S1BusinessWritingSkills1.docx
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S1BusinessWritingSkills1.docx
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S1BusinessWritingSkills1
Section1:
BusinessWritingSkills
TableofContents
Section1:
BusinessWritingSkills
"PowerofthePrintedWord"3
ElementsofStyle6
StagesofEffectiveBusinessWriting6
ReaderSensitivity6
GuidetoDocumentRevision7
EffectiveCommunicationCriteria-7Cs8
SentencesandLinesperParagraph8
Readability9
ConciseVerbsvs.NominalizedVerbs11
WordyPhrases12
TransitionWords13
Parallelism13
TitlesandNumbers13
RegionalUsage/Slang14
ProofreadingGuidelines14
ProductEvaluation14
Withpermission:
InternationalPaperCompany
"PowerofthePrintedWord"
HowToWriteA
BusinessLetter
by
MalcolmForbes
AdaptedfromthoughtsofMalcolmForbes,
FounderofForbesMagazine
Agoodbusinesslettercangetyouajobinterview,getyouoffthehook,orgetyoumoney.It'stotallyasininetoblowyourchancesofgettingwhateveryouwantwithabusinessletterthatturnspeopleoffinsteadofturningthemon.Thebestplacetolearntowriteisinschool.Ifyou'restillthere,pickyourteachers'brains.Ifnot,bigdeal.Ilearnedtorideamotorcycleat50andflyballoonsat52.It'snevertoolatetolearn.
Over10,000businessletterscomeacrossmydeskeveryyear.Theyseemtofallintothreecategories:
stultifyingifnotstupid,mundane(mostofthem),andfirstrate(rare).Here'stheapproachI'vefoundthatseparatesthewinnersfromthelosers--itstartsbeforeyouwriteyourletter:
Knowwhatyouwant:
Ifyoudon't,writeitdowninonesentence."Iwanttogetaninterviewwithinthenexttwoweeks."Then,listthemajorpointsyouwanttogetacrossit'llkeepyouoncourse.Ifyou'reansweringaletter,checkthepointsthatneedansweringandkeeptheletterinfrontofyouwhileyouwrite.Thiswayyouwon'tforgetanythingthatwouldcauseanotherroundofletters.Forgoodness'sake,answerpromptlyifyou'regoingtoansweratall.Don'tsitonaletterthatinvitesthepersonontheotherendtositonwhateveryouwantinreturn.
Plungerightin:
Callthereaderbyname--"DearMr.Chrisanthopoalos"not"DearSir,Madam,orMs."andbesuretospellitright.That'llgethim(thus,you)offtoagoodstart.(Usually,youcangetthenamejustbyphoningthecompanyorfromabusinessdirectoryinyournearestlibrary.)
Tellwhatyourletterisaboutinthefirstparagraphusingoneortwosentences.Don'tkeepyourreadersguessingortheymightdiscardyourletterevenbeforetheyfinishit.PeoplewhoreadbusinesslettersareashumanasyouandI.Readingalettershouldn'tbeachore,rewardreadersforthetimetheygiveyou.
Writesoreadersenjoyit:
∙Writetheentireletterfromthereader’spointofview.What'sinitforthereader?
Beatthereadertothedrawbyansweringthequestionsandobjectionsthatmightarise.
∙Bepositive.Thereaderwillbemorereceptivetowhatyouhavetosay.
∙Benice.Contrarytothecliche,genuinelyniceguysmostoftenfinishfirstorverynearit.Iadmitit'snoteasywhenyou'vegotagripe.Tobeagreeablewhiledisagreeingthat'sanart.
∙Benatural.Writethewayyoutalk.Imaginethereadersittinginfrontofyouwhatwouldyousay?
Businessjargontooofteniscold,stiff,andunnatural.SupposeIcameuptoyouandsaid,"IacknowledgereceiptofyourletterandIthankyou."You'dthink,"Huh?
You'reputtingmeon."Theacidtestreadyourletteroutloudwhenyou'redone.Youmightgetashockbutyou'llknowforsureifitsoundsnatural.
∙Don'tbecuteorflippant.Thereaderwon'ttakeyouseriously.Thisdoesn'tmeanyou'vegottobedull.Youpreferyourlettertoknock'emdeadratherthanbore'emtodeath.
Inyourcommunication:
1.Haveasenseofhumor.That'srefreshinganywhereanicesurpriseinabusinessletter.
2.Bespecific.IfItellyouthere'sanewfuelthatcouldsavegasoline,youmightnotbelieveme.ButsupposeItellyouthis:
"Gasohol"10%alcohol,90%gasolineworksaswellasstraightgasoline.Sinceyoucanmakealcoholfromgrainorcornstalks,woodorwoodwaste,coalevengarbage,it'sworthsomerealfollowthrough.Nowyou'vegotsomethingtosinkyourteethinto.
3.Leanheavieronnounsandverbs,lighteronadjectives.Usetheactivevoiceinsteadofthepassive.Yourwritingwillhavemoreguts.Whichoftheseisstronger?
Activevoice:
"Ikickedoutmymoneymanager."Or,passivevoice:
"Mymoneymanagerwaskickedoutbyme."(Bytheway,neitheristrue.Myson,MalcolmJr.,managesForbes’moneyhe'sabrilliantmoneyman.)
Giveitthebestyou'vegot:
Whenyoudon'twantsomethingenoughtomaketheeffort,makinganeffortisawaste.Tomaketheeffort:
∙Makeyourletterlookappetizingoryou'llstrikeoutbeforeyouevengettobat.Typeitongoodquality"81/2x11"stationery.Keepitneat.Useparagraphingthatmakesiteasiertoread.
