http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Writing/Business-Communication A listing of the most recently indexed works about Articles and Writing and Business Communication in the field of technical communication (and technical writing). en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Writing/Business-Communication http://tc.eserver.org/35807.html http://tc.eserver.org/35807.html Do you know if you're promoting features or benefits in your marketing materials? The answer to this question plays a significant role in the effectiveness of your marketing message. While features are facts benefits explain why facts are important. Its these benefits that target your prospects emotions a key factor in selling situations. http://tc.eserver.org/35472.html http://tc.eserver.org/35472.html White papers are a fundamental part of your marketing arsenal. And if you think technical writers don't need to worry about marketing, read on to see why white paper writing is an essential skill, and how to turn a ho-hum paper into a killer communications tool. http://tc.eserver.org/35055.html http://tc.eserver.org/35055.html Here are two main methods you can use to launch off your article marketing campaign. http://tc.eserver.org/34827.html http://tc.eserver.org/34827.html What do teams, writing, time, technology, and critiques have in common? If you said they all have the letter 't' in them, you were correct. There can be so much more, though, when we connect each of these words in our course written assignments. Most of us use teams in our graduate and undergraduate organizational communication classes. What follows is a brief description of written (letter) assignments that use student pairs in a virtual Blackboard-based discussion board. http://tc.eserver.org/34829.html http://tc.eserver.org/34829.html When I was assigned to teach graduate-level business writing in a Master's of Professional Communication (MPC) program, I was unsure what to do with the course. What kind of writing instruction do students need that they have not already received in their undergraduate business writing classes or in other required graduate writing courses? What makes an advanced writing class advanced? In order to answer those questions, I began looking for articles by other teachers and scholars in the field of professional and business writing. I discovered that in terms of assignments, teachers and scholars seem to agree that client projects form the cornerstones of business writing curricula. http://tc.eserver.org/34802.html http://tc.eserver.org/34802.html For some years, people, myself included, have noted the lack of interest, even disdain, that many tech writers have for business issues. This reduces these writers' ability to affect company decisions, including decisions that may affect them. Writers from fine arts or English backgrounds can rarely discuss cost-justification in finance terms, so they have little input on buying decisions. http://tc.eserver.org/34559.html http://tc.eserver.org/34559.html No matter how beautifully designed, if a site’s voice doesn’t ring true, it’s easy to spot an “ugh.” Rather than using this section of a site like a congratulatory press release, consider approaching “About Us” like a magazine’s Editor Letter. http://tc.eserver.org/34403.html http://tc.eserver.org/34403.html If you’re a generalist, as most tech writers are, you write about many things in a variety of media with a number of objectives. Each new job involves determining who your audience is, what their needs are, and how your product or service can satisfy those needs. Then you need to recognize, understand, and adjust your writing so one time it appeals to the camper and the next time to the business owner. http://tc.eserver.org/33621.html http://tc.eserver.org/33621.html This article examines the concept of technê in relation to situatedness. Technê is conceived as techniques for situating bodies in contexts. Although many theorists and practitioners in technical communication are working from ecological and posthuman perspectives with regard to interface designs, this article argues for extending those perspectives to workplace and classroom situations. Starting from a Heideggerian reading of technê, the article moves toward the concept of post-technê, which remakes pedagogical techniques for writing and inventing in institutional contexts. http://tc.eserver.org/32208.html http://tc.eserver.org/32208.html Lone writers are found across all industries, as junior- and senior-level employees, contract workers and direct employees. Sometimes, they’re not even the only writers in their company, but rather are the only writers in their division with either little to no contact — or little to nothing in common — with the other writers in other company divisions. http://tc.eserver.org/31811.html http://tc.eserver.org/31811.html Over the course of each semester, students in 300-level business communication courses can expect to produce a number of various types of messages and reports with emphasis on the psychological development of the message. Although education has traditionally demanded an individual approach to most writing tasks in order to assess student performance, most practitioners in the field of business communication recognize the