Communication Essay Assignment (Read Carefully)

Unit V

Lesson 4: Informative Messages

Introduction

Informative messages provide important details about an issue. They usually give instructions,

explain something, or provide directions. Informative messages explain the who, what, when,

where, and why of the issue. Directives and policies are two types of informative messages used

by an organization to inform employees concerning organizational issues.

A directive contains information that helps employees reach a specific goal or complete a

project. For example, an employee might receive a message from his or her supervisor as

follows: This directive will provide instructions on how to complete the new safety handbook.

A policy provides long-term organizational goals set by executive management. Based on those

policies, mid-level managers devise strategies to ensure the effectiveness of the organization’s

products or services. For example, an organization might have a policy regarding health and

safety. It will set out who is responsible for the overall health and safety within the organization

and provide directives on what must be done if injuries occur.

Informative Messages

In some job positions, employees write to customers/clients informing them of actions being

taken by the company or about changes being made to products or services. Employees will also

write to colleagues, informing them of policy changes or upcoming events. Always ensure that

these messages contain information that is accurate, easy to understand, and meaningful.

Be careful never to overestimate an audience. Explain briefly but clearly each idea in a message.

Do not assume that the reader knows about the issue. A busy person at work does not have time

to do research to fully understand every incoming message.

When writing informative messages, always be careful about using technical language that the

audience might not understand. If the message is providing instructions on how to do something,

such as how to use a new cell phone, explain each step clearly. Always consider whether the

message is clear, concise, and complete. All messages must contain sufficient information to be

clearly understood, and eliminate any unnecessary details.

Types of Informative Messages

Informative messages are usually about people or places; about how something is made, done, or

how something works; about events taking place in an organization or in the community; or

about concepts such as beliefs, principles, new ideas, and different approaches to current

procedures as explained below.

When writing messages about objects, try to refer to places, animals, or other aspects of your

business. Always choose your words carefully, and use a format that will emphasize explicit

ideas. One option is setting out the message’s ideas in chronological order. By doing so, the

format is to set out each idea as it occurs. For example, if the message is explaining how to set up

a computer, each step must be explained sequentially from connecting the parts to attaching

peripheral equipment.

Another message might be about a process. Using a systematic approach, the message can

describe how to create something, how a particular job is done, or how something works. For

example, one message might explain how a hurricane forms in the Caribbean. The goal of this

particular message would be to have readers fully understand the process and be able to

recognize when a hurricane might occur in the Caribbean.

Another goal might be to provide information on how to perform a process. The message might

inform a photography student how to take pictures professionally. The content will have to

explain the techniques involved and explain clearly how to use the techniques being provided.

When writing about processes, adding some visuals to the message will greatly increase the

overall appeal. The visuals will also clarify the meaning the message is trying to get across to the

reader.

Messages can also be constructed that describe events about to take place or those that have

previously taken place. One note might want to discuss the Fourth of July parade or a Mardi Gras

celebration that occurs in New Orleans. Yet another informative message could educate the

public about the voting process or how elections are run in the United States.

Other messages might focus on concepts. One possibility is to write about the steps in how

something should be accomplished. Human resources might have to write employees about

workplace policies. Management might wish to put forward some new ideas and find out what

employees think about them. There are multiple reasons we might send any number of messages

to people who seek information about an organization or about things happening in other parts of

the world. For example, a company might want to tell readers about education in Asia and the

United States. Another institution might want to elaborate on theories about diets or theories on

life.

Using Different Approaches

When a writer uses any of these methods—objects, processes, events, concepts—there is the

option to use either of the following approaches:

One choice is to write using chronological order, that is, moving from one item to another using

a time sequence. Note the following example: “In 1990, our firm organized the first run. In 2010,

our firm moved the fastest load. In 2015, our firm won an award.”

Another popular choice is to use spatial order: In doing so, the writer describes the main points

of the message from top to bottom or from side to side. For example, a message could explain

the features of a statue or a new building by describing the base, and then the middle, and then

the top of the structure. The concept of the format is that anything described is related to its

physical existence in space or a spatial context.

