Effective use of words in business
Well-written, well-spoken ; well done!:
Sanath Nanayakkare
Good communication is essential for your business; without it your
business will not remain alive. If your business associates and
customers do not understand the message you are conveying or if they
interpret it as negative, they may take their business elsewhere.
Business owners and employees, therefore, must practice refined
communication standards at all times to win over more customers and
corporate partners.
Keenness and commitment to keep a great business communication
channel open is a surefire recipe for continued success in business.
The communication you want to convey may be a proposal that opens new
doors, a technique that solves a problem, an insight that simply makes
sense or any other idea that boosts the bottom line of your business
Perhaps the particular communication may be a difficult one like a
new policy statement, a refusal to contribute to some corporate
donation, issuing an ultimatum letter, having to tell the shareholders
to expect a lower result or may be even a strong request from the
bureaucrats. The objective of effective communication is being able to
break both good and bad news in the most professional way.
As an employer or employee, even if you dislike sending emails and do
not need a computer to effectively run your business, at some point you
may be required to write a business letter or email. This is indeed a
task to which you should give a significant amount of attention and care
whether you enjoy doing it or not. Here are some tips you might find
useful.
Winning writing
To attract your readers’ attention and interest, refrain from using
complicated words. Instead, use a normal conversational tone. In other
words, just write how you would ‘naturally say it’ in a friendly
business environment.
Words are very powerful on paper. They can correctly convey your
meaning or result in misunderstandings, therefore, do a bit of planning
before you write. Ask yourself whether you can convey the same idea in a
better way.
Remember that shorter sentences are more powerful than longer ones.
Simple grammar is more reader- friendly than a variety of complex
tenses.
If you could express your idea with plain action words; never try to
stuff your letter with grammar structures. Your motive is to let the
reader understand your point pretty fast; then just do that
straightaway.
Sending word via e-mail
Today, both international and domestic businesses are benefited by
the free service of the Internet. Millions of business e-mails are
landing in receivers’ in-boxes even at the moment you are reading this
article. Most probably you are one of these important message senders,
and no doubt have noticed that there is an Art in sending business
emails; as much the sense of Commerce. Once you have thoughtfully
composed an email, proceed with caution before you click the “send”
button. Read it again and re-affirm to yourself that you have composed
it in the best interests of your company. Then particularly ensure your
message makes sense to the receiver at the other end. When you need to
reply to an e-mail, think methodically how best to respond to it. Keep
your tone positive and be tactful to avoid upsetting your reader. Most
importantly, do not hastily respond to business messages. Take time and
give the best possible response. When you do this, there is no need to
clear misunderstandings or apologize later.
Nothing like voice heard
Though email is a popular method used in business communication, the
telephone still plays a vital role. The direct voice interaction is an
essential element in business as well as in personal life. The telephone
will retain its pride of place for many years to come.
In business, try to answer the phone by the second or third ring, if
you do not, a potential customer may view it as unprofessional or
unreliable. When dealing with an angry client, do not match or outdo his
anger. Listen to him and maintain a calm voice when you respond. It may
surprise you at how significantly your patient tone of voice can
positively change his reaction.
If the caller becomes wholly abusive, and you are an employee, do not
just hang up the phone.
Transfer the call to a higher-up instead. If you hold an executive
position within the business, calmly say that it would be meaningful to
speak once his anger has cooled.
If he continues his abuse and becomes increasingly bad-mannered, this
client may just not be worth it and it is time to end the call. No
matter how provoking, do not engage in a shouting match with anyone
while you are in your business environment.
This etiquette also applies to one-to one meetings and even when
socializing in a business circle.
Verbosity vs. 21st century
Avoid using too many words when communicating. It bores the listener
and the reader and will result in him not following you. The intended
effect of your words will be lost.
Boring standard cliches, reiterations, repetitions and stuffy
formalities have no place in the 21st century business communication.
When asked a question, try to answer it directly without digressing.
Respond clearly and as honestly as possible; this will make your
clients feel that you are interested about their concerns and are trying
to sort them out.
When you make it a two-way street, they will stick with you.
l Ensure that you are knowledgeable enough to provide accurate
information. If you are unsure how to answer, try to find the right
response by asking someone who knows. Conveying wrong information leads
to confusion and erroneous transactions.
Take pride in being a reliable communicator who commands respect of
the clients, associates and higher-ups in your company.
Tact is the knack
Crafting the right words and saying them in appropriate style does
the trick in both international and domestic business. Business tact is
the knack of making a point in a positive way touching a chord with your
clients. True, this needs a bit more effort than when making spontaneous
remarks about an issue. It is, nevertheless the right way to have repeat
customers and expanding business within your network. Building of close
relationships based on understanding and trust is profitable; studies
show that people buy products more for emotional reasons than logical
ones.
Instead of Say
We refer to your letter dated 18th April *Thank you for your letter
of April 18th
With regard to our telephone conversation *Thank you for calling me
in the morning in the morning
Please revert to me at the earliest *I hope to hear from you soon
convenient time
The complaint lodged by you is being *I am looking into the matter
investigated
The workshop will be conducted by a *An industry expert will
highly qualified professional conduct the
workshop
Should you require any further *Please feel free to call me on
clarification please do not hesitate 245837 if you have any
to contact the undersigned questions
I was impressed by your innovative IT *Based on what I saw, I think
solutions, and feel that our firm could your new system may have
enormous benefit from them real potential for our firm
There is an error in your invoice 1234 *I have your invoice 1234
dated April 10 dated April 10, and there seems to be a discrepancy
We have arranged a demonstration session *You are cordially invited
to
of our new products on Tuesday at 10.30am. a demonstration of our new
would like to invite you to take part in products on Tuesday at 10.30am
the event.
We are pleased to inform you that you *We are pleased to offer you
have been selected for the post of employment at ABC Co Ltd.
Graphic designer at ABC Co Ltd.
We carried out a thorough investigation *After receiving your
complaint
about the complaint you had made about about unfair treatment, we
the unfair treatment you were subjected to investigated the matter
carefully
For further information please visit our *Our online information at
www..
website www. is the most current available
I thought I should inform you of *I wanted to pass along some
some useful information information that might prove useful to you
Look forward to seeing you at the *I’ll see you soon at the
Singapore Meeting next month. upcoming Meeting in Singapore.
I wish you good luck in your business *Look forward to hearing of
your
ventures successes
That mistake was beyond our control and *While we can not promise
that
we apologize to you about it. We will mistakes will never happen, we
try to find ways to prevent it from can promise to fix them when it
happening in the future happens
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