Etiquette: Communicating with Sensitivity and Tact;

Collaboration: Team Projects [LO-4] Working alone, revise the following statements to deemphasize the bad news. Th en team up with a classmate and read each other’s revisions. Did you both use the same approach in every case? Which approach seems to be most eff ective for each of the revised statements?

a. Th e airline can’t refund your money. Th e “Conditions”

section on the back of your ticket states that there are no refunds for missed fl ights. Sometimes the airline makes exceptions, but only when life and death are involved.

Of course, your ticket is still valid and can be used on a fl ight to the same destination.

b. I’m sorry to tell you, we can’t supply the custom decorations you requested. We called every supplier, and none of them can do what you want on such short notice. You can, however, get a standard decorative package on the same theme in time. I found a supplier that stocks these.

Of course, it won’t have quite the fl air you originally requested.

c. We can’t refund your money for the malfunctioning MP3 player. You shouldn’t have immersed the unit in water while swimming; the users’ manual clearly states that the unit is not designed to be used in adverse environments.