USA: +1(669)289-8683 
Sign in
Assignment is due by 10:00 PM Eastern Time (about 10 hours from now)
Write a reflection based on how you will use the information you learned from the attached documents. There are 6 attached documents, about 6 pages total to read. Write about what new information you learned and how you will use it in your future career. Do not just restate the information from the documents.
How to Write a Reflection
Writing a reflection is multifaceted. The writer needs to do so much before writing, and in the moment of the writing (and editing), the author must stay on track to his/her focus while giving plenty of detail for the reader to FEEL the message. It’s as much about thinking and thinking about thinking as it is to feeling.
Reflection is a combination of cognition, emotion, and body sensations. Here is an approach to help you reflect well. Not only will you learn the information, but the process of reflection actually boosts the brain’s ability to make decisions.
Special Note: One of your Mobius components is a self-reflection. I am expecting excellence in your thinking to your thinking and therefore your posting.
1. Using a quiet mind and a quiet environment, be quiet and listen to your thoughts. Reflection is quiet.
2. Step One is Critical Thinking: Ask questions like…
- What did I learn that I expected? What did I learn that I didn’t expect?
- How am I changed?
- What will I do with this information?
- How will I influence others with this information?
3. Step Two: Examine your own thinking. How was I thinking that? What was I thinking? Why? What were my biases, assumptions, etc?
4. Step Four (We skip gathering information.): After confidence to your learning based on the content covered, decide a writing core – a focus.
5. Write in first person. Write with depth – no surface only comments. Write with specificity. What exactly did you learn and what will you do with that new you?
Reflection Assignment Task: You are to write a 175-200 words letter in letter format on your learning based on the attached files
. As you examine the importance of every word you choose, think about how the readings have impacted your learning and its application in your life. Do not write what you and I already know from the readings. Focus on the difference this information has had on your life
=====================================================================================================
Business writing is about content AND delivery decisions. Again, make it attractive. Be sure you have at minimum of three paragraphs. A well thought out introduction, a body with content information and a conclusion. Please follow the guidelines as mentioned below.
Introduction includes: (1) purpose/thesis, (2) hook (attention getting statement which can also be the purpose/thesis statement), (3) scope (the preview of what you will talk about, and perhaps (4) why (detail the why you are writing – could link to purpose). Body is the content. (Most students when they think of writing they focus on content. That is a part of writing, it’s not the whole event.) Conclusion, in business, is mostly about goodwill. Think of it as where to create the lasting impression. In this case, think about what impression you would like your instructor have about you.
Delivering Sensitive and Negative News
Writing that Works (2010). Oliu, Brusaw, & Alred
Business Communications, MGT 309
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Hello Class. This week’s presentation is on ‘Delivering Bad News.’
I have a question for you? Do you have to deliver a bad news in business? Lots n lots of bad news.
What are some bad news examples in business?
Firings and layoffs. – Students, in class, always mentioned ‘firing’ first
Rejections & refusals. – Social rejection is extremely painful to us all.
Announcements of policy changes that do not benefit customers/consumers.
Requests the reader will see as insulting or intrusive.
Negative performance appraisals.
Product recalls or notices of defects.
Disciplinary notices
Here’s the important point to remember – the people who succeed in business are those that can deliver ‘bad’ information without destroying relationships.
So, let’s talk about how to maintain good relationships despite having to deliver the bad news that we don’t want. The secret is in how we deliver the bad news.
1
Do’s
Stay in integrity
Careful analysis of the situation!
Adapt your medium to the message
Choose the appropriate tone
Take your time when writing
Stay relevant
Stay factual. Stay neutral
No “Pollyanna’
Be fair & reasonable
Stay concise
Assertive (avoid apology) . Consult supervisor & legal advisors
End positive
Passive voice is okay.
Here is a list that is important to do. Let’s talk through these items.
Do what you say are going to do. Loosing our credibility in business means we lose our business.
Carefully analyze the situation. Jumping to conclusions without reviewing the content or information is least effective. Make sure you give plenty of time to the situation before you are ready to make the decision.
Adapt the medium to the message. Most of the time we want to deliver bad news face-to-face. It’s not always what we can do always; its what we can do the best. So in lieu of face-to-face think of the best way to connect and deliver your message. Its usually the phone we next go to. It is difficult, but choose your best medium.
The tone is very important. It is necessary to say something and not be very negative as well. The person receiving your message is more likely to pick up the negative in our body language. So focusing on the tone, the edge, in addition to the words because people feel the vibrations, the energy.
