Thursday, February 26, 2015
288-311
Negative messages are not my favorite topic in the business world. However, they are a necessary topic. In this blog post I will be writing about how to use the three steep writing process for negative messages; as well as my own personal experiences with negative messages. Negative messages can have as many as five objectives. Giving the bad news, ensuring the acceptance of the bad news, maintaining the readers good will, maintaining the organizations good image, as well as minimizing or eliminating future correspondence on the matter, as appropriate. To do this we must analyze, use investigation skills, and we must learn to adapt to avoid alienating your readers.
This is important for anyone wanting to enter the business field particularly management or a position of authority. Yes! I'm talking about the three steep writing process for planning a negative message. Something you want to consider, is that the employee doesn't want to hear what you have to say. We
use the first steep to minimize damage caused in the message.
In the first steep we have to consider our purpose or our objective thoroughly and carefully. Weather its simple such as, rejecting a job applicant or more complex such as drafting a negative performance review; in which you give the employee not only feed back on past performances, but also help the employee develop a plan to improve future performances. With a clear purpose, and your audiences needs in mind, you need to gather the information, your audience requires in order for the employee to understand and except your message.
Step number two is writing the actual message. This is where adapting your message to your audience, pay close attention to effectiveness and diplomacy. After all you must remember your audience does not want to hear it. Or your audience may strongly disagree with you, so your message must be clear. If your messages are unclear or unkind it will amplify the audiences stress. Continuing the negative message as clear and polite as possible, you can deliver the news in a kind way. The only experience I have in this is when I worked for McDonalds and was told we were going to have to shut down the store while they re-built it. I didn't think the employees would take it well, but I was respectful and kind and I came pre-pared to answer the employees questions.
Completing the message, the obvious still applies scan and re read the message for errors. Also read the message and think how would I take this. Because as previously stated the employee doesn't want to hear this message or may strongly disagree with you. Bare in mind that the message needs to be clear.
Questions:
1. What do you do if your not giving a reason or a purpose for writing the negative message?
2. What do I do if I'm not giving sufficient information?
3. What if I don't know how to approach the problem?
4. What do I do if I'm not giving sufficient time?
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Readings: 123-136 & Blog Post
Joshua Lovette, Student at Appalachian State University
When writing its important to know your audience and adapt to their needs, by controlling your style and tone. When communicating with your superiors or with customers, your tone more formal and respectful. Communication is a people skill an art if you will how to get information from one point to anothe "http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/15?e=mclean-ch01". The article previously listed discuss communaction, as an activity an art, as well as how it affects human knowledge. The article also discus the tone, both formal and informal. While this article is a little dry it is informative, the tone can be considered a mesmerizing tone as it tries to paint communication through the ages in a playful tone.
However, with close friends and colleagues the formal tone would sound cold and distant. In the next few paragraphs I will discus business communication in modern United States, as well as how to adapt and relate to business professionals. There are five guideline which are important to set the conversational tone of a message.
It's important to keep in mind that most business's aim for a conversational style that is warm but business like. To achieve this we must follow the five guidelines, the first one seems to be commonsense; however, in our technology driven world, you would be shocked how much people send emails, assignments, and letters in a text format with text language. I myself have done this several times, however when we are at work or sending in class assignments we must remember we cannot write like this as business professionals.
In conversational emails we must remember to avoid stale and pompous language, according to the book most companies shy away from outdated phrases such as, "attached please find" and "please be advised that" just to name a few. Similarly, we need to avoid using obscure words, stale words, and clichéd expressions.
The third guideline, is avoid preaching and bragging. Most readers to get annoyed and irritated by know-it-alls, who like to brag and preach. Its important not to come of like this, to your boss, employees, or your customers. However, if you fell the need to remind your audience, or readers something that should be obvious, try and work it in the information. In the middle of the paragraph somewhere, this way it will sound like a secondary comment rather than a major revelation.
Business messages should generally avoid intimacy, you don't typically want to share your personal life's details with your boss or your employees. For the most pat we want to keep intimacy out of the work place. This can make you look to casual and have an unprofessional tone. However, there are some exceptions to this, if you have a close relationship with the audience, such as a close knit team, a more intimate tone is appropriate and sometimes expected. You would not want to use an intimate tone on your first day at work. However, if you have been working and dealing with the people for a while and you become close, then an intimae tone is perfectly acceptable.
Humor and the work place, can be a good and positive thing. However, in writing professional emails especially email, letters, and messages its best to avoid using humor; because, humor can easily backfire, and divert attention away from your message. The book says "If you don't know your audience well or your not skilled at using business humor don't use it at all." I disagree I don't think that humor should be used in professional messages at all unless you know your audience really well. The statement that the book does make which I agree wit is that we should avoid using humor when were communicating across cultural boundaries.
When writing its important to know your audience and adapt to their needs, by controlling your style and tone. When communicating with your superiors or with customers, your tone more formal and respectful. Communication is a people skill an art if you will how to get information from one point to anothe "http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/15?e=mclean-ch01". The article previously listed discuss communaction, as an activity an art, as well as how it affects human knowledge. The article also discus the tone, both formal and informal. While this article is a little dry it is informative, the tone can be considered a mesmerizing tone as it tries to paint communication through the ages in a playful tone.
