Introduction
The purpose of this business document was to inform readers about audio and video conferencing. The target audience is made up of business persons and corporate personnel who need to communicate with one another. In this paper, an analysis of the format, structure, layout and language will be done so as to determine whether the purpose has been achieved. It will be argued that the goal of informing others about video and audio conferencing has been met through suitable use of layout, language, structure and format.
The Evaluation and analysis of the document
Language and presentation
The choice of words used in this business document is formal, respectful, concise and apposite words. It is formal because the author uses third person narration and is detached from the paper. At one point, the writer asserts that “An ‘operator meeting’ is an audio conferencing service managed by an independent operator…” He is not using ‘we’ or ‘I’ which is quite appropriate for a document that is giving information. His words are respectful in that he is polite. For example, when talking about audio conferencing, he say that “the cheapest alternative is the desk top camera, however sound quality tends to be poor….”. He would have been impolite if he said “desk top cameras are useless because they have poor sound quality. He uses elegant writing because there are no clichés to be found in the paper. Furthermore, the choice of words are concise words, however, he could have improved on this if he started with subjects. In the first paragraph under video conferencing, he ends by saying that “There are a number of options open to organisations who wish to adopt video conferencing.” He would have been more concise if he wrote “Organisations can choose from a number of video conferencing options.” Words are unambiguous because he defines technical terms. For example, he talks about “voice switched video conferencing” and “transmission times”. The author has added definitions of most of these words thus making the work usable by anyone and thus making the document effective and efficient. It can be said that these are apposite words because they have been used in the right context.
The intended reader is a business person or corporate member because of the subject matter in the document which is conferencing. Such a topic would be applicable in the workplace and business world. Furthermore, the author himself explicitly states at the beginning of the document that “Audio conferencing keeps you in touch with colleagues, customers and suppliers enabling you to hold meetings over the telephone”. People who need to stay in touch with suppliers, customers and colleagues are corporate personnel and businesspeople.
Also, the overall tone of the paper is appropriate as it is quite business like. In other words, one does not get the feeling that one is actually talking to a fellow colleague or peer but to a respectable businessman and expert. It can be stated the kind of register selected for this piece is scientific register because it dwells on the facts of the subject matter. It is also formal business like register because of this emphasis on facts.
Through appropriate use of language by being formal, respectful and concise, the business document has achieved its purpose of informing members of the audience because focus is on facts of audio and video conferencing and not irrelevant wording.
Format
The purpose of this document was to inform either business people or corporate members about audio and video conferencing, so format should reflect the business like nature of this intention. This document does not fall clearly in any of the common business formats. In other words, it does not look like a business report because some of the common headings and subheadings found in reports like: an introduction, recommendations and conclusion cannot be found here. One cannot assert that it resembles a business letter or company memo either because the business letter has addresses of senders and receivers at the top; it also has a ‘REF’ entry and ends with a common phrase such as ‘Yours faithfully’. It cannot be a memo either because a memo must have the term ‘memo’ at the top or it must possess details about the names of the sender and receiver(s). It is unlikely that it is an email because it would contain less formal language. However, it is still a formal document as it has titles which have been underlined and this underscores the importance of informing readers as the author intended. The writer did not deviate from his subject matter as everything was about audio and video conferencing. However, examples were rarely used in that he stuck to the facts. Readers would have understood the information a little more if he did. For example, when discussing operator based audio conferencing, the author could have related this with another meeting that readers are familiar with. There is sufficient amount of white space such that separate ideas have been placed in one paragraph. The fonts utilised are rather plain and this is suitable for a business document. Nonetheless, more could have been done in terms of numbering or bulleting the work. This would have made it much easier to follow (Hogan, 79). Generally, since the writer refrained from disgracing, avoided animated fonts and used sufficient white space then he portrayed a business like message which was in line with purpose of informing the audience about audio and video conferencing.
Structure
The structure of the document is quite appropriate for an informative piece. The two categories each start by definitions of the terms i.e. video and audio conferencing. Its author then looks at the various ways of using either type, their advantages and limitations. He/she also gives a good conclusion and recommendation on both communication methods. This structure therefore makes sense because ideas have been well organised. However, he deviated a bit from conventions of a business document because he did not utilise well known structures like the memo, report or a business letter. This is because although he had headings, most of them were not as systematic as they are in reports. He undermined the purpose of his document by selecting an unconventional structure because based on structure alone, it is hard to classify the document. This means that readers will not know whether to expect information or advice from it. He compromised on the purpose of the document through such a structure.
