Take stress out of writing difficult business letters

Q. I often have to write difficult letters like refusing to extend credit, terminating an employee or switching our business to another vendor. I struggle over this task, How can I do it well with less stress on myself? — Jennifer T.

A. Writing bad news is never easy. Best advice: be kind and respectful; not finger-pointing; and present all the facts in an objective, nonemotional way. You’ll often feel some stress, because this may be an unpleasant thing to do. But remember you just have to explain why it happened and what can be done to correct it.

Write your letter only when you have the right attitude. Assume the person really wants to do the right thing. With the right attitude, the tone of your letter will be objective and positive.

There are four steps to writing a “bad-news” message. Cushion the jolt. Explain your position. Offer positive suggestions. End on a friendly note — say thank-you. Or say something complimentary.

Say you understand the position the person is in. Say you’ve considered all the facts. Show where you can agree with the reader. Explain your position honestly and politely, but don’t quote company policy or utter the word “policy.” Instead, tell the reasons for the policy. If possible, show how the decision may be really in the reader’s best interest, perhaps for the long term. Like this:

“Being laid off is really difficult to deal with. But while this may be hard to accept now, you may find an even better job or better direction for your career. We’ll do what we can to help make that happen for you.”

Also, tell how you arrived at the decision — give whatever facts you can. And be indirect when you can, letting the reader understand the unpleasant news by implication or suggestion. Like this:

“While you have outstanding credentials, we have chosen a candidate whose background more closely meets our needs.”

Offer positive suggestions that will balance your bad news, such as “We’d be happy to review your credit record again in six months to confirm.”

And say something constructive. “Your ideas have helped us to rethink our product design.”

Close on a friendly note to leave as positive an impression as possible. Let the person know you value their opinion. Let the person know he or she is a valuable client, customer, or prospect. Describe any further benefits for the customer’s accepting your solution.

Here’s how these steps might apply in sample letter:

hank you for taking the time to write us about your experience with the Acme Bottle Warmer.

We’ve taken every manufacturing precaution possible to prevent shock: we rubber-coat all electrical circuits after thorough testing; we use shock-resistant ceramic and neoprene parts; we submerge each unit in water before it leaves the factory to make sure no water gets inside it.

A severe drop on a hard surface could cause a tiny crack in the unit, causing it to leak. We recommend keeping the unit close to the sink, and away from a shelf or counter edge.

However, we’ll gladly replace the unit at no cost if you’ll just mail it to us. While we can’t claim liability for your experience with our unit, we would like to make up in a small way for your disappointment with our product. Thanks again for writing. Bill Repp is a professional management consultant.