Chapter 6 Lecture Notes ● 1
Chapter 6 LECTURE NOTES
Positive Messages
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS
Positive messages—whether e-mails, memos, or business letters—carry important, but usually
routine information. In this chapter students will learn to apply the 3-x-3 writing process to
positive messages that are intended for both internal and external audiences. Students will also
learn when and how to respond to customer comments online.
E-mail is appropriate for short, informal messages for both internal and external audiences.
Memos are appropriate for internal messages that are important, lengthy, or formal. Business
letters are appropriate for external messages that business communicators send to customers,
vendors, government officials, and others. Letters are important when a permanent record is
required, when confidentiality is critical, when formality or sensitivity is essential, and when a
persuasive presentation is important.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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.
2. Compose direct messages that make requests, respond to inquiries online and offline, and
deliver step-by-step instructions.
WHAT’S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER
The authors made the following changes and improvements:
• Explained appropriate uses of business letters to provide guidance about when hard-copy
correspondence is appropriate in an e-mail dominated workplace.
Chapter 6 Lecture Notes ● 2
• Introduced the discussion of customer comments on social media networks and issued
guidelines for responding to online posts in addition to updating typical positive messages to
reflect current usage in business.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Routine Messages: E-Mails, Memos, and Letters (p. 156 )
• Most business messages are positive or neutral and, therefore, direct.
A. Understanding Business Letters
• Provide a permanent record
B. Formatting Business Letters
• The block style is a popular format for letters. All parts of the letter are set flush
left on the page.
• The letter is centered and framed by white space.
• Most letters have margins of 1 to 1.5 inches with ragged-right margins.
Figure 6.1 – Formatting a Direct Request Letter—Block Style
II. Typical Requests, Response, and Instruction Messages (p. 158)
Writing Plan for Direct Request and Response Messages
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• Closing: Request a specific action with an end date, if appropriate, and express
appreciation.
A. Creating Request Messages
• Frontload your message, which means immediately tell the reader what you want.
• The first sentence is usually a question or a polite command.
Weak opening:
B. Providing Details in the Body
• Provide necessary details.
• Frame your request logically.
• Itemize information to improve readability.
C. Closing With Appreciation and a Call for Action
• Tell the reader courteously what is to be done.
• If a date is important, set an end date to take action and explain why.
• Show appreciation.
Weak closing:
D. Responding to Requests
Writing Plan for E-Mail, Memo, and Letter Replies
• Subject line: Summarize the main information from your reply.
Figure 6.2 – Customer Response E-Mail
E. Responding to Customer Comments Online
• Business must listen to social media comments about themselves and, if
necessary, respond.
• Online customer reviews provide a source of valuable customer feedback.
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Figure 6.3 Responding to Customers Online
F. Preparing Instruction Messages
Writing Plan for Instruction Messages
• Subject line: Summarize the content of the message.
1. Dividing Instructions Into Steps
• Create logical steps in the correct order, and practice completing the procedures
yourself.
2. Revising a Message Delivering Instructions
• Itemize and number the steps.
• Begin each step with an action verb in the imperative mode.
• Be careful of tone. Avoid accusations and fixing blame.
• Explain changes, give reasons, and suggest benefits to the reader.
Figure 6.4 – Memo Delivering Instructions
III. Direct Claims and Complaints (p. 164)
Writing Plan for a Direct Claim
Opening: Describe clearly the desired action.
Body: Explain the claim, tell why the claim is justified, and provide details regarding the
action requested.
Closing: End pleasantly with a goodwill statement and include an end date and action
request, if appropriate.
Figure 6.5 – Direct Claim E-Mail
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Figure 6.6 — Writing Online Reviews and Complaints
IV. Adjustment Messages (p. 168)
• An adjustment is a message that responds favorably to a customer’s claim.
• A positive adjustment message follows the direct strategy.
Goals in Adjustment Letters
Writing Plan for Adjustment Letters
Subject line (optional): Identify the previous correspondence and refer to the main topic.
A. Revealing Good News Up-Front
• Reveal the good news immediately.
• Seek to rebuild faith in your company by complying with the request.
• Avoid negative words and keep your message positive.
C. Deciding Whether to Apologize
D. Using Sensitive Language
• Retain customer goodwill by avoiding negative language.
E. Showing Confidence in the Closing
• Close the letter positively and confidently.
• In the closing, show appreciation, explain your desire to provide future service, or
promote a new product.
Figure 6.7 Customer Adjustment Letter
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V. Goodwill Messages (p. 171)
• Be selfless.
• Be specific.
A. Saying Thank You
• To express thanks for a gift
Figure 6.6 – Thank-You Letter for a Favor
B. Replying to Goodwill Messages
• Send a brief note expressing your appreciation. Tell how good the message made
you feel.
C. Expressing Sympathy
• Mention the loss and your personal reaction.
• For deaths, praise the deceased. Describe positive personal characteristics.
D. Is E-Mail Appropriate for Goodwill Messages?
• Handwritten notes are most impressive.
• An e-mail is appropriate if you frequently communicate with the receiver and if
you are sure your message won’t get lost.
