Writing Direct Requests
In this lecture you will learn to
• Why you follow the customs of your audience when making
requests across cultural boundaries.
• Clearly state the main idea of each direct request you write.
• Indicate your confidence that the request will be filled.
• Provide a sufficient detail for the reader to be able to comply with your
request.
• Clarify complicated request with lists and tables.
• Close with a courteous request for specific action.
For Organizing Direct Requests
• State the request or main idea.
• Give necessary details.
• Close with a cordial request for specific action.
Direct Request
• This approach works well when you request requires no
special tact or persuasion.
• Example.
– HKB’s store managers are certainly interested in helping Levi’s
increase sales, just as distributors are interested in filling a
HKB order.
• People making direct requests may be tempted to begin with
a personal introduction. This approach is not right.
• A better way to organize a direct request is to state what you want
in the first sentence or two and let the explanation follow this
initial request.
• Tone of your initial request is important.
•Soften your request with such words as please, and i would appreciate.
• Middle part of a direct request usually explains the original request.
• Assume that your reader will comply once he or she understands your
purpose.
• In the last section, clearly state the action you are requesting.
• Close with a brief, cordial note reminding the audience of the
importance of the request.
• Now take a close look at the three main sections of the direct request.
• This may be useful for brief and oral messages as well.
Main Idea of the Request
• General rule for the first part of the direct request is to write not
only to be understood but also to avoid being misunderstood.
• Be aware of the difference between a polite request in question
form (which requires no question mark) and a question that is
part of a request.
Example.
Political Request in Question
Form
Question that is part of a request
Would you please help us
determine whether Kate
Kingsley is a suitable applicant
for a position as landscape
designer.
Did Kate Kingsley demonstrate to
work smoothly with
client?
• Use a period at the end of a request in question form that requires
action.
• Use a question mark at the end of a request that requires an
ans wer in words.
Justification, Explanation and Details
• In the middle section
– Call attention to how the reader will benefit from granting your
request.
– Give details of your request.
• Ask the most important question first. Then ask related, more specific
questions.
• Use numbered list when you’re requesting several items or answers.
•When you prepare questions
– Ask only questions that relate to your main request.
– Don’t ask for information which you can find yourself.
– Make your questions open ended and objective.
– Deal with only one topic in each question.
•Close With
– A request for some specific response.
– An expression of appreciation.
– Information about how you can be reached.
Placing Orders
• Order letters are like good mail order forms, although they also
provide more room for explaining special needs.
• When placing an order, you don’t need to excite your reader’s
interest; just state your needs clearly and directly.
• It starts with “Please send the following” or “Please ship”.
• Order blanks are arranged to document precisely the goods you wa nt ,
describing them by catalog number, quantity, name or trade name,
color, size, unit price and total amount due.
• Present the information of items in column format, double spacing
between the items and totaling the prince at the end.
•To respond to the audience
– If you are not certain that your purpose in composing a
message is compatible with the audience's purpose, you are
likely to delive r irrelevant material.
Checklist for Orders
•Direct Statement of the Request
– Use wording that indicates an order rather than a request. write
“please send me”, Instead of “I want” or “I need” which are
neither polite nor legally appropriate for a business order.
– Open with a general description of your order.
•Justification, Explanation and Details
– For complex orders, provide a general explanation of what
the request material will be used for.
– Provide all specifications.
– Use a format that presents information clearly and makes it
easy to total amounts.
– Double check the completeness of your order and cost totals.
•Courteous Close with Request for Specific Action.
– Include a clear summary of the desired action.
– Suggest a future reader benefit.
– Close on a cordial note.
– Clearly state any time limits that apply to your order, and explain
why they are important.
Requesting Routine Information and Action
•When making a routine request, say
– What you want to know.
– Why you want to know.
– Why it is in the reader’s interest to help you.
Request to Company Insiders
• A request in memo form
– Provides a permanent record.
– Saves time and question.
– Tells precisely what is needed.
– The Basic Request is stated at the beginning.
– The next two paragraphs explain the
problem That made the inquiry necessary.
– The final paragraph requests action
and, with a built-in Questionnaire, makes
a response day.
Example i.e. MEMO
• The Memo begins with the central question.
• A little background information orients the reader.
• The numbered questions focus responses so that they will be
easier to tally.
• Specific instructions for replying the memo also includes the courteous
tone which helps to ensure a prompt response.
• Adjust writing style in memos to accommodate shared reference points.
Requests to Other Businesses
•When writing a letter in response to an advertisement
– Say where you saw the ad.
– Specify what you want.
