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Chapter 3

Chapter 3. Building Goodwill. Goodwill You-Attitude Positive Emphasis Tone, Power, & Politeness Reducing Bias Language. Goodwill. Build goodwill through You-attitude Positive emphasis Bias-free language. You-Attitude . Looks at things from audience’s viewpoint

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Chapter 3

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  1. Chapter 3 Building Goodwill • Goodwill • You-Attitude • Positive Emphasis • Tone, Power, & Politeness • Reducing Bias Language

  2. Goodwill • Build goodwill through • You-attitude • Positive emphasis • Bias-free language

  3. You-Attitude • Looks at things from audience’s viewpoint • Emphasizes what audience wants to know • Respects audience’s intelligence • Protects audience’s ego

  4. Five Ways to Create You-Attitude • Talk about audience, not yourself. • Refer to reader’s request or order. • Don’t talk about feelings. • In positive situations, use you more often than I. Use we when it includes the audience. • In negative situations, avoid you.

  5. Talk About Audience, Not Yourself • Tell how message affects the audience • Don’t mention communicator’s work or generosity • Stress what audience wants to know Yourself

  6. Talk About Audience: Examples • Lacks you-attitude • I negotiated an agreement with Apex Rent-a-Car that gives you a discount. • We shipped your May 21 order today. • Contains you-attitude • You now get a 20% discount when you rent a car from Apex. • The three Birth Year coin sets you ordered will ship today and should reach you by June 6.

  7. Refer to Reader’s Request or Order • Make specific references, not generic • Name content of order for person or small business • Cite purchase order numbers for customers that order often

  8. Refer to Audience’s Request or Order: Examples • Lacks you-attitude • We shipped your order today. • Contains you-attitude • The 500 red and gray sweatshirts you ordered were shipped today and will reach you early next week. • Your P.O. 7823-N shipped on 11/04 and will arrive within five business days.

  9. Don’t Talk About Feelings • Express your feelings to • Offer sympathy to audience • Congratulate audience • Don’t talk about audience’s feelings • Don’t predict audience’s response • Give audience good news

  10. Don’t Talk About Feelings: Examples • Lacks you-attitude • We are happy to give you a credit line of $2,000. • You will be happy to learn that your reimbursement request has been approved. • Contains you-attitude • You now have a $2,000 credit line with VISA. • Your reimbursement request has been approved.

  11. In Positive Situations, Use You More Often Than I. Use We If It Includes the Audience • Use you in positive situations • Avoid I in printed text • Avoid we if it excludes the audience YOU

  12. In Positive Situations, Use You More Often Than I. Use We If It Includes the Audience: Example • Lacks you-attitude • We provide exercise equipment to all employees. • I will schedule a due date that works best for my schedule. • Contains you-attitude • You have access to the latest exercise equipment as a full-time employee of RAC Inc. • We will schedule the due date after we meet.

  13. Avoid You in Negative Situations • Protect audience’s ego • Avoid assigning blame • Use passive verbs • Use impersonal style • Talk about things, not people

  14. Avoid You in Negative Situations: Examples • Lacks you-attitude • You failed to sign your flexible spending account form. • You made no allowance for inflation in your estimate. • Contains you-attitude • Your flexible spending account form was not signed. • The estimate makes no allowance for inflation. passive impersonal

  15. Positive Emphasis • Way of looking at situations • Communication focuses on the positive • Create positive emphasis through • Words • Information • Organization • Layout Half full or half empty?

  16. Five Ways to Create Positive Emphasis • Avoid negative words • Focus on what audience can do, not limitations • Justify negative information by giving reason or linking to audience benefit • Omit unimportant negatives • Put negative information in the middle and present it compactly

  17. Avoid Negative Words: Examples • Contains Negatives • Never fail to return library books on time. • Because you failed to pay your bill, your account is delinquent. • Omits Negatives (Better) • Always return library books on time. • Your account is past due.

  18. Focus on What the Audience Can Do: Example • Negative • You will not get your refund check until you submit your official grade report at the end of the semester. • Better • To receive your refund check, submit your official grade report at the end of the semester.

  19. Justify Negative Information by Giving Reason or Linking to Audience Benefit: Example • Negative • You cannot take vacation days without prior approval from your supervisor. • Better • To ensure that everyone’s duties will be covered, submit your first and second choices of vacation time to your supervisor by May 30.

  20. Omit Unimportant Negatives • When audience does not need the information to act • When audience has the information in your previous message • When information is trivial

  21. Put the Negative in the Middle and Present it Compactly • Put in middle of message and paragraph • Don’t put at bottom of page 1 • Don’t list vertically • Make it short as you can • Give it only once Negative

  22. Tone, Power, & Politeness • Tone – implied attitude of the communicator toward the audience • Good tone • Businesslike, not stiff • Friendly, not phony • Confident, not arrogant • Polite, not groveling

  23. Levels of Politeness: Examples • Highest:Would you be able to complete your report by Friday? • High: Progress reports should be turned in by Friday. • Mid: Please turn in your progress report by Friday. • Low:Turn in your progress report by Friday.

  24. Reducing Bias • Bias-free language – words that do not discriminate on basis of • Sex • Age • Race • Physical condition

  25. Making Language Nonsexist • Treat both sexes neutrally • Businessman = Business person • Woman doctor = Doctor • Manning = Staffing • Don’t assume everyone is heterosexual or married

  26. Making Language Nonsexist, continued… • Avoid sexist job titles • Actress • Repairman • Chairman • Salesman • Foreman • Waitress

  27. Making Language Nonsexist, continued… • Use Ms. as courtesy title for women • Use professional title instead (if any) • Use Miss or Mrs. if audience prefers it • Determine proper courtesy title for letter address and salutation • Omit sexist generic pronouns

  28. Making Language Nonracist & Nonagist • Give age or race only if relevant • Refer to a group by term it prefers • Don’t suggest competence is rare: • She is an asset to her race. • He is an active 83-year-old.

  29. Talking about People with Disabilities & Diseases • People-first language — Name person first; add disability or disease if relevant • Don’t imply that disability or disease defines person • Don’t use negative terms, unless audience prefers them (deaf vs. hard of hearing)

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