Your workplace communications should create favorable impressions and promote goodwill as well as accomplish specific objectives. Choosing appropriate words and developing and organizing coherent messages are vital to effective communications. Equally important, however, is a positive tone.

To establish and maintain goodwill, you must concentrate on creating a positive tone. A positive tone is established by projecting a “you attitude,” showing sincere interest in the reader, and focusing on positive ideas. Avoid using any destroyers of the “you attitude” and positive tone. You build and maintain goodwill by promoting a service attitude and by reselling your products, services, and organization.

Building goodwill—a priceless commodity that individuals as well as businesses need to be successful—is the primary purpose of all the messages discussed in this chapter. Whether a message is in the form of a note, memo, or letter, a written goodwill message will make a more positive impression on a reader than a verbal goodwill message because it is tangible evidence of the sender’s thoughtfulness.