DISCUSSION

BUSI342

Discussion Replies 1.

George Agyemang 

Persuasive messages

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Delivering bad news is a fine art, and it takes forethought, preparation, and practice to do it well. When delivering bad news, give it to them straight. Don't beat around the bush. Get right to the point and make sure your message is clear and easily understood. Usually, the thing that you don't want to tell your listener because you're afraid to hurt their feelings is what you need to say: the truth of the matter. Practice what you're going to say out loud to see how it sounds. Ask yourself if you can say it any more precisely, and make adjustments if needed. Also, while you want to keep your message clear, don't degrade your listener. Deliver the news as gracefully as possible. By doing so, it prevents any suspense and anxiety. Also, do not over-explain. After delivering bad news, it usually makes sense to explain appropriately to the situation. For example: "Your deal fell through because …" or "You are being let go because…." Offer a sentence or two to explain what happened or why it happened, but don't elaborate too much. Explaining too much detracts from the main message you want to convey and, in some cases, prolongs the conversation more than the listener is comfortable with.

To be persuasive, you need to establish common ground with your audience. The audience needs to feel directly connected to the problem. Think about what you have in common with your audience—their values, interests, shared experiences—which relate to your topic. Also, the thesis is simply your solution statement. Use it as a call to action for the audience. Example: "We need to find affordable and sustainable ways to produce clean water." When writing formal reports, write about literature in the PRESENT tense, use the ACTIVE voice, and use a formal voice when writing paragraphs and essays. Don't use colloquial language. These are words used in everyday, informal speech and, therefore, not appropriate for formal writing. Don't use symbols. Example: (& or +). Write these words out in full.

Primary research refers to research that has involved the collection of original data specific to a particular research project (Gratton & Jones, 2010). While primary research involves active participation from the researcher, secondary research involves the summary or synthesis of data and literature that has been organized and published by others. One advantage of graphics presentations is the convenience with which the audience can follow along, while one disadvantage is that data may show a false picture of the situation. Information can be compared in terms of graphical representation. Such comparative analysis helps for quick understanding and attention; also, data can be presented through various graphical methods and ways. Which should be the suitable method is very hard to select.

Reference:

6 Tips to Successfully Deliver Bad News in the Workplace. (n.d.). Www.yahoo.com. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://news.yahoo.com/6-tips-successfully-deliver-bad-news-workplace-133139158.html

Bouchrika, I. (2021, May 5). Primary Research vs Secondary Research: Definitions, Differences, and Examples «Guide 2 Research. Research.com. https://research.com/research/primary-research-vs-secondary-research

Replies 2

Gabriel Anderson 

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Both in business and personal life, one of the most difficult things to tell someone is the bad news. In order to convey a bad news message to another party multiple steps must be taken so that the message is not misinterpreted and that it is given directly without subjective room for error. To give an effective message it is important to focus on the facts of the situation, knowing the circumstances for the message, reason behind the message, and things already done in relation to the message can be vital to explaining a message clearly and knowledgeably. If the receiver ends up finding flaws in the message or sees that something could be done it is important to either curb the message before it happens or to have a good response. Alongside the truth of the message it is a good idea to explain how the decision was made. Gallo says that "people are willing to accept an unfavorable outcome if they believe the decision-making process was sound". With solid logic and reason behind a message it becomes a lot more difficult for the receiver to debate the topic and much easier to accept what transpired. Third and lastly, be direct, "most people prefer directness, candor and very little -- if any -- buffer" (Brigham Young University). Beating around the bush or coming off as too friendly in the beginning can lead the receiver into a different mindset and they may feel cheated or purposely mislead if the message comes off too affectionate. Adhering to the above points can guarantee the receiver to not misinterpret the message and feel as though you or your company had already done work for the receiver and they are not left in the dust.

Reference

Brigham Young University. (2017, October 5). Delivering bad news? Don't beat around the bush: New research shows people typically want to hear it straight. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 29, 2021 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171005141739.htm

Gallo, A. (2015, August 3).  How to deliver bad news to your employees. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2015/03/how-to-deliver-bad-news-to-your-employees.

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Jacob Hunley 

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Delivering bad news any time is hard to do but like anything else there are good ways to do it and bad ways. Like a Band-Aid it is best to deliver bad news quickly and it should be done within the first two sentences of a message. It is important to do this because you want to be upfront and do not want to seem to be disguising your message. Another good tactic to utilize is to be able to anticipate bad news and be able to defend your point with facts. With almost any type of communication in business it is best to come at it from a very analytical point of view and persuasion is no different. It becomes very easy to convince people to be on your side when you present them with facts that back up your cause. When trying to convince people perhaps the most important tool is to build credibility with your audience it goes a long way for them to know that you know what you’re talking about. A good example of this would be with my current job I work on Aircraft, if I went and asked a bunch of my coworkers to do something to fix the planes they would be much more likely to agree and comply with my request because I have built trust with them and they know what I am talking about. There are a few good guidelines to follow when writing a formal report in order to convince people. Perhaps the biggest don’t is to keep the report short and to the point the longer the report the easier it is too loose people in the content and to not meet the intent of the report. Just like when you are trying to persuade people the most effective tool is to present accurate and applicable statistics to support your position. Primary and secondary research vary in two ways, primary research involves collecting data for the first time. Secondary research is research which is conducted with data that is already collected. One of the best ways to utilize the research that you have conducted is to utilize graphics they can make hard to digest and read data easily understandable. On the same coin if a graphic is too complicated and too busy it can make data that is already hard to understand even harder.  

