Transcript IPPTModule007 - Business and Computer Science

Positive
Emphasis
Module Seven
©2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
LO 7-1 Apply strategies for positive emphasis use.
LO 7-2 Analyze situations for ethical positive
emphasis.
LO 7-3 Explain reasons for tone, politeness, and
power considerations.
LO 7-4 Identify situations for apologies.
7-2
Some Negatives Are Necessary
 To build credibility
when giving bad
news.
 To help people to take
a problem seriously.
7-3
Some Negatives Are Necessary
 To deliver a rebuke with no alternative.
 To create a “reverse psychology” to make
people look favorably at your product or
service.
7-4
How do I create positive emphasis?
 Avoid negative words.
 Focus on what the reader can do.
 Justify a negative—give a reason or link it to a
reader benefit.
 Omit unimportant negatives.
 Put the negative in the middle and present it
compactly.
7-5
Negative Words to Avoid
7-6
Avoid Negative Words and
Words with Negative Connotations
Replace negative words with positive words
Negative: We have failed to finish taking
inventory.
Better:
We haven’t finished taking
inventory.
Still better: We will be finished taking
inventory Friday.
7-7
Avoid Negative Words and
Words with Negative Connotations
Negative: If you can’t understand this
explanation, feel free to call me.
Better:
If you have further questions, just
call me.
Still better: Omit the sentence. (Readers
aren’t shrinking violets. They’ll call
if they do have questions.)
7-8
Avoid Negative Words and
Words with Negative Connotations
Omit double negatives
Negative: Do not forget to back up your disks.
Better: Always back up your disks.
7-9
Avoid Negative Words and
Words with Negative Connotations
Use the least negative term that is accurate
Negative: Your balance of $835 is delinquent.
Better: Your balance of $835 is past due.
7-10
Avoid Negative Words and
Words with Negative Connotations
Removing negatives does not mean being
arrogant or pushy.
Negative: I hope that you are satisfied enough to
place future orders.
Arrogant: I look forward to receiving all of your
future business.
Better: Call Mercury whenever you need
transistors.
7-11
Avoid Negative Words and
Words with Negative Connotations
Use specifics to be both positive and accurate
Negative: The exercycle is not guaranteed for
life.
Not true: The exercycle is guaranteed for life.
True: The exercycle is guaranteed for 10 years.
7-12
Focus on What the Reader Can Do
Rather than on Limitations
Negative: We will not allow you to charge
more than $1,500 on your VISA
account.
Better: You can charge $1,500 on your new
VISA card.
or:
Your new VISA card gives you $1,500
in credit that you can use at
thousands of stores nationwide
7-13
Justify Negative Information by Giving a
Reason or Linking It to a Reader Benefit
Negative: We cannot sell computer disks in
lots of less than 10.
Loophole: To keep down packaging costs and
to help you save on shipping and
handling costs, we sell computer
disks in lots of 10 or more.
7-14
Justify Negative Information by Giving a
Reason or Linking It to a Reader Benefit
Better: To keep down packaging costs and to
help customers save on shipping and
handling costs, we sell computer disks
only in lots of 10 or more.
7-15
If the Negative Is Truly
Unimportant, Omit It
Omit negatives entirely only when:
The reader does not need the information to
make a decision.
You have already given the reader the
information and he or she has access to the
previous communication.
The information is trivial.
7-16
If the Negative Is Truly
Unimportant, Omit It
Negative:
A one-year subscription to PC
Magazine is $49.97. That rate is not as
low as the rates charged for some
magazines.
Better:
A one-year subscription to PC
Magazine is $49.97.
Still better: A one-year subscription to PC Magazine
is $49.97. You save 43% off the
newsstand price of $87.78.
7-17
Bury the Negative Information and
Present It Compactly
 To deemphasize a negative, put it in the
middle of a paragraph rather than in the
first or last sentence, in the middle of the
message rather than in the first or last
paragraphs.
7-18
Using Positive Emphasis Ethically
 Don’t omit necessary details.
 Focus on what the reader can do rather than
on limitations only when the situation is
appropriate.
 Presenting information in type large enough to
be read easily.
 Don’t obscure meaning by using less common
terms.
7-19
Why do I need to think about tone,
politeness, and power?
 Tone
 the implied attitude of the writer toward the
reader
 Don’t use the same tone with a superior as
with a peer or subordinate.
7-20
Why do I need to think about tone,
politeness, and power?
 Use courtesy titles for people outside the
organization you don’t know very well.
 Be aware of the power implications of words.
 When the stakes are low, be straightforward
 When you must give bad news, consider
hedging your statement.
7-21
What’s the best way to apologize?
 No explicit apology is necessary if the error
is small and if you are correcting the
mistake.
 Do not apologize when you are not at fault.
 When you apologize,
do it early, briefly, and
sincerely
7-22