How to handle correspondence independently
The appearance of a letter, memo, or report is an important aspect in written communication. Well presented messages reflect favourably on the writer and his company.
They give an impression of competence, care and credibility. On the other hand, sloppy work creates a poor image on the writer, the company and the message itself. Unlike verbal communication which to a greater or lesser extent is two-way, written communication is one-way-from the sender to receiver. The response to any written communication is slower than in face-to-face meetings or telephone conversations.
The writer can rarely be present to see the response of the reader directly, until the receiver responds back.
Emphasize key thoughts
In every message, some ideas are more important than others. You can emphasize these key ideas through your sentence style. One obvious technique is to give important points more space.
When you want to call attention to a thought, use extra words to describe it. For example:
"The chairman of the board called an emergency meeting."
To emphasize the importance of the chairman, you may describe him as:
"The chairman of the board, who has considerable experience in corporate affairs, called for an emergency meeting."
You can increase the emphasis even more by adding a separate, short sentence to augment the first:
"The chairman of the board called for an emergency meeting. He has considerable experience in calling such meetings to discuss matters of importance."
Another way to emphasize an idea is to place it at either at the beginning or at the end of a sentence:
Structure of written communication
Virtually all communication should be structured on the same basic lines, namely:
* Introduction of the subject
* Development of the case or subject
* Conclusions
* Recommendations
There are very few exceptions to this rule. Generally the reader has no prior knowledge of the contents of your message. He, therefore, builds in his mind a picture of what you are saying as he reads. This can only be enhanced by logical progression. Introduction of the subject: Begin by telling the reader exactly what the message is about. Sometimes this can be done simply by a heading; sometimes it needs longer treatment in a paragraph or a section of its own.
The objective should be to create in the mind of the reader a picture of the subject, or the background, to what you are going to say.
Developing the argument: Having introduced the subject, you need to develop the argument or case on the subject. This is the main part of the message and hence should be in logical sequence and in as much detail as required.
Conclusions or findings: The development of the argument or case should lead quite naturally to your conclusions, or the part of the message where you discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the situation. This is where you evaluate the alternatives to the problem and decide on the most favourable course of action or your reasoned judgment.
* The opening paragraph should be clear and concise, with a supportive tone that is positive and pleasing.
* Subsequent paragraphs should contain increasing levels of detail that identify the reasons for the communication and any information that will be of significance to the recipient.
* The closing paragraph should be polite and courteous, finally stating any action that may be required of the recipient.
Focus on "you" instead of "I" or "We"
* Focus on "you" instead of "I" and "we"
* Show reader benefit or interest in reader
* Emphasize positive, pleasant facts
* Apply integrity and ethics
Your receivers are usually more concerned about themselves than about you or the institution you represent. They are more likely to read your message when they see their name and the pronoun "you" rather than "I", "we" or "us". Usually it is desirable to get your reader into the first paragraph. If psychologically desirable, begin with "you" or "your", and keep your reader in the message (tactfully) until you finish. The opposite of the you - attitude is the we-attitude, in which the writer views every matter from his or her own (or the organization's) standpoint rather than from the reader's:
We-Attitude You-Attitude
I want to send my congratulations to you on congratulations for .... your .....
We will ship soon the goods You should receive by May 8 the in your May 4 order. Apex screens you ordered May 4.
We pay 8 percent interest on.... You earn 8 percent interest on....
We are happy to have your order Your selection of Keells products
for Keells products, which we should reach you by Saturday, as they
are sending today by Lanka were shipped by Lanka shipping lines.
shipping lines.
We sell Forever cutlery at a low You can reap a Rs 2.50 profit on each price of Rs 4.00 each and suggest Forever set you sell at Rs 6.50, your a retail price of Rs 6.50 costs is only Rs 4.00
In two situations it is advisable not to use "you"
When the customer has made a mistake:
Poor "You failed to enclose your cheque in the envelope."
Better "The envelope we received did not have a cheque in it."
Poor "Your contract tells you plainly that....
Better "I am glad to explain more fully the contract terms."
When the customer has expressed an opinion different from your own:
Poor "Your are entirely wrong in your attitude."
Better "The proposed plan has three aspects which are extremelyimportant and which we need to explain now."
Use action words
Action Hiding in a "Quiet Noun" Action in the Verb
Mr. Sunil will give consideration
Mr. Sunil will consider the report.
to the report.
The contract has a requirement
The contract requires that .....
for .....
They held the meeting in the
They met in the office.
office.
He made the payment for his
He paid his first instalment.
first instalment.
The chairperson puts her trust
The chairperson trust each in each committee member. committee member.
We will take a look at your
We will look at your record.
record.
A significant loss A 53 percent loss
Good attendance record 100 percent attendance record
The leading company First among 3,212 competitors
The majority 62 percent
In the near future By Thursday noon
A labour saving robot Does the work of seven workers
Light in weigh
Featherlight
Substantial amount Rs 3,517,000
Consideration was given The committee
considered....
to the fact that....
Beginnings and endings
The two most important stages in any business message are the opening and closing paragraphs. The old saying goes "First impressions are lasting" and "We remember best what we read last." Whenever possible, place the main favourable ideas at the beginning and ending of a message.
Opening paragraphs
Often the opening of a written message determines whether the reader continues reading, puts the message aside for later study, or discards it.
Choose openings appropriate
Main idea or good-news subject first. Begin with the main idea or good news subject. The reader will consider the information either favourable or neutral. The reader will understand the main idea if it is in the first paragraph. These openings are desirable in direct-request, neutral, and good-news messages.