– Provide a clear and complete return address on the letter.
– If the reader is not expecting your letter, supply more detail.
• The Overall request is stated at the beginning. Phrased politely
in question form, it requires no question mark.
• The explanation of the request keeps the reader’s attention by
hinting at the possibility of future business.
• To avoid burdening the reader with an impossibly broad request,
the writer
asks a series of specific questions, itemized in a logical
seque nce.
• To avoid receiving useless yes or no answers, the writer asks some
open-minded questions.
• The courteous close specifies a time limit.
Requests to customers and other Outsiders
•Requests to customers often spell out in detail
– What exactly is needed.
– How filling the request will benefit them.
• The opening states the purpose of the letter in simple, reader-
oriented terms. Providing details of the law convinces the reader
that the request is warranted.
• An explanation of procedures is another reader-oriented feature of
the letter. To make a complex procedure easier to understand, the
writer breaks the direction into two clearly defined steps.
• Routine Requests to customers can be used to establish communication.
• When sending routine requests to individuals rather than other b
usinesses, consider enclosing a stamped, preaddressed envelop.
Structure of Customer Letters
• The opening paragraph states the reason for the letter. The frank
request should arouse curiosity and encourage a frank response.
• The request for action should be devised for uncovering trouble
without actually suggesting that there might be trouble.
• The actual request for action is left unstated until the end so that
it leaves an impression.
Checklist for Routine Requests
• Direct Statement of the Request.
– Phrase the opening to reflect the assumption that the
reader will respond to your request favorably.
– Phrase the opening so clearly and simply that the main idea
cannot be misunderstood.
– Write in a polite, undemanding, personal tone.
– Preface complex requests with a sentence or two of the
explanation, possibly by a statement of the problem that
the response will solve.
•Justification, Explanation and Details
– Justify the request or explain its importance.
– Explain to the reader the benefits of responding.
– State the desired actions in a positive and supportive, not a
negative or dictatorial, manner.
– Itemize parts of a complex requests in a numbered series.
•List Specific Questions.
– Don’t ask questions that you could answer through you own efforts.
– Arrange questions logically.
– Number Questions.
– Word Questions carefully. Cont…
• Word questions carefully to get the type of answer you need.
Numbers or yes’s and no’s if need to tally many replies; more lengthy,
detailed answers if you want to elicit more information.
• Word questions to avoid clues about the answer you prefer so as not
to bias the reader’s answers.
• Limit each question to one topic.
• Courteous Close
– Make your request as easy as possible.
– Indicate gratitude, possibly by promising to follow up in a way that
will benefit the reader.
– Clearly state any deadlines or time frame, and briefly
justify it if it is genuinely important.
Requesting Claims and Adjustments
• Claims ( Formal Complaints)
• Adjustments ( Claim settlements )
• You are entitled to request an adjustment whenever you receive
a product or experience service that doesn’t live up to the
supplier’s standards.
•Tone is of primary importance; keep you claim
businesslike and unemotional.
• In your claim letter
– Explain the problem and give details.
– Provide backup information.
– Request specific action.
– Be prepared to document your claim. Send copies and
keep the original documents.
Checklist for Claims & Adjustments
•Direct Statement of the Request.
– Write a claim letter as soon as possible after the problem
has been identified.
– State the need for reimbursement or correction of the problem.
– Maintain a confident, factual, fair, unemotional tone.
•Justification, Explanation & Details.
– To gain reader’s understanding, praise some aspects of the
product or the service.
– Present facts honestly, clearly and politely.
– Eliminate threats, sarcasm, exaggeration, and hostility.
– Make no accusations against any person or company that
you can’t backup with facts.
– Specify the problem: Product failed to live up to advertised
standards; Product failed to live up to sales representative’s
claims; Product fell short of company policy; Product was
defective; Customer service was deficient.
– Use a non-argumentative tone to show your confidence in
the reader’s fairness.
– If necessary, refer to documentation (invoices, cancelled
checks, confirmation letters, and the like), but mail only
photocopies.
– Ask the reader to propose a fair adjustment, if appropriate.
– Do not return the defective merchandise until you have been asked to
do so.
–
If appropriate, present your idea of fair settlement, such as a credit
against
the next order you place, full or partial refund of the
purchase price of the product, replacement of the defective
merchandise, performance of services as originally contracted, or
repair of the defective merchandise.
– Avoid uncertainty or vagueness that might permit the
adjusters to prolong the issue by additional correspondence
or to propose a less- than-fair settlement.
• Courteous Close with Request for Specific Action.
– Summarize desired action briefly.
