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won: the seller sold his or her house and the buyer bought the house that he or she

wanted.

For these reasons, look at your diction closely:

Is the tone too familiar? Over familiarity is a big mistake. Not only does it make you

look less professional, but an overly familiar tone might make your audience feel like

you do not view them as professionals. This could quickly place them on the
defensive and limit their ability to think critically and creatively.

Is it vague? If your prose is vague, then you are leaving it up to your audience to make
sense of it. This means that your entire message could ride on your audience's ability

to properly interpret your tone. Perhaps even more problematic, however, is that if

your diction is vague, then your tone probably is too. In addition to communicating
little, if any, of your message, this could also make people think you are ill-prepared

or indifferent or that you do not take the matter at hand seriously.

Is the tone just rude? A rude tone will meet with short, rude responses and little else.

Business Etiquette

Etiquette refers to the appropriate behavior in a given situation or environment

established by an authority or tradition. Some etiquette is established strictly by

rankings and stated rules of conduct, but much of the etiquette we adhere to on a
daily basis is more loosely defined by historical and cultural practices and traditions.

This is true of business etiquette.

Over the years, the proper way for a real estate licensee to act developed, and it

continues to evolve to this day. Failing to act in this "correct" matter will make you

seem unprofessional and ill-informed. As we previously saw in this lesson, diction,
tone, and form helps you establish the image that you want to convey—mainly, one

of professionalism. But, linguistic techniques cannot entirely establish the "ethical

TX Marketing II: Negotiation Techniques 69