Buffer First. When you have bad news for the reader, begin with a buffer-some statement on which you can agree.
Don't spread gloom with your first words; try to get in first.
Poor: "We regret your loan application did not meet your regulations and board policies for approving a loan."
Good: "Your application for a loan has received our carefulattention. It is evident you are doing your best to provide acomfortable home for your family. However...."
Statement of what can be done
The reader (or listener) wants to know what you can do for him or her. For most people negative words such as no, won't, cannot, never, impossible trigger unpleasant emotional reactions. By making clear what you can or will do, you (by implication) often make clear what you cannot do, without using a single negative word. Furthermore, whenever possible and helpful, tell why or how.
Negative-unpleasant Positive-pleasant
It is impossible to open an As soon as your signature card account for you today. reaches us, we will gladly open an account.
Constructing positive messages
Negative: A one-year subscription to the PC Magazine is Rs 1,000.
That rate is not as low as the rates charged for some magazines.
Positive: A one-year subscription to PC Magazine is Rs 1,000.
Still better: A one-year subscription to PC Magazine is Rs 1,000. You save 54 percent off the newsstand price.
Negative: You will not get your refund for at least four weeks.
Positive: Your refund will arrive in four to six weeks.
Negative: We will not allow you to charge more than Rs 10,000 on your credit card
Positive: You can charge Rs 10,000 on your new credit card
Or: Your new credit card gives you Rs 10,000 credit that you can use at thousands of stores nationwide.
Negative: We cannot ship in lots of less than 10.
Positive: To keep down packaging costs and to help you save on shipping costs, we ship in lots of 10 or more.
Instead of this Use this
The problem with this department The performance of this department can is a failure to control costs. be improved by tightening cost controls.
You filled out the order form Please check your colour preferences on wrong. We can't send you thetheenclosed card so we can process your paint until you tell us what order properly.
colour you want.
You broke the dish by running These dishes are sensitive temperature cold water on it right after shock and should be allowed to cool you took it from the oven.gradually after they are removed from the oven.
Words your customer can consider favourably
Among the positive words to which people react favourably are "benefit, cordial, happy, help, generous, loyal, pleasure, thanks, thoughtful."
Words with negative connotations that often arouse unfavourable reactions include "blame, complaint, failed, fault, negligence, regret, trouble, unfair" and many others. For example, in the following opening of a letter the negative words (underlined) should be avoided.
"We regret that, since you closed your account, your name will be missing from our monthly lottery scheme. We sincerely hope that, despite the best efforts of our excellent service there were no occasions, on which you felt we failed to serve you properly."
A better opening, expressing appreciation for the customer's patronage in the first paragraph, followed by a positive messages as shown below is recommended.
* "Having you as a member of Savings Bank was a pleasure. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you."
* "We noticed recently that you closed your account with us. Whatever the reason, we shall be happy to extend our services.
You are cordially invited to use our other profitable, time saving services that can provide benefits to you in several ways."
Checklist for closing paragraphs
Make your action request clear and complete with the four W's.
(a) What and who : Clearly state what action you desire and who should do it.
(b) How and where : Make action easy
(c) When : Date the action, if desirable.
(d) Why : Show reader benefit, if possible
End on a positive, courteous thought
(a) Include any apologies and negatives before the last paragraph
(b) Be friendly
(c) Show appreciation
(d) Occasionally add a personal note
Keep the last paragraph concise and correct
(a) Avoid irritating expressions
(b) Omit discussion and worthless details
(c) Use relatively short and complete sentences
Examples of positive closing
* We look forward to your orders.
* We look forward to the opportunity of serving you.
* We appreciate your interest in our programs and look forward to serving you.
* "If I can be of additional service, please contact me.
* The work you are doing will be valuable to all of us in the industry. We wish you the best of luck in your assignment and look forward to assist you in your assignment.
* "We are always pleased to have business contact with your organization and will continue to serve you with quality industrial equipment."
* "We genuinely appreciate your order. We will be happy to serve you well in the years ahead.
* We will appreciate having your answers for our October 3 staff meeting. We look forward to work closely with you in the years ahead.
Guidelines for written communication
Use simple familiar words
Keep the reader in mind. Everyone can understand simple words
Use short sentences
Break up long sentences into short ones
Use short paragraphs
Short paragraphs make a communication easier to read.
Use separate paragraphs for the separate points of topics
This makes for easier assimilation
Use charts, diagrams, illustrations, tables, examples, films
These help to make understanding easier. One picture is worth a thousand words.
Use Human interest words and personal reference
These help to "personalise" your message
Avoid negative words
Negative words arouse negative reactions
Use Variety
Change attracts interest. Familiarity breeds disinterest.
Present one subject at a time
Too many subject lead to confusion
Pay special attention to the first and concluding paragraph. People tend to read the first and remember what's in the last paragraph.
Be constructive and positive
This attitude reflected in your communication tends to evoke a favourable response.
Communicate in small doses
To do otherwise is to induce mental indigestion. The craza for size-impressive memos and reports is over. Such outsize communications often don't get read. Try to get what you want to say on one sheet or paper, where possible.
Communicate regularly
To communicate only when there is a special problem or when there is trouble is called "crisis' communication." It is the least effective form of communication. Communication is a continuous job.
"Sweet-Bitter:
First give good news and follow up with bad news.
Dr. K. Kuhathasan CEO: Cenlead
Courtesy: DailyNews
Posted on Tuesday, August 03, 2010 @ 13:36:53 LKT by SaNDuN