– Simplify compliance with your request by including your
name, address, phone number (area code if necessary), and
hours of availability.
– Note how complying with your request will benefit the reader.
Making Routine Credit Requests
• The first step in requesting credit is to get an application form.
• The second step is to supply the necessary information.
• Order letters are often combined with a request for credit.
The main idea of Credit Request is
tied in with a statement implying a reader
benefit.
• The background details of the business are necessary if
credit is to be granted.
• The possibility of continuing order is another reason for the
reader to grant credit.
•A request for credit
– Is supported by documentation
– Adopts a confident tone.
– Hints at future business.
In this lecture you learnt to
• Why you follow the customs of your audience when making
requests across cultural boundaries.
• Clearly state the main idea of each direct request you write.
• Indicate your confidence that the request will be filled.
• Provide a sufficient detail for the reader to be able to comply
with your request.
• Clarify complicated request with lists and tables.
• Close with a courteous request for specific action.
Writing Routine, Good-News and Goodwill
Messages
In this lecture we will learn to
• Decide when to write a routine, good-news, or goodwill message
• Adjust the basic organizational pattern to fit the type of message you are
writing
• Add resale and sales promotion material when appropriate
• Encourage your reader to take any desired action
• Write credit approvals and recommendation letters
• Use the correct form for such specialized messages as
instructions, news releases, and goodwill letters
Organizing Positive Messages
• Most business communication consists of messages that present ne
utral information, answer requests positively, and establish better
relationships, so you’ll probably get a lot of practice composing
these routine, good-news, and goodwill messages.
• Understanding how positive messages are organized allows you to
compose excellent examples quickly.
• Of course, intercultural positive messages are best when organized
according to the audience’s expectations, but when you’re
communicating with a U.S. or Canadian audience whose cultural
differences are minimal, use the direct plan.
• Whether written or oral, positive messages begin with a clear
statement of the main idea, clarify any necessary details, and with
a courteous close.
Clear Statement of the Main Idea
•Almost all business communication has two basic purposes:
– To convey information
– To produce in the audience a favorable (or at least accepting)
attitude or response
•When you begin a message with a statement of your
purpose, you’re preparing your audience for the explanation
that follows.
• Make your opening clear and concise.
• The following introductory statements make the same point;
however, one is cluttered with unnecessary information that
buries the purpose, whereas the other is brief and to the point.
Instead of this Write this
I am pleased to inform you that
after deliberating the matter
carefully, our personnel
committee has recommended
you for appointment as a staff
accountant.
You’ve been selected to join our
firm as a staff accountant,
beginning March 20.
Necessary Details
• The middle part is typically the longest section of a routine,
good-news, or goodwill message.
• Your reason for communicating can usually be expressed in a
sentence or two, but you’ll need more spaces or time to explain your
point completely so that your audience will have no confusion or
lingering doubt.
• The task of providing necessary details is the easiest when you’re
responding to a
series of questions.
• You can simply answer them in order, possibly in a numbered sequence.
• In addition to providing details in the middle section, maintain the
supportive tone established at the beginning.
• When a routine message must convey mildly disappointing
information, put the negative answer into as favorable context as
possible.
Instead of this Write this
No, we no longer carry the
Sportsgirl line of sweaters.
The new Olympic line has
replaced the Sportsgirl sweaters
that you asked about. Olympic
features a wider range of colors
and sizes more contemporary
styling.
• A bluntly negative explanation was replaced with a more complete
description that emphasized how the audience could benefit from
the change.
• Be careful, though: You can use negative information in this type of
message only if you’re reasonably sure the audience will respond
positively to your message.
Courteous Close
• Your message is most likely to succeed if your audience is left with
the feeling that you have their personal welfare in mind.
• In addition, if follow-up action is required, clearly state who will do what
next.
Acknowledging Orders
• An order acknowledgement is unnecessary if the products are being
shipped or the services will be provided immediately.
• Acknowledgements are appropriate for large orders, first orders, and
orders that cannot be filled right away.
• The first paragraph states the good news: The order is being
processed and the merchandise is on its way.
• The middle section demonstrates the professionalism of your firm with a
clear, accurate summary of the transaction (when the delivery may be
expected; the cost of the merchandise, shipping and taxes; any
problems that might have arisen; and perhaps your credit terms).
• An order acknowledgement frequently does a bit of selling in the
middle or closing section.
• Resale information bolsters the customer’s confidence by pointing out
the good points of a product or a company by explaining how those
good points will benefit the customer.
• Sales promotion – takes advantage of the customer’s obvious
Explanation
The middle section conveys specific
details about the order.
