Public Relations Writing:

Form and Style

Newsom and Carrel
Introduction
 Much of public relations writing is business writing.
 It is the information that lubricates and builds
productive working relationship.
 In that sense, business writing is the most critical of all
public relations writing.
 Public relations professionals write lots of memos,
emails, letters, reports and proposals in their routine
office work.
Introduction
 They write such pieces for key officers in the
organization because these forms of writing frequently
function to persuade.

 Examine basic guidelines when you are required to

write in any of these forms.
Memos
 Word memo is short form of memorandum.
 Meaning informal reminder of something important
that has occurred or will occur.
 Generally to communicate within an organization.
 Seldom used to communicate with people outside.
Letters serve a better purpose. An exception is fax.
Memos
Body
 Body of memos differ from body of letters – shorter,
providing more visual cues.
 Designed to communicate salient information quickly
and efficiently.
 Tone ranges from formal to informal.
 Memos directed up the chain tend to be more formal,
those directed down the chain are less formal.
Memos
Body
 Memos ordinarily have limited audience.
 Usually addressed to one person or to small group.
 At times, may be directed to a large audience, when
company president may send memo simultaneously
to all 600 employees on certain important policy
matter.
Memos
Visual cues
 Help communicate important information quickly.
 Most important stylistic characteristic is use of
common words, short sentences and brief paragraphs.
 Each paragraph represents a new, but related thought.
Memos
Visual cues
 Indented paragraphs (for emphasis), numbered items
(to accent important matter), fragmented sentences
(for emphasis), and list of items (in vertical format).
Memos
Context
 Provide clarifying information that makes what you
say comprehensible.
 Establishing a context for your message is especially
important if memo is directed to persons with whom
you do not work regularly.
 When providing background materials, you need to
say so. Words “Attachments” and “Enclosures”.
Classifications of Memos
 Tone and tempo of a memo depends on its purpose,
style and public.
 There are six general categories of memos: bulletin,
essay, informative, action, summary and file.
Classifications of Memos
Bulletin memo
 Usually has a sense of urgency.
 Generally brief and may be terse in style.
 It is telegram of memo world.
 Gets its name from bulletins that appear on wire
services notifying editors that something important
has happened or is about to happen.
 Posted on bulletin board.
Classifications of Memos
Essay memo
 Lot more descriptive than a bulletin memo.
 Used for “let’s talk it over” material or situation.
 Content may range from management philosophy to
question of how to get employees to clean up coffee
room after using it.
 Style is often conversational.
Classifications of Memos
Informative memo
 Usually a detail descriptive piece of writing.
 Might document actions taken and the results.
 Or might recommend program and describe projected
outcome.
 Style and tone usually fairly formal.
Classifications of Memos
Action memo
 Describes action taken or planned.
 Often contain places for response by recipients.
 Space for the receiver’s initials on a section to indicate
he or she accepts responsibility for the initialed action.
Classifications of Memos
Summary memo
 Basically a detailed descriptive memo in essay or
outline form.
 Discussions and actions are collected under
appropriate topical headings to facilitate progress
during meeting.
 Used in evaluating progress of a program.
 Accumulation of information over time and explained
actions taken or planned.
Classifications of Memos
File memo
 Addressed to the file, not to another person.
 Simply records information and is stored for reference.
 When program being planned is complex, when many
people are involved in some ongoing action or
program, or when sharp division in points of views
arise.
Factors affecting use of Memos
 Should be personalized.
 Involve recipients with your memo by emphasizing
“you”.
 Common way to disseminate memo is to route it
among people who should read it.
 Posting memo on bulletin board is common practice.
 Some are best suited for special methods of
distribution.
Factors affecting use of Memos
 Setting in which memo is received may also influence
its effectiveness.
 For company’s social event involving employee and
spouse, appropriate to send memo announcing it to
home address.
 Memo calling for a meeting of department heads
should be sent to the recipients' respective offices, not
to their homes.
Electronic Mail: Email
 Email has become a preferred method of
communication when business card began carrying
email address.
 Frequency depends on how important the messages
are likely to be to business/ public relations executives.
 Time management can be enhanced by email.
 Within organizations email systems are usually
interactive – where two-way communication can occur.
Electronic Mail: Email
 Portable or laptop computers have increased use of
emails.
 Email systems make it possible for you to be an
integral part of your organization even though you
may be working at home or in airport lounge on the
other side of the world.
 Can transmit pictures as well as text.
 Companies in crisis situations have found email
particularly useful because it allows for a timely
exchange of information.
Electronic Mail: Email
 Like messages in other media, you need to know
exactly what you want the receiver to think, know or
do. That strategic approach sharpen the focus of your
message. You also need to know how much the reader
knows about the subject.
 The process of emailing is so easy that some people
tend to forget it is also writing. Writing demands a lot
more precision than speaking.
Electronic Mail: Email
Style
 Although the message is electronic the recipient is
human and you need to imagine how that person is
likely to respond to your message.
 Begin with an appropriate greeting.
 Need to be conversational in tone. Avoid words that
might be acceptable if spoken but sound too harsh or
inflammatory in print.
 Let the person know right away what the message is
about so they can follow your thought processes.
Electronic Mail: Email
 Make it easy to read by using simple words, short
sentences and very brief paragraphs.
 Let the recipient know what you expect from them.
 Used the right way, email can be a very satisfying
means of communication.
Letters
 Letters play a significant role in business relationship.
 But letters must not be too long.
 As a rule, try to keep your letters to one page in a
readable size of type.
Letters
Letters still play a significant role in business
relationship
 Business Letter Format: Typical business letter has
six parts: heading, salutation, body, close, signature
and reference matter.
 Heading has two parts. First is the identity of the
sender. Second part is the date, plus name, title and
address of the recipient.
 Salutation. You address the person to whom you are
writing.
Letters
 Body. Level of formality in the tone depends on the
relationship between the writer and the recipient of
the letter. If personal relationship exists, the letter may
have a casual salutation and conversational tone. In
general, the tone of the body is more formal if the
letter is addressed to a person whose status is higher
than that of the writer.
 Close. Contains two elements. One is an urge to action
or an offer of further help. The other is a
complimentary statement that appears above the
signature.
Letters
 Most business letters close with simple “Sincerely”
above the signature block. Business letters to and from
friends outside the company sometimes close with
“Best regards,” “Cordially yours” or simply “Cordially”.
Letters between strangers are likely to have a more
formal close, such as “Respectfully yours” or
“Respectfully.” Whatever the form used, only the first
letter of the close is capitalized.
Letters
 Signature. The name of the writer should always be
typed; the handwritten signature will appear just
above it.

