chapter 5-6 business writing

Thepowerofwords说话的力量•Astory•Agroupoffrogsweretravelingthroughthewoods,andtwoofthemfellintoadeeppit.Whentheotherfrogssawhowdeepthepitwas,theytoldthetwofrogsthattheywereasgoodasdead.•Thetwofrogsignoredthecommentsandtriedtojumpupoutofthepitwithalltheirmight.Theotherfrogskepttellingthemtostop,thattheywereasgoodasdead.Finally,oneofthefrogstookheedofwhattheotherfrogsweresayingandgaveup.Hefelldownanddied.•Theotherfrogcontinuedtojumpashardashecould.Onceagain,thecrowdoffrogsyelledathimtostopthepainandjustdie.Hejumpedevenharderandfinallymadeitout.Whenhegotout,theotherfrogssaid,Didyounothearus?Thefrogexplainedtothemthathewasalittledeaf.•Thereispoweroflifeanddeathinthetongue.Anencouragingwordtosomeonewhoisdowncanliftthemupandhelpthemmakeitthroughtheday.•Adestructivewordtosomeonewhoisdowncanbewhatittakestokillthem.Thepowerofwords•Wordscreateimpressions,imagesandexpectations.Theybuildpsychologicalconnections.Theyinfluencehowwethink.Sincethoughtsdetermineactions,there'sapowerfulconnectionbetweenthewordsweuseandtheresultsweget.•Thinkaboutthesetwowords:spendandinvest.Wouldyoulikeyourbanktospendyourmoneyorinvestit?Sincespendingimpliesthemoneyisgone,youprobablywantabankthatinvests.Nowapplythesesamewordstocorporatebudgetsandseehowthatinfluencesthinking.•Trythesewords:problemandchallenge.Wouldyouratherabossseeyourmistakeasaproblemorasachallenge?It'smorethansemantics.Problemsarefixed;challengesaremet.Differentwordsevokedifferentfeelings.•Ihaveamorepositiveframeofmindmeetingachallengethanfixingaproblem.Butawordofcaution.I'mnotsuggestingyouplaythebuzz-wordgamelikeacolleagueofminewhowalkedintomyofficesaying,DoIhaveanopportunityforyou.Webothknewdifferently.•Herearetwofavorites:bodiesandpeople.Asayoungmanager,hewillbejoltedifheheardanothermanagertalkingabouthowmanybodiestheyneeded,orputtingbuttsinseats.manyofthosemanagersstruggledwithdepartmentalmoraleproblems.Itcanbeunderstoodthatwhyiftheysawpeopleasinterchangeablepiecestoapuzzleratherthanindividualsplayinganimportantroleintheirdepartments.•Poorlychosenwordscankillenthusiasm,impactself-esteem,lowerexpectationsandholdpeopleback.Wellchosenonescanmotivate,offerhope,createvision,impactthinkingandalterresults.Ilearnedintwentyyearsinmanagementmywordshavepowerovermythoughtsandactions.TheyalsoimpactandinfluencepeopleIspeakthemto.Part2BusinessWritingTheImportanceofBusinessWritingComparedwithlistening,readingorspeaking,writingtakestheleastshareofthebusinesshours-around9%.However,ittakesanoticeableshareinbusinesscommunicationfor3reasons.1.Moreaccurate,convincing,economicalandefficient.2.Involvecreativeeffort3.Enhancedwiththedevelopmentofthetechnologicalrevolution•Effectivewritersapplyathree-stageprocesstotheirwriting—planning,writingandediting.Intheplanningstagetheyidentifythepurpose,considertheneedsofthereceiver,definethewritingpurposeandorderthecontentinalogicalandappropriatesequence.Inthewritingstage,thewriter’stoolsarethewords,sentencesandlayoutofthemessage,awriterwhousesthesewellisabletoconveythemessage’smeaningconcisely.•Aneffectivewriterfollowsthegrammaticalconventionsanddevelopsaclearwritingstylethatpresentsinformationtomeetthereader’sneedtounderstand.Theirwirtingstyleconveysthemessageeasilyandquicklyandthereadersaregiventhebestpossiblechanceofunderstandingthemessage.Verbalstyles•Contextistheinformationthatsurroundsacommunicationandhelpsconveythemessage.InHighcontextsocieties,suchasJapanandmanyAsiancountries,messagesareoftenhighlycodedandimplicit.WhileinLowcontextsocieties,themessageisexplicitandthespeakersayspreciselywhatheorshemeans.••••Chineseholdmanybeliefsabouttalk,andthosebeliefs,implicitorexplicit,dictatethedailycommunicativepracticesinChineseculture.•Forexample,“一言既出驷马难追”（whathasbeensaidcannotbeunsaid”“祸从口出”“言多必失”•SpeechinChineseculturethusisconstantlyexercisedwithremindedthatiftheyarenotcarefulaboutwhattheysay,theywillhavetodealwithvariousrelationalandsocialconsequences.ItisthereforenotsurprisingforChinesetouserestraintandcontrolinspeaking.DifferencesofCommunicationStyle•FemaleVerbalLanguage：Phrases:烦（死）人（了），讨厌，恶心,求你了…Sentences：你看人家的…,你为什么就不…其实你不懂人家的心...…还不行吗?…你看行吗?Bodylanguage:富于情感，随和,夸张，姿态迎合对方（微笑，点头等）•MaleVerbalLanguage：Phrases:心烦，离我远点，就要你一句话…Sentence:看谁好，你跟谁去…我懂,我什么都懂…行不行,你看着办?!Bodylanguage:严肃，距离感，不外露（内心世界）DifferencesofCommunicationStyle•FemaleWrittenLanguage:–Vocabulary：温和，细腻–Sentence：冗长,委婉，信息量小–Structure：精巧，零散•MaleWrittenLanguage:–Vocabulary：专横，粗犷–Sentence：简洁，直率，信息量大–Structure：磅礴，逻辑，Differentstyles&strategiesappliedbymenandwomenintheircommunication•FemaleWomenaremorelikelytodisclosethemselvesinverballanguage;askmorequestions,supportmoreandagreemorewhenlisteningtoothers,morepatientandconsiderate;relationship-centeredtalking,etc.•MaleMenaremoreslowtoshowthemselvesinverballanguage;languageaimsattheauthorityandconfidencetoestablishdominantpositionandpowerinthegroup;interrupting,raisenewtopics,swearmore,arguemore,moretimethanwomen•whatfactorscandecidethedifferentwritingstyle?••Chinese:Intuitionalthinking直觉思维torelyonintuition直觉fromwholetopart从整体到局部Westerners:analyticalthinking分