Ever watch the Apprentice? I enjoy waiting for Trump to pull the trigger and give it to them. ‘You’re fired!’ It’s nice to watch this from the safety of our sofas. We’re involved but also separate from it. And we can switch off.

In the real world, it’s not so cosy. Sometimes you’re the one that has to give the bad news, sometimes you’re the one that has to give negative appraisals. Sometimes you’re the one that has to fire people. In many respects, this may fall under the umbrella of your Communications Plan strategy.

‘All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.’ Donald Trump

Negative v Positive Business Writing

This week we look at how to write negative messages. Not nasty messages, emails and such but material with a negative edge.

For example?

In some ‘negative messages’, you may have to address faults or issues with a team member. When writing these emails, reports or messages such, keep a professional tone, avoid attacking your colleague – but make your position on the issue clear.

Don’t fudge it. That creates other problems.

‘Do you mind if I sit back a little? Because your breath is very bad.’ Donald Trump

One school of writing encourages us to ‘express bad news in a positive angle’.

To do this, avoid such words as:

• Cannot
• Deny
• Fail
• Forbid
• Impossible
• Prohibit
• Refuse
• Restrict

Look at these examples. The first draft is phrased in cold and negative terms; the second is positive, cordial and generous:

Negative writing:

The incredible amount of information you requested in your report is too much ad means that I cannot help you without disrupting our work schedule. Revision: I see in your letter that you require specific project information, which I will help you locate. However, due to our work load, I can answer only a few of the questions right now….

Negative writing:

If you do not complete and return this contract by Jan 1, 2011, you will not receive your apartment. If we have not heard from you by this deadline, we will sell the apartment to another person.

Positive writing:

Please complete the enclosed contract and return it to us by Jan 1, 2011. After this date, we will have to put the apartment back on the website. I hope we hear from you before then.

Negative writing:

While I am willing to discuss changes in the Functional Requirements, I am not prepared to change the project deadlines.

Positive writing:

I am open to suggestions and comments about specific Functional Requirements, or your thoughts on additional areas that you think we should examine. However, I want to ensure that this does not impact the project deadline as you can understand.

‘If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.’ Clint Eastwood

How to re-position negative communications?

Focus on the other persons:

• Needs
• Interests
• Purposes

If you must talk about yourself (or role) in a business letter, make sure it relates to your concerns for the other person (and their role).

Develop a You First Attitude

This recipient-oriented ‘you-attitude’ writing style means the recipient is the focus of the letter, not you.

Negative writing:

We have changed our pricing policy to save our company time and money. In an operation like ours, it costs us a great amount of labor time to clean our equipment…

Positive writing:

We will update our pricing policy effective December 15^th, 2015. This will enable us to serve your needs more often and without delay…

Like Donald Trump you will have to deliver bad news on occasion. The approach you use, and how you structure your arguments, will influence the outcome. Instead of creating conflict, you can help the Project Manager or Proposal Team Lead to see your side and try to accommodate your needs.

The trick is to acknowledge their needs first and then outline where you stand in relation to these. Don’t bulldoze them into submission. You may win the first battle, but you’ll lose the war.

What’s the worse piece of news you have to give someone in the office?

About the Author: Ivan Walsh provides Business Tips for Smart People on Klariti.com. His also runs the popular Business Planning Blog at http://www.ivanwalsh.com

PS – The Communication Plan Template is here

Related posts:

1. Warren Buffet Guide to Plain English Business Writing
2. Sherlock Holmes Guide to Finding Hidden Styles in Microsoft Word 2007?

As someone who runs their own company, lost time is lost money. And, it’s no different if you work for someone else. Lost time = lost money. Every minute counts.

‘Help me answer every email in the same biz day!’ I got this from a good friend a while back and this is what I wrote back to her.

‘I get approx 75 emails a day. 120 is high. 50 low. I run 7 sites. Most of my customers are in the US but I have others in the UK, across Europe and in Australia. So, emails are always coming in.

