There are six planning steps before we transmit our message:

1.       Know the purpose of the message
2.        Visualize your reader ( or listener )
3.        Choose the ideas to transmit
4.        Get all the facts to back to these ideas
5.        Organize your ideas in the most effective order
6.        Revise and proofread

Know the purpose

Before writing you must know the what and why of your writing because it will clear your mind to create what. The purpose may be sale, goodwill, request, inquiry or refusal etc.

Visualize your reader or listener

Your reader or listener is the most important entity in creating your message, so it is better for you to understand your receiver. His background, qualification, education, position and status in the company should be in your knowledge, so that you could be able to create the thing that is required. You should also know his desire, expectations, problems, circumstances and possible reaction to your request. In addition, you should know whether he is superior, subordinate, laborer, professional or technical person, colleague, single or married, man or woman, young or old, new or longtime customer.

Choose the idea

The third thing to choose after deciding the purpose and visualizing the reader, choose the idea to be inserted in the message. The idea to be included in the letter or report depends upon the type of message. Before you start working you should jot down the points to be covered in communication, and then bring them in order of importance and urgency.

Get all the facts

Facts and figures are the heart and soul of the message because it will give the impression of correctness to the listener or reader of your message, so collect it before the creation of message to make it more emphatic, forceful and pithy. To explain facts and figures visual aid may be utilized augmenting the communication.

Organize ideas

Once the ideas have been jotted down they should be properly arranged, rearranged and organized. Disorganized writing reflects a disorganized, illogical, untrained and even weak mind. Failing to organize will foil the objective of the message.

Revise and proofread

Short communications are easy to transmit or dictate without revising or proofreading them. However, detailed and complex writings need revision substantially. The reason is to ensure that the message fulfills all principles of communication. A poorly organized and written message is waste of material and money.