Consideration:
Consideration means preparing every message with the message
receiver in mind.
Don’t loose your temper.
Don’t accuse.
Don’t charge them without facts.
Focus on ‘you’ Instead of ‘I’ or ‘we’:
•To create considerate, audience-oriented messages, focus on
how message receivers will
benefit, what they will receive, and what they want or need
to know.
•In some cases this can be accomplished by emphasis; you may
downplay your own
feelings to make a point
Example:
We-attitude : I am delighted to announce that we have
extended our
office hours to make shopping more convenient.
You-attitude : You will be able to shop eveneings with the
extended office
hours.
The use of ‘you’ in negative situations can be avoided by
employing passive voice, making
the receiver part of the group.
Show audience Benefit or Interest in the receiver
Readers may react positively when benefits are shown to
them.
Whenever possible and true, show your receivers will benefit
from whatever the message
asks or announces.
Benefits must meet recipient's needs, address their
concerns, or offer them rewards.
Emphasize Positive, Pleasant Facts:
•Another way to show consideration is to emphasize pleasant
and positive facts.
•This means stressing what can be done instead of what
cannot be done.
•Also you must focus on words your recipient considers
favorable.
Example:
•The following opening of a letter the negative words are
underlined, you’d rather not have
at all.
–We regret that, since you closed your account, your name is
missing from our long list of
satisfied customers. We sincerely hope that inspire the best
efforts of our fine staff, there
were no occasions on which you felt we failed to serve you
properly.
Concreteness:
•Communicating concretely means being specific, definite,
and vivid rather than vague and
general.
•Often it means using denotative (direct, explicit, often
dictionary-based) rather than
connotative words.
Concreteness:
•The benefits to business professionals of using concrete
facts and figures are
–Your receivers know exactly what is desired
–When you supply specifics for the reader you increase the
likelihood of that you message
will be interpreted the way you intended.
Passive Instead of Active:
•When you want to avoid personal blunt accusations
–‘The October check was not included’ is more tactful than
‘you failed to include….’
–‘Attendance at the meeting id required’ is less hard than
‘You must attend….’
Use vivid, Image building words
You can make your message forceful by using
•comparisons
•sensory appeals
•figurative language
•concrete nouns
•well-chosen adjectives
Comparisons
Bland Image : This is a long letter.
More Vivid Image : This letter is three times as long as you
said it
would be.
Figurative Language
Literal : Her work in groups was exemplary.
Figurative: She could be called the spark plug of the group.
Checklist:
•Were you precise in using facts and figures whenever
possible?
•Did you use active voice more than passive?
•Is there action in verbs rather than in nouns?
•Did you try occasionally to use vivid, image building words
? But in business writing use
them sparingly.
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