Introduction to Business Correspondence
Today’s secretaries must be able to write
letters, memos, fax and e-mails because they are hired only because they are
able to assist their employers in carrying their-day-to-day activities especially
in business communication. Today, the
way business is conducted has changed immensely. Business is conducted in a
more informal way–a natural, more relaxed language is used in meetings and
conferences, therefore our business writing should no longer use a style which
is stuffy, complicated and impersonal.
LETTERS,
MEMOS, FAXES AND EMAILS
Letters, memos, faxes and emails are very
important business documents for secretaries to be able to write. They must
have the ability to compose those documents because their secretarial duties
include communication both for internal and external communication. Secretaries
are never away or free from the activities of business communication. They are
required to handle business correspondence especially when their
company/companies deal with foreign clients or international business contacts.
It is part of their main responsibility as assistants or partners to the
employers.
There are many kinds of letters, memos, faxes
or emails they have to write in their day-to-day activities. They may convey
information, messages, requests, offers, orders, recommendations, application, promotion,
reminders, good-will, approval, consultation, plans and coordination, and many
others. In Taylor (2004) secretaries are supposed to be able to write business
communication dealing with secretarial and administrative correspondence, which
includes communication dealing with functions and conferences, meetings,
appointments, invitations, and their confirmations. In Webster’s Secretarial
Handbook (1984), secretaries are supposed to be able not only those mentioned
in Taylor’s (2004), there are more letters that secretaries must be able to
write. In addition to secretarial or administrative letters, secretaries must be
able to write acknowledgement, adjustments, appreciation, collection, request
for payment, covering, application for credit, follow-up or reminders, regret or
rejection, deferral, and orders. Secretaries must possess the ability to
compose any business communication their employers assign them to write as they
are considered to be an important part of the management.
LETTERS
Letters are in, a very real sense,
ambassadors of good will. The impression any letter you write to your prospective
customer, a client, or an influential friend or colleague for your company creates
much depends on the appearance as well on the tone or contents.
Letters styles must be arranged and typed
according to the style of the letterhead as well as the style the company has
chosen. There are 3 styles commonly used in business communication: Block
Style, Modified Block Style (with indented and block paragraphs), and
Simplified Style as shown in the following examples.
Letter 1:
Block style, open punctuation
SUPER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
2504
Mill Road/Richmond, VA 23230-1609/(804) 555-9857
Date October 3, 2011
Inside
Mr Clark Cason
Address Vice
President
XYZ Company
228 Clark Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201-2983
Salutation Dear Mr.
Cason
Body of
letter An
Advisory Committee meeting will be held in the Board Room, Thursday, October
19, at noon. This is a special meeting, called because
of the upcoming change in the price of
our product.
An Agenda for the meeting is enclosed. If you have any additional
items to be placed on the agenda, please send them to Mr. Price by October 13.
Please notify me by Monday, October 16, of whether or not you will
attend the meeting.
Complimentary Sincerely
Writer’s
name Herbert Price
Title Vice
President
Typist’s
initials lmb
Enclosure Enclosure
Copy
Notation pc
Thomas Smith
Letter 2:
Modified block style, indented paragraphs, mixed punctuation
BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS INSTITUTE
6 Mawar Street, Pulo Mas, Jakarta
13210
Date 12 May 2004
Inside Address Mr. Hot Saut Manurung
ASMI Buddhi Tangerang
6 Jln. Imam Bonjol
Tangerang
Salutation
Dear
Mr. Manurung,
Subject
line Re:
Confirmation
Body of
letter Thank you for your email
today.
Mr. Dawson will be returning from his vacation next
week and will be able to meet with you to discuss the audit repot in the
Meeting Room, Thursday, August 9, at 10 a.m.
Please bring File No. 306 with you to the meeting, as
there are a few questions to be answered.
We would appreciate your confirming this appointment
by Monday, August 6.
Complimentary
Sincerely,
close
Writer’s
name Mrs.