Alternatively, a message might use topical order. Expressing several ideas that are not directly

connected, a writer could explore each one in any order that would reflect the objects and goals

of the message. For example, a report on gardening might describe how to sow seeds, how to use

sand in certain parts of the garden, and how to root plants. The meanings would not change

regardless of the order of the points being made.

In the development of messages using either of these approaches, always consider the audience.

As explained earlier, never assume that the reader will know anything about the issue which the

message is exploring. At the same time, never alienate readers by stating the obvious. Writing a

message to those employed in the same field, always feel free to use specialized words that

colleagues will know and understand. However, when writing to a wider audience, it is always

necessary to explain in detail rather than use words an audience might not be familiar with.

One very successful technique is to use comparisons or to contrast ideas as part of the process of

describing things. Rather than use a vague statement such as, “If a hurricane hit New York City,

the impact would be devastating,” it would be better to use a comparison such as, “To give you

an idea of how devastating the impact of a hurricane hitting New York would be, it would be like

several bombs exploding at one spot.” The more vivid image is not only more attention-getting

but much more memorable as well.

Writing informative messages requires a consciously meticulous choice of words to ensure

clarity. In addition, always be aware of the amount of information being provided, that nothing is

duplicated, and that there are no unnecessary details. Finally, every message must be complete in

and of itself, providing sufficient information to be fully understood by the audience.

Check for Understanding

(Answer Key is found after the Review.)

1. Which of the following is most characteristic of an informative message? a) To give instructions or explain a plan or process b) To convince an audience to endorse a product, idea, or policy

2. Two very common types of informative messages are the directive and policy, one being “information that helps employees reach specific goals or complete assigned projects”

while the other “provides long-term organizational goals set by company management.”

Match the correct term with its proper definition.

a) Directive b) Policy

3. According to their needs, writers might elect to use three common methods to order their materials: chronological, spatial and topical. Which of the three types is at work in the

following well-known quotation?

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . . . And God said, ‘Let there be

light’ . . . And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”

a) Chronological b) Spatial

c) Topical

4. According to their needs, writers might elect to use three common methods to order their materials: chronological, spatial and topical. Which of the three types is at work in the

following words?

“Holmes walked into the room ahead of Watson and scanned everything as deliberately

as a tiger might a potential meal: window open, one candle almost burned out, an open

letter on the desk with a corner still damp from whatever source, all closets closed, an

aroma of cigar and a decidedly East End perfume of some sort, a single marring of the

wainscot, showing a perforation about the size of a grape, and of course the body, face

down on the carpet and perhaps facing the door before collapsing in the current

contortion.”

a) Chronological b) Spatial c) Topical

5. The most fundamental goal of an informative message is to: a) introduce a speaker and maintain the image of the company. b) deliver an agenda to a particular audience with the goal being that everyone

understands 100% of the material being communicated.

Review

1. Informative messages provide important details about an issue, giving instructions, explaining something, or providing directions.

2. A directive contains information that helps employees reach a specific goal or complete a project.

3. A policy provides long-term organizational goals set by executive management. 4. There are three common approaches to informational messages: chronological order,

spatial order, and topical order.

Answer Key

1. A - An informative message or speech is designed to inform, that is to say make an audience knowledgeable of or acquainted with a product, plan, policy, or proposal.

2. Directive—information that helps employees reach specific goals or complete assigned projects; Policy—provides long-term organizational goals set by company management

3. A - In a typical chronological ordering, things are placed in an order of time, or events taking place one after another such as first, second, third, or yesterday, today, and

tomorrow.

4. B - Spatial order shows where things are located, the relationships between items in terms of proximity, literally where things are in space.

5. B - All informative messages seek to communicate something to an audience with the goal of having the maximum number in the audience retaining all or as much of the

material being delivered as possible.