Bad News letter Presented by: Abdul Wajid Nazeer (09) & Faheem Ahmed (08) Presented to: Mam Javeria farooqui
Bad News Messages In business writing , a letter, memo, or email that conveys negative or unpleasant information--information that is likely to disappoint, upset, or even anger a reader.
Writing Bad News Messages Direct Approach Direct Approach is an approach in which we express the bad news at the opening paragraph then the explanation of bad –news and at the end there is a courteous close . Indirect Approach A Indirect Approach conventionally begins with a neutral or positive buffer statement before introducing the negative or unpleasant information. This approach is called the indirect Approach .
Indirect Approach OPENING REASON BAD NEWS CLOSSING Direct Approach BAD NEWS REASON CLOSSING
FORMAT Opening paragraph Middle: give the reasons why you cannot grant the request--then deliver the bad news. Closing paragraph
Techniques for Bad-News Sentence Place negative news in buried position Avoid unnecessary use of negative words State the bad news once; avoid restating or returning to it Emphasize any positive aspect Follow bad news with a counterproposal when possible
THINGS TO AVOID Don't deliver the bad news in the opening paragraph. Always try to tell what you CAN do before you say what you CAN'T do. Explain the WHY before you deliver the bad news. For many readers, once they see the NO they don't pay attention to the WHY. Remember that a major goal is to maintain a positive relationship with the reader. Do whatever you can to help the reader understand and accept your message. When you are through writing the letter, make sure the message that you cannot grant the request is clear.
EXAMPLES OF BAD NEWS Rejected the request for a letter of recommendation. Reject the application work. Sending negative messages to employees. Giving a negative performance appraisal. Ending employment relationships (termination).
CONCLUSION Sometimes in business you simply cannot avoid writing a letter that has bad news. However, you can try to write the letter in such a way as to maintain a good relationship with the recipient, as well as breaking the bad news in the easiest way. You don’t want to burn any bridges in business, so it really is to your advantage to write an effective bad news letter.