Module 11: Composing Informative and Positive Messages

Transcription

1 Module 11: Composing Informative and Positive Messages Business Communications February 18 th 2012 How Should I organize Informative and Positive Messages? - Consider your audience s needs: put the good news and a summary of the information first. - Present informative and positive messages in the following order: Give any good news and summarize the main points: Share good news immediately, include details such as the date that policies begin and the percent of a discount. Give details, clarification, and background. Don t repeat information from the first paragraph. Answer all the questions your reader is likely to have. Provide all information necessary. Present any negative elements as positively as possible. A policy might have limits; information might be incomplete, etc. Make the negatives clear but present them as positively as possible. Explain any reader benefits Most informative memos need reader benefits. Show that the policy/procedure helps readers, not just the company. Give enough detail to make the benefits clear and convincing. Use a goodwill ending: positive, personal, and forward-looking Shifting your emphasis away from the message to the specific reader suggests that serving the reader is your real concern. When should I use reader benefits in Informative and Positive Messages? - Use reader benefits when you want readers to view your policies and your organization positively. - You don t need reader benefits when: You re presenting factual information only. The reader s attitude toward the information doesn t matter. Stressing benefits may make the reader sound selfish. The benefits are so obvious that to restate them insults the reader s intelligence. - You do need reader benefits when: You are presenting policies You want to shape readers attitudes toward the information or toward your organization. Stressing benefits presents readers motives positively Some of the benefits may not be obvious to readers. - Messages to customers or potential customers sometimes include a sales paragraph promoting products or services you offer, in addition to the product or service that the reader has asked about. - Sales promotion in an informative or positive message should be low-key, not hard sell.

2 - The organization has probably decided to adopt the policy in its own interests; the people who made the decision may not have thought about whether it would help or hurt employees. - When you present reader benefits, be sure to present the advantages for the reader. Instructions - Information on new procedures may generate hostility, since most of us are reluctant to change. Transmittals - When sending someone in an organization a hardcopy message, attach a memo or letter of transmittal explaining what you re sending. - A transmittal can be as simple as a small yellow Post-it note with FYI written on it, or it can be a separate typed document. - Organize a memo or letter of transmittal in this order: o Tell the reader what you re sending o Summarize the main point(s) of the document o Indicate any special circumstances or information that would help the reader understand the document. o Tell the reader what will happen next. What kinds of Informative and Positive Messages am I likely to write? - You will likely write instructions, transmittals, confirmations, summaries, adjustments and thank-you notes. - Readers may feel neutral about assembly, safety, and fire drill instructions. - A transmittal can be positive when you re sending glowing sales figures, or persuasive when you want the reader to act on the information. - A performance appraisal is positive when you evaluate someone who s doing superbly, negative when you want to compile a record to justify firing someone, and persuasive when you want to motivate a satisfactory worker to continue to improve. - A collection letter is persuasive; it become negative in the last stage when you threaten legal action. Confirmations - Many informative messages are for the record: they go to the other party in the conversation to summarize the conversation. - They should be brief, and give only the information shared orally

3 Summaries - In summary of a conversation for internal use, apply PAIBOC analysis: to meet your needs, and the needs of your audience, identify Who was present What was discussed What was decided Who does what - To summarize a document: o Start with the main point o Give supporting evidence and details o Evaluate the document, if your audience asks for evaluation. Adjustments and Responses to Complaints - When you grant a customer s request for an adjusted price, discount, replacement, or other benefit to resolve a complaint, do so in the very first sentence.

4 Your visa bill for a night s lodging has been adjusted to $63. Next month a credit of $37 will appear on your bill to reimburse you for the extra amount you originally paid. - Don t talk about your own process in making the decision. - Give the reason for the original mistake only if it reflects credit on the company. Thank you and Congratulatory Notes - Sending a thank-you note recognizes and acknowledges a person s contribution and is invaluable in fostering the recipient s goodwill. - Thank you letters are prompt and short. - They need to be specific to sound sincere. - Congratulating someone sincerely and respectfully can build good feelings between you and the reader, and enhance your own visibility. Making subject lines specific - The subject line needs to be specific enough to differentiate that message from others on the same subject, but broad enough to cover everything in the message. Too General: Training Sessions Better: Technical Training Sessions Dates or : Evaluation of Training Sessions on Conducting Interviews Making Subject lines concise - Most subject lines are relatively short usually no more than 10 words, often only 3 to 7 words. Wordy: Survey of Student Preferences in Regard to Various Pizza Factors Better: Students Pizza Preferences or: The feasibility of a Pizza Pizza Branch on Campus - If you can t make it specific and short, then be specific. Making Subject lines appropriate for the Pattern of the Organization - When you have good news for the reader, build goodwill by highlighting it in the subject line. - Subject: Discount on rental cars effective January 2 Starting January, as an employee of Amalgamated Industries you can get a 15 percent discount on cars you rent for business or personal use from Roadway Rent-A-Car. What s the best subject line for an informative or positive Message? - The best subject line contains the basic information or good news. - Subject line the title of a document.

5 - It aids in retrieving the document, tells readers why they need to read the document and provides a framework or context in which to set what you re about to say. - Letters are not required to have subject lines. - A good subject line meets 3 criteria s: Specific Concise Appropriate to the kind of message. (positive, negative, neutral). How can PAIBOC Analysis help me write informative and positive messages? - PAIBOC analysis helps you identify a reader-centred organizational pattern, and the information you should include. Unacceptable Solution to the Sample Problem A good solution to the sample problem.