Persuasion In Technical Communication: Applying Constructivism To Proposal Writing  

Constructivism is a cognitive theory stating that people construct understanding based on what they already know or understand and that more cognitively complex people can better take and understand others’ perspectives and hence, design more persuasive messages. As the key to proposal writing is persuasion, and the key to persuasion is understanding, applying this theory provides us a general strategy for all proposal writing: first, collect information to establish our own context-related constructs and interpretive schemes and to understand those of our reader; then, make all the writing decisions based on the understanding achieved.

Xu, Jing. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Business Communication>Proposals>Persuasive Design

Persuasive Techniques Used in Fundraising Messages    

Based on an analysis of 63 fundraising packages representing 46 nonprofit organizations, as well as research in trade journals and other secondary sources, this study discusses a variety of persuasive techniques used in fundraising messages to accomplish their missions. The fundraising package consists of the carrier envelope, the fundraising letter, the reply form, the reply envelope, and optional enclosures such as brochures, small gifts for the reader, and surveys to complete. These parts work together to perform the following tasks: 1) persuade recipients to open the envelope and read the letter; 2) convince readers a serious but not unsolvable problem exists; 3) make readers want to help solve the problem; 4) convince readers they can help by giving to the appealing organization; 5) tell readers what the organization needs them to do; and 6) make it easy to comply.

Spears, Lee A. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Rhetoric

Plain English in Corporate Disclosures: Review and Implications for Consumers, Producers, and the Free-Market System    

The Internet is revolutionizing the investment world. There are clear benefits to these changes, including lower costs and faster access to the market for investors. There also are consequences to these changes when investors take risks without having access to clear, accurate, and full disclosures. In a free-market system, investors must have access to information they can understand and use autonomously to have full and equal access to the investment market. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently passed a rule requiring businesses to use plain English to try and rid disclosures of their traditionally complex and ambiguous language. However, SEC's rule only addresses the front and back sides of prospectus disclosures. Consequently, the success of plain English will depend on the writer and business using it. Public corporations committed to using plain English will empower investors with the information they need to participate in the market freely and safely. In return, businesses will create a more effective and efficient free-market system by maximizing utility, benefiting producers, consumers, and the market as a whole.

Clements, Rhonda. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2000). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>Minimalism

Policies and Procedures Can Help Your Organization

Compliance and meeting operational needs are two very important reasons for implementing a system of policies and procedures.

Bizmanualz (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

Policy and Procedure Communication and the Lone Writer  

As a lone writer developing policy and procedure documentation, many of us face what appear to be insurmountable hurdles in reaching our intended goal – useable documentation that accurately reflects the business’ operations. It usually begins with trying to get everyone to take the need for P & P documentation seriously. This can be followed by frustrations in getting the information required to write coherent and useful documentation. Then there is the need for standards for which no one sees the importance – ‘just a whim of the writer’. Add to this volatile mix the requirements of many international standards impacting how business is conducted, and you wonder why anyone in right mind would take up the challenges of this field of writing. But it really can be fun and a very rewarding field of endeavor.

Mason, Susan, Rich Maggiani, Julia Margulies and Ralph E. Robinson. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Documentation>Policies and Procedures>Business Communication

Power Emails: How to Write Them

Most emails have lousy subject lines, are too wordy, and probably are deleted unread, read but not responded to, or filtered out as spam. Learn how to avoid these fates by composing Power Emails that are legal, ethical, and effective.

Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Rhetoric

The Power of Showing You are Human

Here's a tip on how to achieve that in a way that grabs attention and builds credibility. Illustrate it. Don't tell it.

Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2002). Articles>Writing>Business Communication

Practical Tips for Language: The Ladder to the Top

We the Technical Editors are spared of one worry which our colleagues from journalism generally have: In our work we need not pay 'so much' attention to 'as much as possible' large number of editions. But the situation is different, if we--as is always the case--are to also look after the company's web presence. What is an edition in the context of printing is here the so-called 'page ranking' among the major search engines like Google and Yahoo. Many imagine that a listing in the hits lists depends on chance or, that it is mainly due to some technical means. That is all wrong: by employing some clever textual work the chances of web pages being found can be significantly increased. In reality, even elaborate techniques can lower the chances of hits: Frames, JavaScript and Flash Intros often derail the search engines. And the results may look all right, but regrettably the page will no longer be found.

Nickl, Markus. tekom (2006). Articles>Language>Editing>Business Communication

Practical Tips for Merger Communication

When two companies merge, the complexities, emotions and often sweeping changes behind the deal can hinder effective communication to key stakeholders. Yet a well planned and implemented communication strategy contributes to the very success of the merger itself. How can you overcome the obstacles to developing and delivering on a merger communication strategy?

Fagan-Smith, Barbara and Ruta Skelton. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>Workplace

Practicing Professional Communication Principles by Creating Public Service Announcements    

A primary goal of most introductory business and technical communication courses is to introduce students to the idea that the professional communication most of them will engage in is different from the writing they do for academic purposes. This overall idea covers several principles concerning professional writing. First, in an academic essay, a student may tell all he or she knows about a topic to an expert reader (the instructor); in professional writing situations, however, writers are most likely sharing only a small part of the information they know with nonexpert readers. Second, when writing in professional situations, writers must actively envision audiences different from themselves, audiences that will have different concerns and purposes than the writers do. Finally, the audience, purpose, and medium of a professional communication situation drive the choices a writer will make. If students are to understand these principles, discussing them in class is insufficient; students must also practice them. Implementing active learning that applies these principles authentically can be challenging. The makeup of many business and technical communication courses means that not all students share expertise in a given field that they can draw on for common assignments. Hypothetical assignments may not give students a deep sense of context, and students may continue to perceive the instructor as the real audience for such assignments.

