Communication

IdentifytheContentandPurposeofYourMessage.docx

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Identify the Content and Purpose of Your Message: “I’ve got an idea!”

1. The beginning of all communication is an idea. While some people may be accused of speaking without thinking, we all start with a message that we wish to convey to someone, the content.

Good communicators also think about the purpose of the communication. Is it simply to inform someone of your thought? Perhaps it is trying to persuade or maybe impress them. In any case, a message without purpose is ineffective communication.

Your message must have content and a purpose.

Identify Your Audience: one size does not fit all.

The next step in the communication process is to identify your audience. Are you communicating with a friend, a roomful of strangers, or a professor? The better communicators are those who take the time to analyze the audience and tailor the message to fit.

Your message's content and purpose is directly related to whether your audience is a close friend, a classmate, or a professor.

How Formal Should Your Tone Be?

Once the purpose and audience have been defined, the decision can be made as to how formal the tone of your message should be. We all speak and write in many different variations of English. The way we address our closest friends is usually less formal than the way we address casual acquaintances, people in authority or those that command a certain level of respect.

Each level of formality has a set of rules that one must follow. For instance, the more formal the communication, the stricter one should adhere toproper grammar, sentence structure and spelling. The more informal, the more one can use slang, abbreviations, shorthand and incomplete sentences.

When communicating with a close friend, your tone may be informal. Communication with a classmate is likely to be somewhat more formal. Communication with a professor will be more formal still.

What Medium Should You Choose?

Still another decision that must be made based on the level of formality is the medium the message will be delivered in or, stated another way, how are you going to send the message? Will it be in a typed letter, a handwritten note, a text message? Each of these implies a certain level of formality with a text or instant message being less formal than a typed term paper or business letter.

When communicating with a close friend, your tone may be informal and you may use casual methods such as texting and instant messaging. Communication with a classmate is likely to be somewhat more formal in tone and to use email instead. Communication with a professor will be more formal still, and though you might use email, you might also use a written note and face-to-face communication.

How should you organize your message?

And finally, you need to organize your message. Readers or listeners are much more apt to understand what you’re communicating when the message has an organization that’s logical and efficient.