What is Emphasis?

 Force or intensity of expression that gives impressiveness or importance to something.

 A particular prominence given in reading or speaking to one or more words or syllables.

 Special consideration of or stress or insistence on something.

Some Negative are necessary

 Straight forward negatives build credibility when you have bad news to give the reader.
Announcements of layoffs, product defects and recalls, price increases.
 Negative may help people take a problem seriously. Wall Data improved the reliability of its
computer programs when it eliminated the term bugs and used instead the term failures.
 In some messages, such as negative performance appraisals, your purpose is to deliver a
rebuke with no alternative. Even here, avoid insults or attacks on the reader’s integrity or
sanity. Being honest about the drawbacks of job reduce turnover.
 Sometimes negatives create a “reverse psychology” that make people look favourably at your
product rent-a-wreck is thriving. “The cars really don’t look so bad.”

Positive emphasis is a way of looking at things. Is the bottle half empty or half full? You can
create positive emphasis with the words, information, organization and layout you choose.

How do I create positive emphasis?

- Deemphasize or omit negative words and information.

The following five techniques deemphasize negative information.

In some messages, especially negative ones (see module 11), you won’t use all five
techniques. Practice each of these techniques so that you can use them when they’re appropriate.

1. Avoiding Negative words and words with negative connotation

List some common negative words. If you find one of these words in a draft, try to substitute a
more positive word. When you must use a negative, use the least negative term that will convey
your meaning.

Afraid Eliminate Lacking Trivial

Anxious Error Loss Trouble
Avoid Except Wait
Bad Fail Some Mis-words Weakness
Careless Fault Misfortune Worry
 Damage Fear Missing Wrong
Delay Hesitate Mistake Many un-words:
Delinquent Ignorant Unclear
Deny Ignore Neglect Unfair
Difficult Impossible Never Unfortunate
No Unfortunately
Some Dis-words Many in-words Not Unpleasant
Disapprove Inadequate Objection Unreasonable
Dishonest Incomplete Problem Unreliable
Dissatisfied Inconvenient Reject Unsure
Injury Sorry
Insincere Terrible

The following examples show how to replace negative words with positive words.

Negative: We have failed to finish taking inventories.

Better: We haven’t finished taking inventories.
Still better: We will be finished taking inventories.

Negative: If you can’t understand this explanation, feel free to call me.
Better: If you have further questions, just call me.
Still better: (Omit the sentence) the reader aren’t shrinking violets. They’ll call if they
have a question.

Omit Double Negative.

Negative: Do not forget to back up your disks.

Better: Always back up your disks.

2. Focus on what the reader can do rather than on limitations.

Sometimes positive emphasis is a matter of the way you present something; is the glass half
empty of half full? Sometimes it’s a matter of eliminating double negatives. When there are limits,
or some options are closed, focus on the alternative that remain.

Negative: We will not allow to charge more than $1,500 on your VISA account.
Better: You can charge $1,500 on your new VISA card.
Or: Your new VISA card gives you $1,500 in credit that you can use at
thousands of stores nationwide.

When you have a benefit and a requirement the reader must meet to get the benefit, the
sentence is usually more positive if you put the benefit first.
Negative: You will not qualify for the student membership rate of $25 a year unless
You are enrolled for at least 10 hours.
Better: You get all the benefits of membership for only $25 a year if you’re
enrolled for 10 hours or more.

3. Justify negative information by giving a reason or linking it to a reader benefit.

A reason can help your reader see that the information is necessary; a benefit can suggest that
the negative aspect is outweighed by positive factors. Be careful, however, to make the logic
behind your reason clear and to leave no loopholes.

Negative: We cannot sell computer disks in lots of less than 10

Loophole: To keep down packing cost and to help you save on shipping and handling
costs, we sell computer disks only in lots of 10 or more.

- Suppose the customer says,” I’ll pay the extra shipping and handling. Send me seven.” If
you can’t or won’t sell in lots of less than 10, you need to write:

Better: To keep down packing cost and to help customers save on shipping and
handling costs, we sell computer disks only in lots of 10 or more.

