Welcome back to English for
management and leadership. In our last lesson, you learned about
the differences between indirect and direct approaches, and when to use them. This lesson, we'll focus more
on how to use indirect approach, since it can take a little
more thought to create. Inevitably, in business
there are conflicts. We're all human, and humans make mistakes. Though these situations are not enjoyable,
they must be dealt with and handled professionally. Let's review again why we
use the indirect approach. In which of the following situations
would you use the indirect approach? If you begin your message with the bad
news, your audience may react so strongly to the news that they stop listening
to anything else you have to say. Picture yourself as an eight
year old child again. You've just failed a math test. You come home and
when your mother asks you about the test, would you say right away, I got a 42%. What would your mother's
reaction be if you did? Now of course,
we don't want to hide the bad news. Being honest is important in
business communication and in life. That's why we use the indirect approach. It can help soften the bad news and
still keep your audience engaged. Because communicating
bad news is difficult, your indirect message will need
more thought and strategy. One effective technique
is to use a buffer. A buffer is information that puts off
the bad news for just long enough to gain your audience's trust, or to give
them some context for the bad news. Now think again about that
situation with the math test. When you mother asks you about the test, you probably know that her reaction
to your 42% is not going to be good. So your response would probably be
something more like, oh, the math test, mom, it was a very difficult test,
everyone said it was difficult and. Almost half the class failed it. Did you catch that? You just created a buffer. You have given her some context for
the news that's about to come. And hopefully as a result,
she will react a little less angrily. And here's the interesting thing. Your mother knows what you're doing. If you had good news about the test, you would have said I got 100% using
the direct approach, but you didn't. She knows bad news is coming,
even if you didn't say so. But now she has time to take
a deep breath [SOUND] and calm herself before she hears your news. Now let's take a look at how
you would use buffers and the indirect approach in
a business situation. The general pattern for the indirect
approach, as it is used in writing, goes like this,
start with a neutral buffer. You don't want to start with good news, because it will give your reader false
hope that more good news is coming. So a neutral buffer or
a show of appreciation for their business is a good way to start. You're not apologizing for
the bad news to come. You're simply preparing the reader. The next part is where you give reasons. Many studies have been done about how
effective reasons are for communication. People like to know why
something is the way it is. Offering reasons will make
the bad news easier to accept. Once you've prepared the reader,
you give the bad news. It's important at this point to
clearly and succinctly state the news. You want to make sure that the reader
completely understands the situation. Don't spend too much time on it. This is a little like
ripping off a band-aid. Offer if possible a compromise. For example, we can't do this but
we can do that. Finally, in your closing,
re-direct attention from the bad news. Don't bring it up again. Instead, be courteous, focus on future
opportunities, and rebuild good-will. Let's take a look at a short example. Dear Ms. Monroe, Thank you for
your interest in the Stone notebooks. Due to current demand
they are on backorder. We do have Granite notebooks in stock, and we anticipate being able to ship
the Stone notebooks by early next week. If you would like to redirect your
order to the Granite notebooks, please contact me at 1.787.555.1234. Sincerely, Jane Binder. This pattern is very typical in writing. Step 1: Buffer, Step 2: Reasons, Step 3: Bad News,
Step 4: Redirect and Close. In speaking, the indirect
approach may happen more quickly. Going directly from buffer to news
depending on how bad the news is. Let's take a look Look at
how Elizabeth used buffers. >> I have a few reservations
about the two candidates for my team, and I was hoping I could
talk them through with you. >> Elizabeth uses this buffer to prepare
Gary that she would like to discuss negative or uncomfortable news. This next example is a little longer. >> You know I'm happy that he's that
excited about a product, but I'm kind of wondering if I can handle his high energy
level and then, there's all the talking. >> The first part is the buffer, and
the second part she offers her reasons for the third part which is the negative news. One word of caution about buffers and
the indirect approach. Though you are speaking indirectly, don't
give your audience the idea that you're avoiding an answer or
trying to hide the truth. As a child with a poor math test score,
you might have intuitively used buffers as a way to avoid
giving your mom the bad news. But in business, the buffer's purpose
is to get your listener to trust you. Be honest, even if the bad news
may cause anger or hurt feelings. Let's review the takeaways
from this lesson. The main pattern for the indirect approach is buffer, reasons, news, redirect. A buffer helps your audience prepare for
the bad news. Reasons are a powerful communication tool. People like to know why,
state the bad news clearly and quickly. Close by redirecting attention to
future opportunities or actions. We'll see you in the next lesson, as we dive into more specifics
about making requests with models. Thanks for watching English for
Management and Leadership.