Catherine Thompson
Title Administrative
Assistant
Typist’s
initials ia
Letter 3:
Modified block style, blocked paragraphs, mixed punctuation
Association
of Secretaries Professional Indonesia – ASPI
Date 12 May 2004 (operate return 4 times)
Inside
address Mrs Kathy Wacek
JICF
Graha Niaga, Flr 2nd
Kav 2-4 Jln. Jend Sudirman
Jakarta
Salutation Dear Kathy:
Subject
Line Subject:
The Annual Conference 2012
Body of
letter To
follow- up our last week’s phone conversation we have pleasure in inviting you to
attend our conference to be held at the Acacia Hotel, Jakarta, on Monday –Tuesday 28/29 April 2012.
The aims of this conference are stated in the program
attached. The seminar is facilitated by professional and eloquent speakers who
will give expert advice on many useful topics. We enclose the program of this
seminar which I know you will not want to miss.
Please complete the enclosed registration form and return it to us
by 10 April with a fee of $29
per person.
We look forward to seeing you at this exiting conference.
Complimentary Sincerely,
(operate return 4 times)
close
Writer’s
name Lisa
Wagner (Mrs)
Title Conference
Secretary
Typist’s
initials ss
Enclosure Encl: Program
Letter 4:
Simplified Style
Date October
13, 2011
Inside
Address Dr.
Matthew Bavetta
123 Mytle Avenue
Glendale, NY
11385-7342
No salutation -
Subject line CANCELLATION
Body of letter Dr.
Greene would like to cancel her appointment for Saturday, October 18, at 10:30
a.m. She will be out of town attending a seminar on that day.
Please reschedule Dr. Greene’s
appointment for the same time on Saturday, October 25.
If this is
inconvenient, please telephone our office.
No
complimentary close -
Marilyn Landry
Writer’s name Ms.
Marilyn Landry
Title Medical
Secretary
Typist’s
initials rm
Business Letter
Punctuation
There are two punctuation styles for business
letters. In mixed punctuation style, a colon or a comma is placed after the
salutation and a comma is placed after the complimentary close. In open
punctuation style, no punctuation is used after the salutation or the
complimentary close (Webster’s New World Secretarial Handbook, 1989)
Parts of the Business Letter
There are many parts to the
business letter, some required, some optional. The parts of the business letter
may include:
1.
Letterhead or Heading
2.
Reference Line (optional)
3.
Date
4.
File Number (optional)
5.
Special Marking such as Confidential (optional)
6.
Inside Address
7.
Attention Line (optional)
8.
Salutation (optional)
9.
Subject line (optional)
10.
Body of the Letter (normally including the introduction,
details, conclusion, and close)
11.
Complimentary Close
12.
Name of sender and designation
13.
Initials ( initials of the sender)
14.
Enclosures (optional)
15.
Copies (cc, bcc)
16. Postscripts
(optional)
17. Mailing
Instructions (optional)
Letterheads or Headings
Letterheads are senders’
addresses, usually printed including the logo, company, street, city or town
and country names, telephone and fax numbers, and nowadays with websites and
e-mail addresses. Headings are normally unprinted, and such letters with
headings are usually set by a person who has no printed address.
Reference Line (optional)
The reference includes the
initials of the writer (usually in upper case) and the typist (in upper or
lower case, as preferred). A file or departmental reference may also be
included.
Examples
HSH/SS HSH:SS GBD/ST GBD/st/Per1 GBD/ST/134
Date
The date should
always be shown in full. In British English it is usual to show the date in the
order day/month/year. No commas are used.
Example
British English 12
July 2012
American English July
12, 2123 3 October 2010.
In some other
countries the date is typed in the order month/year, often with a comma after
the month, for example: August 12, 2008.
In the block style and the simplified style letter, the date is typed at the
left margin. In the modified style letters, the date begins at the center.
Inside Address
The following are some
examples of inside addresses and should be typed on separate lines as it would
appear on an envelope.
Examples
Mr
Daniel Craig Ms.
Leslie Norton
General
Manager The
Red Onion
Craig
Engineering Co Ltd 1139
East Dominique Street, Suit H
12
Bracken Hill Carson,
CA 90746
Manchester
M60
8AS
When writing letters
overseas, the name of the country should be shown on the final line of this
section.
