principlesofbusinesswriting final 130929215201 phpapp01

8/13/2019 Principlesofbusinesswriting Final 130929215201 Phpapp01

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The problem with communication is theillusion that it has been accomplished

George Bernard Shaw


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PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE BUSINESS

COMMUNICATION


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BUSINESSCOMMUNICATION

SOMEHOMETRUTHS

Most of us are poor communicators and very

poor listeners/readers

Few of us try very hard to get our message

acrossFew of us take advantage of various media

available to us

We could all improve our writing skillsWe assume others pay attention; we are often

wrong


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FACTOID

The average employee receives about 190

communications a day by paper, voicemail, email,

phone, etc.

Pitney-Bowes survey


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ADVANTAGESOFWRITTEN

COMMUNICATION

Creates a permanent record

Allows you to store information for future

referenceEasily distributed

All recipients receive the same information

Necessary for legal and bindingdocumentation


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ISITCLEAR? HAVEYOUHITYOUR

TARGET?


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In written communication most confusion & frustration

is caused by failing to be specific ..

Make it clear, brief and concise..


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PRINCIPLESOFBUSINESSWRITING

PRINCIPLE-1

Orientation towards the receiver

Problem: Our proficient IT specialists in DTP couldfacilitate the production of data transference onto

hard copy to generate improvements in mail shots.

Revision: You will write better letters with the help ofour experts in Desk Top publishing.


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PRINCIPLE-1

Revision:

1) Aditya,

You are warmly invited to improve your skills inwriting to your customers. Please sign your namebelow. We look forward to seeing you.

2)Dear Mrs.Khanna,

Your 5% deposit will ensure that, complying withour new terms, you will receive your orders within aweek.


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PRINCIPLE-2Use short, simple vocabulary

Problem:

1.The ambiguous nature of prediction of weather patternsmakes it difficult for forecasts to be congruent.

2.The unanimity of current forecasts is not incontrovertible

evidence of an impending business acceleration.


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Revision:

Because of the ambiguous nature of weather data all

weather forecasts are vague.

Agreement on the forecasts are not proof that business

will get better.


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PRINCIPLE-3

Use concrete rather than abstract words

I require this report as soon as possib le

Is soon minutes, hours, days?

This is the tal lestbuilding in the city

Is high inches, feet, miles?I drive very fast

Is fast time or speed?

I have been waiting for my friend for a longtimeIs long time or distance?

The company has suffered major lossesin theprevious FY


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PRINCIPLE-3Use concrete rather than abstract words

I require this report by 5p.m . tod ay.

This 75 metres tall building is the tal lestbuilding in the

city

I drive at 80kms per hour.

I have been waiting for my friend for an hour.

The company has suffered 30% los s in the previous FY


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Please check on the offer wall to make sure our

offer partner has credited you with completing the

offer. In some cases it may take a few hours or

even a few days to confirm.

How can we be more specific?


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PRINCIPLE-4

Use active voice rather than passive

The goods were ordered by the customer

The customer ordered the goods

The sessions of the faculty will be attendedand reviewed by the Dean

The dean will attend and review the sessions

of the faculty


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PRINCIPLE-5

Use action verbs

Achieved Assisted Established Executed

Founded Generated Guided Doubled

Administered Conceived Created Designed

Financed Analysed Developed


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PRINCIPLE-6

Avoid pompous, inflated, legal-sounding

phrasing. Be brief.

The capital improvement project (hereafter to be

designated as CIP) for the fiscal year 2007-2008

stipulated budget allocations in the amount not exceedingRs.40,000 to be decimated for utilisation by a program

under the nomination of the 23rd street Renaissance

Market.

The duly accepted forms should be submitted to the

undersigned upon completion.


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Revision

The Capital Improvement Project (CIP) in 2007-2008included the amount of Rs.40,000 for the 23rd Street

Renaissance Market.

Please return the signed forms when you have completed

them.


