BBDM 1013 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

CHAPTER 3: WRITING ROUTINE AND POSTIVE MESSAGES

INTRODUCTION

Much of your business communication will take place through

routine, everyday messages - asking someone for help or
information, responding to such requests from others, sharing
information with colleagues or customers, and congratulating or
consoling other people.
Just because these messages are routine, though, doesn’t make
them unimportant. In fact, these brief messages could be more
influential on your career than the occasional major report or
proposal. The way you handle communication, day in and day
out, is a key factor in establishing your credibility as a
professional.
Routine messages fall into two groups: routine requests, in
which you ask for information or action from another party, and
a variety of routine and positive messages.

A routine request has three parts: an opening, a body, and

a close. Using the direct approach, open with your main idea,
which is a clear statement of your request. Use the body to give
details and justify your request. Finally, close by requesting
specific action.

OPEN WITH YOUR REQUEST

With routine requests, you can make your request at the
beginning of the message. Of course, getting right to the point
should not be interpreted as license to be abrupt or tactless:

●● Pay attention to tone. Instead of demanding action (“Send me

the latest version of the budget spreadsheet”), show respect by
using words such as please and I would appreciate.

●● If appropriate, acknowledge that you are asking for

someone’s time and effort. Even if responding to your request is
part of someone’s job responsibilities, a few words of
acknowledgment help maintain a positive relationship: “I know
you’re swamped this week, but when you have a second, could
you send me . . .”

●● Be specific. Don’t expect the reader to figure out what you

need. For example, if you request the latest market data from
your research department, be sure to say whether you want a
one-page summary or 100 pages of raw data.

EXPLAIN AND JUSTIFY YOUR REQUEST

Use the body of your message to explain or justify your request,
as needed. Make the explanation a smooth and logical
outgrowth of your opening remarks. If complying with the request
could benefit the reader, be sure to mention that. If you have an
unusual or complex request, break it down into specific,
individual questions so that the reader can address each one
separately. This consideration shows respect for your audience’s
time and will help them respond more accurately to your request.

REQUEST SPECIFIC ACTION IN A COURTEOUS CLOSE

Close your message with three important elements: (1)
deadlines and other important information that will help the
reader respond, (2) information about how you can be reached
(if it isn’t obvious), and (3) an expression of appreciation or
goodwill. When you ask readers to perform a specific action, ask
for a response by a specific date or time, if appropriate (for
example, “Please send the figures by May 5 so that I can return
first quarter results to you before the May 20 conference”).
Conclude your message with a sincere expression of gratitude,
but avoid saying “thank you in advance,” which can come across
as presumptuous. Good alternatives include “I appreciate your
help” or a simple “Thank you.”

Close request messages with

• A request for some specific action
• Information about how you can be reached
• An expression of appreciation your request.
Common Examples of Routine Requests
The most common types of routine messages are asking for
information or action, asking for recommendations, and making
claims and requesting adjustments.

ASKING FOR INFORMATION OR ACTION

Most of your routine requests will involve asking someone to

provide information or take some specific action. As you plan
your message, think about what you can do to make responding
to the request as easy as possible.
ASKING FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
For a variety of reasons, you may need to ask people who know
you in a professional or personal capacity to provide you with a
recommendation or serve as a reference. A recommendation
usually takes the form of a brief letter or email message that
expresses someone’s confidence in your ability to perform a job,
fulfil the terms of a contract, or do whatever the situation entails.

Before you volunteer anyone’s name as a reference, you must

ask permission to do so.
MAKING CLAIMS AND REQUESTING ADJUSTMENTS

If you’re dissatisfied with a company’s product or service, you

can opt to make a claim (a formal complaint) or request an
adjustment (a settlement of a claim).

A claim is a formal complaint; an adjustment is a remedy you ask for to

settle a claim.

When writing a claim or requesting an adjustment

• Explain the problem and give details
• Provide backup information
• Request specific action

Strategy for Routine and Positive Messages

Just as you’ll make numerous requests for information and

action throughout your career, you’ll also respond to similar
requests from other people.
OPEN WITH THE MAIN IDEA

With the direct approach, open with a clear and concise

expression of the main idea or good news. Even with the direct
approach, it’s often helpful to open with a few words of
“socializing” before getting to your main idea.

PROVIDE NECESSARY DETAILS AND EXPLANATION

Use the body of the message to expand on the main idea from
the opening, as needed.

END WITH A COURTEOUS CLOSE

Use the close to make sure readers have all the information
they need in order to take action or otherwise respond to the
message.
Common Examples of Routine Replies, Routine Messages,
and Positive Messages

Most routine and positive messages fall into seven categories:

answers to requests for information and action, grants of claims
and requests for adjustment, recommendations, routine
information, instructions, good-news announcements, and
goodwill messages.

ANSWERING REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION

Every professional answers requests for information or action

from time to time. If the response is straightforward, the direct
approach is appropriate. Keep the message brief and confirm
any expectations, such as when you will provide information or
perform a task.

For positive responses, a prompt, gracious, and thorough

response will enhance how people think about you and the
organization you represent.
GRANTING CLAIMS AND REQUESTS FOR ADJUSTMENT

Even the best-run companies make mistakes, and each of these

events represents a turning point in your relationship with your
customer. If you handle the situation well, your customer is likely
to be even more loyal than before because you’ve proven that
you’re serious about customer satisfaction.

