Business Letters

Negative Messages
Lecture 6
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Describe goals of business communication in delivering bad news

• Explain the components of a bad-news message
• Compare direct and indirect delivery of negative messages
 What is a ‘negative message’?
A negative message is a message written to convey
unpleasant information
without provoking the annoyance of the readers.
 Good news – Bad news
Dad, the accelerator
Dad, I was jammed and the
speeding and I car knocked into a
crashed your car. tree, but I’m ok.

Thank
WHAT?!!!
goodness!
 Goals in communicating bad news
PRESERVE MESSAGE
ACCEPTANCE PROTECTION
GOODWILL CLARITY
• Make sure the • Promote a good • State the bad • Avoid creating
reader image of news clearly legal liability for
understands yourself and the and accurately yourself or the
and accepts organization • The message organization
• Reduce the • Maintain the should be clear.
anxiety relationship, No need for
associated with even if a formal additional
the bad news association is correspondence
being
terminated
Bad news disappoints, irritates and even angers the receiver.

What can you do about it?

Reduce the ‘sting’ of bad news by :
• Giving reasons/causes Yeah,
• Communicating sensitively right, but
how??
 When the receiver may overlook the bad news
 When the organization policy requires directness
 When the reader prefers directness
 When firmness is necessary
 When the bad news is not damaging
 Bad news • State the bad news

Explanation • Give reasons

Close • End with a positive close

Why use the INDIRECT Approach
 The INDIRECT approach helps prepare the reader for the bad news.

 The indirect approach softens the impact of bad news giving reasons
and explanations first.

 A direct announcement of disappointing news might cause the

reader to stop reading.

 The indirect pattern makes you capture the reader’s attention until
the reasons for the bad news have been explained.
 • Neutral or positive information
Buffer • Introduces the topic
• Reasons why there is an issue
Explanation • This is an ethical requirement
• Do not admit/imply responsibility
• The bad news stated clearly and accurately
Bad News • May include alternative / compromise
• Personalized / Forward looking
Close • Pleasant statement
• Avoid a negative or uncertain conclusion
Avoiding legal problems
Avoiding legal problems
Abusive language
Legally actionable - if false or harmful to the person’s
good name and is published

Defamation – a statement that harms an individual’s

reputation

Employees must add a ‘not speaking for the company’

disclaimer to any private messages transmitted through
the network
Avoiding legal problems
Care-less language
Communicate only what you intend, no more information
than required

Avoid making statements that could be misinterpreted

Remember: emails stay there forever

Avoiding legal problems
The Good-Guy Syndrome
Avoid feel-good statements that are misleading/
inaccurate

Example: “You were by far the most qualified candidate

we interviewed; unfortunately, we do not have a position
for a person of your talent at this time.”

Remember: Your word is the organization’s word

The Buffer
The buffer (cont’d)
The buffer (cont’d)
 The Explanation
The part explains why a negative decision is necessary.
The explanation (cont’d)
The explanation (cont’d)
Breaking the bad news … gently
Breaking the bad news (cont’d)
 The Close
Close with a pleasant statement that maintains goodwill
The Close (cont’d)
Exercise:
Follow the instructions below.
https://padlet.com/MagC/bcomm6

Ask 4 people which they would prefer: receiving negative news in a direct or
indirect format? Ask them why. (You should first think about what you
yourself prefer and why.)

Post the results on Padlet. You must name the four people you asked.

How to present the results:

Name of person asked – Direct or Indirect – Reason
Example:
Priya – Direct – Just want to know the problem straightaway
Hijjaz – Indirect – The direct approach would make me feel awful.
Post-Lecture Exercise:

Study the examples of negative news messages in

the document:
Lecture 6 Ex-Examples
Post-Lecture Exercise:
Referring to the sample messages you have studied, write a message
for the following scenario.

Sales have decreased for the past 6 months at your business.

You have been instructed to inform your sales team that their
base pay will be reduced by 20 percent.

Write a negative news message in a direct or indirect

approach informing your sales team of the news.

Submit your work on TIMeS.

Your name: ____________

Approach used: Direct/Indirect

The message with labels.

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Lskj flasjdf jdkjflkfjd ldfljkdk lduru eroj buffer
Ier ljvcka poo e rjldlaf ldlj flaflj; s l adf
flasjdf jdk jflk fjd ldfljkdk ldu ru erm oj
Ier ljv cnka p opl hea n ak ld idoa odk explanation
Eia o jdlfjd lfj lal sdoeo wrj lslal a lsuenkd
What to do before Tutorial 6

Go through Tutorial 6 slides.