6.1 Organize negative information carefully
If what you have to say could conceivably anger your reader, examine your organization. You will find that you are usually saying "no," saying something the reader does not want to hear. You need to organize so that your reader sees that the force of logic and the turn of events--not your whim or wish--force you to have to be negative. To get across this idea, use the following organization:
- Start by showing careful consideration. Do not use the words "careful consideration" since they clue the reader that not only are you about to say "no" but also you gave the whole issue little if any consideration. Instead, detail your method of discovery. You went through some process to discover the reasons that force you to be negative. Describe the process if you can and if you indeed went through one.
- Give reasons. Give your reasons before you say "no." You want to be able to lead to your "no" with a "thus" or "therefore." Don't give too many reasons; find your one or two best ones. To give more is to sound as if you're manufacturing reasons.
- Say "no" if you must. Sometimes your reasons are so powerful that the "no" is needless. Check your organization by using a cause-and-effect transitional word to introduce your "no." Such words include "thus," "therefore," "consequently," "as a consequence" and so forth. You may find that the words "must" or "am forced to" after an "I" further reinforce the idea that you are forced by logic, not personal desire, to say the negative things you must.
- Give the reader an alternative. If you think your reader has no alternatives or the situation allows for no alternatives, you are still too angry to write; you are being unreasonable. Readers always have alternatives. A person turned down for a loan would be a valued customer under different circumstances; describe those circumstances. A hare-brained scheme has in it some useful parts; describe the circumstances under which the scheme would be acceptable.
Some people are so good at finding alternatives, state the alternatives so well, and become so excited about these alternatives that they discover they are not writing a "no" but a powerful and persuasive "yes." Organizations prize such people and frequently move them into marketing where they can transmute their positive vision into an art form.
==>Guidelines ==>Tone