9.4 Negative Messages
At times in the usual course of work, we must convey messages that may not be well received by the audience. Bad news messages or messages containing information that the reader will resist call for the indirect approach whereby the key idea is placed near the close instead of in the opening. That way, you can create a buffer that prepares the reader for the negative news and add an explanation that promotes understanding before the key idea is conveyed. That buffer allows the reader to be prepared for the news that follows.
Business Communication for Success suggests seven goals you should consider when delivering negative news (University of Minnesota Libraries Press, 2015):
- Be clear and concise in order not to require additional clarification.
- Help the receiver understand and accept the news.
- Maintain trust and respect for the business or organization and for the receiver.
- Avoid legal liability or erroneous admission of guilt or culpability.
- Maintain the relationship, even if a formal association is being terminated.
- Reduce the anxiety associated with the negative news to increase comprehension.
- Achieve the designated business outcome.
The video, How to Deliver Bad News (2015) illustrates five strategies noted above.
This chapter will discuss a few negative message types that are frequently put to use in business contexts, highlighting key idea placement and message structure.
Knowledge Check
Using the Indirect Approach to Organize Ideas
Your thorough audience and context analysis will inform you on the probable emotional response your message will receive. With this information, you can adapt your message such that it is conveyed with tactfulness and empathy. If your document contains a negative message that will not evoke an emotional response, then you can use the direct approach to organize the content. However, when you expect the reader to respond to your message with an negative emotional response, you should organize your message using the indirect approach.
The indirect approach is created by placing the key idea near the closing paragraph, thus delaying the key message so that the reader has time to understand the rationale behind the decision or message as a whole. As such, the message would be structured in the following way:
Negative Message Structure
OPENING and BACKGROUND
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EXPLANATION
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KEY IDEA: NEGATIVE NEWS STATEMENT
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OFFER ALTERNATIVES OR REDIRECT
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CLOSE
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The following, adapted from Arly Cruther’s Business Communication for Everyone (2020), explains each of these parts.
1. Create a buffer statement
The first part of a negative news message, verbal or written, is a buffer statement. It provides neutral or positive information and establishes good will. It sets the tone and often serves as a cushion for the information to come. It is important that the buffer not be overly positive because this can be misleading or set up the reader to expect a positive news message instead. If necessary, review in an objective manner the key circumstances. Importantly, establish good will by finding common ground or acknowledging effort or previous good relations. This part of the document may be covered in one or two paragraphs.
Knowledge Check
2. Add an explanation
Next, an explanation discusses why there is an issue. This rationale may be relatively simple, quite complex, or uncomfortable. Here, include detail that would help the reader understand the “why” behind the negative news. To do so requires that you add enough concrete detail to enable the reader to understand but not so much as to overwhelm.
While an explanation is important, never admit or imply responsibility without written authorization from your company cleared by legal counsel. Try to avoid labeling the negative news, such as calling it inconvenient or disappointing, because this will assume the feelings of your reader and create an overly negative impression. The person receiving the message may not have felt badly about receiving the news until you pointed out that it was indeed inconvenient or disappointing.
3. Break the bad news
The third part of the negative news message involves the negative news itself, and the emphasis here is on clarity and accuracy. While you want to break the bad news clearly, try not to spotlight it. You have two options for stating the negative news: you may create an implied message or make an explicit statement.
Implied negative news message: An implied negative message is one that is embedded in the substance of the explanation. The detail would be such that the negative news is evident without need for an actual explicit statement. Such an approach requires a skillful approach to crafting the message, and usually creates an empathetic tone. See the example below:
We appreciate your interest in attending the Online Business Communication Conference from March 12-14; however, these dates coincide our department’s deadline for the Dunbar Associates marketing plan. We need you on our team as we finalize the submission.
Explicit negative news statement: An explicit negative statement is usually contained in a single sentence. It clearly and undeniably delivers the bad news and is used in contexts where you as the writer want to ensure that there is no mistaking the message. A more direct statement places the bad news at the beginning of the sentence; a more empathetic approach involves using the passive voice and placing the negative news in the latter part of the message. See the examples below:
Direct negative news statement example:
Your request to pursue research into the accounting practices of Dunbar Associates has been denied due to tight departmental time constraints.
Passive and indirect negative news statement example:
Due to tight departmental time constraints, your request to pursue research into the accounting practices of Dunbar Associates cannot be approved.
4. Redirect or provide alternatives
The fourth part of a bad news message is the redirect, where you refocus attention on a solution strategy, possible alternatives, or the subsequent actions that will take place. The strategy here is to offer to the reader the sense that the matter at hand can be achieved or resolved using alternative methods. For example, in the case of the conference attendance refusal shown above, an alternative can be added to ensure that the receiver understands that other options are possible:
We appreciate your interest in attending the Online Business Communication Conference from March 12-14; however, these dates coincide our department’s deadline for the Dunbar Associates marketing plan. We need you on our team as we finalize the submission. Would you consider attending the Business Marketing Conference instead? It runs from April 21-22 in Ottawa.
5. End politely and forward-looking
Last, you want to end your message politely and looking to the future. Avoid mentioning the negative news again; rather, focus on the potential for future engagement or activities. Doing this extends the good will established in the opening. If the situation calls for a severing of ties altogether, simply end on a respectful and positive note without suggesting possible future engagement.
