SESSION 7 Writing Routine and Positive Messages OBJECTIVES

SESSION 7 Writing Routine and Positive Messages

OBJECTIVES : 1 Outline an effective strategy for writing routine business requests. 2 Describe three common types of routine requests. 3 Outline an effective strategy for writing routine replies and positive messages. 4 Describe six common types of routine replies and positive.

Strategy for Routine Requests Much of your daily business communication will involve routine and positive messages, including routine requests for information or action, replies on routine business matters, and positive messages such as good-news announcements and goodwill messages, from product operation hints and technical support to refunds and ordering glitches. Making requests is a routine part of business. Like all other business messages, routine requests have three parts: an opening, a body, and a close. Using the direct approach, open with your main idea, which is a clear statement of your request. Use the body to give details and justify your request, then close by requesting specific action. With routine requests, you can make your request at the beginning of the message. Of course, getting right to the point should not be interpreted as license to be abrupt or tactless: • Pay attention to tone. • Assume that your audience will comply. • Be specific.

Explaining and Justifying Your Request Use the body of your message to explain your request, as needed. Make the explanation a smooth and logical outgrowth of your opening remarks. If complying with the request could benefit the reader, be sure to mention that. If you have multiple requests or questions, consider these tips: 1. Ask the most important questions first. 2. Deal with only one topic per question. Close your message with three important elements: (1) a specific request that includes any relevant deadlines, (2) information about how you can be reached (if it isn’t obvious), and (3) an expression of appreciation or goodwill.

EXAMPLES of ROUTINE REQUESTS The most common types of routine messages are asking for information or action, asking for recommendations, and making claims and requesting adjustments. Routine requests can have up to three basic elements: • What you want to know or what you want your readers to do • Why you’re making the request (not required in all cases) • Why it may be in your readers’ interest to help you (not applicable in all cases) The need to inquire about people arises often in business. For example, before extending credit or awarding contracts, jobs, promotions, or scholarships, companies often ask applicants to supply references. Companies ask applicants to list references who can vouch for their ability, skills, integrity, character, and fitness for the job. Before you volunteer someone’s name as a reference, ask permission to do so.

Ø Requests for recommendations and references are routine, organize your inquiry using the direct approach. Open your message by clearly stating why the recommendation is required and that you would like your reader to write the letter. Ø Use the body of the request to list all the information the recipient would need to write the recommendation, including the full name and address or email address of the person to whom the recommendation should be sent. Close your message with an expression of appreciation. ØIf you’re dissatisfied with a company’s product or service, you can opt to make a claim (a formal complaint) or request an adjustment (a settlement of a claim). In either case, it’s important to maintain a professional tone in all your communication, no matter how angry or frustrated you are. Keeping your cool will help you get the situation resolved sooner. ØOpen with a clear and calm statement of the problem along with your request. In the body, give a complete, specific explanation of the details. Provide any information the recipient needs to verify your complaint. In your close, politely request specific action or convey a sincere desire to find a solution.

Strategy for writing routine replies and positive messages ØJust as you’ll make numerous requests for information and action throughout your career, you’ll also respond to similar requests from other people. When you are responding positively to a request, sending routine announcements, or sending a positive or goodwill message, you have several goals: to communicate the information or the good news, answer all questions, provide all required details, and leave your reader with a good impression of you and your firm. ØThe best way to write a clear opening is to have a clear idea of what you want to say. Before you begin, ask yourself, “What is the single most important message I have for the audience? ” ØUse the body to expand on the opening message so that readers get all the information they need. As you provide the details, maintain the supportive tone established in the opening. This tone is easy to continue when your message is entirely positive

Strategy for writing routine replies and positive messages ØHowever, if your routine message is mixed and must convey mildly disappointing information, put the negative portion of your message into as favorable a context as possible. ØThe close of routine replies and positive messages is usually short and simple, because you’re leaving things on a neutral or positive note and not usually asking for the reader to do anything. ØOften, a simple thank you is all you need. However, if follow-up action is required or expected, use the close to identify who will do what and when that action will take place

