Learn how to deliver a negative message effectively

In the perfect world you wouldn’t be force to deliver bad news, but communicating negative new is a fact of life for all business professionals, from rejecting applicants to telling customers there is a problem with their shipment to turning down or letting somebody know they need to improve in their work.

  When you need to send negative message, you must keep in mind five goals: (1) To deliver the bad news, (2) to gain approval of the bad news, (3) to maintain a good will a and positive tone with your audience (4) uphold a very professional image for the company (5) If appropriate find a solution for the problem that has created the bad news. I know what you are saying; there is a lot to writing a successful negative message. However if you follow these simple techniques you can develop a negative in no time that will decrease stress and address the problem at hand with your audience.

  When planning a negative message you should ignore the fact that your audience doesn’t want to hear it. To minimize the damage to business relationship and to gain acceptance of your message, Make sure you analyze the predicament carefully and then decide what will be the most effective way of structuring it.

  Be sure to take into consideration your purpose for delivering the message. That will give you a better idea if you are going to want to be direct, indirect when structuring the message. After you have established how you’re going to write it then you need to keep your audience needs in mind. Gather as much information about the matter; you want to be able to provide your audience with specific detail that will further allow them to accept the bad news. When preparing negative messages, choose the medium with care. It is best if bad news is going to be delivered for it to be in person as it is a sign of respect and also gives them the opportunity to ask questions of the issue.

 When you are adapting a negative message to your audience, pay attention on how useful and peacekeeping it is. You have to always keep it in a positive tone avoid accusing tone, to protect your audiences pride.

Finally you must be very meticulous on how you structured the message. Revise your work; make sure everything is clear, concise and complete. There is only one last thing to do and that is to make sure your message gets delivered promptly and successfully.

Sources:
Excellence in Business Communication 9th Ed (Textbook by John V. Thill and Courtland L. Bovee)

By: Isabel Salcido