CH 08

6
Instructor PowerPoint
©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
©denphumi/ThinkStock 1
Learning
Objective
1
Understand the channels

through which typical
positive messages travel in
the digital era—
e-mails, memos, and business
letters— and explain how
business letters should be
formatted.
©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Ch. 6 / Slide 2
Positive Messages –
Characteristics
Positive messages share the following
traits:
Help workers
1 Are routine and
straightforward conduct everyday
business
2
Make up the bulk
3 of workplace
communication
4 Require solid
writing skills
Channels Used for
Positive Messages
E-mails Memos Letters
Social media Blogs IM and text

networks messages
© mostafa fawzy/Fotolia, © Marina Zlochin/Fotolia, © Dark Vectorangel/Fotolia, denis_pc/Fotolia
Understanding Business
Letters
• Are still the preferred channel for
external communication in
certain situations
• Go to suppliers, government
agencies, vendors, and
customers
• Encourage feedback
• Project a favorable
image of the
organization
• Promote future
business
© Marina Zlochin/Fotolia
Understanding Business
Letters
Explain terms Share ideas
Accompany Negotiate
contracts agreements
Are Answer
confidential vendor
and formal questions
Provide a Maintain
permanent customer
record relations
© Marina Zlochin/Fotolia
Learning
Objective
2
Compose direct messages

that make requests,
respond to inquiries online
and offline, and deliver
step-by-step instructions.
Writing Plan for Direct
Requests
Opening
• Ask the most important
question first or express a
polite command (Please
answer the following
questions).
• Avoid long explanations
preceding the main
idea.
© helen cingisiz/Fotolia
Requests
Focus
• Explain the request logically
and courteously.
• List questions in numbered
or bulleted form.
• Use open-ended questions
(What steps are necessary…)
instead of yes-or-no questions
(Will she complete her
contractual obligation…).
• Suggest reader benefits, if
possible.
Requests
Closing
• State specifically,
and courteously, what
action is to be taken.
• Mention an end date, if
necessary. Provide
logical reasoning for the
end date.
• Make it easy for the
receiver to respond.
Urike Schetz All Staff
at
in
for
for
for
in
• A memo is used for internal/external
communication.
• Memo is written to one person at a time T/F
• Salutation and complementary close are
included in a memo T/F
• Memo ends with initials of the writer. T/F
Urike Schetz Marcel Schaub
with
out
100
Urike Marcel percent
design
What should Marcel write in his email
about
Information ______________
of
details ______________
We would appreciate it if you could send us details of
your products
I would be very grateful if you could give me information

about the exhibition
Most Formal
• I would appreciate it if you could/would
• I would be grateful if you could/would
• I wonder if you could….
• Would you mind …
• Could you please ….
• Can you please …
Less Formal
learn
find out
teach
know
know
teach
learn
know
find out
100
Urike Marcel percent Marcel
design
Floor space
insurance
13th June
bank details
guaranteed
100
Urike Marcel percent Marcel Urike
design
100
design
Marcel
100
design
Marcel
100
design
Stand
the Marcel
Pace
100
design
Stand
Marcel the Marcel
Pace
recent
attaching
idea
number know
grateful
exactly occupy
require
plan
including
supply
selection
choose each
Before Version
of a Request E-Mail
To: Caitlin Roberts
From: Patrick Banerjee
Subject: New Policy
This e-mail is to inform you that I continue to receive disturbing
reports about the misuse of e-mail by employees. In the course of
the past three months, I have heard of facebooking, tweeting, and
gaming. Excessive use of e-mail including downloads of videos is
sapping our bandwidth and slowing down the entire system.
In view of the foregoing, I am herewith instructing your office that
an e-mail policy to the staff is needed. By October 1 a rough draft of
a policy should be forthcoming. At the very minimum it should
inform each and every employee that e-mail is for business only.
Employees must be told that we reserve the right to monitor all
messages. No videos should be in the e-mail system without a valid
reason. And we should not be using company Internet access for
facebooking, tweeting, and gaming. No way!
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call.
After Version
of a Request E-Mail
To: Caitlin Roberts
From: Patrick Banerjee
Subject: Please Draft Employee E-mail Policy
Please draft a policy outlining appropriate e-mail use to employees.
We need a company e-mail policy because I have received reports
of misuse including facebooking, tweeting, gaming, and video
downloads. This misuse is sapping our bandwidth and slowing the
system. Here are a few points that the policy should cover:
• E-mail is for business only.
• Internet access should not be used for facebooking, tweeting,
shopping, and gaming.
• Videos may be downloaded only for valid work-related purposes.
• E-mail messages may be monitored.
Please submit a draft to me by October 1 because we hope to have