Figure 9.4.1 shows an example of a negative news message delivered using this approach.
Thank you for submitting your request for 10 days of vacation (your maximum entitlement) in August.
Summer is traditionally a time when many employees are out of the office and demands on the servers are reduced. In order to minimize the disruption to staff throughout the company, the IT department will be rolling out a server replacement project during July and August. Because this project will need to be completed in a more compressed time frame, no vacation requests in July and August are possible for staff in the IT department. As a result, your request for vacation during August has not been approved.
However, you are welcome to take vacation before and/or after the project rolls out. As compensation, HR is providing IT staff with three extra days of paid vacation.
We look forward to receiving your revised vacation request soon.
Figure 9.4.1 An example of a negative news message delivered using the indirect approach (Cruthers, 2020)
The direct approach is used when the audience values brevity or if the situation will not evoke a strong emotional response. It is also used when the message needs to be concise, the message is very complex and might not be understood easily, the message is related to a known issue or problem (and bad news won’t be a surprise), or you’re terminating a business relationship.
As shown in Figure 9.4.2, the negative news is announced in the opening or introduction of the message.
Your request for vacation time from August 1-30 was not approved because it exceeds your vacation days entitlement of 10 days.
Please re-submit your request for vacation days (up to a maximum of 10) to HR as soon as possible.
Figure 9.4.2 An example of a negative news message delivered using the direct approach (Cruthers, 2020)
Sample Negative Messages
Claim Refusal
A claim refusal is one type of response to a routine claim (see Chapter 9.3 for more on claims messages). A claim refusal serves to deny a claim usually made by a dissatisfied customer or client. For example, if you placed an order for MS Office software and received Norton Antivirus software instead and had opened the package, the retail outlet would have reason to deny your request for reimbursement or exchange even if it had sent you the incorrect software.
A claim refusal is a type of routine message that consists of these basic components:
1. A buffer that establishes good will
2. An explanation of the refusal
3. The refusal statement
4. The alternative or redirection
5. A close that reinforces good will along with an action statement if one is required.
See the example below in Figure 9.4.3 for an illustration of this structure. Note how the bad news does not appear in the opening; in fact, it isn’t even stated. This is an example of an implicit refusal. Since the message states that the chair had been delivered, there is no need to also outright refuse the reimbursement: It is evident.
Example of a Claim Refusal Email
To: Solstice Yoga Studios [solsticeyogastudios@amail.com]
From: Ace Office Supplies [aceoffice@amail.com]
Subject: Your claim for reimbursement: the Oh-So Comfy Chair
Dear Shasta Abenaki,
Thank you for reaching out to us regarding your claim for a reimbursement for the Oh-So Comfy office chair ordered in January 20XX (order # 9876OSCC). We pride ourselves on offering quality products to all our customers and always strive to provide excellent customer service.
Your message mentions that your company ordered the chair in January 2022, but as of March 18 you had not as yet received it. Delays of this extent are rare for our company, so we have searched our records to obtain more information about the matter. While we did initially experience a delay in restocking the Oh-So Comfy chair in January, by February 20, we were able to catch up with shipments of all orders.
Our records indicate that the chair was delivered to your Anywhere Street location on February 15. The delivery waybill was signed by Honoria Blint at 1:27 p.m.
We value our long-standing relationship with Solstice Yoga Studios. If, following your own internal query, you still have not found the chair, we would be pleased to discuss how we can further assist.
Sincerely,
Jane Cordial
Senior Customer Service Representative
416-123-4567 ext. 1298
Figure 9.4.3 Example of a negative news email.
Managing Negative News on Social Media
When someone complains about you or your company on social media, you might be tempted to ignore it. Unfortunately, the conversation about your company will continue whether or not you respond, so responding gives you an opportunity to control the message.
Let’s say that a customer, Clint, posted on Twitter that the watch your company sold him broke within a week. Your goal is to help resolve Clint’s complaint and also show that your watch company has great customer service. Getting into a back-and-forth exchange with Clint will make you look unprofessional, so the best thing to do is to reply to Clint with a short message like: “Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Please follow me so that we can DM (direct message) each other and find a solution. Or, you can email me at ___.”
Hopefully, this will take the conversation offline so that you can resolve it. Maybe it will turn out that Clint’s watch is under warranty, and you can repair or replace it. Or maybe Clint broke his watch in a way that’s not covered. You can break the bad news using the strategies discussed above in a private manner.
The key take away here is to respond as soon as possible with a helpful attitude. This following video, How to Handle Complaints on Social Media (2019) offers additional insights for an effective response.
References
Crawley, D. (2015). How to deliver bad news: Customer service training 10 [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltg2X0e5g-0
Cruthers, A. (2020). Delivering a bad news message. Business writing for everyone. https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/businesswriting/chapter/delivering-a-bad-news-message/
University of Minnesota Libraries Press. (2015). Business communication for success. https://open.lib.umn.edu/businesscommunication/chapter/17-1-delivering-a-negative-news-message/
Rezab, J. (2019). How to handle a social media complaint {Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXKAVOR_bn8
Skill Boasters. (2014). Breaking Bad News – Difficult Workplace Conversations Training [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN-RbUFAJx4