Journalistic approach: who, what, where, when, why, and how.
Question-and-answer chain: answers to all of the audience's possible questions, from general to specific.
The main idea must be geared to constraints on length; it takes time to explain complex ideas, establish credibility, and overcome resistance.
Stick to three or four major points to support the main idea, developed in more or less detail depending on
nature of the subject.
audience's familiarity with the topic.
SELECTING THE APPROPRIATE CHANNEL AND MEDIUM
The choice of channel and medium is affected by the
nature and purpose of the message,
the location of the audience,
the need for speed, and
the formality of the situation.
The channel and the medium affect how the message is formulated and perceived.
Three basic channels: oral, written, and electronic.
Oral communications permits immediate feedback and is therefore good for dealing with questions, making group decisions, presenting controversial information.
Forms of oral communication include unplanned conversations, telephone calls, interviews, small group meetings, seminars, workshops, training programs, formal speeches, and presentations.
Size of audience determines amount of interaction and level of formality.
Written communication gives the writer a chance to plan and control the message and is therefore good when information is complex, documentation is required, audience is large and dispersed, or feedback is required.
The most common forms of written business messages are letters, memos, reports, and proposals:
Memos and letters are relatively brief documents, memos internal and letters external.
Reports and proposals (factual, objective documents for internal or external audiences) are generally longer and more formal than letters and memos.
Electronic communication affords the communicator speed, overcomes time-zone barriers, and reaches a widely dispersed audience personally.
Electronic communication includes voice mail, teleconferencing, videotape, fax, e-mail, and computer conferencing.