Take your time to write. There are many situations that comes to my mind. There was this one time I had to tell a staff member that they will not be hired upon completing their probation. I had to write and rewrite the message many times because I was very emotional (angry at the staff member’s behavior that lead to the unit’s decision not to hire as full time past the probation period). I had to get my emotions out of the way. I see this among people around us. We must ask ourselves on how we write when we are emotional. Do we do an emotional rant? or stick to facts? Or communicate feelings with facts to show how or ways you see the situation? It is important we show our reader that we can stick to the facts.
Stay relevant – avoid brining in past. You must focus on the relevant, current and related information. This happens a lot in personal relationships. Please avoid this.
Stay factual. Stay neutral. In a complex and conflicting situations, we tend to throw our opinions a lot. Stay close to the facts.
No “pollyanna” – means don’t put flowers around a lot and try to make it lot prettier than it is. That makes our efforts and message untruthful.
Stay reasonable. People don’t like unreasonable events and unreasonable people. As business professionals, we got to stay fair
Stay concise. If you can say it in 7 words than in 25 words, 7 words is much better than 25.
Be assertive. No need to apologize. Consult a supervisor or a legal advisor . Be careful with apology because apology is also accepting responsibility. If you are going to chose responsibility make sure your supervisors are aware of that and any legal ramifications that comes with your decision.
End positive.
Passive voice is okay. End in direct approach. We don’t want the passive voice. We want the strong active voice. In the indirect approach passive voice is necessary. There is a document in BB that shows what passive voice is. The first one is The Verb ‘To be’ For example, “I have purchased” is passive voice. “I purchased” is active voice in past tense. So pay attention to excess words and tense usage in your writing
Now, let’s move to the next slide.
2
+ Buffer – Positive words with neutral feel
– Body – 3 sentences
Sentence 1 – Positive words with a neutral feel
Sentence 2 – Negative information.
Sentence 3 – Positive words with a neutral feel – transition out.
+ Goodwill close
“Sandwich” Construction
+ – +
While there are many ways to write an indirect message, in this course, we will practice the one nicknamed ‘the sandwich.’ I expect your assignments to be in this construction.
The first paragraph is the buffer. It’s a slow lead in to your purpose. The next slide details Buffers.
The middle paragraph is where the bad news is….it’s nested in the center of the center paragraph.
The last paragraph is a positive goodwill-building close.
3
Buffer – (Introduction)
Sincere
Express appreciation
Relevant
Not misleading
Neutral
Respectful
Succinct
Assertive
Brief
On point
Buffer Statements:
Thank your for participating in our competition.
It was great to see you at the conference. The keynote speaker gave a fantastic presentation. (Email hello)
“Thank you for participating in our competition.” That’s a great example of a buffer. It’s positive, it’s specific, it’s concise and it’s relevant.
4
Minimize the space allocated.
Subordinate bad news in a complex or compound sentence.
Embed the bad news in the middle of a paragraph or use parenthetical expressions.
Use a condition statement (if, then)
Tell what you will do, not what you won’t do
However, don’t let the bad news get lost by overemphasizing the positive.
State the Bad
In the body, your task is to ease into the bad news. You are to deliver the bad news in the center of the center paragraph. Your first sentence is a lead into the bad news. Your second para is your bad news with a lead into the goodwill statement.
Here are some tips:
Since the reader can re-read the bad news, you only need to say it once, and in a small way. Your job here is to minimize the bad feeling the reader will have receiving the information.
Remember, longer sentences cause us to lessen our thinking ability, so, use a compound complex sentence to minimize the bad news.
Consider using an if then statement in construction of the bad news sentence.
Or tell what you will do, not what you won’t do. Turn it around.
However, I caution you, be sure you don’t loose the truth. Stay in integrity. Stay honest. Persuade but don’t manipulate.
5
Examples: Bad News using Positive Words
Your account is in error. Corrections were made to your account.
There will be a delay in your order. We will ship your order on the 15th.
I can’t understand what you mean. Please clarify your request.
Here are some examples to help you understand how to re-language your intention.
6
Positive
Final
Optimistic
Sincere
Confident
Remember the end is a power position!
Goodwill Close
End on a positive note. Think – goodwill close.
7
Construction’s for Specific Situations
Review the next three slides for some specific situations of delivering bad news.
8
When you have a reason the audience will accept, give the reason before the refusal.
Then give the negative information
Present an alternative
End positive
Downplay the emotion. Neutral tone.
