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Eileen.Aung-Thwin@britishcouncil.org.sg

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Try this too :)

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As a trainer, I often get asked about the right tone to use in business writing. Participants from various organisations in Singapore ask me: "What is tone? How do I know if I'm using the right one?"

I always laugh and say, "Play Pacman!"

"Pacman? Isn't that an old computer game? What's Pacman got to do with tone?"

"Play PAC, man! Think about your Purpose, the Audience and the C ontext. That should guide you towards the right tone to use in the document you're writing."

But let me start at the beginning.
What is tone in writing?
Most dictionaries say that the tone of a piece of writing expresses the writer's attitude toward the subject or the reader. Tone is the impact the writer's words have on the reader. It measures the reader's emotional response to the written text.
Why is it so important?
Normally when we communicate with someone in person or even on the phone, we use the help of facial expressions, physical gestures, and tone of voice to convey our message. In written interactions, however, there is a lack of social cues. Psychologist Daniel Goleman calls this a natural "negativity bias" toward email. He argues that if the writer feels positive about an email, then the reader perceives it as neutral. If the writer feels they have been neutral, then the receiver typically feels negative about it. In other words, every message you send gets automatically downgraded a few levels of positivity by the time someone else receives it. And therefore, it becomes essential to manage tone in order to be effective and successful business writers.
What is the appropriate tone to use in business writing?
The tone you use will depend on the purpose of your message. You may need to be persuasive when asking a colleague for something while your tone may need to be empathetic when sending out a rejection letter.

In general, it ...
What affects tone in writing?
There are several aspects of writing which impact tone:

1) Content

The type of content and extent of detail you include shows the reader you have thought about their needs when writing. Here are some tips you could use when writing emails, reports and business cases.

Response to complaints

Include a clear and comprehensive explanation to make your apology sincere.

Refusal of a request

Give specific reasons to be more convincing. Provide alternatives and helpful advice to show you are genuine and value the relationship.

Communicating with non-technical readers

Avoid too many technical details and jargon. That way, you come across as considerate and helpful.

2) Structure and order of information

Choosing a structure based on the context / situation and your reader's needs makes the tone of your writing persuasive by using a reader-centric approach. If your reader is new or resistant to the context, choose an indirect structure. This can make the tone empathetic and persuasive. On the other hand, if your reader is familiar with the context or a decision-maker, use the direct approach to appear clear and confident.

Your reader is familiar with the context and open to your ideas - May be interested in an overview and actionable points

Your reader is new to the context or resistant to the situation - Include some background and findings before recommendations

Typically for senior management and key decision makers

Typically for a wide generalist audience

Useful for routine emails to people we know - start with the main purpose and action required. Details can follow later.

Useful when writing to people we don't know or when giving bad news - Include a warm empathetic opening to put the reader in a positive, receptive frame of mind.

3) Style and level of formality

Using an overly formal style with passive constructions and archaic language can make you sound cold and distant.

For example, sentence a uses old-fashioned language and a passive voice while sentence b uses a conversational style with simple words and an active voice.

a)Your email dated xx/xx/xx has been received with thanks

b)Thank you for your email.

Writing in a bombastic way with big words can make you sound 'cheem' as we say in Singapore - pompous and unapproachable.

For example, sentence a uses old-fashioned language and big words while sentence b uses a conversational style with simple words making it more effective.

a)Enclosed herewith, a copy of the contract duly completed for your retention.

b)I have enclosed a completed copy of the contract.

Refusing a request or conveying bad news with negative language makes you sound cold and lacking empathy.

For example, sentence a uses negative language making it cold and overly formal while sentence b uses positive language in conveying the bad news making the overall tone of the message neutral.

a)We cannot accede to your request to extend the completion date.

b)We are sorry that we have to keep to the original deadline (xx/xx/xx).
How do I know if I'm using the right tone in my writing?
Plan with the reader in mind:

Who is the reader and what does the reader know / need?

What is the intended outcome of your communication?

What is the context in which you are communicating?

The answers will help you scope your content, choose the right structure to order your information and present it with an appropriate style and formality. You will then have arrived at the right tone.

In short, play Pac, man!

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Pacman: How to up your business writing game

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As a trainer, I often get asked about the right tone to use in business writing. Participants from various organisations in Singapore ask me: "What is tone? How do I know if I'm using the right one?" I always laugh and say, "Play Pacman!" "Pacman? Isn't that an old computer game?

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Helene Harang - Inmail to be sent via LinkedIn Sales Navigator

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The 3 Step Guide to (really) learn from home

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The 3 Step Guide to (really) learn from home

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How your employees can still be learning animals while being caged to work from home

Do you know what a learning animal is?

Google only hires what they term learning animals – people with a high aptitude for learning. You might be having a headache about the impact of covid19 on your organisation’s learning as many of your employees are now working from home. But what if there’s a simple and cost effective idea? Your employees can still learn well from home.

The solution is to go digital. It’s all about your mindset toward learning, the message you send and the learning environment you create.

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Ella

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Three scientifically proven tips to make your presentations engaging, persuasive and memorable

Imagine you have been given a day to prepare an important presentation at work, you have all the data, complex charts and tables, but how do you deliver it in a compelling way? How do you choose the right words? How do you make your audience listen and become more interested, even entertained? Sounds daunting? It is daunting, however, these tips will help you weather this storm and have fun as well!

1 Use storytelling effectively

Your data and ideas need a story to come to life. Your story will be the spark that will incite action. We are all wired for stories, or as Brene Brown phrased beautifully “Stories are data with a soul”. Storytelling enables us to engage, inspire and influence our audiences.

Dr Hal R. Varian, Google’s Chief Economist, in his McKinsey 2008 interview emphasised: "The ability to take data - to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it - that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades".

Focus your talk on what can be explained and brought to life with examples. Ideas and stories are fascinating and we love them! Make your presentations stick with meaningful and relatable examples, funny anecdotes, why not add some suspense? Let your audiences guess, wonder, predict, and maybe come up with their own solutions. Take them on a journey and enjoy the ride :)!

Data Storytelling: The Essential Data Science Skill Everyone Needs

2 Harness new mediums

It's 2020. Why Are You Still Using PowerPoint?

Seriously, why? According to the 2008 study of PowerPoint usage at the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue "students retained 15% less information delivered verbally by the lecturer during PowerPoint presentations”.

It’s time to embrace the new, super cool mediums. If you want to make your presentations interactive why not try Mentimeter? How about Prezi or Padlet to make them more engaging and memorable?

If used properly and at the right time, these digital tools can increase interaction, build and sustain momentum and boost your confidence as a speaker.

3 Welcome the nerves!

Nerves are good, nerves can give us that extra energy to keep us more alert and sharp, nerves can actually help us perform better.

“Without anxiety, little would be accomplished,” David Barlow, founder of the Centre for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University, has written. “The performance of athletes, entertainers, executives, artisans, and students would suffer; creativity would diminish; crops might not be planted. And we would all achieve that idyllic state long sought after in our fast-paced society of whiling away our lives under a shade tree. This would be as deadly for the species as nuclear war.”

Your audience expects you to be nervous, so embrace it, enjoy it and feel excited about delivering your killer-to-be presentation :)!

The Relationship Between Anxiety and Performance

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A post on Instagram by the Sepilok Orangutan Rehab Centre