Every communication effort takes place in a particular situation, meaning you have a specific message to send a specific audience under a specific set of circumstances. For example, describing your professional qualifications in an message to an executive in your own company differs significantly from describing your qualifications in your LinkedIn profile. Having framed your message, you then need to select the most appropriate medium for the message: does that potential employer expect a letter or an email, for example? Technology has increased the methods of communication available and business people need to be aware of the implications for the message from the different channels available to them and the requirement for careful planning that this entails.

Three-Step Writing Process:

1. Plan
2. Analyze the Situation
3. Gather Information
4. Choose Medium and Channel
5. Organize Information
6. Write
7. Adapt to Your Audience
8. Compose the Message
9. Complete
10. Revise the Message
11. Produce the Message
12. Proofread the Message
13. Distribute the Message

For this discussion, do the following:

1. Explain the three-step writing process and how it applies to business writing.
2. Analyze how this process could help you become a better business writer by discussing your current strengths and weaknesses with regards to the three-steps.