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General Business 360 Communication Guide

"You" View

Effective communicators frame positive or neutral messages in terms of audience concerns, hopes, interests, and preferences. One way of doing this is to revise for “you” view, which helps to emphasize the reader over the writer.

You View that Uses the Second Person Pronoun

Instead of this

Write this

Tuesday is the only day that we can promise quick response to purchase order requests; we are swamped the rest of the week.

If you need a quick response, please submit your purchase order requests on Tuesday.

I know I’m late with the asset valuation report, but I haven’t been feeling well and I just haven’t had the energy needed to work through the numbers yet.

You will receive the asset valuation report on Monday at 8 a.m.—I haven’t been feeling well, but will work through the numbers over the weekend to ensure they are accurate.

I loved the sweater you gave me so much, thank you!

Thank you for the beautiful and warm sweater!  You have a gift for finding thoughtful and useful presents.

When I reviewed this month’s sales report, I discovered the sales are much higher than the previous month.

Our sales doubled since last month, making us one step closer to achieving our quarterly goal.

Starting September 1, all employees will be required to use the new expense reporting software. 

In order to process your reimbursements more quickly, we will be implementing more efficient expense reporting software starting September 1.

 

You View that Avoids the Second Person Pronoun

Sometimes writing with the reader’s point of view in mind means not using “you.” For example, when pointing out a mistake, avoid taking an accusatory tone.

Instead of this

Write this

You left an error in the table on page 109 of Coca Cola’s 2023 10K.

Please fix the error in the table on page 109 of Coca Cola’s 2023 10K.

or

We need to fix the error in the table on page 109 of Coca Cola’s 2023 10K.

 

Using “we” can also be an effective way to show your reader that you’re aligned and highlight shared values, concerns, goals, or vision.

Instead of this

Write this

You should be keeping up with your cyber security training.  

We all need to complete our cyber security training to ensure that we don’t have any costly breaches.

Content Credit

Content on this page was created by the Business Communication team at the Wisconsin School of Business.