Amateur Radio Traffic
The Four Parts of a Formal Message
The Preamble contains basic information about the message. This includes message number, precedence (i.e. Emergency, Health and Welfare, Routine, etc.), handling instructions, the station that originated the message, the check (number of words in the message text), the city and state the message originated from, and at least the date - the time is optional.
The Addressee contains the name (and callsign, if applicable), address, and phone number of the person who the message is intended for. A phone number is not required, but is helpful so the person delivering the message doesn't have to search for the person's number in a phone book or on the web.
The message text contains the message that the person wishes to send. To speed up the sending of common messages, there are some "pre-fab" message texts, called ARRL Numbered Messages, that can be sent using ARL and then the number of the text. An x indicates a period, or end of sentence. As most of the ARL messages include a period at the end, it is usually bad form to put an x after an ARL message number.
The signature doesn't really have a spot on the message form, but can be written anywhere - under the text area is usually a good spot. Usually this contains the name and callsign of the sender, and possibly a club affiliation or position in an organization.
This basic form can be used whether you're receiving traffic that you will be delivering to the recpient, or if you're sending a message to someone. Typically, when you are sending a message to someone, you will read off the preamble and the addressee, then "break for text" to make sure the person taking your message has everything correctly. They will either tell you to go ahead or they will ask for a fill for something.
When they say to go ahead with the text, read the text slowly, giving the person receiving the message time to keep up with you. Remember, speaking can be a lot faster than writing. One common method for pacing your word speed is to pretend write the word as you say it. Spell phonetically any words that might have more than one spelling, or that are difficult to figure out spelling for.
If you picked up a message to be delivered to someone, usually you just read the message and signature to the recipient, unless they might be a ham and want to know all of the information. And don't forget to promote the net you got the message from - some aren't even aware of the NTS and how it works!