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PRINCIPLE-7

Use short crisp sentences

Problem

Those who do not attend the meeting and prefer to stayaway, by offering feeble and lame excuses, shall be dealt

with in a serious manner, vide IAC 37, which deals with

office discipline and punishments liable thereof, in order

to maintain the sanctity of office and to uphold ourhonored traditions, on which the edifice of our

organisation has been developed.


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Revision

Those who do not attend meeting without sufficient

reasons will be dealt with seriously. Your attention isdrawn to IAC 37 which deals with office discipline.

this is being done in order to uphold our traditions

and sanctity of the office.


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PRINCIPLE-8

Use gender neutral words whenever possible.

The Chairman of the Committee will address the

meeting at 10a.m.

The Policeman chased the thief

Shah Rukh Khan is a great actor; so is Kajol a greatactress.

Shivani is a great authoress & poetess


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PRINCIPLE-9

Use proper sentence structure and design.

1.This year the sales increased, however the cumulative

losses also increased.

2.Even though the sales increased, the cumulative lossesincreased.

3.The cumulative losses increased, in spite of an increase

in sales.


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Use Proper Sentence Design

The main point of our research was to try and findout who the soft drink customer was and why they

drank the soft drink that they drank.

High turn-over of skilled employees continued to be

major problems for employers last year. Moreover,

it has become very expensive to use monetary-

related methods to retain employees.

We will analyze the retention rate of workers,

comparing to previous years and trends,

as well as look over the effectiveness of workers.


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PRINCIPLE-10

Coherence ,unity clarity and flow

Sentences convey a single thought

Paragraphs discuss a single idea


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PRINCIPLE-11

Consistency and continuity

Clear, complete and concise

Avoid disjointed, choppy sentences


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PRINCIPLE-12

Sentence and paragraph linkages must becoherent and seamless

The apprehensions faced by the students, duringThe MBA course, arise from the fact that they arenot able to set realistic goals. Sometimesstudents coming from backgrounds whereexposure to the outside world is minimal. This isone of the reasons for unrealistic goal setting.One of the results of unrealistic goal setting is

frustration and stress at the end of the MBAcourse


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PRINCIPLE-12

Atthe end of the MBA course, students facelot of stress and frustration due to incorrectgoal setting. One reason for this is thebackground of the student, parental

pressure etc.

The background of a student has a greateffect on his/her goal setting process..

Incorrect goal setting results in lot ofproblems for the students. Theseinclude


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STYLEANDTONE

State the main business, purpose, or subject matter right

away.

avoid round-about beginnings.

Ex: "I am writing to apply for the position you

currently have open...."

"I am writing in response to your letter of July 24,

1997 in which you discuss problems you have

had with an electronic spreadsheet purchased

from our company."


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STYLEANDTONEIf you are responding to a letter, identify that letter

by its subject and date in the first paragraph orsentence.

Dear Mr. Stout: I am writing in response to your September

1, 19XX letter in which you describe problems that you'vehad with one of our chainsaws. I regret that you'vesuffered this inconvenience and expense and....

Dear Ms. Cohen: I have just received your August 4,19XX letter in which you list names and other sourcesfrom which I can get additional information on themanufacture and use of plastic bottles in the soft-drinkindustry....


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STYLEANDTONE

Keep the paragraphs of most business letters short,

between three and eight lines long.

Paragraphs that are made up of only a single

sentence are common and perfectly acceptable.


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STYLEANDTONE

"Compartmentalize" the contents of your letter.

A complaint letter concerning problems with the

system unit of a personal computer, can havethese paragraphs: A description of the problems

The ineffective repair jobs

The compensation you think you deserve and why

Provide topic indicators at the beginning ofparagraphs.


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STYLEANDTONE

List or itemize whenever possible in a businessletter.

Place important information strategically.

Information in the first and last lines of paragraphsread and remembered better.

Information buried in the middle of long paragraphsoverlooked or forgotten.


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STYLEANDTONE

Find positive ways to express bad news in

your business mail.

