OABC and Effective Business Writing

There are several aspects of writing in the business world, including organization, grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting, and style of writing (i.e. direct and indirect). While all of these items are very important, organization is, in my opinion, the most important mainly because it makes messages easier to follow and remember. Without organization, the message gets lost in a sea of words. One of the most important principles of organization is described by the acronym OABC, which stands for Opening, Agenda, Body, and Closing. This blog post will describe each of these and why they are important.

Opening: A document’s opening, or introduction, is what initially catches a reader’s eye and persuades him or her to keep reading. It also introduces the topic by presenting preliminary information. It should be tailored to the type of message being conveyed. For example, an email conveying bad news would be less direct than a letter selling a product.

Agenda: This section is comparable to a thesis statement in a research paper. It provides both the focus of and a basic outline for the rest of the document; additionally, it gives readers a general idea of where to find specific information. It generally includes a list of topics to be covered in the order they will appear.

Body: This is the bulk of the article. It is organized in sync with the agenda provided in the introductory paragraph. Each of the items listed in the agenda then becomes a paragraph or section of its own.

Closing: The closing paragraph or section often summarizes what was said, and links the main ideas together, but most importantly it ought to fit the purpose of the document. This isn’t the place to provide new information about the topics covered in the agenda, but it could include requests for action, contact information, and any other appropriate closing statements.

OABC is a very effective acronym for organizing pretty much any form of business correspondence. Businesses thrive on efficiency, which is a result of effective organization. People are busy, and often do not have time to read lengthy, unorganized messages. Without organization techniques like OABC, business correspondences run the risk of being ignored. Organization helps improve communication because it allows the reader to (1) decide within the first paragraph if the correspondence is relevant, (2) know generally where to look for information specific to his or her needs, and (3) scan the document and obtain an idea of its content. 

There are many other important tools to remember when writing business correspondence; this great video by Chris Amorosino gives a brief overview. His website is another good resource for business writing tips.