Chapter 10

Persuasive and Sales Messages

Persuasive skill is one of the important skill in business communication. In business communication, persuasive skills is defined as the ability of business people to make the audiences or target are interested and believe in what you offer to them.In order to develop persuasive skills, you should know some persuasion techniques which are :

a. Establish credibility

b. Make a reasonable and precise request

c. Recognize the power of loss

d. Expect and overcome resistance

e. Share the solutions and compromise

In making persuasive messages, you should understand and aware with the background culture of each country. You should understand high context culture and low context culture to make a precise persuasive messages. 

This table illustrates the difference between low context culture and high context culture.

In low context culture, there are some elements that you need in writing a persuasive message:

 - Directness : state your purpose precisely and directly

 - "You" view : emphasize the individual benefits 

 - Hard sell approach : provide a complete observation such as testimonial, deadlines, promotion, comparison with the competitors, etc

 - Superlative : using superlative word such as highest quality can interact the receivers.

In high context culture, you should pay attention with :

- Politeness

- Simple Facts without any superlatives

- Long term relationship

- Collective view : the use of we is better than you view

Those techniques can help you to make a good persuasive messages. A persuasive message can be considered as a successful message if you can gain attention from the receivers, build interest, reduce resistance, and motivate the receivers to do an action.

Chapter 9

Negative Messages

In business, certainly sometimes you face a bad thing so that you must inform others about that bad news. In order to deliver a negative message, you should know two types of format that you should use. They are :

a. Direct format 

- You can use it when the receiver is prefer to use direct information (to the point)

- You can use it when the message is not damaging

b. Indirect format

- You should use it when the news is unexpected

- You should use it if the news can damage customer relationship

- You should use it when the news can trigger negative reaction

The differences of those format :

- Direct strategy format consist of :

      1. Bad News

      2. Reasons

      3. Closing

- Indirect format consist of :

      1. Buffer

      2. Reasons

      3. Bad News

      4. Closing 

   * In this format, in the reason part, try to not stated the negative statement such as refusal. 

Closing part is the essential part of the messages. You should try to make a pleasant closing. 

Chapter 8

Positive Messages

Business Messages can be divided into three types :

- Positive messages : it delivers directly or straightforward response

- Negative messages : it contain a bad news so it delivers indirectly

- Persuasive messages 

Those business messages can be written in several form such as e-mail, memos and letters.

a. E-mail

E-mail is appropriate to send a short messages such as giving information, distributing documents, giving updates, setting an appointment, etc. However, you should remember that sending message via e-mail commonly cannot give a fast response from the receiver. 

b. Memos

Memos still have a great role in workplace. It can be used to give a short information such as announcement, etc. 

c. Letters

As well as Memos, letters also still have a part in business messages in this digital era. This printed media commonly become the most effective way to across the message quickly to all members of an organization or company.   

Both of those examples are the examples of positive messages because the information delivers directly. 

Chapter 7

Electronic Messages and Digital Media

Nowadays, the development of technology is increased day by day dramatically. The uses of written messages have been changed into electronic messages in business world. However, there are some written messages that still uses in this era such as :

•Business Letters : is usually a letter from one company to another, or between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. There are two main styles of Business Letters : Full Block style and Modified block style

•Interoffice memos :  Paper-based interoffice memos were once the chief form of internal communication .

There are some kinds of electronic messages which are use in business communication :

•Electronic mail (E-mail) :  an information and communications technology.

•Instant messaging : a type of online chat which offers real-time text transmission over the Internet.

•Text messaging : is the act of composing and sending brief, electronic messages between two or more mobile phones, or fixed or portable devices over a phone network.

•Podcats : a digital medium consisting of an episodic series of audio, video, radio, PDF, or ePub files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device.

•Blogs : a Web site with journal entries (posts) written by one person with comments added by others.

•Wikis: a web application which allows people to add, modify, or delete content in collaboration with others.

•Social networking has grown to become one of the most popular uses of the internet.

E-mail 

There are some important points when making a professional e-mail :

Some tips to use e-mail smartly and safely :

•Be concise.

•Don’t forward without permission, and beware of long threads.

•Acknowledge receipt.

•Don’t use company computers for personal matters.

•Design your messages effectively

•Consider cultural differences.

Instant Messaging and Texting

Beside e-mail, Instant Messaging (IM) also plays a role in business communication. There are some

points that should be remembered while using IM :

a.Don’t use IM or text messages to send confidential or sensitive information

b.Don’t use confusing jargon, slang, and abbreviations.

c.Care about correctness. Proofread!

d.Remember that text messages can be saved.

Podcast

Creating a Professional Podcast :

•Decide whether to record one or a series.

•Organize the message.

•Choose an extemporaneous or scripted delivery.

•Prepare and practice.

•Publish and distribute your message.

Blog

How to create professional blog?

•Identify your audience to make suitable topics of your blog

•Craft your message --> provide a fresh and unique information

•Make “blogrolling” work for you. --> connect your blog to other link that related with the business

•Seek permission --> pay attention to the rules of the company

Wikis

The main uses of wikis :

•Creating a database of information for large audiences. 

•Facilitating feedback before and after meetings.

•Providing a project management tool. 

•Helping document large and small projects, such as providing templates for reports.

How to become a good contributor in wikis?

   •Show respect and watch out for improper or ambiguous languange

   •Don’t post irrelevant, controversial or provocative comment

   •Pay attention to correct grammar and spelling

Social Networking

Tips for using social networking sites :

   •Observe company rules, if they exist.

   •Don’t share information you wouldn’t share openly in the office.

   •Keep your profiles free of risky photos, profanity, and negative comments.

Chapter 6

Revising Business Messages

In making a business messages, you should write iy efficiently. These are some important things that you should concern while revising a business messages :
1. Revising for conciseness :
    - Eliminating Flabby Expression --> use simple word
      For example : Due to the fact that sales are booming, profits are good.
      Revise : Because sales are booming, profits are good.

    - Limiting Long Lead - Ins --> delete unnecessary introductory words
      For example : I am sending you this e-mail to announce that we have hired a new manager
      Revise : We have hired a new manager

    - Dropping Unnecessary there is/ are and it is/was Fillers
      For example : It was our auditor who discovered the theft.
      Revise : Our editor discovered the theft.

   - Rejecting Redundancies
     For example : unexpected surprise → surprise (unexpected carries the same meaning as surprise)

2. Revising for Clarity
   - Keep it short and simple

   - Dumping trite phrases
     For example : as per you request --> As you request

   - Dropping clices and slang

   - Unburrying verbs

   - Controlling Exuberance 
     For example : We totally agree that we actually did not really give his proposal a very fair trial.
     Revise : We agree that we did not give his proposal a fair trial.

3. Designing documents for readibility

- Employing white space
  To increase white space:

•Use headings

•Use bulleted numbers

•Use effective margins

•Improve readibility and comprehension (shortening sentences & paragraphs)

- Understanding margins

  Business letters or memos usually have side margins of 1 to 1 ½ inches.

- Choosing appropriate typefaces

Adding Headings for Visual Impact
The functions are :

•Important tool for highlighting information and improving readibility.

•Encouraging the writer to group similar material together.

•Helping the reader separate major ideas from details.

•Enabling a busy reader to skim.