Common Examples of Routine Replies and Positive Messages ØMost routine and positive messages fall into six categories: answers to routine requests, grants of claims and requests for adjustment, recommendations, routine informational messages, good-news announcements, and goodwill messages. ØEvery professional answers requests for information or action from time to time. If the response is straightforward, the direct approach is appropriate. A prompt, gracious, and thorough response will positively influence how people think about you and the organization you represent. ØEven the best-run companies make mistakes, from shipping the wrong order to billing a customer’s credit card inaccurately. Each of these events represents a turning point in your relationship with your customer. If you handle the situation well, your customer is likely to be even more loyal than before be- cause you’ve proven that you’re serious about customer satisfaction. However, if a customer believes that you mishandled a complaint, you’ll make the situation even worse. Dissatisfied

Common Examples of Routine Replies and Positive Messages ØDissatisfied customers often take their business elsewhere without notice and tell numerous friends and colleagues about the negative experience. In other words, every mistake is an opportunity to improve a relationship. Your response to a customer complaint depends on your company’s policies for resolving such issues and your assessment of whether the company, the customer, or some third party is at fault. ØPeople who need endorsements from employers or colleagues (when applying for a job, for example) often request letters of recommendation. These messages used to be a fairly routine matter, but employment recommendations and references have raised some com- plex legal issues in recent years. ØEmployees have sued employers and individual managers for providing negative information or refusing to provide letters of recommendation, and employers have sued other employers for failing to disclose negative information about job candidates.

SHARING ROUTINE INFORMATION ØUse the opening of these routine messages to state the purpose and briefly mention the nature of the information you are providing. Ø Provide the necessary details in the body and end your message with a courteous close. To develop and maintain good relationships, smart companies recognize that it’s good business to spread the word about positive developments. ØSuch developments can include opening new facilities, hiring a top executive, introducing new products or services, or sponsoring community events. Because good news is always welcome, use the direct approach.

Announcing Good News ØTo develop and maintain good relationships, smart companies recognize that it’s good business to spread the word about positive developments. ØSuch developments can include opening new facilities, hiring a top executive, introducing new products or services, or sponsoring community events. Because good news is always welcome, use the direct approach. ØAll business messages should be written with an eye toward fostering positive relationships with audiences, but some messages are written specifically to build goodwill. You can use these messages to enhance your relationships with customers, colleagues, and other businesspeople by sending friendly, even unexpected, notes with no direct business purpose. Ø Whether you’re thanking an employee for a job well done or congratulating a colleague for a personal or professional achievement, the small effort to send a goodwill message can have a positive and lasting effect on the people around you.

SENDING CONGRATULATIONS ØOne prime opportunity for sending goodwill messages is to congratulate individuals or companies for significant business achievements perhaps for being promoted or for attaining product sales milestones Other reasons for sending congratulations include highlights in people’s personal lives, such as weddings, births, graduations, and success in nonbusiness competitions. ØYou may also take note of personal events, even if you don’t know the reader well. If you’re already friendly with the reader, a more personal tone is appropriate. ØAn important leadership quality is the ability to recognize the contributions of employees, colleagues, suppliers, and other associates. Your praise does more than just make the person feel good; it encourages further excellence. A message of appreciation may also become an

Condolence letters are brief personal messages written to comfort someone after the death of a loved one. You may have occasion to offer condolences to employees or other business associates (when the person has lost a family member) or to the family of an employee or business associate (when that person has died). These messages can feel intimidating to write, but they don’t need to be. Follow these three principles: short, simple, and sincere. You don’t need to produce a work of literary art; the fact that you are writing sends a message that is as meaningful as anything you can say.

1. 2. 3. 4. Condolence letters Open a condolence message with a simple expression of sympathy, such as “I am deeply sorry to hear of your loss” or “I am sorry for your loss. ” How you continue from there de- pends on the circumstances and your relationships with the deceased and the person to whom you are writing. For example, if you are writing to the husband of a colleague who recently died and you have never met him, you might continue with “Having worked with Janice for more than a decade, I know what a kind and caring person she was. ” Such a statement accomplishes two goals: explaining why you in particular are writing and letting the recipient know that his loved one was appreciated in the workplace.

QUESTIONS 1. Describe the use of blogging in business communication. 2. Describe the business benefits of instant messaging (IM). 3. Describe three common types of routine requests.