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INTRODUCTION

1. Communication - Definition and Characteristics

Essentially, communication is a transfer of information. The basic diagram of linguistic communication, devised by Roman Jakobson, includes an addresser, an addressee, and a message to be conveyed. In its turn, message relies on a code meant to express thoughts (language), it is related to a context, and conveyed through a channel (face –to – face speech, telephone conversation, writing, etc). Therefore, the process of communication, no matter what channel it uses, consists of successive encodings and decodings of message. This means that efficient communication involves the existence of a code familiar to the interlocutors, as well as of a set of accepted contextual conventions and styles.

Any message, whether spoken or written has in view four main objectives, namely:

- to be received;

- to be understood;

- to be accepted;

- to obtain a feedback. (Stanton 1)

However, the written message differs in some essential points from oral communication. First of all, when writing, we have to keep in mind tthat once something is in written form, it cannot be taken back. Communicating through words can be more concrete than verbal communications, with less room for error and even less room for mistakes. This presents written communicators with new challenges, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, even writing style and actual wording.

Luckily, today’s technology makes memo, letter and proposal writing much easier by providing reliable tools that check and even correct misspelled words and incorrect grammar use. Unfortunately, these tools are not fail proof and will require the writers’ support, making their knowledge in this area important.

2. Oral vs. Written Communication

Although oral and written communication share a number of common characteristics, there are certain aspects that make them exert a different impact on the people with whom we interact in various circumstances, as well as on our relationship with them.

The following table shows the common and the different characteristics of oral and written communication.

3. Written Communication Standards

Written communication is “the ability to use the conventions of disciplinary discourse to communicate effectively in writing with a range of audiences, in a variety of modes (e.g., persuasion, argument, exposition), as context requires, using a number of different means (e.g., graphical, statistical, audio-visual and technological)” (Dwyer 3).

According to communication specialists, in order to be effective, business correspondence should achieve two basic objectives, namely: to convey a clear and unambiguous message, and get a positive reaction from the reader:

According to J. Dwyer, to achieve these two objectives, the written message should be:

• clear:

• coherent;

• concise;

• correct;

• courteous;

• confident.

These characteristics, also referred to as the six C’s of written communication, can be detailed as it follows:

Clarity. Words and sentence structure should be carefully chosen in order to convey the intended meaning to the reader. It is vital that you get your point across clearly and concisely. Long and rambling documents simply waste your time and the reader's. They can also cause confusion and obscure the meaning or point you wish to convey. Therefore, if you relate a sequence of events, ensure that they are easy for the reader to follow, and always make it clear what and who you refer to at any time.

Coherence. Information presented and arguments are presented logically, so that the message should be easy to understand. In this sense, we should remember that coherent writing is an expression of coherent and critical thinking.

Conciseness. The message relies on simple expressions, avoiding words that are meant to impress rather than convey meaning.

Correctness. The message should always include verified facts, from sources that are accurately stated. In order to be able to avoid misunderstandings, the message should be written in standard American/British English, with accurate spelling, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure.

- Spelling. As well as making the document difficult to read, poor spelling makes the writer appear lazy, uneducated and ignorant. Consequently, correct spelling is even more important when you are communicating for professional purposes, such as a potential employer, supplier or client.

- Punctuation is an important part of structuring your document. In recent years

punctuation has become less formal, allowing for more individual styles to emerge. Even so, it's important to observe the basic punctuation rules: use 'full stops' to break the text into sentences, capital letters at the start of each sentence and paragraphs to improve legibility.

The most efficient ways of avoiding errors are a careful preparation of the written document and its proofreading (checking) once it is finished.

Courteousness and confidence. These aspects are related with the use of an adequate style, adapted to a specific addressee (colleagues, customers, business partners, employees, or employers).

4. Business Writing

It is essential to understand that writing for a business context or audience is different from writing in the humanities, social sciences, or other academic disciplines. Although its rules are basically the same as in other types of writing, there are some special issues that arise in the business context.