hub not only will typos and the like be found,but learning to x common errors encourages critical evaluation.)5. Avoid common mistakes that undermine individual and organi-zational credibility (such as run-on sentences and improperpunctuation).6. Rivet readers attention to get E-mai
16、ls and letters opened andread (by providing meaningful information in the subject line ofan E-mail or in the opening line of a letter, for example).IntroductionxTEAMFLYTeam-FlyEveryone who writes for business will benet from this book. Expe-rienced writers will enjoy a refresher course and pick up d
17、ozens of time-saving tips. Novices will learn an approach proven to quickly andefciently generate written communications. You will learn everythingyou need to know to get your ideas across clearly and persuasively.Through exercises and practiceand by reading alternative solutionsto the exercisesyoul
18、l learn how to use my tried-and-true three-stepmodel to dramatically improve your writing.A METHODICAL SYSTEM THAT PRODUCES RESULTSBy dividing the task of writing into three distinct steps, youll nd theprocess of writing easier and discover shortcuts that will save you time.The three steps are:Step
19、One: Get Your Thoughts in OrderStep Two: Create a Draft on Paper (or on Your Computer)Step Three: Revise for ClarityWithin each chapter, there are several exercises. Intended to ensurethat you practice using the tools, the exercises are challenging and fun.Additionally, the exercises will help you:
20、prove to yourself that youll be able to remember and use thethree-step model know that there are always several ways to express a thought; thistip helps you avoid writers block as you hunt for the one “right”way to write something save time and energy while still producing top-notch writing; nomore
21、will you be dependent on the “aha” of creative inspirationEach chapter uses specic techniques to elicit the information neededto write well. This approach, therefore, becomes a checklist for you asyou go through the writing process. Over time, youll discover that themore frequently you consult the c
22、hecklist, the more quickly the systemwill become second nature.The checklist includes:IntroductionxiStep One: Get Your Thoughts in Ordera19 Answer the question, “What do I want my readers to do as aresult of reading this?”a19 Analyze your audience by considering their personalities and byusing the F
23、ormality Index.a19 Assess your writing assignment with the Matrix of Persuasion.Step Two: Create a Draft on Paper (or on Your Computer)a19 Organize your thoughts.a19 Use the Hub their successes prove my methods work andattest to the fact that you will benet, too. No matter how good or pooryour writi
24、ng is now, youll learn to write better, more clearly, and morepersuasivelyand youll do it in less time.IntroductionxiiChapter OneArrange Your ThoughtsEA METHODICAL PROCESSWriting for results requires encouraging your readers to take action. Inthis chapter, youll learn how to arrange your thoughts so
25、 that you writewith the action in mind. When you think rst and then write, you havea much better chance of achieving your objective.Youre going to learn a methodical process, one that will be easy to useand easy to remember. In this chapter, youre going to use three tools that,taken together, will h
26、elp you set your objective and analyze your audi-ence. The three tools are:1. Answer the question, “What do I want my readers to do as aresult of reading this?”2. Analyze your audience by considering their personalities andusing the Formality Index.3. Assess your writing assignment with the Matrix o
27、f Persuasion.SET ACTION OBJECTIVESThe rst tool in writing for response is knowing exactly what you wantyour readers to do as a result of reading your material. Determining anaction objective makes writing easier and more straightforward. Keep-ing the end result in your mind as you write enables you
28、to aim for it.When you know where youre heading, youre more likely to get there.Lets say, for example, that your boss has asked you to organize thesummer picnic. Youve selected the venue and need to announce it. You1Copyright 2003 by Jane Cleland. Click Here for Terms of Use.decide to send an E-mail
29、 to everyone in the company. Consider these twoobjectives:1. I want to inform employees about the date of the summer picnic.2. I want employees to RSVP regarding the summer picnic by the fteenth of the month.To get people to RSVP, you need to inform them of the date; however,simply informing the emp
30、loyees in no way motivates them to act.An action objective focuses on the response you hope to elicit; a pas-sive objective focuses on you or your goals. An action objective, for exam-ple, states, “to conrm via E-mail,” whereas a passive objective states,“to understand my points.”Every time you iden
31、tify a passive objective (such as, “to inform”), con-vert it into an action objective (“to RSVP,” for instance). The easiest wayto do this is to ask yourself the question, “Why do I care?”In this example, posing the question to yourself would elicit an answerthat leads directly to the desired action
32、:I want to inform employees about the date of the summer picnic. Why do I care if theyre informed? Because . . . I want employees to RSVP regarding the summer picnic by the fteenthof the month.If you send your boss an E-mail updating him (or her) that youvescheduled a meeting for next Tuesday, you m