Here’s what I do:

1. Don’t Park – I try to push each email to completion; that means no ‘parking’. Once I open it, I see if I can finish it then and there. I don’t want to see it a second time. Hat tip to Tim Ferris.

2. Guilt — Don’t feel guilty about writing short, accurate emails as long as you address the key points. Just because you get a 500 word email, doesn’t mean you need to write 500 words back! You don’t have to reply like for like. Knowing this made a huge difference as I felt free to write one line emails that answered the question and then moved on.

3. Word count – Aim to reduce your word count. Say it in one word, not three. Write use, not utilize. Move, not migrate.

4. Deadwood — Drop non-words such as actually, as a matter of fact, in the event of, due to the fact that, and other fillers. Also, remove oxymorons such as pre-meeting (meeting is fine).

5. Consolidate — I’ve closed down my Hotmail account and moved other accounts into one master Gmail account. Less time lost logging in and out. And more secure too. Here’s how to read your Gmail emails offline.

6. Touch Type — I learnt to touch type as a teenager (and do shorthand) so I can type fairly quickly. This helps me run thru emails that bit faster.

7. Microsoft Word — I write longer emails in Word, use the built-in features such as auto-completion, auto-correct and then paste into the email client. It’s so much faster. Word is great when you learn how it really works.

8. Delete Folders — I rarely use them. I don’t store emails for a rainy day. I used too until my account got deleted by accident. Most of what I had ‘collected’ was of zero use. If it’s that valuable, store it somewhere safe.

The more you have, the more you have to manage.

9. Train Customers — I ‘train’ my staff and customers to answer emails the right way. I know that may sound extreme but very few of us have been trained (really trained!) to communicate. It’s not their fault. And no one has shown them how to do it better.

Enter Ivan!

Here’s an example:

Instead of asking

“Will it be ready?”, (an open ended question)

I write:

‘Can you confirm it will be ready by Friday?’ (I’m looking for a specific date, time, or confirmation)

In other words, I’m training them to give me the information I need to push the task to completion. My goal is to get to completion as soon as possible.

10. Subject Line — I use the subject line in the email to ask, confirm or agree with the email’s request. Others have now got into the habit. Many staff ask/respond to emails in the subject line only. Really speeds things up.

11. Help the Reader — Don’t group several ideas/questions in the same paragraph. People read in a hurry. Help the reader reply to your email by:

• Pulling out the key points,
• Use bold when necessary, and
• Red if it’s really critical.
• Don’t go over-board but a single bolded in red will get the reader’s attention.

12. Use Bullets – for longer emails, I bullet point and/or number the key points. This makes it easier for the reader to see what I need answered.

‘Let’s see, Ivan has these five questions. I’ll start at the top and work my way down.’

13. Ignore FYIs – I rarely respond to or read FYIs. Most is information pollution and people covering their… Status Reports are fine; that’s where the relevant information should be. Also, if you ignore FYIs, and don’t respond, they stop sending them.

14. Meetings with Me Only — I book meeting rooms just for me. Then I spend an hour in there ‘processing’ emails. I really try not to check email when doing this (I’m human after all) but to process things and get them to the next step.

15. Good Surfing Habits — This is more to do with time-saving. I don’t surf the web without an aim (well, almost. Those ninja cats can be real fun). Instead, I use Google Reader, which pulls in (and shares) my fav sites, so I don’t have to go hunting them down. It also shows if/where there is a new article. And, I’ve setup folder/topics and read the most important sites first.

16. Team Effort — I also try to get the team into the same mindset. The best way to get them onside is to show them how this saves time and makes their life easier.

17. Use the Phone — finally, be creative. You don’t have to use email all the time. If it’s quicker pick up the phone or print it out and walk over to your colleague. It’s a nice way to network, look busy and get some light exercise.

One book I found really helpful is Alan Lakein’s ‘How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life’. He wrote this in the 70s – before email – but his approach is very helpful. It’s a small little book but worth the read.”

How do you manage?

Out of curiosity, how many emails do you get every day?

Related posts:

1. Kate Winslet’s 7 Smart Ways to Read Business Proposals