Frederick, Terri. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Education>Business Communication>Multimedia

Practitioner's Perspective

The biggest challenge for auditors is to make sure that they're measuring the right things. All too often communicators measure only their outputs—the messages and channels they're producing—without connecting them to the outcomes of using these outputs.

Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Assessment

Predicting Intended Unethical Behavior of Business Students  

What is the likelihood that our students will perform unethical behavior in the work environment? This study measures students’ intended behavior for four hypothetical unethical situations by investigating the following determinants: attitude toward the behavior (belief), subjective norm (pressure), perceived behavioral control, perceived personal outcome (benefit), and perceived social acceptance by others. Using the Fishbein model of planned behavior, belief was consistently the most powerful predictor of intent in all four situations. Perceived behavioral control, perceived personal outcome, and perceived social acceptance by others were moderately good predictors of intent. Subjective norm was the weakest predictor of intent.

Wilson, Barbara A. Association for Business Communication (2004). Articles>Education>Ethics>Business Communication

Presentation Pointers  

This site provides tips on how to deliver a good technical presentation, both for the presenter him/herself, as well as for the content matter of the presentation. For the presenter, the note about the three Vs (Visual, Vocal and Verbal) are a must-read, and whether it is a PowerPoint presentation or a demo, the tips on how the presentation matter needs to be structured will be greatly apppreciated by any amateur/ experienced presenter.

Presentation Pointers (2000). Presentations>Technology>Communication>Business Communication

Press Releases Are a Colossal Waste of Time: Mail the Media a Letter Instead

I haven't sent out a traditional press release in the last 10 years. But I have placed stories about my clients in The Wall St. Journal, New York Times, ABC News, The Today Show, Good Morning America and just about any other major media outlet in the United States. Editors surely don't need me or any other publicist to write their stories. They need me to point them in the direction of a good story, succinctly give them the facts as I see them, the sources I know and then get out of the way so they can write their own stories. I do those things by writing pitch letters, good ones.

Ochman, B.L. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Press Releases

A Primer on Financial Statements

One of the major challenges facing corporate communicators is understanding the financial statements of public companies. First, there is the math. Then, there is the matter of all that unfamiliar jargon. The purpose of this column and its next few installments is to give you an overview of the primary financial statements—the balance sheet, the income statement and the statement of cash flows—and how they are generated, so that you can make sense of a public company’s financial documents.

Gentry, James K. Communication World Bulletin (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Financial

Privacy Laws and Communication

With the advent of the Internet and the ability to send personal information to many places in very little time, privacy has become an important issue for businesses across the globe. How to retain the free flow of information without violating an individual’s right to privacy is a difficult balance to strike and one that different countries approach in various ways.

Turbeville, Heather. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Privacy>Email

Problem-Based Learning in an Intercultural Business Communication Course    

Teachers of intercultural business communication may want to consider using problem-based learning (PBL), an instructional approach that places learners in problem-solving situations, that is, students are presented with messy and complex real-life problems that provide a context for learning concepts and developing skills. This article describes how ill-structured communication problems that emerge in intercultural business relationships in internationalizing small- or medium-sized enterprises are used to provide a context for learning. It explains how these problems are tackled by learners through the implementation of PBL in four stages: problem identification, information acquisition, information analysis, and problem resolution. Finally, it discusses the reactions of the students, external participants, and instructors to the PBL approach.

Saatci, Elizabeth. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2008). Articles>Education>Business Communication

Professional Communication Resources

These resources fit the needs of anyone who wants to improve their professional communication skills or teaching methods.

Cramer, Dan. Ereunao (2007). Resources>Business Communication

Professional Writing Practicum/Cooperative Education

This course is designed to provide you with professional experience outside of the standard classroom.

Williamson, William J. University of Northern Iowa (2003). Academic>Courses>Writing>Business Communication

Professionalizing Knowledge Sharing and Communications: Changing Roles for a Changing Profession    

Web 2.0 technologies are becoming increasingly ubiquitous among younger generations of IT users and this is creating a new set of expectations about accessing quality information for business, research and academic purposes. The article looks at how this situation has impacted on the expectations of users of library and information services. Although there are solid reasons for standing by professional standards, there is little doubt that the next generation has a greater expectation around being participants in, rather than recipients of, knowledge sharing. How will this impact the status of the professional librarian and information manager, and to what extent should they change with this paradigm shift looming?

Cullen, John T. Business Information Review (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Collaboration>Online

Protecting the User's Mailbox

Email is a powerful way to reach customers, but overdoing it is risky. Let users know up front that you'll respect their mailboxes. Otherwise, they won't give their email addresses, and you'll lose a unique channel for marketing and customer service.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Email

Putting Limits on Subject Matter Expertise

At nearly every conference I attend someone is talking about the need for Subject Matter Expertise for Business Analysts. The rationale is that someone versed in the language, ideas, and systems of a given organization or product will ask better questions and elicit better requirements from stakeholders.

Vincent, Cameron. BA Collective (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Workplace>SMEs

Quantifying the Impact of Communication on Your Organization’s Bottom Line

Consider this scenario: You’re making a pitch to the CEO that calls for more focus and resources on internal communication, citing recent studies that demonstrate that organizations with more effective communication have higher performance. And you get this response: “Great, I’m sold on the importance of communication. Tell me which communication channels have the greatest impact on our bottom line, and put together a strategic plan that will lead to increased revenues.” Did you get a little more than you bargained for? While the CEO’s request certainly sounds challenging, rest assured that it can be done.

Williams, John A. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Assessment