importance of collaborative writing as a necessary skill in preparing students to enter the job market where teams rather than individuals are the primary work unit. http://tc.eserver.org/31776.html http://tc.eserver.org/31776.html Make sure you know what you're talking about. This means understanding the big picture as well as sweating the small stuff. When interviewing subject matter experts, don't accept high-level answers to questions. Drill down to the details. http://tc.eserver.org/31450.html http://tc.eserver.org/31450.html White papers have grown from just another piece of collateral to a super-powered marketing tool. Everywhere you look in marketing, you will see something labeled a "white paper." http://tc.eserver.org/31370.html http://tc.eserver.org/31370.html Here's an awful question: "What is good writing?" When we run writing workshops for businesspeople, we often begin by asking for the characteristics of good writing versus bad writing. The first list typically contains words like simple, clear, accessible, concise, lively and conversational. The second list is on the flip side of the coin, with participants describing bad writing as complex, wordy, confusing, illogical, full of jargon and having no clear purpose. http://tc.eserver.org/31286.html http://tc.eserver.org/31286.html When I review internal publications, company or product endorsements, case studies demonstrating customer successes and other print and online communications that purport to convey stories, I find they're often missing crucial story characteristics. They tend to be descriptive of situations instead of relaying actual stories about what occurred. So, what is a story, what is its basic structure and what considerations go into crafting it? http://tc.eserver.org/31284.html http://tc.eserver.org/31284.html Words, words, words. It seems as if we're being asked to write something every minute for every need and occasion. Your boss wants a report; your colleagues need a memo explaining a procedure; your clients send e-mails that need to be considered and answered; your company's products or services should be described in a descriptive white paper, and on and on. How can you deal with all that? Are there any general writing rules that apply to business writing of all sorts? http://tc.eserver.org/31226.html http://tc.eserver.org/31226.html You’ve worked long and hard on your article, newsletter, press release, promo brochure or report. Now it’s time to move your baby off your screen and into the world. Not so long ago your baby would have gone either onto a printed page or onto the Web. These days, your words will probably head for both. Even materials such as newsletters, white papers, reports and advertorials that are first published on paper are quite likely to be reprinted, archived or otherwise reused on the Web, perhaps even as an audio file or podcast. People may even blog about your content. What does this mean for you as a business communicator? http://tc.eserver.org/30599.html http://tc.eserver.org/30599.html Writers of marketing materials seem to be stepchildren at best in the family of technical communication. Yet one cannot engage in writing effective marketing materials about technical products or services without being a technical communicator. And the more "typical" technical writer--such as an author of documentation--will perform better when she understand-s the marketing component of her work. We will serve the marketing communicator and his technical writer counterpart well by breaking down the barrier that seems to exist between the disciplines. http://tc.eserver.org/30522.html http://tc.eserver.org/30522.html This workshop will examine the types of marketing materials that can give you creative experience. You'll learn how to adapt your skills and subject matter knowledge to these projects, how to plan and develop different types of materials, and how to identify opportunities for new types of communication. http://tc.eserver.org/30185.html http://tc.eserver.org/30185.html Anyone can be a copywriter, but the best copywriters actually think about what they're writing. http://tc.eserver.org/29823.html http://tc.eserver.org/29823.html Students in business communication classes are expected to write various types of documents. Research has illustrated that undergraduate student writing skills have not improved even though most states have begun writing proficiency tests at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. By the time students enroll in college, students are expected to be proficient writers. In some cases, this is true. In far too many cases, students continue to need writing development. In business communication classes, these weaknesses cannot be ignored. This article's purpose is to give guidance to instructors to motivate their students to produce better written products. The difficulty is how to do this most effectively. The authors present some ideas on how to improve student writing through some creative teaching and evaluation strategies. http://tc.eserver.org/29728.html http://tc.eserver.org/29728.html The impact of any technical writing depends on the ability of the writer to understand and address the readers' concern, and to deliver highly usable documents that are relevant to the audience. Especially