∙Keepyourlettershorttoonepage,ifpossible.Keepyourparagraphsshort.Afterall,who'sgoingtobenefitifyourletterisquickandeasytoread?
You.Foremphasis,underlineimportantwords.
∙Makeitperfect.Notypos,nomisspellings,nofactualerrors.Ifyou'resloppyandletmistakesslipby,thepersonreadingyourletterwillthinkyoudon'tknowbetterordon'tcare.Doyou?
∙Becrystalclear.Youwon'tgetwhatyou'reafterifyourreaderdoesn'tgetthemessage.
∙UsegoodEnglish.Ifyou'restillinschool,takealltheEnglishandwritingcoursesyoucan.Thewayyouwriteandspeakcanreallyhelporhurt.Ifyou'renotinschool(evenifyouare),getthelittle71-pagegembyStrunk&White,ElementsofStyle.It'sinpaperback.It'sfuntoreadandloadedwithtipsongoodEnglishandgoodwriting.
∙Don'tputonairs.Pretenseinvariablyimpressesonlythepretender.
∙Don'texaggerate.Evenonce.Yourreaderwillsuspecteverythingelseyouwrite.
∙Distinguishopinionsfromfacts.Youropinionsmaybethebestintheworld.Butopinionsarenotgospel.Youoweittoyourreadertoidentifyopinionsfromfacts.ThedumbestpeopleIknowarethosewho“KnowItAll.”
∙Behonest.It'llgetyoufurtherinthelongrun.Ifyou'renot,youwon'tresteasy.
∙Editruthlessly.Somebodyhassaidthatwordsarealotlikeinflatedmoneythemorewordsthatyouuse,thelesseachoneisworth.Righton.Gothroughyourentireletterjustasmanytimesasittakes.Searchoutandannihilateallunnecessarywords,andsentences--evenentireparagraphs.
Sumitupandgetout:
Thelastparagraphshouldtellthereaderexactlywhatyouwantthereadertodoorwhatyou'regoingtodo.Keepitshortandsweet."MayIhaveanappointment?
NextMonday,May16,I'llcallyoursecretarytoseewhenisconvenientforyou."Closewithsomethingsimplelike,"Sincerely."Andforheaven'ssakesignlegibly.ThebiggestegotripIknowisacompletelyillegiblesignature.Goodluck;Itrustyouwillgetwhatyou'reafter!
MALCOLMFORBES
ElementsofStyle
StagesofEffectiveBusinessWriting
Toproducegoodwriting,youhavetomaketheinformationfitthedocumentandstylethatbestcommunicatestoreaders.Technicalandbusinesswritingconsistsofspecialdocumentssuchasmemos,reports,manuals,andinstructions.Itusuallyrequiresseveralstagesoftextdevelopment:
∙Brainstormwhatthecommunicationmustinclude.
∙Clusteryourideasintotopics.
∙Outlineyourtopics,includingsubtopics.
∙Writearoughdraft.
∙Revisebyeditingyourwork.
∙Proofreadcarefully.
∙Producethefinaldraft.
ReaderSensitivity
Bepositive:
Beingreader-friendlymeanstreatingreaderswell.Youcandothisbyputtingreadersinapositivespotlightasmuchaspossible.Minimizeuseofnegativelanguage,especiallytowardyourreaders.Usepositivelanguageinstead.
Emphasizewhatreaderscandoinsteadofwhattheycannotdo:
Insteadofwriting:
“Youarenoteligibleforthediscount,”
Write:
“Membersareeligibleforthisdiscount.Tobecomeamember,pleasecompleteandsubmitthisform.”
Statefactsinsteadofassigningblame:
Insteadofwriting,“Youdidnotincludeacheckinyourrecentmortgagepaymentmailing,”
Write:
“Wedidnotfindacheckinyourrecentmortgagepaymentmailing.”
Avoidleadingwithnegativeinformation:
Insteadofwriting:
“YourinsuranceisbeingcancelledeffectiveJanuary31.”
Write:
“Ourcompanypolicyenablescustomerstoqualifyforautomobileinsuranceaslongastheyhaveasafedrivingrecord.Customerswhohavebeencitedatfaultintwoormoreaccidentsorwhohavereceivedtwoormorespeedingviolationswithinasix-monthperiodareimmediatelyplacedonprobationarystatus.Anyadditionalaccidentsorspeedingcitationswithinthefollowingsixmonthswillresultinthecancellationofthatcustomer’sautomobileinsurance.”
Bepolite:
Politenessmeansbeingcourteous,civil,considerate,andrespectfultothereader.Politenessisachievedbyusingproperlanguagewhenaddressingthereader.Theappropriatenessofthelanguageusedisreallyafactoroftherelationshipthatexistsbetweenwriterandreader.
Ifthewriterandreaderdonothaveapersonalrelationship,then,inmostsituations,courtesytitlesareused,suchasMr.,Mrs.,Ms.,orDr.Thesetitlesshouldbeusedifthecommunicationisexternal--thewriteriscommunicatingwithsomeoneoutsidehis/herorganization.Ifthewriterandreaderarepartofthesamecompanyororganization,thenpolitelanguagedependsupontheirrespectivepositionsinthehierarchy.Superiorscanmoreeasilyaddresssubordinatesonafirst-namebasis,ignoringcourtesytitles.Subordinatesshouldhaveapersonalrelationshipwithsuperiorsbeforeaddressingthemwithoutusingcourtesytitles.
Befair:
Successfulcompaniesareawareofthediversityoftheworldmarketplaceandtheimportanceofbeinginclusiveofgr
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