Chapter 8 Questions

1. The five main goals of delivering bad news are: 1)to convey the bad news, 2)to gain acceptance for it, 3) to maintain as much goodwill as possible with your audience, 4)to maintain a good image for your organization, 5)if appropriate, to reduce or eliminate the need for future correspondence on the matter.

2. When choosing between the direct and indirect approach you should use the following questions: 1) Will the bad news come as a shock, 2)Does the reader prefer short messages that get right to the point?, 3)How important is this news to the reader?, 4) Do you need to maintain a close working relationship with the reader?, 5) Do you need to get the reader's attention?, 6)What is your organization's preferred style?.

3. The sequence of elements in a negative message organized using the indirect approach are: 1) Opening with a buffer, 2) Providing reasons and additional information, 3)Continuing with a clear statement of the bad news, 4)Closing on a positive note.

4. A buffer is a neutral, noncontroversial statement that is closely related to the point of the message. Some critics consider it unethical because they say it is manipulative and dishonest. Also, critics say it misleads the reader into thinking the message actually contains good news.

5. When using the indirect approach, the reason for presenting your reasons before explaining the decision itself is due to helping to maintain focus on the issues at hand and defuse the emotions that always accompany significantly bad news. Also, you want to guide your audiences responses through giving positive points first followed by negative ones.