Which of the following is the best description of an informative message in the workplace?
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What is an informative message?An informative message in the workplace is simply the sharing of meaningful information between people in an unbiased and professional manner. Informative messages can be short or long, formal or casual in tone, internal or external in focus, and direct or indirect in structure, depending on the situation. Like all forms of communication, the purpose of informative messages is to promote understanding, encourage action, stimulate thinking, or promote ideas. Since informative messages are so prevalent in business communication, there are too many examples of possible use to mention in this brief section. Simple, informative messages can be used, for example, to let employees know of upcoming IT system maintenance, a new break-room cleanliness policy, or a new meeting time. More complex messages can be used to announce a significant company win over a competitor, a new product launch delay, the creation of a new division within the company, or quarterly financial results. Informative messages can take on almost any form of written communication: IMs (instant messages), chats, emails, presentations, memos, blogs, podcasts, press releases, and reports. The situation at hand will guide how the message is crafted and how it is sent. Despite the variety of informative messages and how they can be sent, there are still some guidelines that pertain to all effective business writing.
Short informative messagesShort, informative messages can take a variety of forms. For example, a quick communication to a teammate can use IM technology and provide an opportunity for a quick response. These messages tend to be more conversational in structure, and resemble a chat more than an email or other document (Figure 1).  Figure 1. A chat conversation between two coworkers discussing attendance at a future summit.
If the situation requires a more formal approach for your message, sending an email is usually more appropriate. In this example, the communication is being sent to a company executive from a subordinate.
Long Informative MessagesWhile long informative messages can be delivered through a variety of mediums, they will typically have the same elements regardless of the delivery method. As with all business messages, it’s still important to remember to be concise. While there are certainly more complex messages that require longer communications, remember to stay focused, and only provide the information your audience needs. The MessageThis example is an email message providing members of a professional organisation, the Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand (FLANZ), with information about their upcoming Annual General Meeting.
*Note that for an email to a circulation list like this, the 'Bcc' (=blind copy) option is used for the addressees instead of the 'to' option. This ensures that no recipient can see the contact details of any other recipient. This is important for data protection. Bcc should be used for any situation where you are not sure whether the email recipients have agreed for their contact details to be shared. Activity: evaluate an informative message
(Note: if it is difficult for you to find a piece of business writing to evaluate, you could look at one of the course emails from OERu - they are all available on the course announcements page.) AcknowledgementsThe main content on this page was adapted from Informative business messages, authored by Robert Danielson and provided by Lumen Learning within the online open textbook Business communication skills for managers. Licensed under a CC BY-4.0 licence. The example long email is adapted from a real email (and web page) sent by The Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand and licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. References
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