Transcript Document

Communicating in
International Business
XU Yi
Part 1: Form and Structure of
Business Correspondence
XU Yi
Lecture Structure
• The Principle of the Business
Correspondence
• The letter format
• Parts of the Business Letter
• Addressing Envelops
• The Facsimile
• The E-mail
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
• Business Correspondence: The
correspondence which was used in
doing international business
• Business Writing and Business
Correspondence
• Queen’s English and American English
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
• About the Writer
– A good command of standard English
– Knowledge of business theory and
practice
– Knowledge of technical terms
– Knowledge of psychology
– Skill in salesmanship
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
• Some Rules of Good Writing
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Studying your reader’s interest
Adopting the right tone
Writing naturally and sincerely
Being courteous and considerate
Avoiding wordiness
Avoiding old commercial jargon
Planning your letter and writing effectively
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
• Courtesy
– We have received with many thanks your letter
of 20 May, and we take the pleasure of sending
you our latest catalog. We wish to draw your
attention to a special offer which we have
made in it. You will be particularly interested in
a special offer on page 5 of the latest catalog
enclosed, which you requested in your letter of
20 May.
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
– Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and
appreciative
– Take a personable, friendly and modest tone
– Omit expressions that irritate, hurt or belittle
• It is always offensive to show any sign of arrogance
or prejudice
– Be prompt in reply. If your answer is delayed,
give strong and understandable reason
– Unfortunately we cannot fill your order
because you failed to send your check
– We shall be glad to fill your order as soon as
we receive your check
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
• Consideration
– You earn 2 percent discount when you pay cash.
We will send you the brochure next month.
– We allow 2 percent discount for cash payment.
We won't be able to send you the brochure
this month
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
– To gain a favorable impression, “You-attitude”
is crucial
– “You-attitude” is not only use “you” instead of
“I” or “we”, what works is rather the writer’s
spiritual attitude
• Remember to emphasize the positive, pleasant facts,
stressing what can be done and focusing on ideas
that help to form favorable impressions on you
• Apparently you misunderstood our order. Anyway you
shipped the wrong thing.
• Apparently our instructions are not clear, with the
result that the wrong article was shipped.
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
– “business is business”, the writer should not too humble
and flattering which might suggest that you are deficient
in yourself and your company
Please accept our deepest apologies for the thoughtless
error we made in your November 14 order when you had
sent us your check two weeks earlier.
our accounting department is extremely embarrassed and
sorry, as are all of us here. We need your business, and
we hope you will forgive us this time. From now on we are
dedicate to serving you better, and you can be sure that
we will carefully check all records before billing you again
in the future.
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
• Completeness
Dear Sirs,
With reference to your letter of April 9, we are
pleased to accept your offer of 100 tons of
Copper Wire as per your Offer Sheet
No.8/070/02B. Please go ahead and apply for your
Export License. As soon as we are informed of the
number of the Export License we will open the
L/C by cable.
5 W: who what where when why (how)
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
• Clearness
– First have a concrete idea in mind of what is going to
achieve.
– Make yourself understood
• Choose plain, simple words, words that are short, familiar,
conversational, straight-forward
• Build effective sentences and paragraphs. Generally, the
average length for sentences should be about 17-20 words.
Short paragraphs encourage one to finish reading a letter.
Usually a letter paragraph consists of no more than 10 lines
• Aim at unity, coherence and emphasis in your expression
– We have your remittance of January 30 in the amount of
$300, and wish at this time to thank you for it.
– Thank you for your remittance of January 30 for $300.
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
– One sentence for one meaning only.
– There must be logical relationship between relevant
sentences. No reversion or repetition is allowed to
appear.
– In a simple and direct way
– Wrong Words: As to the steamers sailing from Hong
Kong to San Francisco, we have bimonthly direct services
• 1.We have two direct sailings every month from Hong Kong
to San Francisco.
