Thought Organization
Business writing is purposeful writing. It motivates the reader to perform an action through creating hard-hitting content that uses either informative or persuasive techniques to get the desired results. Once you have identified the audience, get down to organizing your thoughts.
Thought organization:
Business writing is professional. You need to make the reader believe that you are knowledgeable, even while persuading them to perform a certain action. The document you create has to really involve the reader to be effective, so pay careful attention to how and what you write.Begin by getting your thoughts in order; a good place to start is by asking yourself questions such as the following:
- Why am I writing this document? What is the purpose?
- Why would the reader go through it, and how would it help him or her?
- What action do you want the reader to take when finished reading the document?
After you have answered these questions, take a pen and paper and write down every thought you have in mind. This will help keep you from forgetting things, as well as bring a structure to your documents. Depending upon your audience analysis, you have to follow up the earlier introspection with these questions.
These questions will help you get into your readers' minds:
- What does the reader want to know from your document?
- What questions might the reader ask?
- What information should you provide to the reader in answer to the premeditated questions?
Based on these questions, go about formatting your document. Logically, you might want to present your case and at the end of your argument give your specific sales pitch. However, if you see it from a reader's point of view, the main idea or pitch is what they are most interested in and that is what you should lead with. You need to grab your audience's attention at the very beginning to keep readers from losing interest in your document.
State the main idea in the first paragraph of a document or as the subject line of your letter or e-mail. Also make sure that the way you present your message is interesting and hard-hitting; weak leading statements will disinterest your reader. Instead of saying, "We would like to inform you about a new product," say, "Here's a new product that will reduce your electricity bill by fifty percent." Readers need to know what is in it for them before they decide to continue reading any communication. Hook your readers in the beginning by showing them something lucrative or profitable that they stand to gain.
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