Negative (Bad) Messages: Claim Letters and Replies
Topic and Purpose:
Sometimes it’s necessary to send bad news: turn down a request, refuse someone a job, announce a change in policy that may not be to everyone’s liking. Keep in mind, though, your purpose, when sending a negative message, is (ironically) not to give bad news but to create goodwill around the bad news. We come back to the “conflict” idea, a driving force in business communication: two opposed ideas must be fairly presented then somehow reconciled.
Effective bad news messages follow a four-part sequence: greeting, explanation, the bad news itself, and a closing action. These can readily be arranged in four paragraphs (though sometimes it’s convenient to run the middle paragraphs together, as long as the paragraph is not too long). The advantage of this sequence – which puts the bad news later in the message – is, the bad news is, as we’ll see, put on the backburner.
Organization of Bad News message:
Greeting:
Your message should open with some form of brief, friendly “welcome.” This is a chance to personalize the message, so the recipient feels the situation is being treated seriously, honestly, and proactively, while also getting a strong, positive image of you and your organization.
Explanation:
This is your opportunity to take the recipient behind the scenes of your organization, show you have procedures to deal with problems that arise. You might introduce the recipient to members of your staff, give your organization “a face,” or describe a procedure in place to benefit everyone. Remember, there are good reasons why bad things happen, so if you’re tracking down a problem, here’s a chance to show you’re “going to work” for the recipient.
(Bad) News:
Now’s the time to give the bad news, quickly, cleanly, factually, whether this is a refusal, rejection, etc. There are, though, ways of taking the spotlight off bad news: keep it short, or embed it in a sentence or paragraph that also features positive information, or use the passive voice. If your explanation’s convincing, your recipient will be more likely to accept it – remember the difference between short – and long-term: recipients may accept present pain for later gain.
Action:
Face the future: end your message by offering the recipient an alternative benefit, or invite further contact with your organization at a later date. You might provide some concrete incentive. At any rate, you should leave a strong impression in the recipient’s mind.
Instructions: Letting Workers Know That Theyre Losing Some of Their Benefits
Imagine yourself in this situation:
You are the head of Human Resources at an organization. Executive leadership tells you that workers will be losing their dental insurance. You must let the workers know about this shift in their benefits.
- First, you must choose which genre to use: memo, email, or letter. For any of these genres, be sure to follow the expected formatting.
- Then, using that chosen genre, write to your workers to explain the situation and let them know that they will be losing the dental insurance that was previously supplied by the organization. Be sure to follow the Negative (Bad) Messages format/organization noted above (Greeting, Explanation, Bad News, Action).
- Lastly, you will write a one-page memo to your instructor, explaining the following:
- Why you chose the genre that you chose.
- How you conformed to the chosen genre.
- Why you used specific wording (diction) in your message to the workers.
- Where, in your message to your workers, you used pathos (emotional appeal), and where you established your ethos (credibility/authority).
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