Transcript Chapter 11 Email and Memos

Chapter 11
Email and Memos
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Emails and Memos
‣ Are perhaps the most common and widelydistributed forms of communication in
workplaces today
‣ Generally transmit smaller “chunks” of
information
‣ Frequently are internal documents about
specific company information
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Internal Documents
‣ Often tend to be less formal than those sent
to an audience outside a company
‣ Frequently relinquish formal greetings and
closing statements
‣ Sometimes omit the comprehensive
background details or lengthy descriptions
already familiar to other employees
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
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The Basic Elements
of Email Messages
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Subject Lines
‣ Should be both concise and specific
‣ Are often scanned by recipients to decide
which should be read immediately and which
can be read later or deleted
‣ Should put the most important information
first
‣ Might use all caps in times of urgency
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Recipients
‣ Should be carefully considered before sending or
carbon copying
‣ Might require several versions of the same email
‣ May make a “Reply to All” inappropriate
‣ Should be made aware of context when replying
‣ Should be considered when forwarding a message
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Message Content and Length
‣ Should be brief and to-the-point
‣ Should provide only the information that is
pertinent to the situation
‣ Should state a reason for writing within the
first sentence or two
‣ Should be skimmed easily
‣ Should be read on a single screen
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Paragraphs
‣ Should not be longer than a single screen
‣ Are more concise than those in printed
documents
‣ Could be as short as one sentence, if the
information is important
‣ Should use block format
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Other Formatting Issues
‣ Avoid italics, underlined and bolded text, bulleted and
numbered lists, tables, graphics, and visuals
‣ Use CAPITAL LETTERS to designate a heading
‣ Use a single line of white space between each phrase or
word to designate a list
‣ Use *asterisks* on either side of a word to designate
emphasis or italics
‣ Use underscore characters at the beginning and ending
of an _underlined passage_
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Signatures
‣ Include your name at the bottom of each
email you send
‣ Can give contact information about the
sender, such as job title, phone, fax, webpage
url, and mailing information
‣ Should be conservative
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Send Attachments
‣ When the message is lengthy
‣ When formatting is important
‣ When visuals are an important part of the
message
‣ When the message will be printed and used
for some particular purpose
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Electronic Messaging
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
IMs
‣ Are often short and informal
‣ Allow users to communicate in real-time
‣ Allow sending Internet links and files
‣ Offer a list of contacts online
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
When IMing
‣ Keep messages short and informal
‣ Assess the rhetorical situation to determine conventions
‣ Avoid using all capital letters
‣ Give users a chance to respond before sending a new
message
‣ Do not continually prompt a user, especially if her online
status is away, asleep, or otherwise unavailable
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
freeimages.co.uk
Memos
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Memos
‣ Are secondary to email for short communication
‣ Are the better choice for more detailed
communication
‣ Are better for formatted documents
‣ Are better for more important or confidential
correspondence
‣ Are formatted depending on the company
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Memos: Key Components
‣ The “To” line
‣ The “From” line
‣ The “Subject” line
‣ The “Date” line
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Memo Content
‣ Is often skimmed
‣ Should be easy to find, clear, and concise
‣ Should explain the reason for writing in the
first paragraph
‣ Should include all of the necessary information
your readers will need to make an informed
decision or respond appropriately
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Length and Formatting
‣ Is often limited to one page
‣ Should have at least five lines of text on the
last page
‣ May be manipulated by changing the font,
spacing, or margins
‣ Should avoid “widows” and “orphans”
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Design Features
‣ Consist of visuals, graphs, and tables
‣ Can be included to highlight and organize
‣ Can help clarify and explain
‣ Become increasingly important as the length
of the document grows
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Situations Requiring a Memo
‣ Directive Memos provide information about policy changes or
tasks readers should perform
‣ Field Reports provide details about a field visit to an outside
location
‣ Lab Reports describe the results of an experiment, procedure, or
study
‣ Minutes of a Meeting contain a written record of the discussions
and participants of formal workplace meetings
‣ Progress or Status Memos supply information about the status
of a project or assignment
‣ Response Memos give answers to previously asked questions
‣ Trip Reports include details about the events and expenditures
of a business trip