Readability
You have to make sure that you adopt the language suitable for this audience. Younger and less educated people will expect you to use simple language but older and more educated people will expect to use some technically terms and prases.
Interest
You have to know first how interested your audience or reader is about the topic you communicate about. If they are already very keen to hear what you have to say to them then you don’t have to work to hard, but sometimes your audience will need to be won over. One thing you could do is to get to the point quickly, and explain how the topic is relevant to the audience. There are a few instances where humour is appropriate for a professional business document except maybe in advertising or some other marketing communication. A joke is a good way to start your presentation and to engage your audience and get them on you side. But if the joke is offensive or not funny then you might have a lot to make up throughout the presentation. This is why I chose not to say a joke.
Legibility
A document that is readable is one that is easy for your audience to read. There are a number of factors that merge to make understandable to the reader.
- White space – do not fill up pages full of text. This could be intimidating the reader and could become a barrier to the message getting through.
- Font – Some are much easier than others. Times new roman, Tahoma and Ariel are often the easiest to read.
- Font size – small font sizes can reduce legibility; size 12 is a good standard to use. However, there are times when this needs to be changed. PowerPoint and overhead transparencies, for example, benefit from large font sizes, such as a minimum of 18 point; 24 point is even better. This will look too large on screen while you are preparing the slides, but will look good when projected.
- Colour contrast – dark text on light backgrounds (or vice versa) works best for most people, but this is especially true of a reader who is visually impaired; black and white is often the best choice.
- Line spacing – this is the gap between lines of text. Double line spacing can often be easier to read.
- Distraction Avoidance – if you message is to get through it is important that the person in your audience is not distracted; this is especially true during oral presentation. Therefore you will need to make sure that others know that you are not to be disturbed; have another person ready to great the late comers outside the room and avoid them entering the room inappropriately while you are talking; and make sure that all mobile phones are switched off before you begin – including your own.
Distraction Avoidance
If your massage is important to get through you have to make sure that your audience are not distracted. This can happen during oral presentation. There are few thinks you have to do before you start the presentation to make sure that you won’t be distracted:
- Make sure that all mobile phones are switched off – including your one.
- No one enters in the room during the presentation, so you have to make sure that everyone is already in.
- Tell everyone to be quiet and ask them to don’t talk while you speak.
Business and Industry – Related, Experience and Knowledge
Inexperienced people will need the basic explained first. If you don’t do that first they won’t get anything from your communication. .
Features of information (internal and external information)
The information that can be found inside an organisation is called internal information, the information that is collected from the outside of the organisation it’s called external information.
Internal information is coming from sources in the organisation. Some of the main ones include:
- Accounts department – this will have a range of figures relating to company performance, such as profit figures and the cost of each company department.
- Sales department – this will store details of previous sales records for different products or services sold by the organisation. Interviewing the sales staff will give you an idea about the prospects for the sales in the future, but be careful. Sales staff is notoriously optimistic about the possibilities for future sales, so try to verify their estimates by comparing them with the past sales figures. Many sales staff loves to use the ‘hockey stick’ prediction method.
- Production department - this will be able to give you details of production costs along with past and possible future levels of production.
- Human resources department – this can provide information about staff turnover rates, number of employees and the skills they have, training needs and the types and numbers of employees that will be required in the future.
- Marketing department – this can give information about the success of previous marketing campaigns and promotional activities.
- Customer service department – this can tell you what customers are saying about the company’s quality of service or products, and their reactions to new ideas.
Some useful information can come from outside the organisation as well, either by interviewing customers or examining published information. This is called primary and secondary research.
Primary Sources
Any original information is referred to as primary information or a primary source. It is conducted by others on behalf of the organisation, is specific to its needs and will involve methods such as questionnaires, observation, group discussion and interviewing.
Secondary sources
There are two types of secondary research – desk research and external information. Any information obtained from sources internal to the organisation, such as accounting
records, stock records or sales sheets, is described as desk research. External information is when organisation makes use of published research that was not carried out specifically for that company but which is available and can be used by the organisation. It may involve searching through publication by the government, trade association, media, trade directories and others. It can also be obtained from websites or from sources such as the market research company Mintel.
Currency and life expectancy of information
We live in ever changing world, and what is current and correct today might be outdated very quickly. Many industries develop extremely fast. For example, the computer technology and communication industries have changed almost beyond recognition in the last 20 years. We must therefore recognise that the currency of our research information – i.e. how up to date it is – is vital for conclusion that are true and valid. So it is essential to ensure that the information we acquire is as current as possible by checking publication dates on books, newspaper and journal, and also ‘last updated’ dates on website.
Validity of information
Once information has been gathered, it is important to try and determine how valid the information is – in other words, is it accurate, relevant and truthful?
An important question to ask in determining the validity of your research information is ‘who wrote this information and where their motivation in writing it? Much of the information that you find may well be valid, but some may be misleading. Some sources are clearly more reputable than others. If you read a political article in the Daily report, is it likely to be as reliable as one written in The Times? Quality newspapers are generally well researched and their published articles are more likely to be reliable (bearing in mind that each will have its own editorial or political slant). However, the same cannot be said of all of the popular dailies, some of which seem to aim to shock, titillate and entertain rather that presenting an objective and well informed article.
This problem is much worse on the internet. There is no regulation of content on the worldwide web, so you have to very critical about what you read on websites. Clearly information from reputable known providers, such as or www.telegraph.co.uk, is to be trusted, but many others contain inaccurate information. (How far do you think you trust the Wikipedia website?) Some are even deliberately set up to deceive the reader or aim to fool you into reading someone else’s opinion. Some of the spoof sites are set up for a joke, but it may not be possible to believe that they give accurate information.
So when you researching on the internet, take care, because not everything you read will be true. Remember that much of what you read is opinion, and opinions are not facts. You should be critical when you look at different sites in order to indentify those that are out to fool you.