Organization:
Negative message to clients/customers
9
Define the problem.
Tell how it happened.
Describe the options for fixing it.
Recommend a solution & ask for action.
Downplay the emotion. Neutral tone.
Organization:
Negative to superiors
10
Describe the problem.
Present an alternative.
As for input or action.
Downplay the emotion. Neutral tone.
Organization:
Negative messages to peers and subordinates
This is the more challenging situation – working in a peer relationship. It’s easier when hierarchy exists.
11
Delivering Sensitive and Negative News
Writing that Works (2010). Oliu, Brusaw, & Alred
I leave you with a statement – The people that succeed in business are those who learn to deliver negative information well.
Practice to increase your skill.
12
Construction’s for Specific Situations
Review the next three slides for some specific constructions of delivering bad news.
1
When you have a reason the audience will accept, give the reason before the refusal.
Then give the negative information
Present an alternative
End positive
Downplay the emotion. Neutral tone.
Organization: Negative message to clients/customers
2
Define the problem.
Tell how it happened.
Describe the options for fixing it.
Recommend a solution & ask for action.
Downplay the emotion. Neutral tone.
Organization:
Negative to superiors
3
Describe the problem.
Present an alternative.
As for input or action.
Downplay the emotion. Neutral tone.
Organization:
Negative messages to peers and subordinates
This is the more challenging situation – working in a peer relationship. It’s easier when hierarchy exists.
4
Delivering Sensitive and Negative News
Writing that Works (2010). Oliu, Brusaw, & Alred
I leave you with a statement – The people that succeed in business are those who learn to deliver negative information well.
Practice to increase your skill.
5
Lessons from a reluctant manager
How one 20-something founder struggled to find a management style that fits both her team and her personality.
FORTUNE – Boss of the Year is not an award I’m vying for. Seriously. I will be thrilled if my team gets through the rest of the year in one piece.
I left my job as an analyst at McKinsey to start the Levo League last year and, at 25, was thrown into a management position. Books soothed my panic; I poured over David Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence, which describes how to influence others’ emotions while controlling your own. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness stirred up fantasies of building a
company culture of our own
, where employees can
bring their whole selves to work
and get behind common goals. But putting these ideas into practice stalled, rather quickly, and shattered my dreams of managerial grandeur. Reading 500-some rather educational pages does not make a management guru; nothing compares to experience. My priorities — having difficult but
crucial conversations
, giving useful feedback, and helping others solve their problems — materialized after months of trial and error.
It’s all about talking
At first, it was tough to have my ideas challenged by team members. What I should have welcomed as constructive feedback instead sent me into a fit. I went from positive to easily irritated: “I don’t have time for this” or “I don’t care about that” became my go-to responses. I eventually realized pesky questions weren’t an attempt at a coup; they stemmed from a lack of clear communication. Evading conflict created much larger issues than talking it out; I was forced to reassess my communication strategy.
I learned the importance of transparency. I now write Sunday Kick Ass Emails (SKAEs); they outline the team’s overall goal and break down each employees’ responsibilities for the week. We spend less time trying to understand what needs to get done, freeing up creative time to develop future projects.
There is such a thing as feedback etiquette
One stress-filled day, an employee kept asking me where they should move a desk. I bit back, “I don’t care where you put the damn desk,” and went on with my day. I cringe when I think about that moment. I projected my frustrations on a completely innocent team member. I learned the importance of time, place, and tone — especially in an office filled with young, energetic, and impressionable employees. My future response? Take her aside and say, “I really want you to take ownership over this and be responsible for deciding where to move the office furniture.” Every company has to do these kinds of basic tasks; when handled appropriately, they can give confidence to staffers, which will help them with bigger tasks in the future.
Experienced employees make great teachers
I manage several women who are five to seven years older than me. In general, they are much more comfortable with speaking up when they see something going wrong. They push to schedule time to talk through issues. Their experience at other companies has taught them the importance of communication and offensively attacking problems.
Managers are made over time
Learning to be a better manager comes from having time to experience and develop new skills. That seems obvious, but there are plenty of founders and first-time managers who have yet to realize it. Identifying weaknesses and constantly working toward improvement does not happen overnight.
That dreaded time is here again…you have to tell someone bad news, and you know they’re not going to like it one tiny little bit. But we can’t avoid it any longer. So you’re thinking ‘ugh.’ Well, okay, you think some more and decide, I’ll just do it really quickly and use ‘my-way-or-the-highway’ energy. This scenario and thinking-style happens often.
