The buffer in a bad-news message is a
A) hint that good news will follow.
B) statement completely unrelated to the bad news so that receivers will not know that bad news is coming.
C) statement that reduces shock or pain and encourages the receiver to continue reading.
D) denial of the requested action.
Ques. 2Which of the following statements about the ethics of delivering bad news is most accurate?
A) Delaying the bad news in a message is manipulative.
B) The indirect strategy is unethical only if the writer intends to deceive the reader.
C) Using the indirect strategy is a way to hide the bad news from the reader.
D) Delivering bad news is a fact of life; consequently, you need not worry about ethics.
Ques. 3The primary difference between ethical and unethical communicators is that unethical communicators
A) intend to deceive.
B) use only the indirect strategy regardless of the audience, purpose, or topic.
C) use only the direct strategy regardless of the audience, purpose, or topic.
D) omit the buffer from their bad-news messages.
Ques. 4Although you may worry about using the indirect strategy to communicate bad news, one benefit it has is
A) demonstrating your writing abilities.
B) ensuring that your reasoning will be read while the receiver is still receptive.
C) disguising the bad news.
D) placing the bad news before the explanation.
Ques. 5Corbin must inform employees that overtime pay will be reduced from the current 2.0 factor to a 1.5 factor. Because he anticipates a hostile reaction, which of the following sequences should Corbin use for the parts of his message?
A) Bad news, explanation, reasons, and closing
B) Bad news, reasons, buffer, and closing
C) Buffer, reasons, bad news, and closing
D) Buffer, explanation, reasons, and closing
Ques. 6Which of these patterns is typical for bad-news messages presented in the indirect strategy?
A) Buffer, reasons, bad news, and closing
B) Buffer, bad news, and closing
C) Explanation, bad news, buffer, and closing
D) Bad news, explanation, and closing
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