Your response to a customer complaint depends on your

company’s policies for resolving such issues and your
assessment of whether the company, the customer, or some
third party is at fault. In general, take the following steps:

●● Acknowledge receipt of the customer’s claim or complaint.

●● Sympathize with the customer’s inconvenience or frustration.
●● Take (or assign) personal responsibility for setting matters
straight.
●● Explain precisely how you have resolved or plan to resolve
the situation.
●● Take steps to repair the relationship.
●● Follow up to verify that your response was correct.

Be sure to maintain a professional demeanour with these

messages. Don’t blame colleagues, don’t make exaggerated
apologies, don’t imply that the customer is at fault, and don’t
promise more than you can deliver.

To grant a claim when the customer is at fault,

try to discourage future mistakes without insulting the customer.
PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS AND REFERENCES

Letters of recommendation used to be a fairly routine matter, but

employment recommendations and references have raised
some complex legal issues in recent years.

Employees have sued employers and individual managers for

providing negative information or refusing to provide letters of
recommendation, and employers have sued other employers for
failing to disclose negative information about job candidates.
Before you write a letter of recommendation for a former
employee or provide information in response to another
employer’s background check, it is vital that you understand your
company’s policies.

If you decide to write a letter of recommendation or respond to a

request for information about a job candidate, your goal is to
convince readers that the person being recommended has the
characteristics necessary for the job, assignment, or other
objective the person is seeking.
A successful recommendation letter contains a number of
relevant details:

●● The candidate’s full name

●● The position or other objective the candidate is seeking
●● The nature of your relationship with the candidate
●● Facts and evidence relevant to the candidate and the
opportunity
●● A comparison of this candidate’s potential with that of peers,
if available
●● Your overall evaluation of the candidate’s suitability for the
opportunity

Keep in mind that every time you write a recommendation, you’re

putting your own reputation on the line. If the person’s
shortcomings are so pronounced that you don’t think he or she
is a good fit for the job, the only choice is to not write the letter at
all.

SHARING ROUTINE INFORMATION

Sharing routine information, such as project updates and order
status notifications.
When sharing routine information
• State the purpose at the beginning and briefly mention the
nature of the information you are providing.
• Provide the necessary details.
• End with a courteous close.
WRITING INSTRUCTIONS

Writing instructions for employees or customers is another

common communication task. For major projects such as user
manuals, companies often employ specialist technical writers,
but you could be involved in writing shorter instructions on a
variety of topics.

Follow these steps to create clear and effective instructions on

any topic:

1. Make sure you understand how much your readers know

about the subject. A common mistake when writing instructions
is to assume too much knowledge or experience on the part of
readers.
2. Provide an overview of the procedure. Explain what users
will be doing, and identify any information or tools they will need
to complete the procedure.
3. Define any technical terms or acronyms that readers need to
understand.
4. Divide the procedure into discrete steps, with each step
focusing on a single task.
5. Tell readers what to expect when they complete each step
so they know they’ve done it correctly (for example, “If the
green LED is on, you’ve made a secure connection”).
6. Test the instructions on someone from the target audience.
7. Whenever possible, provide a way for readers to ask for
help.
To write effective instructions on any subject, start by figuring out
how much your intended readers are likely to know about topic
or process.
ANNOUNCING GOOD NEWS

To develop and maintain good relationships, smart companies

recognize that it’s good business to spread the word about
positive developments. Such developments can include opening
new facilities, hiring a new executive, introducing new products
or services, or sponsoring community events.

External good-news announcements are often communicated in

a news release, also known as a press release, a specialized
document used to share relevant information with the news
media.

However, traditional news releases have a critical difference:

You’re not writing directly to the ultimate audience (such as the
readers of a blog or newspaper). Traditionally, news releases
were crafted in a way to provide information to reporters, who
would then write their own articles if the subject matter was
interesting to their readers. However, the nature of the news
release is changing. Many companies now view it as a general-
purpose tool for communicating directly with customers and
other audiences, creating direct-to-consumer news releases.

If you write or approve a news release, be sure it takes

advantage of social media capabilities, including links to your
company’s social networking profiles, “tweetables” (Twitter-
ready statements that can be shared on Twitter by clicking or
tapping a single button), and other shareable content.

News releases often include share-ready content that is easy to

reuse in blog posts, tweets, and other social media formats.
FOSTERING GOODWILL

Goodwill is the positive feeling that encourages people to

maintain a business relationship.
You can use these messages to enhance your relationships with
customers, colleagues, and other businesspeople by sending
friendly, even unexpected, notes with no direct business
purpose. The small effort to send a goodwill message can have
a positive and lasting effect on the people around you.

Sending Congratulations

One prime opportunity for sending goodwill messages is to

congratulate individuals or companies for significant business
achievements. Other reasons for sending congratulations
include highlights in people’s personal lives, such as weddings,
births, graduations,

Sending Messages of Appreciation

An important leadership quality is the ability to recognize the

contributions of employees, colleagues, suppliers, and other
associates.

An effective message of appreciation documents a person’s

contributions.

Offering Condolences

Condolence letters are brief personal messages written to

comfort someone after the death of a loved one.

The primary purpose of condolence letters is to express

sympathy for someone’s loss.