Be gentle with the let-down

by Herschell Gordon Lewis

Marketing Communications

June 2006

One of the least satisfying elements of admissions is its antonym - rejections.

It's tempting to treat them as a forgettable necessity. The doors have closed and sorry, you'll have to stay outside. That mindset overlooks how the future might frown on your coldness.

A message that says, "I'm genuinely sorry," will help bypass the bad-mouthing many rejects aim at whomever rejected them. That's a human psychological truism, regardless of how deficient the applicant might have been.

The rapport that results from "I'm genuinely sorry" has huge emotional benefits over "We're genuinely sorry," because it places you and the reject on the same team.

"We're genuinely sorry" doesn't work well. It seems to be and probably is a corporate cop-out.

Why leave a taste sourer than it needs to be? Public relations never ends. Not only are friends better than enemies; so are neutrals.