Orange Level Strategies notes PDF

Preview

Summary

orange level Strategies. Professor Elek...

Description

Strategies for Establishing and Strengthening Cooperative Relationships

Orange Level Strategies

   



Use goodwill-building techniques Emphasize reader benefits Write with a positive emphasis Write with a reader-based emphasis Communicate alternatives

Orange level strategies demonstrate to the reader that you value his or her role in your communication exchange or in the professional exchange that you are communicating about. They are not “fluffy,” and they are not extras. They are required for successful exchanges, informative or persuasive.

Use Goodwill Building Strategies You are more likely to be successful in any exchange when there is goodwill between the parties. Acknowledging and building upon goodwill in your communication will enhance your success. It is simple to do, but you must take the opportunities to do it. It is an expected part of American business culture, and it works, and it’s nice. So how do you build goodwill? The easiest way is to thank. The best thanks are those that directly acknowledge your reader’s role in the exchange. So if you are informing someone that they need to come to a meeting, you could say, “Thanks for making time in your schedule for this important meeting,” or something similar. Less effective thanks are the generic kind like, “Thanks for your cooperation,” or “Thanks for your time.” They don’t have quite as much an effect, but they are still better than nothing. Another way to build goodwill is to acknowledge the reader’s role in other ways and to give people credit. If you are telling employees that your company passed an important inspection, you should take the opportunity to say something like, “Your hard work and attention to detail made this possible.” Again, the more specific the better. Finally, acknowledge any obstacles the reader faces with regard to your message. You may not be able to remove those obstacles, but it helps people to know that at least you “get it.” So if you are telling someone to do something on a tight deadline, you can acknowledge that with a simple phrase like, “I realize this deadline is demanding, but we must meet it so we can begin the end of the year accounting.”

Emphasize Reader Benefits As humans, our brains are trained to interpret messages in certain ways. One of the first (if not the very first) interpretations we make about a message is “How does this affect me?” Because you are cooperative, you want your readers to see your communication in the best possible light, so take opportunities to emphasize how readers will benefit from your message. If we are trying to persuade, this strategy is pretty intuitive. If we want people to sign up for a business writing seminar, we would let them know how improving their writing will make their jobs easier and enhance their earning potential. Our task is to make sure we take the opportunity to use these same positive techniques in an informative situation. If you are informing your staff that you have signed them up for a mandatory business writing seminar, you should include the same information. Every time you are writing in a professional environment, you should think about and even make a list of the reader benefits associated with your message. Sometimes there are direct benefits to a reader. These are the most powerful. In our example about the writing seminar, your reader is acquiring a new skill. Other times, there are indirect benefits. For example, when you are explaining a new policy or procedure, you should take the opportunity to explain how the company will benefit from it. Why? In a healthy business environment, employees should believe that they will benefit when the company does well. The benefits we discussed so far are intrinsic. They are a naturally occurring part of the exchange. Sometimes though, when we stop to think about reader benefits, we reach the sad conclusion that there aren’t any (or there aren’t enough). What to do? First, stop and take a good, hard look at your business strategy. If the reader is not benefiting in some way, is this going to be a successful exchange? The next step is to think about what benefits you could create for your reader. You are revamping the terms of your exchange a little here. My favorite example of created benefits is bribing people to meetings with food. Use your imagination and think about ways you can make your exchanges more pleasant – what benefits you can create within a situation. Then of course, emphasize your great idea in your writing.

Memo with goodwill and reader benefits highlighted

To: From: Re: Date:

All Employees Susie Smith Off-Site Focus Group Activity to Help Identify And Initiate Creative Endeavors Within Our Company 4/20/2001

On Friday 18 May, our department will participate in focus groups as part of a "creativity audit" of our company. These focus groups will discuss and help answer questions about the creative processes that do and do not work in our company. The audit will measure the creative initiatives in our products, processes, practices, and perceptions. These focus groups will take place off-site, beginning at 10:00 AM, and will include a catered lunch. The word "audit" may have negative connotations; however, please be assured that we not trying to place blame on individuals, instead wishing to spread credit where it is deserved. I have attached sample questions for to you look over to prepare yourself for the focus group activity. Creativity is becoming the driving focus of business, and this audit will not only allow us to nurture and discipline the creativity which is already a part our company, but also to develop a creative plan which will lead to our future success and allow us to continue to compete with other businesses in our field. Creativity will be reflected in our work environment and company atmosphere, which we hope will become more fun and exciting. Our focus will be on fostering creative conversations and implementing your creative ideas. Your input is necessary to achieve these goals. I understand that your time is valuable, and I hope that this early warning will help to accommodate your schedule. If you have conflicts or deadlines that may interfere with this activity, please see me immediately so we can work out any problems. Thank you for the work you have already done for our company. If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please send me an email or stop by my office at your convenience. I look forward to working with you on this creative endeavor.