Example
AIRMAIL
Mr
Doug Allen
Eagle
Press Inc
24
South Bank
Toronto
Ontario
Canada
M4J 7LK
Special Markings
Special markings
such as “confidential” are usually included as part of the inside address, one
clear line space above it.
Example
CONFIDENTIAL
Ms.
Elaine Wagner
Health
Care plc
24
Main Street
Birmingham
B2 5JT
Salutations
Salutations are
typed two lines below the line of the inside address. No salutation is used in
the simplified style. If the recipient’s name has been used in the inside
address, it is usual to use a personal salutation, for example:
Dear Mr Philips
Dear Mr Chamberlain
Dear Douglas
Dear Miss Tan
Dear Rosanna
Your Excellency
If you letter is
addressed generally to an organization and not to a person, the more formal
salutation ‘Dear Sirs’ should be used.
Examples
Dear Sir (for a head of
company or a department)
Dear Sirs (for a company)
Dear Sir or Madam
Gentlemen: (In American
English)
If you letter is
address to a head of department or the head of an organization whose name is
not known, then it would be more appropriate to use a salutation as shown here.
Examples:
Dear Sir or Madam
Dear Sir or Dear Madam
In American business
letters, the salutation is used in all formats, except the Simplified Letter
and the Memo. The following salutations are used:
Dear Sir
Dear Madam: (maybe followed
by title, such as Dear Madam Chairperson)
Gentlemen:
Ladies:
Dear Mr. Bryan:
Dear Miss. Diaz:
Dear Andy: (personal friend
or close business associate)
Dear Ms. Gray: (when you are
addressing, a woman whose marital status is not known or when you think this is
her preference)
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Dear Personnel Director: (a
gender-free title)
To Who It May Concern: or
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: (use
this form as a last resort)
Subject Line
A subject line is
usually placed one clear line space after or before the salutation. It is written
in upper case, although initial capitals with underscore may be used if
preferred.
Examples
Dear Mrs Marshall
SALES CONFERENCE – 24 AUGUST
2012
Dear Ms. Agnes Manurung Dear Ms.
Nur Gultom
SUBJECT: TRAINING PROPOSAL Re: Monthly Meeting
Complimentary
close
The two most
common closes are ‘Yours faithfully’ (used only with Dear Sir/Sirs/Sir or
Madam) and ‘Yours sincerely’ (used with personalized salutations).
Examples
In British
English the salutations are as follows with their closing or complimentary
close with or without a comma.
Dear Sir
Dear Sirs Yours faithfully,
Dear Madam
Dear Sir or Madam
Dear Mr Leighton
Dear Mrs Yap Yours sincerely
Dear Caroline Sincerely yours
Dear Sam Sincerely
Dear Agnes Best Regards
Regards
In American English,
complimentary closes are varied, and the wording depends on you:
Personal
Sincerely, Sincerely
yours,
Very sincerely yours, Cordially,
Cordially yours, Very
cordially yours,
Formal Yours truly, Yours very truly,
Very truly yours, Very truly yours,
Respectfully
yours, Yours
respectfully,
Very respectfully
yours, Yours very
respectfully,
Highly
Best wishes, Cheers! Warmest
regards,
Informal
For the typical business
letter, our preferences are “Sincerely yours” and “Cordially yours.”
Name of sender and designation
The name of the
sender should be inserted in whatever style is preferred – upper case, or
initial capitals only. The sender’s designation or department should be shown
directly beneath his/her name.
Examples
Yours faithfully Yours sincerely Sincerely yours,
PATRICK ASHE LESLEY BOLAN (Mrs) Michael Eaton
Chairman General
Manager Director
Best Regards, Yours
truly, Sincerely
yours
Michel Eaton Leornard
G. Richardson Myrna Lane
Colonel, USAF Secretary to Ms.
Jones Medical
Secretary
For or pp
When a letter has
to be signed on behalf of the sender, it is usual to write ‘for’ or ‘pp’ in
front of the sender’s printed name; ‘pp’ is an abbreviation for per pro (per
procuration), which simply means ‘on behalf of’.
