Touchstone 3.1: Sending Good News and Bad News

Touchstone 3.1: Sending Good News and Bad News

Overview

What You Will Learn: In this touchstone, you will practice writing a message with both good news and bad news. The nature of the message will determine the structure of the message as well as the tone and word choice. Why It Matters: In any job, you need to be an effective communicator, and sometimes that means delivering information that has an impact on the recipient. What You Will Hand In: A complete message of 250-400 words, submitted as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) file. Keys to Success

• Follow the appropriate structure for each part of your message.
• Maintain a professional and appropriate tone throughout.
• Include all components of the message, including the greeting and closing comment.

Helpful Links

• Tutorial on Sending Good News and Bad News
• Academic Integrity Guidelines
• Ethical Standards and Appropriate use of AI
• Review an Example

Share your feedback on Touchstones

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Instructions

Step 1: Select ONE of the following scenarios:

• Announce a new hire to the organization. It is a new position at a leadership level called Director of Customer Engagement. The new hire is named Natalie Lopez and comes to the job from another company where she had a similar job for six years. You want to share this as good news and get workers to warmly welcome Natalie, but you know the outside candidate was chosen over two popular internal applicants and some people in the office are upset about this.
• Announce the pay increase and benefits for the upcoming fiscal year. The pay increase is lower than usual due to company revenue being less than expected, while copays on health insurance are going up for unrelated reasons. To mitigate the bad news the company is giving all workers an additional three days of vacation and a small one-time bonus of 0.5% their annual salary that they’ll receive on their anniversary date in the next fiscal year. You know these combined benefits are substantially less than the difference in expected raise and insurance copays.
• Announce that the entire company is going to relocate to a new location, 1010 Mill Road. The current location has had many complaints about cramped space, unreliable heat and air conditioning, and limited parking. The new location is further away, but has plenty of parking, new and reliable HVAC, and ample space. However, at the current location most staff have private offices, while at the new location all but the most senior staff will use an open, shared space with less privacy and personalization of work spaces. Key facts to communicate are the dates of the move (April 15-19), that professional movers will take care of everything, and that workers need to remove all personal belongings before April 14.

Step 2: Write Your Response

• Draft a message of 250-400 words.
• Be sure to include an appropriate subject line, a greeting, an opening, the body of the message, and a closing comment.
• The body of your message should be two paragraphs, each 4-6 sentences, communicating the two pieces of news in your chosen scenario.
• You should end with an appropriate closing to your message.

Step 3: Submit Your Response

• Read through your message to make sure it is grammatically correct, has all the right components, and best represents you as a professional.
• Upload the document as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) file.

This process will help you prepare for your role as a professional communicator sharing sensitive news. Good luck!Share your feedback on Touchstones

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Rubric

	Advanced (100%)	Proficient (85%)	Acceptable (75%)	Needs Improvement (50%)	Non-Performance (0%)
Overall Structure Subject line and greeting are appropriate, opening effectively summarizes and previews the message, body delivers the details of the message, and closing includes any important action items in a specific manner. (20%)	Subject line and greeting are appropriate, opening effectively summarizes and previews the message, body delivers the details of the message, and closing includes any important action items in a specific manner.	Message includes all of the elements: a subject line, a greeting, an opening, and a closing. At least one element is insufficient but all elements are present.	One of the elements is missing or insufficient: a subject line, a greeting, an opening, and a closing.	Two of the elements are missing, insufficient, or inappropriate: a subject line, a greeting, an opening, and a closing.	Aside from the body of the message there are no elements or work is so insufficient no points can be given.
Content Message is complete, clearly written, concise, and consistent. (20%)	Meets all four of the following guidelines: complete, clearly written, concise, and consistent.	Meets three of the four following guidelines: complete, clearly written, concise, and consistent.	Meets two of the four following guidelines: complete, clearly written, concise, and consistent.	Meets only one of the four following guidelines: complete, clearly written, concise, and consistent.	Message is so off-topic or scant that no points can be given.
Body of Message Each component of the message (good news and bad) follows the recommended sequence from the tutorial on sending good news and bad news. (20%)	Each component of the message (good news and bad) follows the recommended sequence from the tutorial on sending good news and bad news.	One component of the message (good news and bad) follows the recommended sequence from the tutorial on sending good news and bad news; the other varies from the recommended model and is less effective.	Neither component of the message (good news or bad) follows the recommended sequence from the tutorial on sending good news and bad news.	The components of the message (good news and bad news) are indistinct instead of taken in turn.	Components of the message are not structured or distinct. No points can be given.
Tone Each component of the message (good news and bad news) has the appropriate words and phrases for the mood of recipients. (20%)	Each component of the message (good news and bad news) has the appropriate words and phrases that are appropriate for the mood of recipients.	One component of the message (good news and bad news) has the appropriate word choices and mood for the feelings of recipients. The other may have some words or phrases that are inappropriate for the mood of recipients.	Neither component of the message use appropriate word or language choices for the mood of recipients.	Much of the message is written without apparent consideration for the mood of recipients.	The message wording and phrasing is so inappropriate or unclear that no points can be given.
Conventions Submission follows conventions for standard written English and meets formatting and length requirements. (20%)	There are almost no errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization; all length and formatting requirements are met.	There are minor errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that do not impede readability; length and formatting requirements are nearly met.	There are frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that somewhat impede readability; length and formatting requirements are nearly met.	There are consistent errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that significantly impede readability; length and formatting requirements are not nearly met.	Submission does not meet the minimum threshold for points to be given.