The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric
2nd EditionLawrence Scanlon, Renee H. Shea, Robin Dissin Aufses
661 solutions
Technical Writing for Success
3rd EditionDarlene Smith-Worthington, Sue Jefferson
468 solutions
Technical Writing for Success
3rd EditionDarlene Smith-Worthington, Sue Jefferson
468 solutions
Technical Writing for Success
3rd EditionDarlene Smith-Worthington, Sue Jefferson
468 solutions
1. Answers to requests for info and action.
Goals: 1. respond and answer all questions.
2. leave your reader with food impression of you and your firm. 3. encourage future sale.
2. Grants of claims and requests for adjustment. Be careful - deciding moment for your relationship with the customer.
When company is at fault: 1. Acknowledge the receipt of the customer's claim or complaint. 2. Take or assign responsibility for setting matters straight. 3. Sympathize. 4. Explain how you have resolved or plan to resolve the situation. 5. Take steps to repair the relationship. 6. Follow up to verify that your response was correct.
Don't: blame anyone at your firm by name, don't exaggerate apologies, don't make insincere apologies, don't imply customer's fault and do not promise what you can't deliver.
When company is at fault: weigh costs vs benefits. If wrong, but cost of losing customer outweighs the cost of not fulfilling expectations, keep the customer. The body is tricky: you want to steer customer in right direction to avoid making such claims in the future. Diplomatically remind of proper procedure, but don't be condescending or preachy. Close with appreciation for customer business.
When third party is at fault: respond based on your company's agreement on who takes the blame in such situation. Don't point fingers. Handle as normal claims and adjustment requests.
3. Recommendations.
Goal is to convince people that the person recommended meets the job.
What recommendations must have:
1. Candidate's full name.
2. Position or other objective the candidate is seeking.
3. The nature of your relationship.
4. Indication that you are answering a request or making an initiative.
5. Facts and evidence relevant to the candidate and the opportunity.
6. A comparison of candidate potential to that of peers.
7. Your overall evaluation of the candidate's suitability.
If candidate is too good, hard to write, as too much praise may seem fake. Try to illustrate with specific examples. If candidate is not good at all, don't write, as you don't want to hurt your reputation. Tell your candidate that someone else will be a better fit for a recommendation, unless you are obligated to provide a reason.
4. Informative messages.
Open with purpose (to inform) (since reader did not request the info, they need to know why you are sending it), briefly mention the nature if info. Body: factual info; if the message is neutral, don't worry about the reader's attitude; if message is a little negative, but there are some hidden benefits, highlight them.
5. Good-news announcements. Be careful. Don't wanna say any legally binding things. Can be filtered through by legal department. Can be announced in press release. Press release structure: good news, followed by details, then positive close. Target journalists, not customers.
For effective press release: 1.
Ensure your info is newsworthy and relevant. Editors already have info overload. 2. Focus on one subject, don't put multiple unrelated ideas in a release. 3. Put important idea first. Don't force editors work for it. 4. Be brief. Break up long sentences and keep paragraphs short. 5. Eliminate clutter, unnec. info etc. 6. Be as specific as possible. 7. Minimize self-congratulatory info. 8. Follow established industry style, punctuation and format.
With internet being popular, not only
journalists, but customers read company press releases on company website (direct-to-consumer release). Websites often have dedicated page for press releases. Social media release - better than traditional release: 1. bullet point content (easy to elaborate) 2. electronic - can include multimedia 3. social bookmarking helps spread info.
6. Goodwill messages. Friendly notes to enhance relationship with no direct business purpose. Must be honest, specific if talking about a certain issue/
occurrence, sincere (no exaggeration, back up compliments, use restrained praise) to avoid looking like ur looking for a personal gain.
Congratulations are also appropriate for employee's family accomplishments. Appreciation messages document and encourage contributions.
Condolence messages are appreciated. Open with brief sympathy, in body: good qualities and positive contributions, what they meant, closing: condolences and best wishes. Keep reminiscences brief. General guidelines: 1.
keep reminiscences brief (don't dwell, otherwise u hurt readers). 2. write in your own words. 3. be tactful (don't emphasize the damage of the loss). 4. Take special care with spelling, facts. 5. Write about special qualities of the deceased. 6. Consider mentioning special attributes or resources of the bereaved person if they can be useful (e.g. resilience, religion).