Why is it important to consider the nonverbal message your choice of distribution method sends

Chapter 5 Writing Assignment

“5-1. What are the four main tasks involved in completing a business message? [LO-1]

Answer: The four main tasks are to ask yourself these questions. Are all your points covered in the most logical and convincing order? Do the most important ideas receive the most space and greatest emphasis? Are any points unnecessary? Are details grouped together logically or spread out throughout the document?

5-2. What are your responsibilities when you review and edit the work of others? [LO-1]

Answer: You have many responsibilities but some are to figure out the purpose of the message, the target audience, the grammar, and to make sure the writing is concise and makes sense.

5-3. What is parallel construction, and why is it important? [LO-2]

Answer: Parallel construction is using the same patterns of words to show two or more patterns of words to show the same idea. It is important because it makes writers messages easier to understand.

5-4. Why is proofreading an important part of the writing process? [LO-5]

Answer: Proofreading is an important part of the writing process because this allows you to edit any errors or any messages you want to say in the piece of writing.

5-5. What factors should you consider when choosing a method for distributing a message (other than for systems where you don’t have a choice)? [LO-6]”

Answer: The factors you should consider are cost, convenience, time, and security and privacy.

“5-6. Why is it essential to understand the writer’s intent before suggesting or making changes to another person’s document? [LO-1]

Answer: It is essential to understand the writer’s intent before suggesting changes in their writing because they may be writing about a certain topic or idea when they are writing their document.

5-7. What are the ethical implications of murky, complex writing in a document whose goal is to explain how customers can appeal the result of a decision made in the company’s favor during a dispute? [LO-3]

Answer: The ethical implications must be straight to the point with a clear message to the audience.

5-8. How does white space help with readability on mobile screens? [LO-4]

Answer: They help the reader feel less intimidated and it also makes it easier to read.

5-9. What nonverbal signals can you send by your choice of distribution methods? [LO-6]”

Answer: The nonverbal signals you can send impact the reader in a positive way that motivates them through the writing process.

“Break the following sentences into shorter ones; revise as necessary to maintain sense and smooth flow. [LO-3]”

5-10. The next time you write something, check your average sentence length in a 100-word passage, and if your sentences average more than 16 to 20 words, see whether you can break up some of the sentences.

Answer: See if you can break up some of the sentences if they average more than 16 to 20 words in a 100 word passage.

5-11. Don’t do what the village blacksmith did when he instructed his apprentice as follows: “When I take the shoe out of the fire, I’ll lay it on the anvil, and when I nod my head, you hit it with the hammer.” The apprentice did just as he was told, and now he’s the village blacksmith.

Answer: Avoid what the village blacksmith did when he told the apprentice, “When I take the shoe out of the fire, I’ll lay it on the anvil and when I nod my head, you will hit it with the hammer.” The apprentice is now is the village blacksmith.

5-12. Unfortunately, no gadget will produce excellent writing, but using spell checkers and grammar checkers can help by catching common spelling errors and raising grammatical points that writers might want to reconsider, such as suspect sentence structure and problems with noun–verb agreement.

Answer: Using spell check will catch common spelling and grammar errors when you are communicating in your writing but it will not catch all errors or correct ideas.

5-13. Know the flexibility of the written word and its power to convey an idea, and know how to make your words behave so that your readers will understand.”

Answer: Know the flexibility of the written word and its power to convey and idea, and know how to make the readers understand.

“Eliminate unnecessary words in the following sentences. [LO-3]

5-14. The board cannot act without a consensus of opinion.

Answer: Opinion is needed for the board.

5-15. To surpass our competitors, we need new innovations both in products and in company operations.

Answer: We need new innovations to surpass our competitors.

5-16. George McClannahan has wanted to be head of engineering a long period of time, and now he has finally gotten the promotion.

Answer: George McClannahan finally got the promotion after a long period of time engneering.

5-17. Don’t pay more than you have to; you can get our new fragrance for a price of just $50.”

Answer: Don’t pay more than you need to as you can get our new product for just $50.

Test your knowledge

  1. The four main tasks involved in completing a business message are to make sure you use design elements effectively, proofreading to ensure quality,  and distributing it to your audience.
  2. When you review and edit the work of others you are responsible to keep the writing in the original author’s words. Unless you are specifically asked you are just helping to make the writing more efficient not how you would construct it. Secondly, you are responsible to understand the writer’s purpose before suggesting changes. If you are unsure of the purpose and edit the work you run the risk of lessening the works purpose.
  3. Parallel construction is using similar structure for similar ideas.  This is important because it helps your audience understand the ideas are related.  Also parallel structure is less difficult for the audience to read.
  4. Proofreading is an important part of the writing process because it is the last chance to make sure your document is completely ready to be distributed. Even small mistakes can drastically alter your message or the way it perceived by the audience. If but is butt in your document it may not be taken seriously.
  5. You should consider the price, how convenient, time it takes, the security and privacy of the distribution method when choosing an appropriate method.