If you link the negative element to a benefit, be sure that it is a benefit the reader will
acknowledge. Avoid telling people that you’re doing things “for their own good”. They may have
the different notion of what their own good is. You may think you’re doing customers a favor by
limiting their credit, so they don’t get in over their heads and go bankrupt. They may feel they’d
be better off with more credit so they could expand in hopes of making more sales and more profits.

4. If the negative is truly unimportant, omit it

Omit negatives entirely only when

 The reader does not need the information to take a decision

 You have already given the reader the information and he or she has access to the previous
communication.
 The information is trivial.

The following examples suggest the kind of negatives you can omit:

Negative: A one-year subscription to PC magazine is $49.97, that rate is not as low

as the rate charged for some magazines.
Better: A one-year subscription to PC magazine is $49.97
Still better: A one-year subscription to PC magazines is $49.97. You save 43% off the
newsstand price of $87.78.
Better: Omit the sentence.
 5. Bury the negative information and present it compactly.

The beginning and end are always positioning of emphasis. Put negatives here only if you want
to emphasize the negative, as you may in a negative message (see module 11). To deemphasize
the negative, put it in the middle of a paragraph rather than in the first or last sentence, in the
middle of the message rather than in the first or last paragraphs.

Therefore, you can deemphasize negative information by giving it as little space as

possible. Give negative information only once in your message. Don’t list negatives vertically on
the page since lists take space and emphasize material.

Why do I need to think about tone, politeness and power?

 So you don’t offend people by mistake
No one likes to deal with people who seem condescending or rude. Poorly chosen words can
create that sense, whether the sender “meant” to be rude or not.

Tone is the implied attitude of the writer toward the writer

The desirable tone for business writing is business like but not stiff, friendly but not phony,
confident but not arrogant, polite but not grovelling. The following guidelines will help you
achieve the tone you want.

 Use courtesy titles for people outside your organization whom you don’t know well.
When you talk or write to people outside your organization, use first names only if you’ve
established a personal relationship. If you don’t know the person well use a courtesy title.

 Be aware of the power implication of the words you use.

“Thank you for cooperation” is generous coming from a superior to a subordinate, but it’s not
appropriate message for your superior.

Different ways of asking for action carry different levels of politeness.

Order Turn in your time card by Monday
(lowest politeness)

Polite order Please turn in your time card by Monday.

(midlevel politeness)
 Indirect request Time cards should be turned in by Monday
(higher politeness)

Question Would you be able to turn in your time card by Monday?

(highest politeness)

Poor tone: Return the draft with any changes by next Tuesday.
Better tone: Let me know by Tuesday whether you’d like any changes
in the draft.

 When the stakes are low, be straightforward

Messages that “beat around the bush” sound pompous and defensive.

Hagge and Charges Kostelink have shown three strategies to be more diplomatic:
- Specifying the time (“currently, the records are quietly informal”)
- Limiting Statements (“it appears,” “it seems”)
- Impersonal Statements that do not specify who caused a problem or who will perform
an action.

What is the best way to apologize?

 Early, briefly, sincerely.
When you are at fault, you may build goodwill by admitting that fact forthrightly. However,
apologize may have legal implications, so some organizations prefer that apologies not be issued
to customers or the public. Think about your audience and the organizational culture in deciding
whether to apologize explicitly.

 No explicit apology is necessary if the error is small and if you are correcting the
mistake.
Negative: I’m sorry the clerk did not credit your account properly.
Better: Your statement has been corrected to include you payment of P200.

 Do not apologize when you are not at fault.

Negative: I’m sorry that the chairs will not be ready by August 25 as promised.
Better: Due to a strike against the manufacturer, the desk and chairs ordered will be ready
by November. Do you want to keep that order, or would you like to look at the
models available from the other suppliers?

 When you apologize, do it early, briefly, and sincerely.

Apologize only once, early in the message. Let the reader move on to other, more positive
information.
Negative: I’m sorry I didn’t answer your letter sooner. I hope my delay hasn’t
inconvenienced you.
Better: I’m sorry I didn’t answer your letter sooner.