You can improve your message by using parallelism, voice, and well-placed descriptions. In some cases, it is necessary to de-emphasize an idea, such as bad news. Does the following selection emphasize or de-emphasize the main idea? While we are unable to renew your contract for the upcoming year, we hope to have the position reposted once the funds are available. O Emphasize O De-emphasize When you compose messages, you may use the active or passive voice to convey meaning. Most business messages use the active voice. Which of the following are instances when you would use the passive voice in a business message? Check all that apply. U To conceal the doer of an action To create confusion for your reader To avoid beginning the sentence with it To emphasize an action or the recipient of an action Does the following sentence use the active or passive voice? Refreshments will be served. O Passive O Active Parallel sentences are balanced and easy for readers to understand. Choose which sentence has the best parallel structure. If you write well, speak well, and are using good interpersonal skills, you will do well in this corporation. If you write well, speak well, and use good interpersonal skills, you will do well in this corporation. Choose the best revision to the following sentence. When beginning the meeting, the fire alarm went off. The fire alarm went off when beginning the meeting. When we were beginning the meeting, the fire alarm went off. Effective business writers use various techniques to improve their messages. How could the following selection be improved? We are washing the windows tomorrow in preparation for Bill Gates's visit at 1:00 p.m. Please remove all items from the sills. The problem in this ineffective selection is: Not emphasizing important ideas A dangling/misplaced modifier Passive voice