As a society, we teach conflict resolution by modeling. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we taught our children at a young age how to deliver bad news well. And yes, it is possible to deliver bad news and still maintain a positive relationship, in both our business and personal lives. We’ll talk you through some smart strategic decisions in two stages – preparation and execution.
Prepare to Deliver the Bad News
1. First and foremost is for you to understand your listener. How strong will his reaction be to the bad news? What emotions will he experience? What are his cultural influences?
What are her values? In short, what are her filters?
Most important to an effective conversation is how you language the message. You can easily touch an emotional trigger and get a bigger reaction than you wanted. Choose words that connect to the listener, and you’ll better relate. For instance, my two sons think differently – my eldest, Matt, is verbally intelligent and my son, Adam, is logically intelligent. To connect with Matt, use lots of words – he likes that. To connect with Adam, use sequential languaging, and he’ll stay with you well. Tailoring your message to your audience is simply organizing it in the way the listener processes information.
2. Create safety by being smart with where and when. People need to feel emotionally safe. If you want to have an effective confrontational conversation, select your place and time in advance with careful consideration. The more comfortable the both of you are the better the chance of good word choices. In other words, think ahead .
3. What words do you use? A critical success factor is your word choices in the moment. The more positive feelings you project, the less resistance you will get back. And your positive feelings are captured in your word choices. Here are a few hints.
o Don’t use blaming words.
o Don’t use flaming words – no name calling.
o Don’t exaggerate.
o Do be careful and not use words that trigger negative emotion.
o Do phrase your messages in what you can do, not what you can’t do.
4. Select an effective medium. Too many people use technology as way to avoid direct contact – voice mail, texting or email. I say to you – don’t hide using technology. It’s not fair to your audience. If you have a pattern of delivering bad news in this way, you will eventually destroy trust and harm the relationship. Be respectful by choosing a kind medium.
5. Control you. When you need to deliver bad news, it could be that you are emotionally caught up in the negativity as well, and if you start a conversation with negative energy and a negative tone, that’s exactly what you’ll get back. So, a very important part of preparation is you and your emotions. Get yourself out of the way. Go for a walk – take the time to be in good emotional space.
Okay, you’re prepared. It’s time to deliver the bad news. How do you do it? Here’s how.
Execution:
Once you are prepared, you need to deliver the news. Here are two implementation strategies. One is called The Sandwich and the other is The Staub Confrontation Process, published by Dusty Staub’s, CEO of Staub Leadership Solutions. The Sandwich is often used in writing and Staub’s process is often a verbal delivery.
1.
The Sandwich
– When you expect the listener to have a strong negative reaction to your message, consider informing them gently. Ease into the information. Say a buffer first – a greeting, a welcome, a social comment, maybe a sincere thank you. Then talk about the current situation in a real and factual way. State the bad news (sandwich the bad news in the middle – hence the name). Then ease out into a positive -toned close.
· The introduction is a positive message with an emotionally neutral tone. · The body is organized so that the negative information is nested in the middle of the paragraph. And, by all means, state the bad news once using few words. · The conclusion is to wrap up the message and bring the listener/reader back to positive state.
2.
The Staub Confrontation Process – In order to deliver the bad news effectively, you need understand the languaging process. What do you say when in the delivery of your message? The following details the flow for you.
Step 1: State the facts. Stay relevant. Don’t mention old stuff.
Step 2: State the impact. State how this has affected you.
Step 3: State your feelings. State how you feel about it. Be honest and kind.
Step 4: Ask for understanding. Ask your audience to repeat the message and work the conversation till you both feel like you have a clear understanding.
Step 5: Make action decisions. Communicating bad news is really about – what can we do about this? Now is the time to make forwarding plans, and agree to those plans.
Step 6: Agree on follow up. Get agreement on how and when you will communicate on this matter again. When you get the agreement in place, it’s easy to hold each other accountable.
And above all, stay present. Be fully in the conversation. Listen.
10 Smart Rules for Giving Negative Feedback
Here’s how to handle employees when a kick in the rear is more appropriate than a pat on the back.
Praising good performance is easy, but what about those times when someone on your team needs a kick in the butt more than a pat on the back?
In that case, you’ll need to give some negative feedback–and do it without demotivating or demoralizing the other person. This post explains exactly how to do this.
Before we get started, though, it’s important to remember that the goal of feedback is not to tell people what to do or how to do it. That’s mistaking the process for the goal.
