Welcome back to English for management and leadership. In our last lesson, you learned about the differences between indirect and direct approaches, and when to use them. This lesson, we'll focus more on how to use indirect approach, since it can take a little more thought to create. Inevitably, in business there are conflicts. We're all human, and humans make mistakes. Though these situations are not enjoyable, they must be dealt with and handled professionally. Let's review again why we use the indirect approach. In which of the following situations would you use the indirect approach? If you begin your message with the bad news, your audience may react so strongly to the news that they stop listening to anything else you have to say. Picture yourself as an eight year old child again. You've just failed a math test. You come home and when your mother asks you about the test, would you say right away, I got a 42%. What would your mother's reaction be if you did? Now of course, we don't want to hide the bad news. Being honest is important in business communication and in life. That's why we use the indirect approach. It can help soften the bad news and still keep your audience engaged. Because communicating bad news is difficult, your indirect message will need more thought and strategy. One effective technique is to use a buffer. A buffer is information that puts off the bad news for just long enough to gain your audience's trust, or to give them some context for the bad news. Now think again about that situation with the math test. When you mother asks you about the test, you probably know that her reaction to your 42% is not going to be good. So your response would probably be something more like, oh, the math test, mom, it was a very difficult test, everyone said it was difficult and. Almost half the class failed it. Did you catch that? You just created a buffer. You have given her some context for the news that's about to come. And hopefully as a result, she will react a little less angrily. And here's the interesting thing. Your mother knows what you're doing. If you had good news about the test, you would have said I got 100% using the direct approach, but you didn't. She knows bad news is coming, even if you didn't say so. But now she has time to take a deep breath [SOUND] and calm herself before she hears your news. Now let's take a look at how you would use buffers and the indirect approach in a business situation. The general pattern for the indirect approach, as it is used in writing, goes like this, start with a neutral buffer. You don't want to start with good news, because it will give your reader false hope that more good news is coming. So a neutral buffer or a show of appreciation for their business is a good way to start. You're not apologizing for the bad news to come. You're simply preparing the reader. The next part is where you give reasons. Many studies have been done about how effective reasons are for communication. People like to know why something is the way it is. Offering reasons will make the bad news easier to accept. Once you've prepared the reader, you give the bad news. It's important at this point to clearly and succinctly state the news. You want to make sure that the reader completely understands the situation. Don't spend too much time on it. This is a little like ripping off a band-aid. Offer if possible a compromise. For example, we can't do this but we can do that. Finally, in your closing, re-direct attention from the bad news. Don't bring it up again. Instead, be courteous, focus on future opportunities, and rebuild good-will. Let's take a look at a short example. Dear Ms. Monroe, Thank you for your interest in the Stone notebooks. Due to current demand they are on backorder. We do have Granite notebooks in stock, and we anticipate being able to ship the Stone notebooks by early next week. If you would like to redirect your order to the Granite notebooks, please contact me at 1.787.555.1234. Sincerely, Jane Binder. This pattern is very typical in writing. Step 1: Buffer, Step 2: Reasons, Step 3: Bad News, Step 4: Redirect and Close. In speaking, the indirect approach may happen more quickly. Going directly from buffer to news depending on how bad the news is. Let's take a look Look at how Elizabeth used buffers. >> I have a few reservations about the two candidates for my team, and I was hoping I could talk them through with you. >> Elizabeth uses this buffer to prepare Gary that she would like to discuss negative or uncomfortable news. This next example is a little longer. >> You know I'm happy that he's that excited about a product, but I'm kind of wondering if I can handle his high energy level and then, there's all the talking. >> The first part is the buffer, and the second part she offers her reasons for the third part which is the negative news. One word of caution about buffers and the indirect approach. Though you are speaking indirectly, don't give your audience the idea that you're avoiding an answer or trying to hide the truth. As a child with a poor math test score, you might have intuitively used buffers as a way to avoid giving your mom the bad news. But in business, the buffer's purpose is to get your listener to trust you. Be honest, even if the bad news may cause anger or hurt feelings. Let's review the takeaways from this lesson. The main pattern for the indirect approach is buffer, reasons, news, redirect. A buffer helps your audience prepare for the bad news. Reasons are a powerful communication tool. People like to know why, state the bad news clearly and quickly. Close by redirecting attention to future opportunities or actions. We'll see you in the next lesson, as we dive into more specifics about making requests with models. Thanks for watching English for Management and Leadership.