Transcript Lecture Five Chapter Five Strategies for Letters and Memos AUDIENCE ADAPTATION • Develop a “You” Attitude – How would I feel if I were this.

Lecture Five
Chapter Five
Strategies for Letters and Memos
AUDIENCE ADAPTATION
• Develop a “You” Attitude
– How would I feel if I were
this person in this
situation?
– Increase positive impact
reduce negative impact
– Anticipate questions (Who,
What, When, Where, Why,
How Much)
– Stress Reader Benefits
– Avoid Negatives (Claim,
Allege, Problem, Damage,
Regret)
METACOMMUNICAITON
•
•
•
•
•
•
STATIONERY AND TYPING
TONE
– Friendly, Sincere
– Avoid a sense of irritation,
resentment, superiority or
impatience
DICTION
– Focus on you, your, yours
not I, me, mine, or we, us,
our, ours
JARGON
ACTIVE VOICE
EXPLETIVE CONSTRUCTION
– It, that, there is, there are
– Instead attack speaker
TYPES OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT
LETTERS
• DIRECT
– Letters of Inquiry
– Favorable Response
to Inquiries
– Claim Letter
– Positive Response to
Claims
• INDIRECT
– Negative Response to
Inquiry
– Refused Claim
– Persuasive Message
DIRECT STRATEGIES
• USE FOR GOOD NEWS OR
NEUTRAL INFORMATION
• OPENING
– State main point early
• BODY
– Supporting details (reason
for decision)
• ENDING
– Positive (Offer to help,
statement of gratitude, or
repetition of any further
action the reader needs to
take)
INDIRECT STRATEGIES
•
•
•
•
Use when requests are denied, proposals
rejected, job application turned down
OPENING
– Use a buffer (neutral or positive
statement, agreement on a point,
expression of appreciation, explanation
of your careful consideration
BODY
– Provide steps used in analysis of
situation
– Tone is cooperative
– Express negative information clearly but
tactfully, Place in the middle of the
paragraph.
ENDING
– Suggest another course of action
– Positive friendly note
– Offer services or information
STRATEGIES FOR HANDLING
NEGATIVE MESSAGES
•
•
•
PLACE NEGATIVE INFORMATION AT POINT OF LOW EMPHASIS
– We do not anticipate any openings at Baytown Company anytime soon since we
have been laying off people in your field. You might apply at Rumfield and
Company or Bennington Inc., since they are adding to their staff.
– I suggest that you apply for one of the engineering positions now opening at
Rumfield and Company or at Bennington, Inc., rather than at Baytown Company.
Currently Baytown’s personnel needs are in other areas.
AVOID NO OR NOT WHEN POSSIBLE
– We cannot fill your order until you tell use what size grill your restaurant currently
uses.
– We can fill your order as soon as you provide us your restaurant’s grill size.
AVOID WORDS WITH NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS
– Allege, Failure, Claim, Regret, Careless, Argue, Mistake, Damage, Error, Broken,
Bone Head.
DIRECT - Letter Of Inquiry
• OPENING
– Make the inquiry clear
from the start
• BODY
– Explanation of purpose
for inquiry
– Clear organization (Not a
fishing expedition for
information)
• ENDING
– Friendly and build good
will.
– OK to ask for a speedy
reply
DIRECT-Favorable Response To
Inquiry
• OPENING
– Identify the request
(Subject line or in lst
sentence)
– Make it clear the reader’s
request is being granted
• BODY
– Respond to the request
in order of importance or
as stated in original
request
• CLOSE
– Continue to positive tone
in the close
DIRECT- Claim Letter
• OPENING
– Straight to the point
– Include details about faulty product or service
– Explain significance of the problem
• BODY
– Detail the facts related to the claim
– Do not attack
– State what you want done
– Set a deadline for action
• CLOSE
– Express confidence in the good faith of the reader
DIRECT - Positive Response To Claim
• Goal is rebuild goodwill with customer
• OPENING
– Quickly remind reader of situation then give them the good news
• BODY
– Explain what when wrong and stress how it will not happen in
the future
– If product misused, explain proper use in impersonal terms
• CLOSE
– Positive with a tone of continued good relations
INDIRECT - Negative Response to
Inquiry
• Reasons appear first followed by refusal
• OPENING
– Remind reader of claim in subject line or first sentence
– Present a BUFFER (General discussion of issues related to
inquiry)
• BODY
– Discussion of why request cannot be granted. Give reasoning
then refusal. Refusal need to be final
• CLOSE
– Wish for success or provide other sources of information
INDIRECT - Refused Claim
• Avoid negatives and build goodwill through
empathy(not sympathy)
• OPENING
– Start with a BUFFER (referral to claim or
expression of appreciation for letter)
• BODY
– Detail your findings
– Describe efforts to investigate the claim
– Once reasons given provide refusal
– If refusal based on policy explain policy
• CLOSE
– Make an effort for resale
INDIRECT - Persuasive Message
• Persuade people to do what they may not want to
do.
• OPENING
– Catch reader’s attention
– Keep it brief
• BODY
– Establish a common problem and reveal solution
– Address any possible objections
• CLOSE
– Focus the readers interest into action (a meeting, an order, a
payment, an interview, a change in procedure)
WONDERFUL WORLD OF MEMOS
• Less formal than letters yet
follow a general format
• USES
– Communicate to groups
– Fixing responsibility
– Communicate to folks you
don’t like
– Communicate to those
inaccessible
TYPES OF MEMOS
•
•
•
•
NOTIFICATION
REQUESTS FOR ACTION
FORMS
POLITICAL USES
– Who is in and who is out of
power
– Taking Credit
– Cover Memos (Discredit
someone else
Memos