• 2.We have semimonthly direct sailing from Hong Kong to
San Francisco.
• 3.We have a direct sailing from Hong Kong to San Francisco.
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
– Wrong Place:
• We shall be able to supply 10 cases of the
item only.
• We shall be able to supply 10 cases only of
the item
– The Structure of the Sentence
• We sent you 5 samples yesterday of the
goods which you requested in your letter of
May 20 by air.
• Yesterday, we send you , by air, 5 samples of
the goods which you requested in your letter
of May 20.
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
• Conciseness
–
–
–
–
Omit trite expressions
Avoid unnecessary
Include only relevant facts with courtesy
Organize effectively
– The senator, who comes from New York, gave a
speech that was long and tedious
– The senator from New York gave a long,
tedious speech
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
– All the words/sentences and paragraphs in a letter
must be clear cut and straight forward. Three
aspects should be paid attention to:
– Using simple words instead of phrases or
sentences.
•
•
•
•
•
— “soon” instead of “in the near future”
— “Please” instead of “Will you be kind enough to...”
— “now” instead of “at the present moment”
—“enclosed” instead of “Enclosed herewith”
— “because” instead of “due to the fact that” etc.
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
– Using simple sentences instead of complex ones.
• —“We are please to...” for “It gives us much
pleasure to...”
• — “a draft for $1000 ” for “a draft in the amount
of $1000”
– Avoiding repetition of words in a same sentence.
• — “Please quote your lowest price for your best
quality.” for “Please quote your best price for your
best quality.”
• We wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter...
• Enclosed herewith please find two copies of...
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
• Concreteness
– Use specific facts and figures
– Put action in your verbs. Prefer active verbs to
passive verbs or words in which action is hidden
– Choose vivid, image-building words
– Pay close attention to word orders, put modifiers
in right place
– Sometimes vagueness is preferred
• Facts and figures not available
• Strategic consideration—more flexible
The Principle of the
Business Correspondence
• Correctness
– Choose only accurate facts, words and
figures. Be clear about the meanings of all
the trade terms and jargons you use
– Be honest about the things you say. Don’t
over-say or under-say, be matter-of-fact in
attitude.
– Use the correct level of language. Don’t overestimate or underestimate your counter-part
in foreign trade activities.
– Observe all the writing mechanics, including
the seven C’s. Avoid silly spelling errors and
grammatical blemishes.
The letter format
20 May 2000
Date Line 日期
Kee & Co., Ltd 34 Regent Street London, UK
Inside Address 收信人地址
Dear Sirs:
Salutation 称呼
We have obtained your name and address from Dee&Co.
Ltd, and we are writing to enquire whether you would be
willing to establish business relations with us. We have
been importers of shoes for many years. At present, we
are interested in extending our range and would
appreciate your catalogues and quotations. If your prices
are competitive we would expect to place volume orders
on you. We look forward to your early reply.
Body 信文
Yours faithfully
Complimentary Close 客套结
束语
Tony Smith
Signature Block 签名栏
Enc.
Enclosure Notation 附件说
明
The Basic Format
Letterhead（信头）
Ref. No.（发文编号）
Date （日期）
Inside Address（封内名称和地址）
Salutation（称呼）
Subject Line（事由标题）
_____________Body___________________________
_____________________________
Complimentary Close（结尾敬语）
Signature（签名）
Enclosure Notation （附件）
Carbon Copy（抄送）
Postscript（附言）
Indented form
Letterhead
Date:___________
Inside Address
_____________
______________
Salutation:
Body_________________________
_____________________________________________
__________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_______________________________________
_____________________________________________
Complimentary Close,
Signature
Full Block Form
Letterhead
Date: ____________
Inside Address
_________________
_________________
Salutation:
_____________Body___________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
______________________________________
Complimentary Close,
Signature
Modified Block Form
Letterhead
Date: ____________
Inside Address
_________________
_________________
Salutation:
_____________Body___________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
______________________________________
Complimentary Close,
Signature
Semi-block Form with
Indented Paragraphs
Letterhead
Date: ____________
Inside Address
_________________
_________________
Salutation:
Body________________________
_
________________________________________
_______________________________________
________________________________________
Complimentary Close,
Signature
Parts of the Business Letter
• The letterhead
– Function: to identify where the letter comes
from, and to form one’s impression of the
writer’s company
– Contents: the writer’s company’s name, address,
postcode, telephone number and telex number,
telegraphic address, etc.