when readers make business decisions about technology, based on technical communication, writers need to develop best practices for conducting their own audience analysis and writing with audience needs in mind. This paper introduces several likely audiences a technical writer is likely to encounter and makes a few practical recommendations for communicating to them with the intended impact. http://tc.eserver.org/29365.html http://tc.eserver.org/29365.html It takes time and a strong focus to create a solid white paper, according to TechRepublic members who shared tips and insight about white paper creation. Find out what should be your first step and your last for a successful effort. http://tc.eserver.org/29272.html http://tc.eserver.org/29272.html This is an informational site dedicated to topics relevant to writing and publishing business process knowledge, especially policies and procedures. The objective of this site is to openly share information about writing and publishing policies and procedures and other forms of business knowledge. http://tc.eserver.org/29242.html http://tc.eserver.org/29242.html This article argues that engaged 'action research' can help professional writing researchers both develop new and interesting collaborative models and help our profession develop a greater relevance to those not reading our journals and attending our conferences. I outline one particular, localized approach in the hope that our troubles, struggles, and failures at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee can help others to develop their own programs and can further our discussion of community engagement. http://tc.eserver.org/28842.html http://tc.eserver.org/28842.html Ask print direct response copywriters if they are held accountable, and they'll say yes. That was my own life for 15 years. I wrote direct mail packages and was judged not on my past reputation, but on the performance of each piece I wrote, one mailing at a time. http://tc.eserver.org/28835.html http://tc.eserver.org/28835.html I am amazed by the number of places you can find content for your newsletter. Some of it takes the form of free articles. Some of it you pay for, and can request any kind of content you like. One way or another, whatever your industry and the focus of your e-newsletter, there are plenty of places to get good content for every issue you send. http://tc.eserver.org/28081.html http://tc.eserver.org/28081.html Corporate blogging is rapidly becoming another way for companies to communicate with their customers and increase internal communication. Learn about the advantages and future of blogging and how to get started. http://tc.eserver.org/27795.html http://tc.eserver.org/27795.html One area of rhetorical analysis of business writing that seems to be neglected is the analysis of annual reports on the social, political, and historical level. An admittedly-brief four hour review of on-line technical journals and academic articles on the subject of annual report analysis failed to produce a single article directly related to this subject. The only articles that I did find dealt with the analysis of contemporary annual reports on a financial basis. However, my research did uncover an article on the teaching of the conventions of business writing, such as annual reports, and an article on reconstructing the image and narrative in distressed organizations. http://tc.eserver.org/27777.html http://tc.eserver.org/27777.html So what exactly is a white paper? This is one of those questions many people have been wrestling with for some time. If you look up the term in a dictionary, you'll find an outdated response describing a government report. http://tc.eserver.org/27773.html http://tc.eserver.org/27773.html In this interview, Steve shares his insight and tips on successful copywriting and freelancing. http://tc.eserver.org/27770.html http://tc.eserver.org/27770.html WhitePaperSource is a rich information source for white paper enthusiasts. It contains news about the industry and a forum for discussing everything and anything about writing and marketing white papers. http://tc.eserver.org/27771.html http://tc.eserver.org/27771.html Have you ever been asked to write a white paper about a topic that is completely foreign to you? If not, you most certainly will. This article will help you set your foot down the right path. http://tc.eserver.org/26875.html http://tc.eserver.org/26875.html Wikis and Web logs (blogs) make a big impact on the Web, but they can also be useful in an enterprise. A community is a group of people with common interests, goals, or responsibilities, such as a project team or an interest group. Combine wikis and blogs with existing collaborative tools to enhance the productivity and effectiveness of enterprise teams. http://tc.eserver.org/25785.html http://tc.eserver.org/25785.html A few style guide tips for novice business writers. http://tc.eserver.org/25786.html http://tc.eserver.org/25786.html Use these five tips to reinforce the use of good writing strategies at work. http://tc.eserver.org/24865.html http://tc.eserver.org/24865.html Never assume that describing something in basic, simple, fundamental terms will annoy your audience. Dumbing down is a form of distortion and possibly deception. Simplifying and