 Types of Letters. Public relations writers generally

find themselves writing six types of letters:
information, solicitation, promotion, transmittal,
cover and response.
Letters
Information
 These letters inform.
 To let people know about an event coming up, a
decision made, or an action taken.
 A letter of recommendation
 Straightforward, try to anticipate and respond to
questions.
Letters
Solicitation
 Making any kind of request
 Asking for contribution or pledges of support of one
kind or another.
 Careful to suggest some sort of reward, usually
intrinsic, for that support.
Letters
Promotion
 Causes and events are promoted in letters that
encourage acceptance and participation.
 An emotional appeal but specific call for action
 Using sub-headings, italics, boldface, underlining and
indents, help readers spot important element in your
message.
Letters
Transmittal
 Use this type of letter when sending materials to
clients.
 Letter to remind receiver what is being sent and why.
 Appropriate to ask the receiver to call after receiving
the materials.
 Should have a paragraph that lists the content.
 Make it easy for receiver to at the letter.
Letters
Responses
 “Thank you” letter
 Thank people for doing something to support you or
the organization
 Build strong relationship by being gracious and
thoughtful.
 Intended for private or public
 Written to correct or put things in perspective in
public
 Be direct and concise.
Letters
 Choose words carefully because tone of expression
conveys both mood and character.
 Be persuasive because you want an impact
 Writing to change an opinion or correcting an error.
Reports and Proposals
 They may look alike, but reports and proposals are
very different.
 Apparent in their purpose
 A report summarizes information on some topics
 A proposal details a plan of action to be considered.
Reports and Proposals
 Report is summary of status of something.
 Requirements for organizing and writing reports and
proposals are similar for both to be considered
together.
 Bennett’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses
and Dissertations
Reports and Proposals
Organizations of Reports and Proposals
 Requires special skills and attention to details.
 Seven major sections: letter, front matter, synopsis,
body, references, bibliography and appendices.
 Letter. A letter of documentation or cover letter
should always accompany a report or a proposal. It
addresses the person or persons who will consider the
report or proposal. Usually describes the content of the
report and the people who did the research, planning,
writing and illustrating.
Reports and Proposals
 Front matter. Organized in the same way as the front
matter of the book. Consists of cover page, table of
contents and lists of tables, figures and illustrations.
 Synopsis. Appears at the end of front matter and
before the body of the report or proposal. Usually a
page or two in length, concisely written digest of the
content of the document. Purpose is to give readers a
clear picture of what is in the document. Also known
as abstract or executive summary.
Reports and Proposals
 Body. The body of report or proposal follows the
executive summary. Consists of three basic parts:
introduction, body and conclusion. Introduction
should review the background of the problem being
studied, the scope of study and the methods used in
the study. It should also explain why the study is
important, what special problems were encountered in
the course of research and how these were resolved.
The last point is important because it prepares the
readers for any limitations of study.
Reports and Proposals
 Body of the paper should be built around a single,
simple statement. Conclusion should follow naturally
from any summary findings in the report or proposal.
Sometimes recommendations will stem from your
conclusion. Clarity is necessary because a report or
proposal that invites many interpretations is not very
useful to anyone.
Reports and Proposals
 References. You must properly cite the source of every
piece of information that is not common knowledge to
your audiences.
 Bibliography. Include full bibliography, in addition to
supplying footnotes or endnotes. Identifies the full
range of work you consulted, whether or not you
eventually cited them.
 Appendixes. Contains charts, tables, illustrations,
maps, copies of questionnaires or other exhibits that
could be woven into the body.
Reports and Proposals
Readability and Applicability
 Reader should be able to conclude something from
your writing.
 Two factors are readability and applicability
Readability
 Not a license to use jargons without restraint.
 Use plain English.
 Use headings, subheadings, indented segments,
underlining and other visuals to improve readability.
Reports and Proposals
Applicability
 Would want readers to accept document as
meaningful and significant enough to prompt course
of action.
 “This is important. We should do something.”
 You want your proposal to evoke this response: “This
is a good idea. Let’s go with it.”