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Business Communication: Building Critical Skills
Kitty O. Locker, Ohio State University
Steven Kyo Kaczmarek, Columbus State Community College
Kathryn Braun, Sheridan College
Positive Emphasis

E-Learning Session

  1. How do I create positive emphasis? De-emphasize or omit negative words and information.
    1. Use five techniques help de-emphasize negative information. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
      • In some situations, especially negative ones, you won't use all five techniques.
          1. CONCEPT CHECK True or False: Most people prefer to get the negative news point blank. Therefore, using negative words and phrases is a good way to meet the needs of your audience. CONCEPT CHECK
    2. Avoid common negative words TRANSPARENCY MASTER.
        1. Hidden negatives are word that are not negative in themselves but become negative in context.
          1. CONCEPT CHECK True or False: Hidden negatives are less problematic than more direct negatives because most people won't notice hidden negatives. CONCEPT CHECK
  2. What's the best way to apologize? Early, briefly, and sincerely.
    1. When you are at fault, you may build goodwill by admitting that fact forthrightly; however, remember that apologies may have legal ramifications.
      • CONCEPT CHECK True or False: Apologies should be automatic; after all, it's good you-attitude to let readers know that you are sorry for their inconvenience. CONCEPT CHECK
  3. Why do I need to think about tone, politeness, and power? So you don't offend people by mistake.
    1. Tone is the implied attitude of the writer toward the reader POWERPOINT SLIDE
    2. The desirable tone for business writing is
      • Businesslike but not stiff.
      • Friendly but not phony.
      • Confident but not arrogant.
      • Polite but not groveling.
    3. Use three strategies to achieve proper tone. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
      • CONCEPT CHECK True or False: Because tone is up to the individual-and you can't please everyone-you should be more concerned with the message content than tone. CONCEPT CHECK
  4. Go to the Self-Quizzes section if you would like to test your understanding of this module.




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