Critical Thinking Discussion Guide
11. What are the advantages of mailing a letter as opposed to sending an e-mail, making a
phone call, or writing an online post? (Objs. 1, 2)
Business letters are confidential. They are less likely than electronic media to be
intercepted, misdirected, forwarded, retrieved, or otherwise inspected by unintended
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12. Why is it smart to keep your cool when making a claim, and how should you go about
it? (Obj. 3)
Avoid becoming angry or trying to fix blame. Bear in mind that the person reading your
message is seldom the one responsible for the problem. Instead, state the facts logically,
13. Is it true that the “squeaky wheel gets the most grease,” meaning that the customer
complaining the loudest and most aggressively will get noticed and receive the greatest
concessions? (Obj. 3)
Some students are convinced that they will be more likely to get their way as customers and
14. Why is it important to regain the trust of a customer in an adjustment message? How
can it be done? (Obj. 4)
Unhappy customers have, naturally, lost some degree of confidence in the company and its
products or services. Regaining confidence and reestablishing good feelings is crucial for
15. Is it fair for creditors to continue reporting late payments after the payments have
been made? What do you think about experts’ suggestion that people with credit
blemishes write a sincere “goodwill” letter to creditors asking for compassion and
requesting that the records of their late payments be erased? (Obj. 5)
Chapter 6 Lecture Notes ● 8
A person with an otherwise good credit history might be able to stop negative reporting
about a few late payments. Such a letter should identify the account for which the update is
Activities and Cases
Note: The solutions to the activities and cases for this chapter are located in the Solutions to
Activities section of the Instructor’s Manual.
Communication Workshop (p. 176)
Choosing Tools for Doing the Right Thing
• Is the action you are considering legal?
• How would you see the problem if you were on the opposite side?
• What are the alternative solutions? Consider all dimensions of other options.
Career Application: For each of the following issues, students should discuss whether the
ethical issue is (a) very important, (b) moderately important, or (c) unimportant. Then they
should decide whether they (a) strongly approve, (b) are undecided, or (c) strongly disapprove of
the action taken. This set of questions has no specific answers and no survey results for
comparison. Yet, it should stimulate provocative discussion and help students recognize their
own values. This discussion will center on applying the ethical tools provided in this workshop:
(a) Is the action legal? (b) How would you see the problem if you were on the opposite side? (c)
What are alternate solutions? (d) Can you discuss the problem with someone whose opinion you
value? (e) How would you feel if your family, friends, employer, or coworkers learned of your
action?
• Recruiting. Although it is not illegal, it is unethical to mislead job candidates. If you were a
job candidate, you would not like to be misled about the job climate. If you were on the other
Chapter 6 Lecture Notes ● 9
• Training Program. Participating in a company’s training program when you plan to leave a
company is clearly unethical, although perhaps not illegal. If you were in the company’s
shoes, you would not want to waste your training funds on people who planned to leave.
Alternate solution: pay for the trip to Hawaii yourself.
Chapter 6 Lecture Notes ● 10
Additional Writing Improvement Exercises
Improving Subject Lines and Opening Paragraphs in Positive Messages
Your Task. Study the following paragraphs. Then write an appropriate subject line and opening sentence
for each one.
1. Hello! My name is Gregory Samples, and my office will soon become involved in an office makeover.
I am searching for information about workspaces. We are about to redesign our office, and the
2. As the economy gains momentum and as business picks up, my company, Pacific Investments, Inc., is
investigating the possibility of initiating an internship program within our Financial Services
3. We have received your e-mail inquiry and are happy to respond. You asked about franchises for water,
fire, and mold cleanup and restoration services. RestorePro is the leading emergency service and
4. Your e-mail message of September 13 finally made its way to my computer, and I am sorry to hear of
the unfortunate troubles you are having in submitting your expenses and being reimbursed for those
5. I’m furious that your airline lost our luggage when my wife and I traveled to the Caribbean. We
arrived with nothing to wear, so we had to buy bathing suits, sandals, and other clothes. The hotel was
kind enough to offer us sundries such as toothbrushes and combs, but it could not purchase new duds.
Writing Instructions
Your Task. Revise the following wordy, dense paragraphs into sets of concise instructions. Include a
short introductory statement for each set. Decide whether bullets or numbers are appropriate.
Chapter 6 Lecture Notes ● 11
6. When opening the store, we want employees to follow a number of preliminary steps that are
necessary and important. First, employees should arrive early enough to allow time to prepare for the
day–at least 30 minutes prior to opening. When unlocking the door, they should do so only when two
7. Our office could implement better environmental practices such as improving energy efficiency and
reducing our carbon footprint. Here are three simple things we can do to make our daily work practices
8. If you are a job candidate interviewing for a job, you should follow a few guidelines that most people
consider basic. You will be more successful if you do these things. One of the first things to do is get
ready. Before the interview, successful candidates research the target company. That is, they find out
about it. If you really want to be successful, you will prepare success stories. Wise candidates also
Key to Chapter 6 Additional Writing Improvement Exercises
Improving Subject Lines and Opening Paragraphs in Positive Messages
1. Subject line: Need Information About Remodeling Workspaces
Opening sentence: Please send me information about ergonomically remodeling workspaces
in an open office environment.
Chapter 6 Lecture Notes ● 12
4. Subject line: Please Submit Your Expense List Directly to Our Treasurer
5. Subject line: Requesting Reimbursement for Clothing Purchases
Writing Instructions
6. Follow these preliminary steps in opening the store:
1. Arrive 30 minutes prior to opening to allow time to prepare.
2. Unlock the door only when two or more associates are present.
7. Our office could use energy more efficiently and reduce our carbon footprint in three simple
ways:
• Power down: Turn off monitors rather than just logging off our computers.
8. In interviewing for a job, you will be more successful if you follow a few basic
guidelines:
• Before the interview: Research the target company, prepare success stories, and
clean up any digital dirt.