Example
Yours faithfully
Agnes
Ruth
for EDWARD NATHAN
Chairman
Enclosures
Enclosures (‘Enc’
or ‘Encs’) are written at the foot of the letter, leaving one clear line space
after the sender’s designation.
Examples
Enclosures 2
Enclosure (2)
Encl. 2
Important enclosures should
be listed as in: Enclosures: invoice,
statement, check, contract, etc. etc.
Copies
When copies are sent
to a third party (usually someone in the sender’s organization), they are indicated
by typing ‘cc’ (copy circulated or courtesy copy) or ‘Copy’ followed by the
name and designation of the copy recipient. If there are two or more copy
recipients, it is usual to shown these in alphabetical order.
Example
cc: Andrew Wilson, General
Manager
Britney
Dawson, Company Secretary
Cathy
Wacek, Accountant
pc: Richard Watson
pc Rick Conway
c: Sandra Delgado
c Sandra Delgado
Blind Copies
Blind copies (bcc)
are written if the writer does not wish the recipient of the letter to know
that a third person is receiving a copy of the letter.
Example
Bcc.
MEMOS
Memos are circulated from one person to another (or several people)
within the same organization. Memos (or memoranda) serve several purposes: to
provide information, to request information, to inform of actions, decisions
and to request action, decisions.
All memos consist of two sections: the heading
and the body. The heading indicates who is writing to whom, when, and why. The
heading should include the following parts: To, From, Date, Re: or Subject, or Cc or c.
No Salutation
Salutations (Dear Sir or Dear Sirs, Dear Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms…)
are not used in a memo, so it directly starts with the body of the memo.
Body of the memo
A memo conveys a message and generally consists of 4 parts:
Introduction, Statement of facts, Argument, Conclusion.
No
complimentary close
There is no
complimentary close used to close a memo, although sometimes the initial of the
writer is written. The following examples show you how memos are formatted.
Sample 1
Memo
To
Production Manager
From Anita
Fodor (Director)
Subject Bob Peter’s Visit
CC or cc
Dwight Hill
This
is to inform you that Mr. Bob Peter, Production Manager of Excel in Boston, is
here for a six-week training visit. He will train all the staff in the
production department for two weeks.
Details
of his schedule are attached. Thank you.
AF
Sample
2
MEMORANDUM
To Christine
Winters, Executive Director
From Sally
Ride, Chairperson, Board of Directors
Date October
20, -
Subject Organizational Meeting
A Board of Directors meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday,
October 30, 20-, in Conference Room A, East Building.
The agenda will
include:
·
Approval of Minutes
·
Report for the Chairperson
·
Discussion of Goals
·
New Business
Since this is the
first meeting, your attendance is necessary. Please bring business report No.
123 A, located in the central database file.
JB/TS 8a
FAXES
Fax messages may be sent between branches of the same company or to
external business associates. Faxes consist of two
sections: the heading and the body. The heading indicates who is writing to
whom, when, and why. The heading should include the following parts as shown
below. .
FAX MESSAGE
To Agnes Ruth
Virena, General Manager
Company PT. Business Communication
Resources (Jakarta)
Fax Number 4714606
From Lindsay Wagner, Managing
Director
Ref LW/DA
Date 6 June 2012
Number of pages
(including this
page) 1
FAX
MESSAGE
To Ms.
Cynthia Craig
Company
PT. Modern Furniture,
Jakarta
From Mr.
Darsono Hadi (PT XYZ)
Date 21
January 2011
Fax
No (021)
5517854
No
of Pages 1
(including
this page)
QUOTATION
Dear Ms Cynthia
Thank you for
your letter of 20 January asking for the prices of our new furniture, chairs,
tables, beds and sofas.
We are pleased to
give you a quote as follows:
No. Qty Description/Specification U/P (USD)
T/P (USD)
1 20 CA
1235 Chairs 1,000 20,000
2 10 TF 1236 1,100 11,000
Terms and
conditions
DP: 50% upon confirmation
Balance: 50 &% ARO
Prices: C.I.F Jakarta
Payment: Transfer to
PT.
