8-37. MESSAGE STRATEGIES: REFUSING REQUESTS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS [LO-5] You’re delighted to get a message from an old friend and colleague, Heather Lang.

You’re delighted right up to the moment you read her request that you write a recommendation about her Web design and programming skills for your LinkedIn profile. You would do just about anything for Lang—anything except recommend her Web design skills. She is a master programmer whose technical wizardry saved many client projects, but when it comes to artistic design, Lang simply doesn’t have “it.” From gaudy colour schemes to unreadable type treatment to confusing layouts, her design sense is as weak as her technical acumen is strong.