FINAL REVIEW Book Modules Module 9 Formats for letters and Memos Block and modified block are the two standard letter formats o Block has the date and signature lined up at left margin There is no paragraph indentation The subject line is optional o Modified block has the date and signature lined up or 2 3 over to the right The paragraph indentation is option The subject line is rare Salutation the greeting in a letter Dear Mr Helms Complimentary closes sincerely and cordially Mixed punctuation a colon follows the salutation and a comma follows the close Open punctuation omit all punctuation after the salutation and the close Subject line tells what the letter is about Reference line refers the reader to the number used on the previous correspondence this letter replies to or the order or invoice number which this letter is about Letterhead preprinted stationery with the organization s name logo address and phone number Enclosures other documents accompanying letters typically enclosed in the envelope Use Ms As the courtesy title for a woman unless she has a professional title or unless she prefers a traditional title Us Mr as the courtesy title for a man unless he has a professional title In a list of several people use parallel forms for names Use either courtesy titles and last names for everyone or use first names for everyone For example it s sexist to use Mr for each man in a document that calls all the women by their first names Memos omit both the salutation and the close Memos never indent paragraphs Subject lines are required headings are optional Each heading must cover all the information until the next heading Never use a separate heading for the first paragraph Module 10 Informative and Positive Messages A subject line is the title of a document A good dsubject line meets three criteria it s specific it s reasonably short and it s adapted to the kind of message positive negative persuasive If you cant make the subject both specific and short be specific The subject line for an informative or positive message should highlight any good news and summarize the information concisely Intrinsic benefits benefits that come from the activity or policy itself Informative and positive messages normally use the following pattern of organization o Give any good news and summarize the main points o Give details clarification background o Present any negative elements as positively as possible Explain any reader benefits o Use a goodwill ending positive personal and forward looking Use reader benefits in informative and positive messages when o You are presenting policies o You want to shape readers attitudes toward the information or toward your organization o Stressing benefits presents readers motives positively o Some of the benefits may not be obvious to readers Use the PAIBOC questions listed in Module 1 to examine the basic points needed for successful o Give the reason for the refusal before the refusal itself when you have a reason that informative and positive messages Module 11 Negative Messages Organize negative letters in this way readers will understand and accept o Give the negative just once clearly o Present an alternative or compromise if one is available o End with a positive forward looking statement Organize negative memos to superiors in this way o Describe the problem o Tell how it happened o Describe the options for fixing it o Recommend a solution and ask for action pattern to superiors o Describe the problem o Present an alternative or compromise if one is available o If possible ask for input or action When you must pass along serious bad news to peers and subordinates use a variation of the Buffer a neutral or positive statement that allows you to delay the negative When the bad news is less serious use the patter for negative letters unless your knowledge of the reader s suggests that another pattern will be more effective A good reason must be watertight Give several reasons only if all are watertight and are of comparable importance Omit the reason for the refusal if it is weak or if it makes your organization look bad Giving the reader alternative or a compromise o Offers the reader another way to get what he or she wants o Suggests that you really care about the reader and about helping to meet his or her o Enables the reader to reestablish the psychological freedom you limited when you said needs no o Allows you to end a positive note and to present yourself and your organization as positive friendly and helpful People may respond to limits by striking out in some perhaps unacceptable way This effort to reestablish freedom is called psychological reactance When you give an alternative give the reader all the information he or she needs to act on it but don t take the necessary steps for the reader Letting the reader decide whether to try the alternative allows the reader to reestablish a sense of psychological freedom Use a buffer when the reader values harmony or when the buffer serves a purpose in addition to simply delaying the negative A buffer is a neutral or positive statement that llows you to bury the negative message Buffers must put the reader in a good frame of mind not give the bad news but not imply a positive answer either and provide a natural transition to the body of the letter The kinds of statements most often used as buffers are o Good news o Facts and chronologies of events o References to enclosures o Thanks o Statements of principle informative and positive messages Module 12 Persuasive Messages Use the direct request pattern when Use the PAIBOC questions listed in Module 1 to examine the basic points needed for successful o The audience will do as you ask without any resistance o You need a response only from the people who are willing to act o The audience is busy and may not read all the messages received o Your organizations culture prefers direct requests Use the problem solving pattern when o The audience is likely to object to doing as you ask o You need action from everyone o You trust the audience to read the entire message o You expect logic to be more important than emotion in the decision In a direct request put the request the topic of the request or a question in the subject line Do not put the request in the subject line of a problem solving persuasive message Instead use a directed subject line that reveals your position on the issue or a reader benefit Use a positive or neutral subject line even when the
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