Modern Furniture, Jakarta, through BCA Jakarta,
Branch Coconut Gading, A/C No. 12340689
Validity: 30 days
We trust that you will be satisfied with the above quotation and
look forward to receiving your order to forward our pro forma invoice.
Darsono Hadi
Manager- PT XYZ
Jakarta
E-MAILS
E-mail is a popular and generally accepted way to communicate with
clients, potential customers, suppliers, colleagues, friends, and family. E-mail is brief and informal more like writing
than speaking but should be written clearly, concisely, and correctly. It is crucial
in e-mail.
An e-mail is used using the same rules for writing letters, memos,
and faxes always taking the four-step approach to writing: plan what you want
to say, write a draft, revise the draft, and edit.
Faxes consist of two sections: the heading
and the body. The heading indicates who is writing to whom, when, and why. The
heading should include the following parts as shown below.
Sample: Email Confirming
Subject: PA/XPA Course Program
From: Hot S<hsh_mnrg@yahoo.com>
 |
||
To: hanspola@yahoo.wibi-
university.com
|
||
Dear Pak
Hans,
As
requested, I am pleased to send you the XPA/PA/AP program that we
discussed last Tuesday afternoon in your office, WIBI Jakarta.
May
I come and see you at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning to discuss further about the
programs with our prospective clients?
I look forward to
receiving your confirmation.
Sincerely,
Hot Saut H
STRUCTURING YOUR COMMUNICATION
Business letters, memos, faxes and e-mails
are generally structured based on a commonly followed or accepted model or
approach in business communication. They may consist of one, two, three or four
paragraphs. When the message content is made up of three paragraphs, it can be
illustrated as follows:
First Paragraph
The first
paragraph of formal letters should include an introduction to the purpose of
the letter, e.g.
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your email today.
Body Paragraphs
The second and
following paragraphs should provide the main information of the letter, and
build on the main purpose in the introductory first paragraph, e.g., .
I confirm that I can have a meeting with you to discuss our
preliminary business plans on Monday, 19 March at 10. a.m in you your office.
Final Paragraph
The final
paragraph should shortly summarize the intent of the formal letter and end with
some call to action, e.g.,
I look forward to seeing you next Monday.
The 4 Point Plan
According to Taylor (2000), letters, memos,
fax and email messages normally consist of 4 paragraphs as follows.
1) Introduction What is the purpose and
reason of writing?
2) Details: Facts
and Figures
3)
Conclusion: Response /Action/Response
4)
Close: A
simple one-line
Introduction
It may acknowledge previous correspondence,
refer a to meeting or contact or provide an introduction the matter being
discussed.
Examples
Thank you for your email.
I would like to
thank you for your letter of January 22nd requesting information about our new
line of lawn mowers.
In response to your letter of October 23, 1997, we would like to thank you for your interest in our new line of products.
In response to your letter of October 23, 1997, we would like to thank you for your interest in our new line of products.
I am writing to
ask about information for small businesses.
Details
It gives all the information that the
recipient needs to know. We may be requesting information, or sometimes both.
Details should be stated simply and clearly, with separate paragraph used for
individual sections. This section should flow logically to a natural
conclusion.
Examples
We enclose a copy of
our latest catalogue and price list of our products.
To follow-up, we can
have a meeting to discuss more details at your office on a day convenient for
you.
We are very sorry to
confirm that we cannot have a meeting on the day you requested in your previous
letter.
Conclusion (Action or Response)
It draws the message to a logical
conclusion. It may state the action expected from the recipient, and state the
action you will take as a result of the details provided.
Examples
We will transfer payment today.
Please let me have full details of the costs involved together with some
sample menus.
If payment is not received within seven days this matter will be placed
in the hands of our solicitor.
We enclose a brochure
I would be
happy to answer any questions you have.
We would be pleased to assist you in finding a new location.
We would be pleased to assist you in finding a new location.