Apply your knowledge

1)      It is essential to understand the writer’s intent before making changes to another person’s document because the goal is to make the writing more effective. If you do not understand what the writer hoped to accomplish then you run the risk of making it less effective, not more.

2)      Some ethical implications of complex writing in documents whose goal is to explain how customers can appeal the result of a decision into the company’s favor are false clarity can lead to the wrong choice. In a complex document that is hard to understand, the reader may take it the wrong way and relay the wrong message on to others.

3)      The nonverbal signals you send by your choice of distribution method are cost, convenience, time, and security and privacy.

Practice your skills

  1. The next time you write something, check your average sentence length in a 100-word passage. If your sentences average more than 16 to 20 words, see if you can break up some of the sentences.
  2. Don’t do what the village blacksmith did. He instructed his apprentice to do as follows: “When I take the shoe out of the fire , I’ll lay it on the anvil, and when I nod my head, you hit it with the hammer.” The apprentice did just as he was told. Now he is the village blacksmith.
  3. Unfortunately, no gadget will produce excellent writing. But, using spell checkers and grammar checkers can help. By catching common spelling errors and raising grammatical points, it clues writers in to items they may want to reconsider. One of these items is suspect sentence structure and problems with noun-verb agreement.
  4. Know the flexibility of the written word and its power to convey and idea. Also, know how to make your words behave so that your readers will understand.

5)      Original: The board cannot act without a consensus of opinion.

New: Without everyone’s opinion the board cannot act.

6)      Original: To surpass our competitors, we need new innovations both in products and in company operations.

New: We need better product and operations if we wish to surpass our competitors.

7)      Original: George McClannahan has wanted to be head of engineering a long period of time, and now he has finally gotten the promotion.

New: After wanting a promotion for a long time, George McClannahan is finally the new head of engineering.

8)      Original: Don’t pay more than you have to; you can get our new fragrance for a price of just $50.

New: Get our new fragrance for a discounted price of $50. 

Aside

Chapter 5: Completing Business Messages

Test Your Knowledge:

  1. What are the four main tasks involved in completing a business message?

When completing a business message, the four main tasks include revising the message, producing the message, proofreading the message, and then distributing the message. Each step is fairly self-explanatory. Revising the message comes after organizing and researching and the rough drafts. This step is to make sure that the readability is as easy as can be fore the audience. Then comes producing, where the actual message is written out. Many things must be taken into account when it comes to producing, including consistency, balance, restraint, and details. Proofreading the message is the final chance to go over the document and make sure it is ready to be distributed to the public. Distribution is the final step, where the message is physically given to the audience.

  1. What are your responsibilities when you review and edit the work of others?

When reviewing the work of other people, it is important to make sure that the input give is only to make the message more effective, not to make the message seem like something that you would’ve written. The most important consideration is making sure you know what the writer’s intent was, to make sure that whatever input that is given is only helping the message, not taking away from it.

  1. What is parallel construction, and why is it important?

Parallel construction is making sure that everything in a message is uniform. This may include tense, heading length, and more. It is important because if the headings are all different lengths, or the tense switches fro present, past, and future, the message will lose its clarity. It will not be uniform and it may become confusing for the audience to follow along.

  1. Why is proofreading an important part of the writing process?

Proofreading is incredibly important to the writing process because it is the final chance to make sure that the message is ready to be present to the audience. It is the last time to find mistakes such writing, design, and layout errors.

  1. What factors should you consider when choosing a method for distributing a message (other than for systems where you don’t have a choice)?

There are four main factors that should be considered when choosing a method for distributing a message: cost, convenience, time, severity and privacy. Cost may not be an important factor in many messages, but it must be factored in because of there may be a need for multiple copies or some type of expedited delivery.

Apply Your Knowledge:

  1. Why is it essential to understand the writer’s intent before suggesting or making changes to another person’s document?

It’s essential to know a writer’s intent before making any suggestions and changes because you may not fully understand what the writer was trying to accomplish. If their intent is unknown, then the editor may try to change a piece of the message into something that was not trying to be portrayed at all.

  1. What are the ethical implications of murky, complex writing in a document whose goal is to explain how customers can appeal the result of a decision made in the company’s favor during a dispute?

There could be multiple ethical implications if a document is complex, especially if it’s concerning appeals. If it does not clarify how to accurately try to appeal the decision, then the customers may not appeal correctly and lose their fight. The ethical thing to do would be to make sure the clarity of the message is superb to ensure that no one is confused.

  1. What nonverbal signals can you send by your choice of distribution methods?

Nonverbal signals in distribution methods can be extremely important. If an important message is distributed in a way that is unprofessional, such as a text message or post-it note, then the receiver may be offended or may feel that it is not as important as originally thought.