Effective Ways for Business Writing

1. Effective Ways for Business Writing

2. Agenda 1. Basic etiquette 2. Structure, layout and style 3. Sample e-mails 4. Sample business letters 5. Other business letters 6. Proofreading

3. 1. Basic etiquette: general business writing • Be concise and to the point • I have received your letter of the 15th day of this month. • Thank you for your letter, dated November 15th. • Active vs. passive • Your order will be processed today. (formal) • I will process your order today. (personal) • Follow the tone of the sender’s message • Formal / informal

4. 1. Basic etiquette: business e-mails • Read and reply within 24 hours • Do not write only in CAPITALS • Avoid too many fancy details: underline and italics • Try not to use abbreviations: LOL, OMG, TTYL • Take care with emoticons: *^^* 

5. 2. Structure, layout and style: general business writing • Contact info: Yours followed by the receiver’s • Salutations • Dear Sir or Madam • Attention: Mr. Simon • Opening: State the purpose • As you requested, • Per your request, • I am writing about…

6. 2. Structure, layout and style: business e-mail • Subject: Use a meaningful key word • Salutations • Dear Sir or Madam • Dear John • Opening: State the purpose • I am writing to ask about • I am interested in learning more about • I am afraid we have a small problem.

7. 2. Structure, layout and style: all business writing • Body : Give details • With reference to your phone call this morning • Use short paragraphs • Long paragraphs are not going to be read. • Use blank lines between each paragraph • When making points, number them or mark each point as separate

8. 2. Structure, layout and style: general business writing • Closing: Talk about future actions • I look forward to hearing from you soon. • I look forward to discussing these issues further. • Signature • Yours faithfully, • Sincerely yours,

9. 2. Structure, layout and style: business e-mail • Closing: Talk about future actions • Please contact me again if I can be of any assistance. • I look forward to hearing from you soon. • Attachment • Please find attached the report you requested. • Sorry, I forgot to attach the file(on my previous e-mail). • Signature

10. 3. Sample e-mails: Saying no politely (1) • Subject: Hi • To Hank, • What’s up? The weather is so nice. I hope your business will prosper. • You said I should work on a new project. I can’t do that. I have too much work to do. • Anyway, how is your wife doing? • Reply to me soon – Byong Min

11. 3. Sample e-mails: Saying no politely (2) • Subject: New project • Dear Hank, • Thank you for considering me for the new project. Unfortunately, my current workload is too high for me to start another project. • Again, thank you for your consideration and I hope I will be able to work with you on another occasion. • Best regards, • Byong Min

12. 3. Sample e-mails: Meeting notice (1) • Everyone! • You remember next week’s meeting. Everyone must be at the meeting. If you cannot go, let me know. • It will be on Monday, November 16th. Time is 1. Place is the conference room. • You have to come! • Jong Hee

13. 3. Sample e-mails: Meeting notice (2) • Deal all, • The next Marketing Meeting will be held in the Conference Room at 1300 hours on Monday, 16 November. • Follow-up items from our last meeting are: • New Brochure (Kevin Park) • Annual Dinner with Customers (Mandy Kim) • If you wish to add any further items to the agenda, please let me know before 8 November. • Yours sincerely, • Jong Hee

14. 3. Sample e-mails: Our of the office notice (1) Subject: Vacation Hi, I am going on a vacation. But you can still contact Young Hee Kim. If you want, you can send me e-mails. I will check them when I get back. Cheers, Henry

15. 3. Sample e-mails: Our of the office notice (2) Subject: Out of the office: July 6 - 12 Hi Sam, I hope everything is well with you. I’m writing to let you know that I’ll be out of town on a vacation from July 6 thru 12. Young Hee Kim will sit in for me while I’m away. You can find her e-mail address on the CC line. If you need to contact me directly, please call me on my cell at (000) XXX – XXXX.

16. 3. Sample e-mails: Congratulations (1) • Subject: Congratulation • Dear Rick, • Congratulations on the promotion. Good job! • Treat me to lunch sometime! • Sincerely, • Juhee Kim

17. 3. Sample e-mails: Congratulations (2) • Subject: Congratulations • Dear Rick, • Congratulations on your promotion! It is a great accomplishment and I’m sure your team will totally benefit from your expertise. • Congratulations again and let me treat you to lunch or dinner sometime! • Take care, • Juhee Kim

18. 3. Sample e-mails: Setting up a meeting (1) Subject: Meeting Harry, I heard you wanted to have a meeting. Let’s make a schedule this Thursday. Time is up to you but I prefer morning time. Thank you. Hyunji

19. 3. Sample e-mails: Setting up a meeting (2) Subject: Meeting Harry, Ken told me that you wanted to set up a 1 hour meeting with me. Would this Thursday (26th) work for you? If so, please let me know what time would be convenient for you. I would personally prefer to have the meeting in the morning, but my schedule is quite flexible in the afternoon on that day, too. Hope to hear from you soon, Hyunji

20. 4. Sample business letters: Inquiry Dear _______, I am writing to inquire about your office furniture line. We are expanding our office in Seoul and we will need extra desks, chairs and filing cabinets. Could you please send me your catalog with prices, sizes and colors for those items? Yours faithfully,

21. 4. Sample business letters: Reply to the inquiry Dear _______, Thank you for your inquiry. I am sending a catalog to you today which shows details of office supplies we offer. You can also see our entire products on our website at www.furnitureline.com. We offer a 5% discount for orders made through our website. Please contact me if you have any questions. Yours sincerely, John Cho Sales Executive

22. 4. Sample business letters: Apology Dear _______, I am writing in regards to your order for office furniture. I regret to inform you that we are unable to deliver the desks on time. This is as a result of problems at our supplier’s factory. We have the desks on pages 37 and 38 of our catalog in stock, however, in three different colors (brown, black, and white). With regard to the chairs and filing cabinets, we will deliver the goods before 13 November, as agreed. With apologies,  Yours sincerely, John Cho Sales Executive

23. 5. Other business letters: Accepting an invitation Dear _______, Thank you for your invitation for the forthcoming event. The theme is certainly innovative and groundbreaking, and it would be an honor to be a part of this exciting event. Please find my acceptance note enclosed. If any other information is required, do not hesitate to reach me at my office. Thank you again for the invitation. Sincerely,

24. 5. Other business letters: Thank you Dear _______, Thank you for all the assistance you have provided me during our recent project. I appreciate the information and advice you have given, as well as the knowledge you have shared with me. Your expertise and help have been invaluable during this process. Again, thank you so much. I sincerely appreciate your generosity. Best Regards,

25. 6. Proofreading • Format • Times New Roman, 12 point or Arial, 11 point • Double space between paragraphs (press Enter twice) • No indentation necessary • Content • Subject: Is it brief and informational? • Tone: formal / informal • Salutation: Is it appropriate? • Purpose / details / future actions

26. 6. Proofreading • Accuracy • Capitalization • mr yang’s visit  Mr. Yang’s visit • Punctuation • Before going to the airport I will stop by the office. • Before going to the airport, I will stop by the office. • Spelling: Spell names correctly! • Articles: the, a/an • I will have contract ready by the next week.