Close
Always finish a formal letter with some call to action, or reference
to a future outcome you desire. It is usually
a simple one line closing sentence to conclude a message. This should be
relevant to the content of the message (Shirley 2004:24)
Examples
We look forward to receiving your response.
We hope to hear from you.
I look forward to meeting / seeing you
I look forward to meeting you next week.
Sample 1: Showing the 4 paragraphs
School of Secretarial and Administrative Sciences
(SAS)
Blessed
Building, Flr 4th, 6 Mawar Street, Golden Island, Jakarta 13210
April
12, 2012
Mr.
John Peterson
Director
School
of Business Communications
25
Main Street
Singapore
Dear
Mr Peterson,
Introduction Thank you for
your letter of 21 April.
Details We
confirm that we can have a meeting with you to discuss the possibility of working together with you on Monday, 26 April in your office.
Conclusion Please do not hesitate to let us know if there are things you would
like to ask or propose before we meet.
Close We
look forward to meeting you.
Sincerely
yours,
Harry Smith Hanson
Academics Director
aa
LANGUAGE AND TONE
Whether we write a business letter, a fax, a memo or an e-mail, we
should remember (1) to choose the method of communication carefully, (2) to
create the document thoughtfully, (3) present the document so that it looks
good and gives an impression of efficiency and reliability, (4) use a format
that is neat, easy to read and structured logically, (5) use appropriate tone,
considering the circumstances, the situation and the recipient, and (6) ensure
your message is accurate in terms of grammar, spelling and punctuation
Business today is being conducted in a very informal way-in meetings
and conferences, so we are using a natural, more relaxed language rather than
stilted, formal language that was used several decades ago.
The 3 Cs (Conciseness, Clearness, Correctness and Simplicity) to business writing
Any message that we write should represent conciseness, clearness,
correctness and simplicity. According to Taylor (2004), good business writing should
also be accurate, brief, and clear. Our message should use accurate, brief, clear,
plain English and easy to understand and be written in natural style, and avoid
formality or familiarity.
Conciseness
Business message
should be brief. We should keep it short and simple. Practice KISSing skills
(Taylor, 2004). It also means instead of long or complex words, use short ones
as shown in the following examples:
Instead of Say
commence start
regarding about
purchase buy
utilise use
require need
endeavour, attempt try
terminate end
state say
expedite hurry,
speed up
advise, inform tell
visualise see
despatch send
assist help
sufficient enough
kindly please
I should be glad if you
would Please
In spite of the fact that Despite
With regard to About
At the present moment in
time Now
Conduct an investigation Investigation
In view of the fact that As …
because
In the event that If
In the very near future Soon
At a later date Later
We would like to ask you to Please
Clearness
Your message
should be clear. The following old–fashioned phrases should be avoided and they
may lead to confusion. A good business message will use words necessary to
convey a clear and accurate message.
Instead of Say
We are in receipt of your
letter of 12 June Thank you for
your letter of 12 June.
We have received your
letter of 12 June Thank you
for your quotation of 12 June.
Enclosed herewith you will
find … I enclose …
Please find enclosed … We
enclose ….
Please be good enough to advise
me … Please let me know …
Please be reminded … Please
remember …
Please supply the above
mentioned goods Please supply
these goods
We should always compose “clear” communications. Any message you
want to convey, should be clear, logical, empathetic, accurate,
and right. The following
old-fashioned expressions should not be used.
Please
be informed …
Kindly
be advised….
I
would like to bring to your attention and ….
I
am writing to advise you.
Enclosed
herewith please find our catalogue for your reference and perusal.
With
reference to your above-mentioned order…..
Further
to the telecom today between your good self and the undersigned name.
The following expressions sound boring and people are still using them
just simply because everyone else uses them, and because they have been used
for many years or centuries. Taylor (2004) further suggests that we put some
thought and personality and some feeling into our writing.
Instead of Say
We refer to your letter of
21st October 2004 Thank
you for your letter of 21 October.
As spoken in our telecom
today Thank
you for calling me this morning.