clarifying are forms of altruistic communication. Find out more about the differences between "dumbing down" and simplifying and clarifying...and how to decide how simple an explanation should be. http://tc.eserver.org/24234.html http://tc.eserver.org/24234.html Organisational writing is specialised. To be an effective writer in the business environment, you need to have excellent general writing skills and to understand the complex communication choices involved. Knowing how writing is structured in an organisation and what is acceptable helps you to shape your writing so that it communicates successfully. http://tc.eserver.org/24133.html http://tc.eserver.org/24133.html Why doesn't everyone determine copy length based on the needs and expectations of his site visitors? http://tc.eserver.org/24126.html http://tc.eserver.org/24126.html Here's a tip on how to achieve that in a way that grabs attention and builds credibility. Illustrate it. Don't tell it. http://tc.eserver.org/23641.html http://tc.eserver.org/23641.html Recently, investor confidence has deteriorated, in part due to the discovery of fraud at several large companies. As a result, many communications from those in the financial industry have attempted to regain investor trust and confidence. This paper reports my analysis of five such communications and the themes I found appearing in them: need for trust, history of continuous improvement, continued existence of high ethical and professional standards, and investor wisdom. In writing trust-building communications, technical communicators should note: trust is built in several ways, history does not always repeat itself, and emotions are very powerful factors in decision-making. http://tc.eserver.org/23567.html http://tc.eserver.org/23567.html If you think marketing communications are written by an entirely different brand of writer—in a version of the language wholly unlike the one you employ— then think again. Marketing and technical communications do share common ground. And by expanding the horizons of this landscape, you can move into marketing writing. To begin, you must explore what the disciplines share, what attributes are peculiar to marketing communications, and how you can go about developing your skills in this field. http://tc.eserver.org/23574.html http://tc.eserver.org/23574.html Although there are important differences between technical and marketing writing, technical writers have some prerequisites that support a transition to marketing writing: in-depth product knowledge, research experience, and strong oral and written communication skills. To develop data sheets, brochures, and other materials technical writers must first understand the goals of marketing communications. By focusing on audience needs and product benefits, by using writing techniques that engage the reader, and by providing appropriate supporting visuals, technical writers can develop persuasive marketing messages. http://tc.eserver.org/23535.html http://tc.eserver.org/23535.html A memo is a concise document that conveys essential information about your accomplishment(s). All memos at Ohio University should be written in third person. http://tc.eserver.org/23313.html http://tc.eserver.org/23313.html We have heard a great deal of talk in recent years about the growth of business and technical writing courses in English departments. But very little, if any, factual information exists on how much enrollments have grown and whether they are expected to grow in the near future. Furthermore, no study has attempted to assess the impact these relatively new, rapidly expanding courses are having and will continue to have on English departments and their faculty members. http://tc.eserver.org/23159.html http://tc.eserver.org/23159.html When you write a business letter, it's important to use a tone that is friendly but efficient. Readers want to know there’s someone at the other end of the letter who is taking notice and showing interest in their concerns. Try to sound—and be—helpful and friendly. http://tc.eserver.org/23157.html http://tc.eserver.org/23157.html For all writers the most important people are their readers. If you keep your readers in mind when you write, it will help you use the right tone, appropriate language and include the right amount of detail. http://tc.eserver.org/23162.html http://tc.eserver.org/23162.html Your first job in writing any letter is to gain your reader's attention. It's an important principle of effective writing to put the most important information first. Your opening paragraph is both the headline and the lead for the message that follows in the rest of the letter. http://tc.eserver.org/23161.html http://tc.eserver.org/23161.html Can you imagine reading a newspaper or magazine without any headlines or headings? Headlines and headings help us find our way around, decide what to read, signal what's coming next and highlight key points. http://tc.eserver.org/23160.html http://tc.eserver.org/23160.html Plain English is clear English. It is simple and direct but not simplistic or patronising. Using plain English doesn’t mean everyone's writing must sound the same. There is no one ‘right’ way to express an idea. There's plenty of room for your own style—but it will only blossom once you have got rid of the poor