After you have considered receiver, message and channel, one important step in the writing process, especially for business is examples. When ask students why they took Management 3500 as opposed to all of the other 3500 options available to them,I get the important answers like, “it is my major and want to know how to write in the business world.” However, the less favorable answer I get is, “We don’t have to write as much in this class.” Well, that is true in terms of length of assignments. But business writing is a challenge for many because of detail or lack thereof. Once you strip away the format and organization, the next most important aspect of business writing is the details or examples you provide. A well-written business document provides appropriate examples so the receiver understands specifically what happened without belaboring the point.
Let’s look at an example to illuminate my point. If you are tasked with writing a complaint letter, remember you want to give specific examples to explain what happened and appeal to any personality type. So, you may be asking yourself, what does she mean by this?
Well, I think people vacillate between Type A and Type B personality traits, but we all lean more toward one or the other. Using this logic regarding personality traits, if I say I received poor customer service, a Type B person may say “Eh. It’s not that big of a deal,” whereas a Type A person may say, “What happened here? We need to call a meeting to address this very serious situation.” The problem here is that poor customer service can mean anything. And, depending on the person, we might get varying reactions. You see, the level of detail in “poor customer service” is causing a disconnect between the writer and the audience. Now, still thinking about personality traits, imagine I’m complaining about the service I received from your customer service representative, Brittany:
She put me on hold for over a half hour
When she returned to the line, she explained that it wasn’t her fault that my cell phone plan didn’t include texting
She ended up hanging up on me when asked to speak with her supervisor
In this example, regardless of personality type, everyone understands what happened because used specific details. The details listed above are primary examples. A primary example is describing what specifically happened. Then to move the detail further, use secondary examples. A secondary example, details the primary. For example, she put me on hold for over a half hour, is a primary example. Now, what would be a secondary example to that example? She put me on hold for over a half hour. This was frustrating because was at work and had clients coming up and trying to ask me questions, but had to gesture to them that was on hold. Considering your company prides itself on providing outstanding customer service, was annoyed by this lack of care on Brittany’s part. The following items after the primary example are secondary. When you add this detail, you help the receiver understand the situation and what you were experiencing.
Formatting Your Letter:
In order to successfully complete this assignment, you should utilize the following format information:
Use block paragraphing–no indents on the left margin and space between single-spaced paragraphs
Paragraph #1: identify the situation and/or faulty item. Be specific and include any relevant information to help the recipient understand (e.g.: dates, invoices, copy of your bill, etc …)
Paragraph #2: (this section may be more than 1 paragraph in length. It is named 2 because of its order, not its content) explain logically, clearly and specifically what went wrong. Always use examples in the explanation
Paragraph #3: state what you expect the reader to do to solve the problem to your satisfaction
When you are writing a good-news based letter, the format is generally the same:
Use block paragraphing
Paragraph #1: identify the situation and why you are expressing good news. Be specific and include any relevant information to help the recipient understand (e.g. dates, invoices, copy of your bill, etc …)
Paragraph #2: (this section may be more than 1 paragraph in length. It is named 2 because of its order, not its content) explain logically, clearly and specifically what happened and why you left satisfied–how did the person or service meet/exceed your expectations? Always use examples in the explanation
Paragraph #3: state why you wanted the person you are writing to know about your experience. What are you hoping to accomplish with your letter?
For the purpose of this assignment, I want you to write a complaint, revision or problem letter. Typically, we are better at delivering good news so it is a bigger challenge to write bad news while maintaining goodwill to your recipient.
As you can see, have written the assignment sheet in correct letter format so you can use this as your guide when you are putting your complaint or compliment letter together. If you opt to write a compliment, you use the exact same format but instead of explaining your grievances, you highlight what the company, entity or person did right for you. The choice is yours as to what you prefer to write–they are both challenging for different reasons.
Also, please consider visiting the PWO to complete your first mandatory visit. They can really help you in the writing process and you knock out the requirement.
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