Avoid such words as "cannot," "forbid," "fail,"

"impossible," "refuse," "prohibit," "restrict,"and "deny" as much as possible.

Problem: Because of the amount of

information you request in your letter, simply

cannot help you without seriously disrupting

my work schedule. (cold and unfriendly)


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STYLEANDTONE

Revision:In your mail you ask for a good amount of

information which I would like to help you locate.

However, I need further information in order to be

able to solve the problem.... (positive, cordial andtactful)


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STYLEANDTONE

We cannot supply before May 13

You can secure our services after May 12

A not inopportune moment

A convenient time

You have not yet responded

Please reply

You failed to enclose

Please send

If-when, but-however, could- can

Whenever possible end with a thank you.


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STYLEANDTONE

Problem:While I am willing to discusschanges in specific aspects of this article

or ideas on additional areas to cover, I amnot prepared to change the basic theme ofthe article: the usability of the Victormicrocomputer system.


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STYLEANDTONE

Revision: I am certainly open to

suggestions and comments about

specific aspects of this article, or any

of your thoughts on additional areasthat you think I should cover. I do

want, however, to retain the basic

theme of the article: the usability of theVictor microcomputer system.


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STYLEANDTONEGive your business letter an "action ending"

whenever appropriate.An "action-ending" makes clear what the writer of

the letter expects the recipient to do and when.

As soon as you approve this plan, I'll begin

contacting sales representatives at once toarrange for purchase and delivery of themicrocomputers. May I expect to hear from youwithin the week?

I am free after 2:00 p.m. on most days. Can weset up an appointment to discuss my backgroundand this position further? I'll look forward tohearing from you.


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1. Proofread aloudeverything going out. By reading aloud, your ear will catch mistakes your eye

misses.

2. Make no assumptions. The ideas you are presenting must be explained in full to be understood.

PEOPLE READ ONLY WHAT IS ON THE PAGE.

3. Do not lecture. Write only what must be understood to make the proper decision or choice.4. Rough draft all important letters and reports. Check them for content, sequential development of

ideas, and conciseness.

5. Always put yourself in the other persons shoes and ask yourself, Would I want to read this

letter or report? Why? Does it say something of value and real importance to me?

6. Many people are too busy to read carefully. Be sure your ideas are clear and easy to follow. As a

general rule, the most effective manner in which to develop an idea is:

Concept Benefit Example Data

This method leads your reader to the conclusion you want because the conclusion is already

clearly stated as the concept (hypothesis). Your examples and data are support for the

conclusion.

7. Define all terms and eliminate vague pronouns. These two traps cause more problems in

writing than any other set of conditions.

8. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling should be perfect. Use a dictionary -- either a good

unabridged volume or the spelling checker version on your computer.

9. Plan your time to allow for proofreading and correcting. When your success depends upon the

quality of your letters and reports, there are no excuses for ineptitude. There is no substitute for

EXCELLENCE!


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RECAP

Some of the most basic tips to remember when writing

include:

Avoid slang words

Try not to use abbreviations (unless appropriately defined)

Steer away from the symbols (such as ampersands [&])

Clichs should be avoided, or at the very least, used with

caution

Brackets are used to play down words or phrases

Dashes are generally used for emphasis


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RECAP

Great care should ALWAYSbe taken to spell the names

of people and companies correctly

Should you have any possible further questions,

please write to us at [email protected]

Numbers should be expressed as words when thenumber is less than 10 or is used to start a sentence

(example: Ten years ago, my brother and I). The number

10, or anything greater than 10, should be expressed as a

figure (example: My brother has 13 Matchbox cars.) Quotation marks should be placed around any directly

quoted speech or text and around titles of publications

Keep sentences short
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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"But words are things, and a small drop

of ink,

Falling like dew, upon a thought,

produces

That which makes thousands, perhaps

millions, think"

--Lord Byron (1788-1824)


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THANK YOU

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