writing habits that are typical of most business writing. http://tc.eserver.org/22039.html http://tc.eserver.org/22039.html A press release is a (candidate) news story written by a firm for distribution to the media. The purpose of a press release varies from announcing new products, services, and business activities, to introducing the hiring of a new employee. It is not advertising in the classic sense, i.e., there is no hard sell involved although there is a more subtle intent to reach the prospective buyers. http://tc.eserver.org/21549.html http://tc.eserver.org/21549.html What, if anything, should technical communication programs teach their students about the nature of law and the production of legal discourse? When is technical writing also legal writing, and vice versa; when is legal writing (really) technical? Are there distinctions worth maintaining and dissolving here? Do lawyers' relationships to, and problems with, legal writing contexts and processes parallel in important ways technical writers' relationships to, and problems with, technical writing contexts and processes? If they do, is a conversation between the disciplines worth institutionalizing, at least experimentally, in each other's programs? http://tc.eserver.org/21211.html http://tc.eserver.org/21211.html Teachers of technical writing are urged to use computers not only for influencing the process of writing but also for designing and formatting the product of writing. Engineering students at a Midwestern university now submit final drafts of senior projects in commercial-style formats, thus increasing their range of skills in the act of preparing final written products and adopting some conventions of communicating in the workplace. Reformatting student writing to mimic commercial-quality writing not only increases the scope and responsibility of writing instruction, but also better prepares students to adapt to communication situations in the workplace. http://tc.eserver.org/20805.html http://tc.eserver.org/20805.html Online brochures don't attract return visits or serve your customers, so turn your Web site into a customer interaction center. http://tc.eserver.org/20811.html http://tc.eserver.org/20811.html 文章には大きく分けて、実務文章と楽しみの文章があります。実務文章と楽しみの文章とでは、目的や役割、読み手の姿勢が異なりますので、その書き方もおのずと異なります。この２つの文章を、あたかも同じであるかのようにとらえている本がありますが、そのような本はビジネスの現場では使えませんので注意してください。 http://tc.eserver.org/20760.html http://tc.eserver.org/20760.html As the number of persons employed by some U.S. organizations declined since the late 1980s, so have employment opportunities for Policies & Procedures (P&P) practitioners. During this period, the number of contractors and consultants has increased to meet the needs of newly changed organizations. A useful way for P&P practitioners to learn how they can provide contracting and consulting services is to understand three roles in leveraging such services: an extra pair of hands, expert, and collaborator. http://tc.eserver.org/20498.html http://tc.eserver.org/20498.html A business plan is a document used to start a new business or get funding for a business that is changing in some significant way. Business plans are important documents for business partners who need to agree upon and document their plans, government officials who may need to approve aspects of the plan, and of course potential investors such as banks or private individuals who may decide to fund the business or its expansion. http://tc.eserver.org/15235.html http://tc.eserver.org/15235.html Explains how technical communicators with no public relations experience can take charge of their companies' media plans and press releases. http://tc.eserver.org/14430.html http://tc.eserver.org/14430.html Business documents are read in an irregular manner. Techniques have been developed to aid the reader of paper documents in navigating through those documents. http://tc.eserver.org/14034.html http://tc.eserver.org/14034.html In the following pages, I will offer a methodology for letter and memoranda writing which exchanges an emphasis on forms for one on rhetorical analysis. Ultimately, training in rhetorical analysis helps students exercise and refine the analytical and analogical thinking needed for any discipline; that is, a professional writing course can serve, as Carolyn Miller says, to 'present mechanical rules and skills against a broad understanding of why and how to adjust or violate the rules, of the social implications of the roles a writer casts for himself or herself, and for the reader, and of the ethical repercussions of one’s words—effects which emphasize the fundamental nature of the humanities' (617). But before addressing how a professional writing course advances a liberal education, or even why to adopt a new methodology, it would be instructive to look at the causes for a letter such as the one which opens this article. Certainly, cost is a consideration, it being cheaper to mail form letters than have secretaries research and write personalized letters; for a mail order business, though, especially one whose clientele pay substantial prices, this strategy may be penny-wise and pound-foolish. However, the two causes I want to discuss pertain more to the concerns of a writing class: the writer’s reliance on forms, and the lack of analysis of context and audience.