Please revert to me soonest
possible. I hope to
hear from you soon
Should you require any
further clarification Please give
me a call on 2874722 if you
please do not hesitate to
contact the have any
question.
undersigned.
Simplicity
Your message should not use long words and long expressions. Long
sentences and long paragraphs will not impress anybody, they will only be confusing.
Instead of Say
We should be very grateful
if you would Please consider our
….not Kindly….
consider our proposal. consider!)
We refer to your letter of
21st October 2004 Thank you
for your letter of 21 October.
As spoken in our telecom
today Thank you for
calling me this morning.
Please revert to me soonest
possible. I hope to hear from you soon
Should you require any
further clarification, Please give me a call on 2874722 if you
please do not hesitate to
contact the have any
question.
undersigned.
The principle KISS in business writing is to use short words, simple
expressions, short sentences and short paragraphs that are clear and concise.
Correctness
Correctness means that your message should not contain spelling,
grammar, typing, and punctuation mistakes. The errors or mistakes in your
message may lead to the impression on the receiver that the writer has no
expertise or education in business writing.
Instead of Say
We are confirm that . We confirm that
……..
We look forward to receive
you confirm. We look forward to
receiving your confirmation. I am interesting in your products and ….. I am
interested in your products and ………….
We can be marketed your
products in our We can market your
products successfully in
country with
successful.
our country.
Use Active Sentences
In addition to those essential qualities, any message should use
active sentences instead of passive sentences (Taylor, 2004). We should use
active voice and it is more alive, more focused, more personalized and much
more interesting and clear. Last of all, our message should be coherently
structured following a logical flow.
Instead Say
Your proposal has been processed We
have processed your proposal.
The training will be
conducted by Harry Chan Harry Chan
will conduct the training.
The next meeting will be
rescheduled soon We will reschedule the next meeting
soon.
Arrangements have been made
for a repeat I have arranged for a
repeat order to be
order to be dispatched to
you immediately sent to you
today.
The cause of your complaint
has been I have looked
into this matter.
investigated
There are other rules or ideas proposed in order to make our
communication look neat, clean and well-organized (for more ideas, see Taylor,
2004) such as in ideas of not to use too many colons, attention lines, ‘thank
you’ over and over again in our business writing (for further details see
Taylor, 2004, Ashley, 1987 and Manurung, 1995)
To sum it up, today’s secretaries must be
able to write letters, memos, fax and e-mails in today’s fast paced business
world with its focus on effective communication, in a more informal way–a
natural, more relaxed language is used in meetings and conferences, therefore
our business writing should no longer use a style which is stuffy, complicated
and impersonal.
The business documents are considered to be ambassadors
of good will. They must be impressive, their appearance as well their tone or
contents. The message
is accurate in terms of grammar, spelling and punctuation, should be using a
natural, more relaxed language rather than stilted, formal language. Any
message that we write should represent conciseness, clearness, correctness and
simplicity. It should be brief, and clear, simple English, easy to understand, natural
in style and avoid formality or familiarity.
References:
Ashley, John.
(1987) A Handbook of Commercial Correspondence, London: Longman
Manurung, Hot
Saut Halomoan (1995) Korespondenssi Niaga Bahasa Inggris, Jakarta: Bursa ASMI
Jakarta.
Poe, Roy. W
(1988) The McGraw-Hill Handbook of Business Letters, Second Edition, Singapore:
McGraw-Hill Book Co.
Taylor, Shirley
(2000) Model Business Letters, E-Mails and other Business Documents, England:
Pearson
Webster’ New
World (1987) Secretarial Handbook, The single reference for every secretary’s
needs, New York: Prentice Hall.
Wilson, Martin
(1987) Write for Business, Hong Kong: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.
Want to take a Modular Course in Business English Correspondence?
Call Hot Saut Halomoan for further information at 08128573122, email: hsh_mnrg@yahoo.com. or on facebook at Saut Halomoan@facebook.com
Call Hot Saut Halomoan for further information at 08128573122, email: hsh_mnrg@yahoo.com. or on facebook at Saut Halomoan@facebook.com
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