However, with close friends and colleagues the formal tone would sound cold and distant. In the next few paragraphs I will discus business communication in modern United States, as well as how to adapt and relate to business professionals. There are five guideline which are important to set the conversational tone of a message.
It's important to keep in mind that most business's aim for a conversational style that is warm but business like. To achieve this we must follow the five guidelines, the first one seems to be commonsense; however, in our technology driven world, you would be shocked how much people send emails, assignments, and letters in a text format with text language. I myself have done this several times, however when we are at work or sending in class assignments we must remember we cannot write like this as business professionals.
In conversational emails we must remember to avoid stale and pompous language, according to the book most companies shy away from outdated phrases such as, "attached please find" and "please be advised that" just to name a few. Similarly, we need to avoid using obscure words, stale words, and clichéd expressions.
The third guideline, is avoid preaching and bragging. Most readers to get annoyed and irritated by know-it-alls, who like to brag and preach. Its important not to come of like this, to your boss, employees, or your customers. However, if you fell the need to remind your audience, or readers something that should be obvious, try and work it in the information. In the middle of the paragraph somewhere, this way it will sound like a secondary comment rather than a major revelation.
Business messages should generally avoid intimacy, you don't typically want to share your personal life's details with your boss or your employees. For the most pat we want to keep intimacy out of the work place. This can make you look to casual and have an unprofessional tone. However, there are some exceptions to this, if you have a close relationship with the audience, such as a close knit team, a more intimate tone is appropriate and sometimes expected. You would not want to use an intimate tone on your first day at work. However, if you have been working and dealing with the people for a while and you become close, then an intimae tone is perfectly acceptable.
Humor and the work place, can be a good and positive thing. However, in writing professional emails especially email, letters, and messages its best to avoid using humor; because, humor can easily backfire, and divert attention away from your message. The book says "If you don't know your audience well or your not skilled at using business humor don't use it at all." I disagree I don't think that humor should be used in professional messages at all unless you know your audience really well. The statement that the book does make which I agree wit is that we should avoid using humor when were communicating across cultural boundaries.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Pages: 88-98
Joshua Lovette, Student at Appalachian State University
When writing a professional letter, email, or memo its important that you understand the three steep writing process. As the name suggests it consists of three elements, planning, writing, and completing your message. In the planning stage as I have learned through trial and error its important to analyze the situation or in my case the criteria or the objective your teacher wants you to complete. Gathering accurate information also falls into the planning stage, you need to determine your audiences needs and obtain the information need to satisfy your readers needs.
Selecting the right method for delivering the message; however, if your a student like my self and its for a teacher, you want to submit it in the format they want you to submit it in. The last steep in planning is organizing the information, you want to define your main idea, limit your scope, select a an approach to writing, either direct or indirect, outlining your content is important when writing professionally. Steep number two when is writing the actual email, you want to understand and adapt to your audience.
When writing you want to be sensitive to your audiences needs. You can do this by using a what is known as a "you" attitude, and being polite always helps. Your trying to build a relationship with your audience by establishing your credibility and projecting your or your company's preferred image. When composing the message, choose words that will help you get the important points across as well as help you create effective sentences and paragraphs. Step number three, putting the finishing touches on your message.
Revise the message, evaluate the content and review readability, and if necessary, rewrite for clarity. Producing the message, is important in that you want to use effective design elements and a suitable layout for a professional appearance. Proofreading your message is the most important part of producing a business letter. If you don't analyze, your paper you could have misspelled or worded things differently, thus sending the wrong message to your readers. Distributing the message, your wanting to deliver your message using the chosen method for delivering your message. Making sure all files are distributed successfully.
When writing a professional letter, email, or memo its important that you understand the three steep writing process. As the name suggests it consists of three elements, planning, writing, and completing your message. In the planning stage as I have learned through trial and error its important to analyze the situation or in my case the criteria or the objective your teacher wants you to complete. Gathering accurate information also falls into the planning stage, you need to determine your audiences needs and obtain the information need to satisfy your readers needs.
Selecting the right method for delivering the message; however, if your a student like my self and its for a teacher, you want to submit it in the format they want you to submit it in. The last steep in planning is organizing the information, you want to define your main idea, limit your scope, select a an approach to writing, either direct or indirect, outlining your content is important when writing professionally. Steep number two when is writing the actual email, you want to understand and adapt to your audience.
When writing you want to be sensitive to your audiences needs. You can do this by using a what is known as a "you" attitude, and being polite always helps. Your trying to build a relationship with your audience by establishing your credibility and projecting your or your company's preferred image. When composing the message, choose words that will help you get the important points across as well as help you create effective sentences and paragraphs. Step number three, putting the finishing touches on your message.
Revise the message, evaluate the content and review readability, and if necessary, rewrite for clarity. Producing the message, is important in that you want to use effective design elements and a suitable layout for a professional appearance. Proofreading your message is the most important part of producing a business letter. If you don't analyze, your paper you could have misspelled or worded things differently, thus sending the wrong message to your readers. Distributing the message, your wanting to deliver your message using the chosen method for delivering your message. Making sure all files are distributed successfully.
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