Technical Writing

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Subject Code: IMT-10 Subject Name : Business Communication Objective:

To develop oral and written communication skills.

Contents :

|BUILDING BLOCKS FOR EFFECTIVE MESSAGES: Business Communication, Management, and Success |
|Will I really have to write, Don’t enough about communication, What does communication accomplish, How much does correspondence|
|cost, message effectives, analysis business communication situations. |
|Adapting Your Message to your audience : Who is my audience, why is my audience so important, what do I need to know about my audience, |
|Now that I have my analysis what do I do with it, What if my audiences have different need, How do I reach my audience |
|Planning, Writing, and Revising : Does it matter what process I use, I don’t have much time, how should I use it, what planning should I |
|do before I begin writing or speaking, What is revision, how do I do it. Can a grammer checker do my editing for me, I spell check, do I |
|still need to proofread, how can I get better feedback, can I use form letters, how can I overcome writer’s block and procrastination. |
|BUSINESS WRITING : Formats for Letters and Memos |
|How should I set up letters, what courtesy titles should I use, how should I set up memos |
|Informative and Positive Messages: What’s the best subject line for an informative or positive message, How should I organize informative |
|and positive messages, when should I use reader benefits in informative and positive messages, what are the most common kinds of |
|informative and positive message |
|Negative Messages: What’s the best subject line for a negative message, how should I organize negative message, when should I|
|consider using a buffer, what are the most common kinds of negative message |
|Persuasive Messages: What is the best persuasive strategy, best subject line for a persuasive message, organize persuasive messages, |
|identify and overcome objectives, other techniques persuasive, common kinds of persuasive |
|Email message and web writing: Setup of email message, kinds of subject line, email “netiquette’ rules, how to use attachments, style of |
|using writing for web, how to use blogging on the job, other technologies use the internet |
|Basics of Report writing: Defining report, determining the report purpose & factors, gathering the information need, interpreting the |
|findings, organizing the report, writing a report, collaborative report writing |
|POLISHING YOUR WRITING: Editing the Grammar and punctuation |
|Grammatical Errors, Fix sentence errors, put a comma every place I’d take a breath, punctuation should I use inside sentences, use of |
|quote sources, how to write numbers and date, mark error find in proofreading |

|Choosing the right word : Does using the right word really matter, how do words get their meaning, ok to use jargon, what words confuse |
|some writers |
|Revising sentences and paragrahs: What is “Good” style, are there rule I should follow, revise sentences, revise paragraphs, |
|organizational culture affect style |
|INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION: Listening |
|What do good listeners do, active listening, listening to people can I use these techniques if I really disagree with someone, role of |
|critical thinking; assessing the credibility of what you listen to gender and listening style, media and technology’s influence on |
|listening and thinking |
|Public Speaking and Oral Reporting: Making formal speeches, Team (collaborative) presentations |
|Cross Culture Communication: Prepare to communication across cultures, the cost of cultural ignorance, defining intercultural |
|communication, improve your ability to communicate intercultural, |
|Nonverbal Communication: Silent language seaks: Communicating without words, characteristics of nonverbal communication cues and |
|contexts, functions of nonverbal communication, Aspects of nonverbal communication, Technology and nonverbal communication |
|JOB HUNTING: Researching job |
|Need to know about myself to job hunt, need to know about companies that might hire me, should I do information interviews, what is the |
|“hidden job market” How do I tap into it, what do I do if I’ve got a major weakness |
|Resumes: How can I encourage the employer to pay attention to my resume, what kind of resume should I use, how do the two resume differ, |
|what parts of the two resumes are the same, what should I do if the standard categories don’t fit, should I limit my resume to just one |
|page, how do I create a scan able resume, prepare an online resume |
|Job application letters: What kind of letter should I use, two letters different, parts of the two letters are the same, can I use |
|T‐Letters, How long should my letter be , how do I create the right tone, email application |
|Job Interviews: Why do I need an interview strategy, what details should I think about, should I practice before the interview, answer |
|traditional interview questions, behavioural and situational interviews, phone or video interview |
|Follow‐up Letters and calls and job offers : What should I say in a follow‐up phone call or letter, what do I do if my first offer isn’t |
|the one I most want |
| |Notes: | |
| | | |
| |a. Write answers in your own words as far as possible and refrain from copying from the text books/handouts. | |
| |b. Answers of Ist Set (Part-A), IInd Set (Part-B), IIIrd Set (Part – C) and Set-IV (Case Study) must be sent together. | |
| |c. Mail the answer sheets alongwith the copy of assignments for evaluation & return. | |
| |d. Only hand written assignments shall be accepted. | |

|A. |First Set of Assignments: |5 Questions, each question carries 1 marks. |
|B. |Second Set of Assignments: |5 Questions, each question carries 1 marks. |
|C. |Third Set of Assignments: |5 Questions, each question carries 1 marks. Confine your answers to 150 to 200 Words. |
|D. |Forth Set of Assignments: |Two Case Studies : 5 Marks. Each case study carries 2.5 marks. |

