A presentation on chapter 7.

1. Business Communications
Adapted from NETA PowerPoint for Essentials of Business Communication by
Lisa Jamieson
Negative Writing Situations

2. Principles of Delivering Bad News
10. Never surprise
9. Never delay
8. Never hide the facts
7. Always put it in writing
6. Always justify
5. Always look for silver
lining
4. Always bring solutions
3. Always remember
multiple audiences
2. Always follow up
1. Always treat people
with respect

3. 10. Thou shalt never surprise
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4. 9. Thou shalt never delay
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5. 8. Thou shalt never hide the facts
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6. 7. Thou shalt always put it in writing
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7. 6. Thou shalt always justify
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8. 5. Thou shalt always look for the
silver lining
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9. 4. Thou shalt always bring solutions
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10. 3. Thou shalt always remember your
multiple audiences
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11. 2. Thou shalt always follow up and
follow through
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12. 1. Thou shalt always treat people with
respect and dignity
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13. Example Situations

14. Negative Situation:
Delivering Bad News to Customers
• Collections
• Refusals
• Responses to criticism

15. Tips for Dealing with Disappointed
Customers
1. Call
2. Describe and apologize
3. Explain why the problem occurred, what’s being done,
and changes being made
4. Follow up with message and goodwill

16. Negative Situation:
Delivering Bad News to Employees
• Refusing workplace
requests
• Raising performance
issues
• Firings / layoffs
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17. Delivering Negative News to
Employees: Dos and Don’ts

18. Announcing Negative News to
Employees
• Keep communication open and honest
• Choose the best communication channel
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19. Addressing Performance Issues

20. Addressing Performance Issues
Cont’d
• Focus on performance rather than personality
• Get to the point
• Outline where you are going
• Share what you know
• Outline the consequences if no change is made
• Encourage the employee to share their perspective
• Communicate a plan of action
• Close by summarizing and clarifying next steps

21. Receiving Feedback

22. Summary
• Learned about composing negative messages
for client/customer situations.
• Learned how to compose negative messages
for internal situations.

23. References
Bies, R. (2012, May 30). The 10 commandments for delivering bad news. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/05/30/10-
commandments-for-delivering-bad-news/?sh=4b823d432169
Guffrey, M. E., Loewy, D., & Almonte, R. (2019). Essentials of business communication
(9th Canadian Edition). Nelson.
HR360Inc. (2014, August 6). How to deliver negative feedback fairly and effectively
[Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/s76bX5ujl_4
Izzo, J. (2014, April 1). 5 words that will improve your ability to receive feedback [Video].
YouTube. https://youtu.be/4BpPtjKpJZM
Jamieson, L. (2019). Chapter 1: Communicating in the digital-age workplace [PowerPoint
slides]. Nelson.
Skill Boosters. (2014, December 2). Breaking bad news - Difficult workplace
conversations training - Drama example [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN-RbUFAJx4

24. Image Sources
Pabis, D. [Newspaper: bad news] [Photograph]. [n.d.] CNBC.
https://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/20/-delivering-bad-newscommentary.html
[Woman in green with clock] [Illustration]. (2018, February 13). Lynda.com.
https://www.lynda.com/Leadership-Management-tutorials/Timeliness-
results/647651/705871-4.html
[Signpost: integrity, ethics, respect, honesty] [Illustration]. [n.d.] sodapdf.
https://www.sodapdf.com/blog/how-to-avoid-ethical-dilemmas-workplace/