Message
Because you live in
Massachusetts,you’re exempt from the
Illinois sales tax. So I’m enclosing
a check for $26.15, the amount of
the sales tax that you included in
your payment.
interest in your products.
• Sending along brochures or order blanks makes an additional purchase
easier.
• Effective resale and sales promotion materials demonstrate the “you”
attitude.
• For example:
The main message is stated
clearly right at the start.
Explanation
You’ll receive your Span-a-
Vision videocassette
recorder in just over two
weeks.
Message
Message Explanation
Mr. Harmon, you’re going to enjoy you’re
new VCR day after day. It’s quite
versatile, and to make it even more so,
you might want to add a remote-control
device. Wired and
Resale and sales
promotion build on the
customer’s goodwill toward
the product and the
company. The
wireless models are pictured in the
enclosed brochure
customer’s name is
mentioned as in a personal
conversation, to increase the
feeling of friendliness.
Replying to Requests for Information and Action
• Any request is important to the person making it, whether inside or
outside the organization.
In closing, the writer offers
friendly accessible help.
Explanation
Message
When your new VCR arrives, spend a
few minutes with the user’s manual.
If you have any questions, call toll-
free 1-800-441-6446 from 9:00
a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekdays (Central
Standard Time). One of our expert
staff members will be happy to help
you.
• That person's opinion of your company, your products, your
department, and you you yourself will be influenced by how promptly,
graciously, and thoroughly the request is handled.
• Admittedly, complying with a request isn’t always easy.
• The information may not be immediately at hand, and decisions to
take some action must often be made at a higher level.
• Because a letter written on letterhead stationery is legally
binding, plan your response carefully.
• Companies usually develop form responses to handle repetitive
queries that are often similar.
• Although form responses are often criticized as being cold and
impersonal, much time and thought may go into wording them, and
computers permit personalization and the mixing of paragraphs.
Replying to Requests for Information and Action
• Companies usually develop form responses to handle repetitive
queries that are often similar.
• Although form responses are often criticized as being cold and
impersonal, much time and thought may go into wording them, and
computers permit personalization and the mixing of paragraphs.
When a Potential Sale Is Involved
• Prospective customers often request an annual report, a catalog, a
brochure, a swatch of material, or some other type of sample or
information to help them make a decision about the product
encountered through advertising.
• In a “solicited” sales letter, in which the customer is anticipating,
you may use the direct plan.
•When answering requests involving a potential sale, you have
three main goals:
– To respond to the inquiry and answer all questions
– To encourage the future sale
– To leave your reader with a good impression of you and your firm
Message Explanation
Key information – the address
of the local store that carries
the merchandise – is
presented immediately.
Explanation
As beautiful as the full-
color photographs are, you
really need to inspect Brite-
Tiles in person. Only then
can you fully appreciate the
sparkling colors, designer
patterns, and overall
quality. Baywood Hardware,
313 Front Street in Clear
Lake, is the nearest outlet
carrying Brite-Tiles.
Message
Here’s the copy of “Brightening
Your Kitchen” that you recently
requested.
A clear, conversational
statement of the main point is all
that’s required to start.
Message Explanation
From antique Victorian to sleek
contemporary, Brite- Tiles will
help you achieve just the look you
want. Spend a few moments now
with the handy chart, “The Right
Pattern for Your Décor,” on page 5
of the enclosed booklet. Then
you’ll know which patterns to look
for when you visit Baywood
Hardware.
A reference to a specific page
further emphasizes the
benefits of the product. This
suggestion also encourages
the reader to take one more
step toward an actual
purchase.
Message Explanation
Mrs. Saima, if you have any
questions before or during
installation, please phone our
toll-free services hot line: 1-800-
4593-547. You’ll get easy-to-
understand
The personal close
confidently points toward the
possible sale.
answers every time.
When No Potential Sale Is Involved
•There are two essential goals when no sale is involved:
– Responding to the request
– Leaving a favorable impression of your company or
fostering a good working relationship
Responding Favorably to Claims and Adjustment Requests
• As anyone in business knows, customers sometimes return
merchandise to a company, complain about its services, ask to be
compensated, and the like.
• Such complaints are golden opportunities for companies to build
customer loyalty.
• The most sensible reaction is to assume that the customer’s
account of the transaction is an honest statement of what
happened.
• Unless the same customer repeatedly submits dubious claims, a
customer is patently dishonest (returning a dress that has obviously
been worn, claiming it’s the wrong size), or the dollar amount in
dispute is very large.