Layout
In terms of the layout, this work would have been more captivating if graphics and illustrations were used. For example, if the author included a chart showing the multipoint and single point video conferencing techniques then readers would have a greater understanding of the concepts. Some readers are more visual and would understand that idea a little more if information was graphic in nature. He would also be in a position to present new information in a summarised manner. Furthermore, the document would be easier to remember if the concerned authors had used more headings in their work as expected from conventional business documents like reports. The text also starts so directly without pre-empting the reader on what to expect from the piece. An executive summary would have easily solved this problem. However, the authors have managed to keep the document relatively short as only the most relevant information has been selected (Meiwortz and Canavor, 52). Furthermore, some readers may not want to stop at the descriptions given in the article alone; some of them would require a bibliography in order to get more information. The author achieved his purpose in terms of the layout because the text is well organised just the way a business document should be. This fulfils its role of informing readers about conferencing technology. Nonetheless, this purpose could have been clearly improved if there were more graphics.
Personal statement
While carrying out this task, I first started with a summary of the content. My focus was on the actual information being conveyed. After a general outlook, I then started to study the document critically so as to determine whether it had achieved its desired purpose.
My analysis therefore started with the purpose and intention of the document. I had to ask what the major intention of the document was, who the audience were and whether the document could be utilised as it was. I found that the readers would find this information useful since it gives facts about the uses, advantages, limitations and applications of video conferencing. In this regard, I established that it was a business document due to its language and layout but it breaks from the rules due to its format and structure as it does not like a report, memo, minute or any other conventional piece. I then went on to classify the format of the piece. I followed this up with an examination of the general application of the paper and determined whether one could really use the information. This required me to know the audience best suited for the work (Campbell, 49). From this analysis I found that it is business document, its purpose is to inform readers about a specific issue which is audio and video conferencing and it is intended for use in the corporate or business environment to enhance communication.
I then went on to study the language and the presentation of the document. Here, I looked at whether technical terms were introduced in the paper and whether the author followed their use with definitions and descriptions. I wanted to find out whether he had made any assumptions on the audience’s knowledge of the technical terms. I also analysed regular words that were used in a different way or had a different meaning based on context. I wanted to establish whether the writer had taken the time to differentiate between obvious meanings of words and phrases and context based meanings such as when he talks about ‘Keys’ in a non obvious way. Here he does not literally mean keys but avenues for entering into an audio conference meeting. I also looked at the overall effect of his language and presentation in furthering his objectives. I found that he wanted to inform his readers so all language was formal, respectful and concise. Layout encompassed font use, presence or absence of graphics and conclusions or recommendations. He achieved his purpose because plain fonts are often considered business like. I soon realised that the piece’s major strength is that no major assumptions had been made about technical terms. On the other hand, the author was not very imaginative when it came to the layout and format as these could have been improved through use of bullets and graphics.
Generally, I was able to evaluate the language and found that it was formal, concise and respectful just as any informative business document should be thus showing that the purpose (which was to inform) of the document was achieved. The format and structure also helped in achieving the purpose because it had headlines although the writer could have improved on this by using a conventional business format. Readers did not get distracted by unnecessary information. The layout also achieved the purpose of informing because it had plain fonts and was easily readable through sufficient white space. These were the strengths of the document and they contributed towards creation of a factual and informative piece on audio and video conferencing.
The major weaknesses in the document could be found in the format which needed to be conventional such as a report, memo, etc. The layout also lacked graphics and sufficient amount of bullets thus making the document less interesting to the reader. Nonetheless, these weaknesses were not sufficient to override the discussion of audio and video conferencing.
References
Strunk, William. Elements of style. NY: Allyn and Bacon, 2000
Mathewson, James. Audience, relevance and search. NY: IBM Press, 2010
Meiwortz, Claire and Canavor, Natalie. The Truth about the new rules of business writing. Chicago: FT press, 2009
Campbell, Michael. Communication skills for project managers. AMACOM, 2009
Hogan, Kevin. The secret language of business. John and Wiley and sons Inc, 2008