Further Conceptualization of Explanation in Negative Messages

<jats:p> Regarding explanation in negative messages, this article makes two innovative suggestions for presentation in the classroom and in textbooks of business communication: (1) Providing a reasonable explanation is the sender's moral obligation; receiving such explanation is a natural right of the target. (2) Explanation should be consciously generated and presented on two levels: general (macro) and specific (micro). Such presentation has at least two advantages: explanation on the general level ties the message to its wider con text or even with the human condition itself; explanation on the specific level connects it with the target's unique situation. </jats:p>