Analyzing a Corporate Message

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LO6.2 Explain and use

navigational

design to

improve ease

of reading.

Improving Ease of Reading with Navigational Design

Your primary goal for document design is making your message easy to navigate. Ask yourself these questions: How can I get my readers to see my main ideas and messages quickly? How can I make sure my readers can find the information they are most interested in? Several features will help you improve navigational design, including headings, highlighting, lists, white space, and simplicity. Later in the book, we will focus on additional ways of enhancing the appearance of your document with charts, figures, and graphics.

Use Headings In information-rich and complex messages, headings can help your readers identify key ideas and navigate the document to areas of interest. As you create headings and subheadings, be consistent in font style and formatting throughout your document. One way to be consistent with your headings is to apply formatting features available in most word processing programs. For example, in Microsoft Word, you can assign heading levels for major heads and subheads (Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on). You have many options for the formatting styles you apply, and

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Improving Ease of Reading with

Navigational Design

the software ensures that the formatting remains consistent throughout the document.

As you develop your headings, make sure you concisely and accurately convey the contents of a section. For example, notice the heading “Financial Requirements & Financing” in the more effective example in Table 6.16 . In contrast, the heading “Minimum Financial Requirements to Apply for a Franchise and Financing Stipulations” is likely too long for most documents. On the other hand, a subheading such as “Minimum Requirements” may not give readers accurate information about the contents of the section. Readers skimming the document for financial requirements might miss the section on the first pass. You can find more information about headings in Chapters 12 and 13 about reports.

Headings

Highlighting

Lists

White space

Simplicity

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TABLE 6.16 Using Headings

Less Effective More Effective

Sunrise will make the

final approval about your

proposed sites and may

suggest alternate

locations based on our

marketing formula, which

has worked successfully

in the past. As far as

financial requirements,

you must have a

minimum net worth of

$350,000, and you also

will need minimum

unencumbered assets of

between $120,000 and

$265,000. You may not

finance more than two-

thirds of the initial

investment to open the

store. You must also have

access to financing in the

range of $170,000 to

$340,000 (assuming that

you finance two-thirds of

the initial investment

costs). Confirmation of

loan, terms, and

collateral is required. You

will need to show that

you can maintain an

outside income of at

least 80 percent of your

Financial Requirements & Financing

Owning a Sunrise shop requires a

strong financial position and

evidence of the ability to finance a

new business.

Financial Requirements. Sunrise

seeks franchise owners who are in a

financially sound position. The

minimum requirements include a

total net worth of $350,000, with

unencumbered liquid assets of

between $120,000 and $265,000.

You will need to show that these

liquid assets are personal rather than

capital in a current business and

available for investment in your

Sunrise store. You will also need to

show that you can maintain an

outside income of at least 80

percent of your present income for

at least two years.

Financing. You are required to

finance less than two-thirds of the

initial investment costs. Assuming

that you finance up to two-thirds of

the initial investment costs, you will

need access to financing in the

range of $170,000 to $340,000.

Confirmation of loan, terms, and

collateral is required. Sunrise does

not provide loans.

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present income for a

period of at least two

years to show that you

have adequate financial

stability as you get your

business started. You will

need to show that your

liquid assets are

available for investment

and operations of your

new Sunrise Greeting

Cards and Flowers shop,

and the capital must be

from your personal

assets; capital in a

current business will not

be recognized as

available to a new store.

Sunrise does not provide

loans.

This paragraph is 198

words with far too many

numbers. Many readers

would have a hard time

locating the key

information.

Visually, these paragraphs are far

more appealing and inviting. The

headings immediately orient the

reader to the content.

Highlight Key Words and Phrases When you want to highlight ideas or phrases, consider using bold, italics, or underlining to draw and keep your readers’ attention. Typically, you will apply this type of formatting sparingly; if you use too

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much special formatting, your main ideas will not stand out. In general, apply only one type of formatting to a highlighted word or words (i.e., only bold or italics, not bold and italics) (see Table 6.17 ).

TABLE 6.17 Applying Formatting to Key Words and Phrases

Less Effective More Effective

Sunrise will work directly with

you to create a marketing

plan, budgeting plan, and

break-even analysis.

Sunrise will work directly with

you to create a marketing plan,

budgeting plan, and break-

even analysis.

By italicizing everything,

nothing is highlighted.

By italicizing one short phrase,

you emphasize it.

Sunrise will provide free

training for up to three people

for each new store.

Sunrise will provide free

training for up to three people

for each new store.

Applying two formatting

features (bold and underlining)

may appear overbearing.

Applying one formatting

feature (bold) is sufficient to

highlight the phrase.

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Use Bulleted and Numbered Lists You will often use lists in business writing. When you set these items apart with bullets or numbers, your readers notice and remember the items more easily (see Table 6.18 ).

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TABLE 6.18 Using Bulleted and Numbered Lists

Less Effective More Effective

The brochure for prospective franchisees

should first and foremost show how

committed we are to the success of the

franchisee. We can do this by providing a

warm and inviting message from Stephanie

on the front of the brochure. Then we

should provide basic information that all

prospective franchisees would be

interested in, such as information about

initial investment costs and profit potential,

financial requirements and financing, our

involvement in opening a new franchise

store, and the application process. We

should also have a section about our

commitment to their success after they

open a store.

The brochure for

prospective

franchisees should

accomplish two

main goals: (1)

show our

commitment to the

success of

franchisees and (2)

provide basic

information about

becoming a

franchisee. The

brochure should

contain the

following sections:

Opening letter

from

Stephanie.

Initial

investment

costs and profit

potential.

Financial

requirements

and financing.

Sunrise

involvement in

opening a new

franchise store.

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Without bullets, this paragraph contains a

lot of items that are difficult for the reader

to remember. Furthermore, it takes longer

for the reader to visualize the components

of the brochure.

With bullets, this

paragraph allows

the reader to

rapidly process

the information

and visualize the

components of the

brochure.

Furthermore, the

use of

enumeration and

bullets more

clearly

distinguishes the

overarching goals

of the brochure

and the

components of the

brochure.

Use White Space Generously Your readers will form an immediate impression about your document based on how much white space (areas without text) it has. Documents with too much text and not enough white look daunting or cluttered. On the other hand, documents with too much white

Sunrise

support after

opening a

store.

Application

process.

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space may look insufficient. Many students are trained in the university setting to double-space documents. In the workplace, double-spaced documents are rare, however.

Keep It Simple Visual appeal is not the first consideration for most written business communications. Rather, the goal is to get your message across in an easy-to-read manner. As you design your document, focus first on easy navigation for your reader. Avoid formatting features that distract from the main message. See Figure 6.3 for effective use of navigational features and white space.

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FIGURE 6.3 Stephanie’s Final, Easier-to-Read Brochure (compare to original version in Figure 6.1 )