• Few people go to the trouble of requesting an adjustment unless
they actually have a problem.
• Once the complaint is made, however, customers may come to
view the original transacting as less important than the events
that come after the complaint.
• To protect your company's image and to regain the customer’s
goodwill, refer to your company's errors carefully.
• Don’t blame an individual or a specific department, and avoid
such lame excuses as “Nobody’s perfect” or “Mistakes will
happen.’
• Don’t promise that problems will never happen again; such
guarantees are unrealistic and often beyond your control.
• Instead, explain your company’s efforts to do a good job, because
in doing so you imply that the error was an unusual incident.
•For example
Your letter about the Golden Harvest canned fruit you
recently purchased has been forwarded to our vice
president of operations for review. We’re please you
took the time to write. Your satisfaction is important
to us. Since 1906 Golden Harvest has been packaging
fine food products. Our workers and inspectors monitor
quality carefully, using the most up-to-date
technology, but we want to do an even better job. Your
letter will help us do just that.
The next time you shop, use the enclosed half-price
coupon to pickup p a gif-boxed set of Golden Harvest
Holiday Spices. This coupon, which will be honored
wherever our fine specialty foods are sold, is our way
of thanking you for your interest in our products.
•This letter exemplifies the following points:
– A form letter like this, which is sent to people with various
types of requests or complaints, cannot start with a clear
good-news statement, because various customers are
seeking different types of good news.
– The letter starts instead with what might be called a
“good attitude” statement, which is you-oriented to put
the customer at ease.
– At no time does this letter suggest that the customer was
mistaken in questioning the quality of the product. On the
other hand, the writer does not admit to any defect in the
product.
– The middle, explanatory section nicely combines the old and
the new:
Golden Harvest has been doing business for almost
100 years, but its
equipment is thoroughly modern. This
explanation of the company’s quality controls may restore
the reader’s confidence in the product.
– The letter closes with some resale and sales promotion made
personal by the use of you and your.
• A claim letter written as a personal answer to a unique
situation would start with a clear statement of good news:
the settling of claim according to the customer’s request.
•For example
In just a few days, you’ll receive a new factory-
tested electronic metric scale to replace the one you
returned. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to back
up our claim of total buyer satisfaction.
Approving Credit
• Handling routine credit requests is important because consumers
often carry a wallet full of plastic credit card, and businesses of all
seizes operate more smoothly because they can pay for their
purchases over time.
• Letters approving credit are good-news messages and the first step in
what may be a decades-long business relationship.
• Open your letter with the main idea.
• In the middle section,include a reasonably full statement of the
credit arrangements: the upper limit of the account, dates that
bills are sent, possible arrangements for partial monthly
payments, discounts fo r prompt payments, interest charges for
unpaid balances, and due dates.
• State the terms positively and objectively, not negatively or in an
authoritarian manner:
Instead of this Write this
Your credit balance
cannot exceed $5,000.
With our standard credit
account, you can order up
to $5,000 worth of fine
merchandise.
Instead of this Write this
We expect your payment
within 30 days of receipt of
our statement.
Payment is due 30 days
after you receive our
statement.
The good-news opening gets right
to the point.
Explanation
Welcome aboard! Here’s your new Ship-
to-Shore credit card, which will make
shopping at Conrad’s even
easier than before. Now you can make
credit purchases up to a total of
$1,000.
Message
•
The final section of the letter provides resale information and
sales promotion
high-lighting the benefits of buying from you.
• The following letter was written both to approve credit
and to bring in customers:
Providing Credit References
• The great majority of credit applications are checked electronically:
Computer terminals at many stores connect directly with databanks
maintained by national credit reporting agencies.
• Generally, the data are fed to the inquiring business
without any recommendation.
• At times, however, one businessperson will request a credit rating
directly from another.
• If you’re answering an inquiry about someone’s
creditworthiness, or first responsibility is to make sure the
inquiry is legitimate.
• You’re being asked to provide confidential information; do so only if it
is requested by a stable business.
• As you write a credit reference, remember that the decision to
approve credit isn’t yours; that’s up to the company that has been
asked to extend the credit.
• No matter how strong your opinion of the applicant may be,
limit yourself to factual statements, otherwise you may end up
in court.
In this lecture we learnt to
• Decide when to write a routine, good-news, or goodwill message
• Adjust the basic organizational pattern to fit the type of message you
are writing
• Add resale and sales promotion material when appropriate
• Encourage your reader to take the required desired action
• Write credit approvals and recommendation letters
• Use the correct form for such specialized messages as
instructions, news releases, and goodwill letters