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Aaron Willis 

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There are many techniques that can be utilized when giving bad news, two that seem most useful to me are demonstrating empathy and framing feedback. The word empathy is derived from the Greek word empatheia, for passion or suffering (American Academy of Ophthalmology). It is very important we show emotion in regards to delivering bad news. If we do not carefully say the news we are communicating with the appropriate nonverbal communication, we risk coming off as cold and uncaring. Showing empathy helps us to effectively deliver news that may not be taken well. Another technique that can help aide us in delivering bad news is framing of our words or feedback. We can choose to deliberately frame our news to be taken in a less hostile way than if we were to subconsciously frame it. "Whenever we face a decision or situation, we frame it, consciously or not. At its simplest, a frame is the decision maker’s image of a situation—that is, the way he or she pictures the circumstances and elements surrounding the decision"(Harvard Business Review). 

Two strategies to utilize when trying to persuade someone are frarnework, which goes right back to what was discussed when delivering bad news, you just now want to frame your words to have a persuasive tone that shows benefits to the audience. Another strategy is saying we words and not you words. You shows accusatory tone while we shows we are together in this. 

There are many dos and don'ts involved with effective formal reports, Two dos that struck me the most were writing with the reader involved and properly structure your writing. Two don'ts are to not write informally, meaning do not use sarcasm and jokes when writing in a formal report and then there is also do not become over reliant in your computer's grammar check software. 

A main difference between primary and secondary research is that primary research often takes longer to complete and is more expensive to conduct, but it gives more conclusive results. Secondary research is often research that has been compiled from other people or organizations research. 

Graphics are often good at showing when something is larger than another thing, use this to your advantage when comparing and use graphics to simplify data. Combine your data to show it more effectively without overwhelming the audience. There are also ways graphics can hinder presentation effectiveness, one being placing unnecessary graphics or visual aides, therefore causing a distraction. Another example of ineffective use of graphics would be being sporadic in choosing colors for said graphics. Not sticking to a scheme of colors can prove to also be a distraction.  

9 Tips for Delivering Bad News. (2016, August 25). American Academy of Ophthalmology.https://www.aao.org/eyenet/young-ophthalmologist/tips-delivering-bad-news

A Better Way to Deliver Bad News. (2016, August 16). Harvard Business Review.  https://hbr.org/2002/09/a-better-way-to-deliver-bad-news

10 Do’s and Don’ts for Better Business Writing - Maguire Training | Maguire Training. (2021). Maguire Training.  https://www.maguiretraining.co.uk/blog/10-dos-and-donts-for-better-business-writing/

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Replies 5

Eric Campbell 

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When attempting to deliver an effective bad-news message a couple of techniques to consider using is implying a “No” response instead of blatantly saying "No" and avoid using “company policy” as the reason for refusal or denial. Implying “No” allows you to frame the refusal in a more positive light by using positive language, “it conveys reasons or at least a positive attitude” (Lehman, Dufrene and Walker, 2020), and the message can come off more respectful. By avoiding using the “company policy” justification for denial you appear more genuine and your reply will likely include benefits to the recipient and less as a party line approach to customers.

 

When effectively attempting to persuade others to accept your point of view two strategies to consider are knowing your audience and being a subject matter expert of the product, service or idea you are pitching. Knowing your audience is key because it will allow you to tailor your delivery to the recipient’s specific needs and wants. Being the expert on the product, service or idea you are delivering will allow you to be able to respond to “on the fly” questions or repudiations from the person you are delivering the message to. 

 

When writing a convincing and effective formal report use active voice and transition sentences to link sections of a report. Do not use first-person pronouns as a rule, “the use of I is generally unacceptable” (Lehman, Dufrene and Walker, 2020). Also “avoid placing two headings consecutively without any intervening text” (Lehman, Dufrene and Walker, 2020).

 

Primary research is data collected for the first time and is usually used for a specific purpose. “Secondary research provides information that has already been reported by others and saves time/effort by not duplicating research that has already been undertaken”(Lehman, Dufrene and Walker, 2020).

 

To increase the effectiveness of a presentation, graphics “clarify, reinforce, or emphasize a particular idea” (Lehman, Dufrene and Walker, 2020) and “can communicate steps in a process more effectively than words alone” (Nordquist, 2020). Two ways graphics can hinder are when the design of graphics is arbitrarily changed which can confuse recipients and the use of extreme color or complicated symbology/art can reduce the impact of the material being presented. 

 

References:

Lehman, C.M., Dufrene, Debrorah Daniel, & Walker, R. (2020)  BCOM10: Business Communication. Cengage.

 

Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 27).  Graphics in Business Writing, Technical Communication. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/graphics-business-writing-1690823

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