Writing a positive message entails understanding your audience and working to convey information clearly.
The primary purpose of a positive message is to give information or good news to the reader or to reassure the reader of something. You always want the reader to understand your message clearly and concisely, and you want to deemphasize any problems or negative elements.
Positive message writing is also about building goodwill between the reader and writer, and about reducing future coorespondence. The more thorough your message, the less back-and-forth that has to occur once the message is delivered. The steps below will help you frame your positive message for the business setting.
Instructions
Steps to Writing a Positive Message
1. Give any good news and summarizes the main ideas in the introduction of the letter.
Deliver positive news immediately to hook the reader. Include details such as the date policies begin and the percent of a discount if writing about a business change that benefits a customer or client. If the reader has already raised the issue, make it clear you are responding to their message by mentioning it up front.
2. Give concrete details, clarification, and background. Avoid repeating information from the first paragraph; instead, go deeper into the issue by outlining the specifics of the change or the news. Answer all the questions your reader is likely to have in your initial message. This involves anticipating what questions a responder might ask. Present these specifics in the order of importance to the reader.
3. Present any negative elements as positively as possible, and try to do so in the same paragraph as the positive elements. Presenting negative facts on their own in a separate paragraph causes them to become a feature of the letter, so couple them with positive facts if possible. A policy or new benefit may have limits, or information about the change may be incomplete at this time. Likewise, there may be a catch or some action the reader must take. Make these negatives clear and thorough, but present them as positively as you can.
4. Establish a goodwill ending. The conclusion of the message should be positive, personal, and forward-looking. Make sure to highlight the benefits the reader is gaining and the positive nature of the situation. Make it clear that serving the reader is your number one priority.
5. Proofread thoroughly by printing and reading aloud. You can use the dictionary to look up any words that are misspelled, and use the thesaurus to revise repetition or vague terms. Finally, go back to the computer and make the necessary changes before printing and sending or emailing the message.