The actual goal of feedback–even negative feedback–is to improve the behavior of the other person to bring out the best in your entire organization.
With that in mind, here are the 10 rules:
1. Make negative feedback unusual.
When a work environment becomes filled with criticism and complaint, people stop caring, because they know that–whatever they do–they’ll get raked over the coals. “I try to give seven positive reinforcements for every negative comment,” says Dan Cerutti, a general manager at IBM.
2. Don’t stockpile negative feedback.
Changes in behavior are more easily achieved when negative feedback is administered in small doses. When managers stockpile problems, waiting for the “right moment,” employees can easily become overwhelmed.
“Feedback is best given real time, or immediately after the fact,” explains management coach
Kate Ludeman
.
3. Never use feedback to vent.
Sure, your job is frustrating–but although it might make you feel better to get your own worries and insecurities off your chest, venting a string of criticisms seldom produces improved behavior. In fact, it usually creates resentment and passive resistance.
4. Don’t email negative feedback.
People who avoid confrontation are often tempted use email as a vehicle for negative feedback. Don’t.
“That’s like lobbing hand grenades over a wall,” says legendary electronic publishing guru
Jonathan Seybold
. “Email is more easily misconstrued, and when messages are copied, it brings other people into the fray.”
5. Start with an honest compliment.
Compliments start a feedback session on the right footing, according to according to management consultant
Sally Narodick
and current board member at the supercomputer company
Cray.
“Effective feedback focuses on the positive while still identifying areas for further growth and better outcomes.”
6. Uncover the root of the problem.
You can give better feedback if you understand how the other person perceives the original situation. Asking questions such as, “Why do you approach this situation in this way?” or “What was your thought process?” not only provides you perspective, but it can lead other people to discover their own solutions and their own insights.
7. Listen before you speak.
Most people can’t learn unless they first feel that they’ve been heard out. Effective feedback “means paying attention and giving high-quality feedback from an empathic place, stepping into the other person’s shoes, appreciating his or her experience, and helping to move that person into a learning mode,” says Ludeman.
8. Ask questions that drive self-evaluation.
Much of the time, people know where they’re having problems and may even have good ideas about how to improve. Asking questions such as “How could we have done better?” and “What do you think could use improvement?” involves the other person in building a shared plan.
9. Coach the behaviors you would like to see.
Negative feedback is useless without a model for how to do better. But simply telling the other person what to do or how to do it is usually a waste of time.
Instead, use this
tried-and-true coaching method
, which is based upon what top sports coaches do.
10. Be willing to accept feedback, too.
If you truly believe that negative feedback can improve performance, then you should be willing to accept it as well as provide it. In fact, few things are more valuable to managers than honest feedback from employees. It’s to be treasured rather than discouraged or ignored.
‘Language is a Verb.’
Words influence; we feel them. Words change the world. We’ve walked on the moon inspired by John F. Kennedy; we’ve felt determined to bring three astronauts home to Earth inspired by Gene Kranz’s words, ‘Failure is not an option.’ and we live in a more culturally united nation fueled from Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream. Words impact our thinking and our behavior. Because of this strong impact, I say ‘Language is a verb.’ Through the action of combining words with intention, we create change in ourselves and in others.
Words create mental images. And the more vivid language, the quicker we understand the message. For example, feel the words ‘walk.’ ‘pace.’ and ‘strut.’ For me the word ‘walk’ feels positive and consistent and forwarding. The word ‘pace’ feels negative and nervous and uncomfortable. And the word ‘strut’ means an over-confidence and passion. Perhaps they feel he same to you, perhaps they don’t. Be, we do feel them. Words represent meaning.
In languaging, we do need to remember that the message spoken is not always the message heard. We filter our understanding through our life experiences, our personalities, and our thoughts. Perception is reality.
So, now it’s time for you to practice your languaging to affect positive change in others. Here’s a list to build your language leadership tool.
ENHANCE SELF-AWARENESS
1. Listen to your self-talk. You talk to others the same way you talk to yourself. In order to encourage others, you need to be practicing positive self-talk. Examine your thought patterns; how positive or negative is your thinking? For one week, keep a count of your negative thoughts. If you need to increase your positivity, and most of us do, put some routines in place to re-frame the negative thoughts to powerful positive ones. Know that changing your base thought patterns requires consistency, commitment and patience mixed with relationship support.
2. Listen to others’ word choices. Wew reveal ourselves in teh way we combine our words. Listen for the patterns.