33、ay think your objective is toupdate him on the progress youve made.But “to update” is a passive objective. Convert it into an action objec-tive by asking yourself, “Why do I care if he is updated?” Your answermay be:I want my boss to tell me Im doing a good job.I want my boss to ask me to let him kn
34、ow how the meeting went.Business Writing for Results2I want my boss to congratulate me on having succeeded in schedulingthe meeting.All of these statements are action oriented; you want your boss to dosomethingin this example, to tell, ask, or congratulate. Knowing theaction you seek makes the entir
35、e writing process easier.Sometimes you desire an action objective that aims to avoid a nega-tive consequence. In this example, when you ask yourself, “Why do I careabout updating my boss?” you may respond:I dont want my boss to ask me for an update; I want him to perceivethat Im on top of things.Rea
36、d each of the scenarios in Exercise 1 and write an action objectivethat best describes what each person wants his or her reader(s) to do. Ifyou nd youre writing a passive objective, ask yourself, “Why do I care?”to help you transform the passive objective into an action objective.Following each scen
37、ario are examples of well-written objectives. Keepin mind that there are many good variations. If the objective you writeallows you to envision a reader doing something, its a well-written objec-tive. On the other hand, if your objective describes a feeling or thought,or if it expresses an intention
38、, its not likely to be effective. As you prac-tice writing objectives and evaluate your work, think action!EXERCISE 1:Write a One-Sentence Objective1. Justins company has an intranet that posts openings within the com-pany and all its subsidiaries worldwide. Justin wants to apply for a newposition w
39、ithin his business unit. The job hes interested in represents apromotion and would move him up to the same level as his current boss.Company policy requires that job applications include a letter of supportfrom the employees current supervisor. Justin has decided to send anE-mail to his boss as a rs
40、t step in putting together his application forthe new job.Write a one-sentence objective for Justins E-mail.Justins action objectives might include:Arrange Your Thoughts3 “To receive an E-mail from my boss that enthusiasticallyendorses my job application.” “To get a phone call from my boss to schedu
41、le a time to meet anddiscuss my job application.”2. Mariana, vice president of a telecommunications rm, has receiveda letter of complaint from a customer. The customer reports that hewas treated rudely by Norman, a customer satisfaction team member.Mariana wants to gather information before respondi
42、ng to the customersletter and decides to make her request in writing. She plans to E-mailNorman directly and copy his boss.Write a one-sentence objective for Marianas E-mail.Marianas action objectives might include: “To receive from Norman a written explanation of his conductwithin twenty-four hours
43、.” “To have the customers records forwarded to me by Normansdirect supervisor by the end of business today.”3. Philip is a volunteer at a crisis hot line center in his community. Hehas joined a 10-kilometer walk-a-thon for the hot line; every person hesigns up agrees to donate one dollar for every k
44、ilometer that he completes.He decides to create a small flyer and slide it under the doors of theresidents in his apartment building.Write a one-sentence objective for Philips yer.Philips action objectives might include: “To receive signed pledges under my door this week.” “To get way to go notes of
45、 support, in addition to the signedpledges, under my door this week.”4. Tawana owns and operates a small bookkeeping service. Businessis good, and she decides to send out sales letters in an attempt to growher business.Business Writing for Results4Write a one-sentence objective for Tawanas letter.Ta
46、wanas action objectives might include: “To receive phone calls from potential customers requesting moreinformation.” “To receive phone calls from potential customers signing up formy bookkeeping service.”As you write action objectives, keep alert for passive language. In gen-eral, avoid words that a
47、re not specically action oriented, such as: educate motivate inspire inform updateInstead, use words and phrases that are directive and action oriented,such as: Call and reserve your place at . . . Write for further information . . . Attend the meeting . . . E-mail your staff . . . Complete the form
48、 . . . Once you have a clear, action-oriented objective, youre ready to go onto the second step: targeting your specic readers.ANALYZE YOUR TARGET READERSIn order to create the sense of urgency needed to get your target readersto take the action that you want them to take, you need to understandthei
49、r needs and wants, and you need to address them with the pro-per level of formality. Together, these two stepsunderstanding whatslikely to motivate your readers and identifying the appropriate level ofArrange Your Thoughts5formalityenable you to write to your specic audience; these steps com-prisse the second tool of this chapter.Before you write, you need to think about what thoughts, beliefs, emo-tions, or ideas are meaningful to your target readers. You need to be ableto answer the ques