a final policy completed by November 5. Call if you have questions.
Writing Plan for E-Mail,
Memo, and Letter Replies
Subject Line
• Summarize the main
information from your
reply. (A subject line is
optional in letters.)
• Use abbreviated style
omitting articles (a, an,
the).
helen cingisiz/Fotolia
Opening
• Start directly by
responding to the request
with a summary
statement.
• Deliver the information
that the reader wants.
• When announcing good
news, do so promptly.
Focus
• Explain the subject
logically.
• Use lists, tables,
headings, bold, or italics
to add emphasis and
improve readability.
• Promote your products
and your organization to
customers.
Action/ Closing
• Offer a concluding
thought, perhaps
referring to the
information or action
• Avoid cliché endings (If
requested.
you have any other
questions, don’t hesitate
to call).
• Be cordial.
Writing Plan for
Instruction Messages
Subject Line
• Summarize the
content of the
message.
Opening
• Expand the subject line by
stating the main idea
concisely in a full
sentence.
Writing Plan for
Focus
• Present the instructions
in orderly steps.
• Arrange the items
vertically with numbers.
• Begin each step with an

action verb using the
imperative mood (Sign and
return the enclosed
document).
Writing Plan for
Action/
Closing
• Request a specific action,
summarize the message, or
present a closing thought.
• Include a deadline and
a reason, if
appropriate.
Instruction Message
To: Staff Members
From: k.warner@fiberco.com
Subject: New Procedure for Submitting Travel Expenses
Effective immediately, please follow this procedure for submitting your
travel expenses:
1. Retain detailed itemized receipts for expenses of $25 or more.

2. Download the new Employee Expense Report form from our intranet.
3. Prepare the report within 30 days of your trip.
4. Submit to your manager.
By following this streamlined reporting procedure, you should receive your

reimbursement within 60 days of submission.
Karen Warner
Human Resources
k.warner@fiberco.com
655-340-3320
Learning
Objective
4
Create adjustment
messages that salvage
customers’ trust and
promote further business.
Three Goals in
Adjustment Messages
Definition: When a company
receives a claim and decides to
respond favorably, the message is
called an adjustment.
1 2 3
Rectifying Regaining Promoting
the wrong, the further
if one confidence business
exists of the
customer
Writing Plan for
Adjustment Messages
Subject Line (optional)
• Identify the previous
correspondence and refer to
the main topic.
Opening
• Grant the request or
announce the adjustment
immediately.
• Avoid sounding grudging or
reluctant.
Writing Plan for
Adjustment Messages
Focus
• Provide details about how
you are complying with the
request.
• Try to regain the
customer’s
• confidence.
Explain how diligently your
organization works to avoid
disappointing customers.
• Apologize, if appropriate,
but don’t admit negligence.
Writing Plan for
Adjustment Messages
Focus
• Don’t use negative words
(trouble, regret,
misunderstanding, fault, error).
• Avoid blaming customers–even
when they may be at fault
• Don’t blame individuals or
departments within your
organization
• Avoid making unrealistic
promises; you can’t guarantee
that the situation will never
recur. Ch. 6 / Slide 45
©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Writing Plan for
Adjustment Messages
Action/ Closing
• Express appreciation that
the customer wrote.
• End positively with a forward-
looking thought perhaps
suggesting future business
relations.
• Avoid referring to
unpleasantness by
mentioning again what
went wrong.

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6

Understand the channels

E-mails Memos Letters

Social media Blogs IM and text

Compose direct messages

I would be very grateful if you could give me information

Please submit a draft to me by October 1 because we hope to have

• Begin each step with an

1. Retain detailed itemized receipts for expenses of $25 or more.

By following this streamlined reporting procedure, you should receive your

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