商务交流 第七章Business Commincation Essentials - CHAPTER 7

Making routine requests
• State your request upfront. • Explain and justify your request. • Request specific action in a courteous close.
State your request upfront.
Business Communications
Chapter 7 – Writing routine, Goodnews and Goodwill messages
Routine messages
• The advice from the book is to still follow the three step process even for short routine messages. • There are two main types of routine messages: routine requests and routine replies.
Request specific action in a courteous close.
• If you are requesting some help from someone it is important to end your message with the correct tone so that the reader will do as you want. • Three tips: • Specific request for action • Contact Information • An expression of appreciation or goodwill
Making claims and requesting adjustments
• Making a claim is a formal complaint that you send to a company. So if you buy a product that does not work you want to communicate your problem with the company. • An adjustment is asking for some money to be returned if you have a problem with a product.
Requesting recommendations and references
• When you apply for a job, university, scholarship, promotion, credit or contract you may have to supply a reference. • The reference will tell the person who you are contacting about you. • It is obviously important that you ask your reference before you use them as a reference.
• Pay attention to tone. • Assume your audience will comply. • Avoid beginning with personal introductions. • Punctuate polite request and polite request differently. • Be specific.
Requesting information and action
• Sometimes this will be internal (pg 164 – figure 7.2) and sometimes this will be external (pg 165 – figure 7.3). • Internal communication can usually be less formal, external less so. • You must make sure that you explain and justify your request and you provide all the necessary information for the receiver.
Explain and justify your request
• Ask the most important question first • Ask only relevant questions • Deal with only one topic per question
Ask the most important question first.
Cont.
• Opening – explain your reason for needing the information. You might need to remind them who you are if you have not been in contact for a long time. • Body – include all the information about yourself that your reference can use to create a good image of you. Include a copy of your c.v. to give your reference some additional information • Close – express your thanks and appreciation and include the full name and address of where the reference should be sent.
Punctuate questions and polite requests differently.
• Direct questions will require a question mark. E.g. “Did Tanya cheat on her test?” • Polite requests without a direct question will not require a question mark. E.g. “Would you please help to decide if Tanya cheated on her test”
Different types of routine messages
• There are many more but the book lists four of the main different types of routine messages. With each type your message will have an opening, body and close. The types are: • Placing orders • Requesting information and action • Making claims and requesting adjustments • Requesting recommendations and references
Placing orders
• In most cases this will be easy to do by computers. A company may have a website that allows you to quickly send the order information to the company. E.g. buying from Taobao / Amazon • If you have to write all the information yourself the book advices to use the three stages: • Opening • Body • Close
Pay attention to tone.
• E.g. “Send me the report you are working on” Vs “Please could you send me the report you are working on” • Or, “I want a copy of your catalog No. 33A” Vs “I am requesting a copy of your catalog No. 33A”
Questions
• Turn to page 179 & answer questions 1, & 6 please. • I want you to think of three examples for question 1. • I want you to think of your own reasons why for question 4
Cont.
• When you send a claim to a (good honest) company you will usually expect them to give you some money back (the adjustment) without you needing to formally request it. • Opening – begin with an honest statement of the problem. • Body – give complete and accurate information of the problem that you have had • Close – politely request that you and the company can come to an agreement. Don’t make threats.
• If you were requesting information about Laoshan Cola, which order would you ask these questions? • 1. What is the price per bottle? • 2. Will you be able to deliver on time? • 3. Do you have any Laoshan Cola available to sell? • 4. What is the most I can buy?
Answers 1
• When is a request routine? • Book: “A request is routine if it’s part of the normal course of business and you anticipate that your audience will want to comply” • You should add that a request might be appear routine to the sender but it might not always be routine for the audience. In this case more care is going to be needed to be taken.
来自百度文库e specific
• If you are requesting information make sure that the receiver knows exactly what you want. Try to make your request as easy to complete for the recipient as possible.