Adapting to Your Audience & Composing Your Message (123-136)

Every writer has his or her own unique communication style. Not one individual writes identically to another. However, one must always be aware of who they are composing their message to. How you express yourself in your writing sets the stage for how your audience makes an impression of you.

Your distinctive communication style creates a tone. Basically, a tone is an overall impression. Your tone can be formal/informal, conversational/demanding, pessimistic/optimistic, etc. Whatever tone you choose to base your writing upon is how your readers will picture you. Table 5.2 “Finding the Right Tone” of the Business Communication Today textbook provides three versions of tone used in a business message. The first tone listed is stuffy which is generally too formal for the audience of todays’ readers. Second, which I’ll expand upon later, is conversational tone. Conversational tone is what the majority of business messages aim for in their writing. The last tone listed is the unprofessional tone, or in other words, a tone of writing that creates too much of a casual atmosphere for business communication.

The best way to describe conversational tone is through example. Table 5.2 provides an illustration of a letter and/or email similar to those used in a business setting. I would like to compare the last line of each letter. The stuffy letter states, “In the event that you have questions or would like additional information, you may certainly contact me during regular business hours.” One can see how this may set the tone of stiffness. Questions such as, “What are the regular business hours?” or “What would be the most efficient way to contact you?” might arise from this ending line. The unprofessional letter states, “Any? just ring or msg.” It is extremely obvious that this letter pertains zero business etiquette. Never use text language such as, “msg” in business communication: it is unacceptable. The conversational letter states, “If you would like more information, please call me any time between 9:00 and 5:00, Monday through Friday.” This concluding sentence is warm, yet business like. It is short and concise, but informative and professional.

Let's look at how Patagonia's misson statement conveys their tone and style:
         
          "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." –Patagonia's Mission Statement

Patagonia portrays their companies belief in the overall well-being of our environment as well as the goal of product effeciency. The tone and style incorporated in Patagonia's misson statement expresses their love for the outdoors and wildlife. Patagonia advances to state, "We donate our time, services and at least 1% of our sales to hundreds of grassroots environmental groups all over the world who work to help reverse the tide." The company gives examples of how the lighting in their stores and the dyes in their clothing, etc. contributes to pollution as a by-product. However, to cope with these harms Patagonia uses polyester and organic material instead of pesticide-intensive cotton. Furthermore, the tone conveyed in the mission statement gives customers from all demographics the impression that Patagonia cares not only about the world we live in, but the focus they attain to run their company and gain success. The tone in Patagonia's mission statement sets them apart from other clothing/sporting equipment stores.

In addition, now that you have recognized your audience and set the tone for the message, you must compose your message. Start by writing a draft. One might do this by drawing images or talking out loud. Do whatever it takes to get the ideas and thoughts from inside your head on to a piece of paper or computer screen! Our textbook speaks of a “safe zone” away from others. If you are comfortable away from the eyes of other people, form a space where you can think clearly in solitude. However, it is common for some people to thrive off of the comfort of others and receive their best ideas when engaged in the contentment of other writers.

Furthermore, advancing from a draft to constructing a message with unity and coherence creates is a tremendous step in writing a business message. To assist your reader in comprehending each paragraph in your message, it is detrimental to understand the elements of a paragraph. The three basic elements are a topic sentence, support sentences, and transitions. Begin with a topic sentence to reveal the subjects of your paragraph. Remember, this is one aspect that grabs your audience’s attention. Second, create sentences that expand upon the subjects in your topic sentence. Lastly, connect the thoughts and ideas of your paragraph by using transitions such as, connecting words, repeated words or phrases, pronouns, or words that are frequently paired.

Therefore, how will you decide what tone to use in your next business message?