Formulating Your Message Effective Writing

Your message is the sum of what facts, responses, and recommendations you put into writing. A message includes the details and scope of your communication.
         ■ The details are those key points you think readers need to know.
         ■ Scope refers to how much information you give readers about those key details.
Some messages will consist of one or two phrases or sentences: “Do not touch; wet paint.” “Order #756 was sent this afternoon by FedEx. It should arrive at your office on March 22.” At the other extreme, messages may extend over many pages. Messages may carry good news or bad news. They may deal with routine matters, or they may handle changes in policy, special situations, or problems.

Keep in mind that you will need to adapt your message to fit your audience. For some audiences, such as engineers or technicians, you may have to supply a complete report with every detail noted or contained in an appendix. For other readers—busy executives, for example—include only a short discussion or summary of financial or managerial significance.


Consider the message of the excerpt in example below   from a section called “Technology in the Grocery Store” included in a consumer handbook. The message provides factual information and a brief explanation of how a clerk scans an item, informing consumers about how and why they may have to wait longer in line. It also tells readers that the process is not as simple as it looks.

This bar code message is appropriate for consumers who do not need or desire more information. Individuals responsible for entering data into the computer or doing inventory control, however, would need more detailed instructions on how to program the supermarket’s computer so it automatically tells the point-of-sale (POS) terminal what price and product match each bar code.

But technicians responsible for affixing the bar codes at the manufacturer’s plant would require much more detailed information than would consumers or store cashiers. These technicians must be familiar with the Universal Product Code (UPC), which specifies bar codes worldwide. They would also have to know about the UPC binary code formulas and how they work—that is, the number of lines, width of spacing, and the framework to indicate to the scanner when to start reading the code and when to stop. Such formulas, technical details, and functions of photoelectric scanners are appropriate for this audience.

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