Understanding the basic organization and expectations for good- and neutral-news messages will help you build goodwill and maintain your professional credibility in business relationships. These questions review the basic good- and neutral-news guidelines for messages. Good- and neutral-news messages use a direct or deductive approach. Choose the correct section of the direct outline to complete each sentence.

1. The _________ of a routine claim message should include a future-looking statement. (A. Review, B. Body, C.Closing, D.Opening)

2. Provide clear explanations and assurances in the ________ of a positive response to a routine claim. (A. Body, B.Opening, C. Closing)

3. In a message extending credit, the credit offer should be presented in the _________ of the message. ( A. Closing, B. Body, C. Opening)

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Read the appreciation message email from Nannon, and then answer the corresponding question. To: Jason Park From: Nannon Gibreault Subject: Lunch meeting follow-up Hi Jason, [1] Meeting with you was great. [2] I really enjoyed hearing about your current consulting project. [3] Thank you for making my day brighter. Regards, Nannon Gibreault

What is the best revision for sentence 3?

A. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me; I hope we can do it again.

B. Thanks for meeting me. Perhaps we can get together again once I have implemented some of the ideas we discussed.

C. No revision is needed.

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Read the scenario about routine messages, and then answer the corresponding question.

Tyson is preparing a routine claim message. His laptop computer is not functioning properly, and he needs to have the hard drive replaced. The computer is still under full warranty, so repairs will be covered.

What advice would you give Tyson as he prepares his routine claim message? Check all that apply.

__ Use an indirect organizational approach.

__Use a friendly, receiver-focused tone.

__Provide in-depth and detailed explanations.

Routine request messages most often solicit a favorable response. What advice should you follow when preparing a favorable response to a routine request?

__Provide general answers to specific questions.

__Show sincere interest in the request and person.

__Use an inductive approach to organize your response.

Read the scenario about extending credit, and then answer the corresponding question.

Alan works for an online retailer. He has been asked to prepare a message extending credit offers to new customers who purchase more than $100 in merchandise. Because Alan has never written a message extending credit, he needs your advice.

__What advice would you give Alan?

__Encourage customers to visit the website to opt out of credit options.

__Open with an acknowledgment of legally required disclosures.

__Open by extending credit and acknowledging shipment of an order.