Business Communication
LEC-6
Writing Routine and Positive Messages
Chapter 7 - 1
Strategy for Routine Requests
(LO 7.1) Outline an effective strategy for
writing routine business requests.
Chapter 7 - 2
Structure of Routine Requests
(1) The Opening
Three Parts
(Direct Approach)
(2) The Body
(3) The Close
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Stating Your Request Up Front
•Pay Attention to Tone
•Assume Audience Compliance
•Be Specific about What You Want
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Explaining and Justifying
Your Request
•Follow from Opening Remarks
•Ask Important Questions First
•Limit Questions to One Topic
Chapter 7 - 5
Requesting Specific Action in
a Courteous Close
•State a Specific Request
•Provide Contact Information
•Express Your Appreciation
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Common Examples of
Routine Requests
(LO 7.2) Describe three common types of
routine requests.
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Asking for Information
and Action
State Your Request Clearly
Explain and Support the Request
Introduce Reader Benefits
Chapter 7 - 8
Asking for Recommendations
State Your Request Clearly
Offer Support for Your Request
Express Your Appreciation
Chapter 7 - 9
Chapter 7 - 10
Making Claims and
Requesting Adjustments
State the Problem Clearly
Explain the Situation Clearly
Request Specific Action
Chapter 7 - 11
Strategy for Routine Replies and
Positive Messages
(LO 7.3) Outline an effective strategy for
writing routine replies and positive messages.
Chapter 7 - 12
Starting with the Main Idea
Prepare the Audience for What Will Follow
Write Your Opening
Clearly
Keep the Opening
Concise
Chapter 7 - 13
Providing Necessary Details
and Explanation
Explain Your Point Completely
Maintain a Supportive
Tone
Create a Favorable
Context
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Ending with a Courteous Close
Keep It Short and Simple, Neutral or Positive
Simply Say
“Thank You”
Clarify Follow-Up
Action
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Common Examples of Routine
Replies and Positive Messages
(LO 7.4) Describe six common types of routine
replies and positive messages.
Chapter 7 - 16
Answering Requests for
Information or Action
Using the Direct Approach
Open with the Main Idea
Include Explanation and Detail
Close the Message Courteously
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Granting Claims and Requests
for Adjustments
• Acknowledge the complaint.
• Sympathize with the customer.
• Take or assign personal responsibility.
• Explain how you’ll handle the situation.
• Take steps to repair the relationship.
• Follow up on your response.
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Providing Recommendations
and References
Candidate’s Name
Position or Objective
Your Relationship
Facts and Evidence
Comparison with Peers
Overall Evaluation
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Sharing Routine Information
Opening
State Purpose; Nature of Information
Body
Provide Necessary Information
Closing
End with a Courteous Close
Chapter 7 - 20
Announcing Good News
•News Releases
External
Messages
•Direct-to-Consumer Releases
•Social Media Releases
Chapter 7 - 21
Fostering Goodwill
•Sending Congratulations
•Expressing Appreciation
•Offering Condolences
Chapter 7 - 22
Chapter 7 - 23
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
Chapter 7 - 24
Chapter 7 - 25
Chapter 7 - 26
Activity
Message Strategies: Responding to Claims and Requests for Adjustments
We read your letter, requesting your deposit refund. We couldn’t figure out why you hadn’t
received it, so we talked to our maintenance engineer, as you suggested. He said you had left
one of the doors off the hinges in your apartment in order to get a large sofa through the door.
He also confirmed that you had paid him $5.00 to replace the door since you had to turn in the
U-Haul trailer and were in a big hurry. This entire situation really was caused by a lack of
communication between our housekeeping inspector and the maintenance engineer. All we
knew was that the door was off the hinges when it was inspected by Sally Tarnley. You know
that our policy states that if anything is wrong with the apartment, we keep the deposit. We
had no way of knowing that George just hadn’t gotten around to replacing the door. But we
have good news. We approved the deposit refund, which will be mailed to you from our home
office in Teaneck, New Jersey. I’m not sure how long that will take, however. If you don’t
receive the check by the end of next month, give me a call. Next time, it’s really a good idea to
stay with your apartment until it’s inspected, as stipulated in your lease agreement. That way,
Copyright
© 2016
Education,
Chapter 7 - 27
you’ll
be sure
toPearson
receive
yourInc.
refund when you expect it. Hope you have a good summer
Activity
Message: Providing Recommendations (Note: Assume that your company allows you to
write recommendations.)
Your letter to Kunitake Ando, president of Sony, was forwarded to me because I am the
human resources director. In my job as head of HR, I have access to performance reviews
for all of the Sony employees in the United States. This means, of course, that I would be
the person best qualified to answer your request for information on Nick Oshinski. In your
letter of the 15th, you asked about Nick Oshinski’s employment record with us because he
has applied to work for your company. Mr. Oshinski was employed with us from January 5,
2008, until March 1, 2016. During that time, Mr. Oshinski received ratings ranging from 2.5
up to 9.6, with 10 being the top score. As you can see, he must have done better reporting
to some managers than to others. In addition, he took all vacation days, which is a bit
unusual. Although I did not know Mr. Oshinski personally, I know that our best workers
seldom use all the vacation time they earn. I do not know if that applies in this case. In
summary, Nick Oshinski performed his tasks well depending on who managed him
Chapter 7 - 28
Activity
Message Strategies: Routine Responses; Media Skills: Email
Revise the following short email messages so they are more direct and concise; develop a subject line for each
revised message.
• Yesterday, when I was marking your last piece of work, after reading several of your colleagues answers, I
noticed that yours was considerably longer than theirs and contained a lot more information. To be certain, I
used the word count facility on Word to find you had written more than 500 words more than was required by
the assignment. As I’m sure that you know, you must adhere to the guidelines and not go beyond 10% either side
of the word count limits which is the case with this piece of work. I am speculating that this is an unusual error on
your part and that you have had the wrong word count limit in your mind when writing, so this is a mistake. You
will need to re-submit your work observing the guidelines more closely and keep within the word count limits.
• Please be informed that due to the festive season from 20th December to 1st January next year, most of our
customer service personnel are on their annual vacation. Our apologies for any inconvenience this might cause
you. Should you require any assistance during this time, please write in to us at helpdesk@stantonworld.com,
clearly stating your name, your contact details, and the problem, and we will respond as soon as possible.
• The executive team deciding on this month’s ‘Employee of the month’ award met earlier today and discussed the
contributions of the employees proposed by their managers for consideration. You have been proposed by your
manager for your handling of two difficult customer complaints this month. The committee compared this with a
number of other excellent examples of employee behavior in different departments of the organization and took
some time over making their decision. The outcome was that your example was the best and award you
‘employee of the month’.
• We’re letting you know that because we use over a ton of paper a year and because so much of that paper goes
into the wastebasket to become so much more environmental waste, starting Monday, we’re placing white
plastic bins outside the elevators on every floor to recycle that paper and in the process, minimize pollution.
Chapter 7 - 29
Thank You
Chapter 7 - 30