Business Tone

Today in class we want to focus on "tone" in our writing. Tone=attitude given off to reader. The tone of your writing is drastically affected by your syntax (sentence structure) and word choice, as well as the type (imperative, interrogative, declarative, exclamatory) of sentence you use.

As with last week's discussion on Active Voice and Conciseness, Purdue's OWL website is a great resource to support what we practice in class today.

Business Tone

Here are some things to consider, and work on, in writing your memo (BTS 2):

• Use the Active Voice sentence construction to set a clear subject for writing.

• Emphasize an important idea by repeating the idea, as a specific phrase or word. The more you use the phrase/word, the more it sits in the readers head. Warning: watch for overuse of the word/phrase.

• Another way is to use phrases that indicate importance of an idea, as simple as: most important, major concern, major factor, main, largest, smallest, weakest, additional, valuable, essential, effective, ...

• Use declarative sentences, those sentences that make clear statements. {Too many !!!!!!s and ?????s or commands can ruin your tone.}

• Do not use contractions like don't, can't, I'll, we'll. Part of a business tone is to spell out your words!

• Do not use one-syllable numbers: SPELL OUT eight, nine, one, two, three, four. You want "four million" and not "4 million" in a business letter.

• Use gender neutral nouns and pronouns. Ex.: The law students must know their state's constitution if they want to pass the bar exam.

• Emphasize, in a business writing, how the reader (being the "customer") will benefit from the information you are providing them. For example, as you write declarations about the national company to your boss, Gale Sayers, make sure to include follow-up sentences that clarify how Sayers' company might benefit: Coca-cola spends about eight million a year in business deals with local Chicago companies. Gale Sayers Theater could propose a deal in which we sell exclusively Coca-cola beverages at our snack bar.

• Remember that you are part of a business, so you represent the business AND not yourself. If you notice the above example, the writer refers to "we" instead of "you." This subtle difference in word choice connects you to your job, rather than distancing yourself. {You should want to use language that makes you part of the company!}

Practicing Tone

Below are questions you will are to answer in your BTS 2 memo. They are questions that your boss expects to be addressed. In about three paragraphs, try to answer the following questions with a polite but excited tone. Use any material from the draft brought in today, only revise the information in the order presented below, in the required tone:

1. What is the national company and which of their products (or services) are you proposing your company pursue business with?

2. What are two or three important facts that you have found about the national company and/or their product that makes this an opportunity to pursue?

3. In what ways do you see these important facts connecting to your company? In answering this, you might find it helpful to develop some of your company's own values or relevant company fact.

4. How is your company going to use the other company's product or services? How will the use of this national company's product or service benefit your company? Declare two to three benefits, and why you think these benefits are inevitable.

5. In answering #4, are there business models that demonstrate how your integration can work? Identify and compare these examples.

Adding a Company Logo

Since this is not a graphic design class (and we don't have the proper programs to do so), we will not be spending much time in class designing logos. However, we can work on putting some basic logos into our memos to make them look more "real."

First, you can choose a logo through the Word Clipart, or you can Google "logo" and search through some of the non-text images to save to your computer desktop.

Click here to a link to an image that I found works for our project. Save this logo to your desktop by clicking on the image and dragging to your desktop, or by right-clicking on the image and then "save as" to your desktop.

After getting an image, open up your Memo document. Those who have trouble following along with the in-class demonstration for getting the "Header and footer" areas of a document to open can go here.

Below are some considerations for your logo:

• Edit the image size (demonstrated in class) to make sure the image does not overwhelm the logo text, or draw reader away from the memo's content.

• Edit the logo text size, shape and color using the Formatting Palette. Work to connect the logo text to the image, both in style and compatible size.

HOMEWORK for Tuesday, 5/25:

• Due: BTS 2: Memo Proposing Integration
• Read Chapters 8 and 9, and prepare for a Reading Quiz over material.