Five Main Stages of Writing Business Messages

1.      Pre-writing:

         It is very difficult to try and think about what you want to write and how you want to phrase it at the same time. It is a planning stage where you think, how to properly convey the information in a message by analyzing its purpose, anticipating the audience’s reaction, and adapting the content of the message to that audience. During the pre-writing stage, you should:

a.      Determine your purpose:

         The purpose may be either general or specific in nature.

b.     Keeping your readers in mind:

         While selecting words, be alert that your readers can grasp the meaning of the message quickly and accurately.

c.      Appealing to your audience:

         The bond with the audience is very important. if we use a positive tone and the reader’s point of view, we can very well connect to the audience.

d.     Organizing and preparing an outline:

         First, you need to collect the data, gather the information, and then organize all the supporting points also. Before writing business messages, the outline needs to be created, first, make a list of the main points.

 2.      Drafting:

         Once you have planned out your ideas, the next step is to start drafting. Preparing a rough version of the message is drafting. During the drafting stage, one should concentrate on getting their ideas on paper. To prepare a good draft, one needs the right balance of the words and even the right words.

         Use Right Balance with Right Words

         Avoid Redundancies

         Avoid Opening Fillers

         Use Conversational Styles

 3.      Revising:

         After completing your draft, it is better to review your business message. When a notification of a document is done to increase its effectiveness, it is called revising. Depending on the nature and medium of your message, the revision task can vary. Make sure your message is precise, concise, meanings are clear, the organization of the message is best, etc. after revising. Make the required changes to the draft.

 4.      Formatting:

         There are many different formats and no one format is universally accepted as a standard format in business writing. The readers notice the appearance of a message. As the technology is changing, formatting decisions are now done at the planning or drafting stages.

 5.      Proofreading:

         For business messages to be well received, they must be understood. This requires careful proofreading for clarity and grammar and punctuation errors. It is a kind of reading for detecting typographical errors in a printed text.