ASSIGNMENTS

FIRST SET OF ASSIGNMENTS Assignment-I = 5 Marks PART– A

1. Describe the different kinds of audience with ways to analyze them.

2. What should be the determining factors in the use of visuals (graphics)?

3. Explain the principal differences between written and virtual reports.

4. Define intercultural communication and how can we improve our ability to communicate inter-culturally?

5. Write an appropriate subject line for each of these situations:

a. A letter informing the reader that his life insurance policy #29832 will expire soon, due to non-payment of premium

b. A letter to a bank suggesting that a separate deposit window be opened from merchants from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. each workday

SECOND SET OF ASSIGNMENTS Assignment-II = 5 Marks PART– B

1. What are the different ways to adapt your message to your audience?

2. Rewrite and reorganize the following negative message to make it more positive.

Dear Renter:

Effective October 1 2013, the rent for your parking space will go up $75 a month. However, our parking lot is still not the most expensive in town.

Many of you have asked us to provide better snow and ice removal and to post signs saying that all spaces are rented so that a car can be towed if it parks in your space. Signs will be posted by October 10, and if we get any more snow, Acme Company has contracted to have the lot cleared by 7 a.m. Enclosed is a new parking sticker. Please hang it on your rear view mirror. Sincerely

3. What three aspects of a document does thorough revision cover?

4. How do you decide whether to use a direct request or a problem-solving persuasive message?

5. Discuss the guidelines to be kept in mind while writing e-mail messages.

THIRD SET OF ASSIGNMENTS Assignment-II = 5 Marks PART– C

1. What are the characteristics and different aspects of non-verbal communication? 2. What should you know about yourself and the organization before you apply for jobs? 3. How do you decide whether to use a chronological or a skills resume? How do they differ? 4. How does behavioral and situational interview differ? How do you use your interview strategy during an interview? 5. Write a cover letter to a company Vice-president to accompany your short report on energy savings.

FOURTH SET OF ASSIGNMENTS Assignment-IV = 2.5 Each Case Study CASE STUDY - I

Your Company, Datatron Systems, Inc., has decided to install a new medical insurance program. Although the fees to employees are reasonable - $35 a month for complete coverage of individual employees and their immediate families - the program will not cover their visits to private physicians. Instead they must see doctors at a medical network. Many employees have expressed their dissatisfaction with the proposed plan, arguing that they will be treated like objects on an assembly line, never seeing the same doctor twice. You have been assigned the task of convincing them to accept the proposal.

Prepare a speech or a write a persuasive message to be delivered at the next union meeting a week from today.

CASE STUDY-II

Workplace communication is multi-layered and complex, especially when employees from diverse backgrounds and different generations must collaborate.

As president of Professionalism Matters, a corporate training firm based in Atlanta, Dana Brownlee is attuned to many workplace challenges. She said there's a generational divide in terms of work style and communication practices. Her training focuses on getting employees away from the daily grind and providing them an opportunity to truly reflect on what's working and what's not. Brownlee previously spent years working for IBM Consulting.

If the boss is overbearing and his demeanour has been problematic for me during a recent project team meeting, I wouldn't hesitate to meet with him about it. However, instead of telling him that he needs to tone it down, I'd ask him to give me his thoughts on how the session went and then chime in based on his comments/observations.

Similarly, if I were planning a session and concerned about his demeanor, I'd meet privately before the session and share my concern like this: "Bob, thanks so much for agreeing to participate in our vendor discussion on Friday. I think that your presence really signals to the team that this project is important and that helps boost morale. I've been planning the agenda, and I do have one challenge that I was hoping you could help with. I know how much everyone on the team really respects your opinion and sometimes when the VP offers their view, everyone latches onto that view and we don't really hear his or her honest initial thoughts on the topic. I know how important it is to you to really see what they can come up with, so I'm just struggling a bit with how to handle that. What do you think?"

He may offer to simply come for the first 15 minutes or agree to hold back and not contribute to discussion until others have chimed in, but either way, it's a great way to surface the issue and identify some real solutions without alienating anyone in the process.

Most organizations have at least three generations in the workplace working side by side, and this can pose some unique challenges. I have one client in particular who is struggling with the fact that younger employees tend to prefer text/email, while some of the older staff demand face-to-face or phone conversations about everything. Both groups are quite frustrated. In terms of how we address it, the first step in resolving any problem is acknowledging that there is indeed a problem.

Through work style assessments, employees begin to see that each person has their own style - whether it relates to communications, conflict management or leadership. How they interact is a direct result of that style. This means that when Susan emails me about a conflict instead of coming to talk to me directly, it's probably not a sign of disrespect, as some would assume, but a style difference.

1. How can an employee provide constructive feedback to someone with higher authority in the office? 2. How do organizations smooth generational gaps within their workplace?
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Business Communication

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IMT‐10