BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Building Critical Skills
First Canadian Edition
Kitty O. Locker
Stephen Kyo Kaczmarek
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
Kathryn Braun
odule 11
Negative Messages
Skills to
Organize negative messages.
Give bad news while retaining goodwill.
Continue to write effective subject lines.
Write common kinds of negative messages.
Continue to analyze business communication situations.
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
odule 11
Negative Messages
Topics
What’s the best subject line for a negative message?
How should I organize negative messages?
Why should I give an alternative if one is available.
What are the most common kinds of negative messages?
How can PAIBOC help me write negative messages?
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
Negative Messages Include
Rejections and refusals.
„ Policy changes that don’t benefit
customers.
„ Insulting or intrusive requests.
„ Negative performance
appraisals.
„ Product recalls.
„
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
Purposes of Negative Messages
„
Primary Purposes
z To give the reader bad news.
z To have the reader read, understand, and accept the
message.
z To maintain as much goodwill as possible.
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
Purposes of Negative Messages
„
continued
Secondary Purposes
z To build a good image of the writer.
z To build a good image of the writer’s organization.
z To reduce or eliminate future correspondence on the same
subject.
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
Subject Lines
„ Use
a subject line that focuses on
solutions, not problems.
„ Omit a subject line in negative letters.
„ Use a negative subject line only if you
think the letter may be ignored.
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
For Bad News to Customers
Start with a neutral statement or
buffer.
„ Give the reason for the refusal before
the refusal itself.
„ Give the negative just once, clearly.
„ Present an alternative or compromise.
„ End with a positive, forward-looking
statement.
„
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
For Bad News to Superiors
„
Describe the problem.
„
Tell how it happened.
„
„
Describe the options
for fixing it.
Recommend a solution
and ask for action.
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
For Bad News to Subordinates
„
„
„
Describe the problem.
Present an alternative or
compromise, if one is
available.
If possible, ask for input
or action.
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
Influences on Audience Reaction
„
„
„
„
„
Do you and the reader have a good
relationship?
Does the organization treat people well?
Have readers been warned of possible
negatives?
Have readers “bought into” the criteria
for the decision?
Do communications after the negative
build goodwill?
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
Types of Buffers
„
„
„
„
„
Start with any good news or positive
elements the letter contains.
State a fact or provide a chronology of
events.
Refer to enclosures in the letter.
Thank the reader for something he or
she has done.
State a general principle.
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
Alternatives
Offers the reader another way to
get what he or she wants.
„ Suggests that the writer really
cares about the reader.
„ Enables the reader to reestablish
psychological freedom.
„ Ends on a positive note.
„
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
Three Difficult Negative Messages
„
„
„
Rejections and Refusals
Disciplinary Notices and Negative
Performance Appraisals
Layoffs and Firings
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.
PAIBOC
P
A
What are your purposes in writing?
I
What information must your message
include?
B
What reasons or reader benefits can you use
to support your position?
O
What objections can you expect your
reader(s) to have?
C
How will the context affect reader response?
Who is (are) your audiences?
©2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. All rights reserved.