general to specific
I’ll give you the first, or general, statement, then you fill in the specific. Just like the examples above. You can use the general statement I give you literally, or you can change it a little.
1. General statement: My city is the best in the state.
2. General statement: My city is the worst in the state.
3. General statement: My favorite day of the week is __________. (Fill in the blank.)
4. Now you do a general and a specific.
Using Technical Terms
A technique similar to the general to specific rule applies to using technical terms, sometimes called “jargon.” Usually, you do not want to use jargon, the over specialized terms that only a few readers recognize. However, some terms are necessary to include in memos or letters. For instance, for legal or company policy reasons, you may have to refer to a specific program or penalty. Your reader, however, may not be familiar with the terms you must use to make your point.
When you have to use technical terms, try to explain them. Sometimes you may have to say the same thing twice, in two different ways. Such a practice is not unnecessary repetition. Instead, it is writing that achieves two goals; the first goal is compliance with laws or rules requiring the use of certain terms; the second goal is clear communication to a reader who is unfamiliar with the subject. The passage below is an example from an insurance company. Adhering to strict legal guidelines, the writer must inform an injured worker about a particular program. Because disputes over payments may eventually lead to lawsuits, the writer must notify the reader of the exact name of a particular program:
“Because of the length of time you have missed work due to injury, you are required to participate in the vocational rehabilitation program. This mandatory program provides services to help you return to work as quickly as possible.”
Note how the writer fulfills legal requirements by using the proper technical term, “vocational rehabilitation program.” Then, to ensure communication, in the next sentence, the writer describes the situation in plain words.
About EMail
People often ask about writing for email. Is email different from a paper memo? Not really. The same ideas apply. Email is a tool that accomplishes the goal of communication more efficiently. The same ideas of structure apply: make sure to have a main point, a fact and an action statement. In fact, e-mail only emphasizes one of the characteristics we discuss often in this book: state the main point right away. Sometimes the computer screen shows the email viewer only the first few lines of your message. So your reader makes a judgment quickly on the lead.
The problem that most frequently arises with email is that it allows a person to do so much so often — maybe too much. You can write forever on a computer screen. It’s so simple to go on and on and on because you no longer have to bother with the complication of typing and removing typos. Also, it is possible, by email, to communicate with more people than necessary to accomplish your work goal.
Even with this advance in technology, the eight main questions still apply. Answer them before you begin to use the keyboard. Stay on your purpose; keep within your readers’ interests. Avoid the all too easy temptation to send the email to everyone in the organization.
Another aspect of electronic communication is speed. With email, people have told me they feel an added sense of urgency to respond. Yeah, could be. My suggestion is to go fast. Use the reply function of email to respond. It gets work out of the way. You don’t have to remember to write something and then write it. You just write it. Speed adds value at work.
Exercise
Different Points of View
You work for a major statewide bank as manager of the Remote City branch office, far from the main headquarters in the largest city in the state. The usual method of communication between you and your immediate boss is writing.
As part of the company’s New Business Campaign, you have devised an employee incentive program to increase deposits and loans at your branch. Your boss, Jim Melman, vice president of branch banking, announced the New Business Campaign a couple of months ago. He has asked each branch manager to think up a different, local employee incentive program, which will be part of the larger campaign.
The 11 members of your staff have read about the New Business Campaign in the company newsletter. They are waiting for their own local incentive program. You have decided the Remote City program will operate in two parts. Each will last six months. You want to make sure you can make changes in case the original ideas don’t work out. At the end of the first six months, you will see how well the program is doing and either continue it or change it for the last six months of the big campaign.
This is how your local program works: Most loans made, a television set; most savings dollars brought in, a microwave oven; second place in each category, a $20 gift certificate for dinner at the Chatterbox Cafe; third place in each category, two tickets to the Remote City High School Homecoming basketball game. All prizes are readily available to you now.
You must write a memo to Melman explaining how your local program fits into his larger campaign. You must write another memo explaining the incentive program to you local staff.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