Memo with goodwill and reader benefits highlighted To: The Finance Department From: Date: 04-13-2001 Re: An Opportunity for More Freedom and Creativity, Making Work More Exciting Beginning May 1, I will be conducting a creativity audit. This will take a minimal amount of time out of your workday. Lunch will be served before all meetings, and there will be ample notice as to exactly where and when the meetings will be held. Everyone’s cooperative participation would be greatly appreciated, as I value all of your opinions. This audit will be used to determine how our department as a whole is using its creative skills and where we may be able to improve in the future. The results of this creativity audit will be used to increase our success rate, which in turn will create new opportunities for the department and its employees. I also plan to use the results to improve our working environment make our department a more exciting place to work. This creativity audit consists of many steps that will help us determine how to optimize our creativity. I will be assessing how much time, money, and effort is being focused on our creative capabilities. New ideas will be tracked from when they originate until they become new products or processes. I will be determining under what circumstances we are best at thinking of new ideas and turning them into realities. Your role in this process will simply be to come to the meetings and give your input. Many questions will be asked as part of the audit, but none are aimed at individuals. This audit is strictly being used to help the department and will not adversely affect any single employee. What can you expect to get out of this creativity audit? A free lunch and some much needed time away from your desk are a couple immediate benefits. More importantly, I believe the long-term benefits will be very rewarding. Focusing on creativity calls for a little more freedom for employees, which coincides with there being more tolerance for ideas that don’t work out so well. If we can optimize our creativity and be more successful as a department, more doors of opportunity will open to everybody. I will analyze the results and try to determine the best mix of hard work and fun that will spark the most innovative thinking. With the talent that we have in our department, I don't believe that there are any limits on what we can achieve. Thank you in advance for helping make the finance department a more productive and exciting place to work.

Write with a Positive Emphasis Think about the language you use a type of lens. When you use positive language, your audience sees the message through the positive lens. Research shows that using positive language can increase the likelihood of an audience complying with requests. Sometimes negatives cannot be avoided, so use this strategy wisely. When you need to deliver bad news, you would do well to do that in a straightforward way. This strategy asks you to look at some hidden ways that negatives sneak into neutral messages – Oh! Let me rephrase that as a positive: This strategy shows you how to use the power of positive language in neutral messages. See? Remember that positive emphasis should be practical, sincere, and ethical to be effective. The following is adapted from Business and Administrative Communication., 9th ed. (2010) Locker and Kienzler. Avoid obvious negative words.

We have failed to comply with the new standard. We are still working to comply with the new standard. Our customers are dissatisfied. We must improve customer satisfaction. Your request is unclear. Could you please clarify what you are requesting? Watch for less obvious or implied negatives.

I feel this will improve performance. I believe this will improve performance. I hope you will enjoy the enclosed gift. Please enjoy the enclosed gift. Focus on possibilities instead of limitations

You will not receive your order until you confirm your account information. Once you confirm your account information, we will promptly ship your order. Your account has a $5000 limit. You may charge up to $5000 on your account.

Use a Reader-Based Tone Using a reader-based emphasis solidifies your role as a cooperative participant and helps the reader perceive you in a positive light. Again, you need to apply this strategy in ways that are practical, sincere, and ethical. The following is adapted from Business and Administrative Communication., 9th ed. (2010) Locker and Kienzler. Phrase sentences with the reader as the main focus.

We have arranged to a catered lunch for all participants. As part of the day, you will enjoy a catered lunch. We will expedite your order. You order should arrive today. Refer to the audience’s issue specifically.

Your order has been processed. Your text-books will ship today. Thank you for the suggestion. Thank you for suggesting that we reschedule the meeting. Protect the audience’s ego in negative situations by avoiding “you.”

Because you did not file the correct paperwork . . . Because the correct paperwork was not filed . . . Your proposal was not accepted. We accepted a proposal from another firm.

Communicate Alternatives Informing your reader of an alternative or compromise is another way to show empathy, and the key to communicating alternatives in a cooperative manner is to leave final decisions open to the reader’s judgment. By allowing the reader to choose whether or not to pursue an alternative or compromise, you help maintain the reader’s sense of psychological freedom....