general principles of business writing外贸函电

Unit 2 The General Principles of Business WritingThe Standard phrases in business letters n Starting a lettern Thank you for your letter of 28 January, in which you enquired about our . I am writing to you about . With reference to our telephone call this morning, I would like to confirm We are a . and would like some more information about n Good newsn We are pleased to inform you that your order No. . for . has been dispatched We are pleased to announce that our prices have been cut by 10 per centIt is my pleasure to invite you to our conference on 21 April atn Bad newsn We regret to inform you that the goods have been delayed owing toI am sorry to inform you that we are unable to offer you the positionI am afraid that we are unable to grant you the 10 percent discount requested. The Standard phrases in business lettersn Requests n Could you please inform us whether you can deliver these items within seven days?I would be grateful if you could send me I would appreciate it if you could . I would appreciate your sending. n Enclosures n Please find enclosed/attached a copy of the above- mentioned documents I am enclosing our latest catalogue. n Apologies n Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this has caused you I am very sorry about the delay caused byThis mistake was the result of n Concluding n If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact usThank you in advance for your helpI look forward to hearing from you. (Action ending)Style in business lettersn State the main business, purpose, or subject matter right away. n Let the reader know from the very first what your letter is about. n If you are responding to a letter, identify that letter by its subject and date in the first paragraph or sentence.n Dear Mr. Stout, I am writing in response to your September 1, 2004 letter in which you describe problems that youve had with one of our chainsaws. I regret that youve suffered this inconvenience and expense andn Dear Ms. Cohen, I have just received your August 4 2004 letter in which you list names and other sources from which I can get additional information on the manufacture and use of plastic bottles in the soft-drink industry Style in business lettersn Keep the paragraphs of most business letters short. n Provide topic indicators at the beginning of paragraphs. n In the first sentence of any body paragraph of a business letter, try to locate a word or phrase that indicates the topic of that paragraph. n If a paragraph discusses your problems with a personal computer, work the word “problems“ or the phrase “problems with my personal computer“ into the first sentence. Doing this gives recipients a clear sense of the content and purpose of each paragraph.Courtesyn Courtesy is not merely using the words “please” and “thank you.” Rather, true courtesy needs to use tactful tone and respective expressions.n Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciativen You speak too fast and unclear. I cannot fully understand what you asked? Can you repeat it please?n My understanding of what you asked is ( express what you understood). Please correct me if my understanding is wrong.n I dont understand why you fail to answer my fax dated March 3, 2007.n You might not receive my fax dated March 3, 2007 and now I send it to you again.Courtesyn Use Expressions that show respectn Avoid using irritating expressions:n You are ignorant of the fact that; You claim that; you forgot that; you leave us no choice; you overlooked to; you should know; you surely dont expect; you must; we dont agree you; why dont you Courtesyn Choose Non-discriminatory Words and Expressions Questionable More DesirableFreshman First-year studentsManpower Worker; employee; work force; personnelMan-made Manufactured; constructed; built, artificialChairman ChairpersonQuestionable More DesirableEach customer will receive a present on his birthdayCustomers will receive presents on their birthdays.Our requirement is that he is to be a team worker; he is to be a good listener.Our requirement is that he or she is to be a team worker and a good listener.The shareholders may be benefit from the plan. He will The shareholders may benefit from the plan. Each shareholder willCompletenessn Completeness means your message contains all facts the receiver needs for the reaction you desiren Provide all necessary information.n Five Ws Who, What, When, Where, Whyn Answer all questions asked.n Give something extra when desirable.Concisenessn Try to avoid wordinessn Wordy: I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your kind cooperation.n Concise: Thank you for your cooperation.n Wordy: We wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter of May 2 with the check for $200 enclosed and wish to thank you for the same.n Concise: We appreciate your letter of May 2 and the check for $200 you sent with it.n Wordy: Please be advised that we have received your invoice No.248.n Concise: We have received your invoice No.248.n Wordy: In compliance with your request, we immediately contacted ABC Co. Ltd, and now wish to inform you of the result as followsn Concise: As requested we immediately contacted ABC Co. Ltd., with the following result. Try to avoid out-of-date commercial jargonsOut-of-date jargons Modern EnglishAcknowledge receipt of Thank you for your letterBe in receipt of Thank you for your letterThis is to inform you of We are pleased to tell youTake into consideration ConsiderWe have to acknowledge We have receivedDue to the fact that BecauseAt your early convenience As soon as you canThe writer wishes to acknowledgeThank you for your letter, Appreciate your letterConsiderationn Focus on “You” in positive Situations Focus on the recipients needs, purposes, or interests instead of our own. Be “you“-oriented. Avoid a self-centered focusing on your own concerns rather than those of the recipient. Even if you must talk about yourself in a business letter a great deal, do so in a way that relates your concerns to those of the recipient. We attitude: We allow a 5% discount for cash payment.You attitude: You can earn a 5% discount for cash payment.We attitude: We are pleased to announce thatYou attitude: You will be pleased to know thatConsiderationn Depersonalize in Sensitive Situationsn However, messages that use “ you” might offend your reader in negative situations. In this case, you had better employ the passive voice, depersonalize the situation, or made the receiver part of a group.n Since you failed to make the down payment, we could not keep the room reservation for you after 6:00 p.m.n The reservation was automatically canceled since the down payment was not received before 6:00 p.m.Considerationn How to convey bad news? n Find positive ways to express bad news in your business letters.n Often, business letters must convey bad news: n To convey bad news positively, avoid such words as “cannot,“ “forbid,“ “fail,“ “impossible,“ “refuse,“ “prohibit,“ “restrict,“ and “deny“ as much as possible. n When you need to present negative information, soften its effects by superimposing a positive picture on a negative one. n 1) Stress what something IS rather than what it IS NOT.n 2) Emphasize what the firm or product CAN and WILL DO rather than what it CANNOT.n 3) Open with ACTION rather than APOLOGY or EXPLANATION.n 4) Avoid words, which convey UNPLEASANT FACTS.Positive vs. Negativen Negative: Because of the amount of information you request in your letter, simply cannot help you without seriously disrupting my work schedule. n Positive: In your letter you ask for a good amount of information, which I would like to help you locate. Because of my work commitments, however, I am going to be able to answer only a few of the questions n Negative: We can not serve you at this time.n Positive: Perhaps next time we can send you what you required. n Negative: We cannot ship in lots of less than 12 n Positive: To keep down packaging costs and to help customers save on shipping costs, we ship in lots of