– Place
• Printed: in the center or on the left margin at the
top of the page
• Wring on blank paper: only the address should be at
the right margin.
Weavewell Woolen Co. Ltd.
246 Victoria Street
London E. C. 4, England
Tel. 01-1377-432 Telex: 9876548
Cable add: WEAVEWELL, London
Weavewell Woolen Co. Ltd.
246 Victoria Street
London E. C. 4, England
Tel. 01-1377-432 Telex: 9876548
Cable add: WEAVEWELL, London
Weavewell Woolen Co. Ltd.
246 Victoria Street
London E. C. 4, England
Parts of the Business Letter
• The reference Number
– Function: useful indication for filing
– Contents: a file number, departmental code or
the initials of the signer of the letter to be
followed by the typist’s initials
– Place : 2 lines below the letterhead; in some
incoming letters you may find it at the end of
the letter on left margin, two lines below the
signature
Weavewell Woolen Co. Ltd.
246 Victoria Street
London E. C. 4, England
Our ref:234 HRD/gp
(Your ref: 234 HRD/gp)
Weavewell Woolen Co. Ltd.
246 Victoria Street
London E. C. 4, England
Green Patric
Our ref:234 HRD/gp
(Your ref: 234 HRD/gp)
Parts of the Business Letter
• The date
– Place: below the letterhead, either right
or left
– American form and British form
• August 3, 1994
• 3rd August, 1994
– Attention
Parts of the Business Letter
• Inside name and address
– Contents
– Place: at the left margin at least tow
lines below the date or at the left
margin of the end of the letter
– Attention: the town in capital letters;
include the postcode in order to
facilitate mechanical mail-sorting
– Order
The Space Engineering Co. Ltd
32, Duke Street
LONDON N. W. 4
England
Messrs. Harrison & Co.
501 Mountain Place
ANYTOWN
Ms. Sarah Davis
Sales Manager
The Acme Shoe Co. Ltd.
369 Picadilly
LONDON, WIN CBE
UK
Richard Thomas & Baldwins Ltd.
150 Gower Street
LONDON W. 1.
England
ATTN: Mr. John Smith. The Sales Manager
Parts of the Business Letter
• The salutation
– Place: conventionally three line-spacing below
the inside name and address, and followed by a
comma
–
–
–
–
–
–
Dear sir, Dear madam;
Dear sirs, Gentlemen, or Madames
Mr. and Messrs.: Messrs Lake Kane＆ Co.，Ltd
Mrs. , Miss and Misses
Rev and Hon
Pres and Prof
Parts of the Business Letter
• The subject line
– Place: 2 lines below the salutation
– Function: help the reader to obtain
quickly the gist of the letter; also useful
as a guide for filing
• Re: sewing Machines
• Subject: Our contract No. 2345. Your L/C
No. 3456
• Sewing Machines
Parts of the Business Letter
• body
– Place: 2 lines below the subject line or the
salutation
– The opening sentence: referring to previous
correspondence (date, reference number
should be mentioned)
– The body: one topic in each paragraph
– The closing sentence: future actions or plans
– The opening sentences
• Replying a letter:
• Thank you for your letter 234 HRD/gp of September
18…
• Your letter of the 10th, August has been received
with thanks.
• Many thanks for your letter about…
• I must apologize for my delay in answering your kind
letter.
• In reply to your letter of July 2…
• So much has happened since I received your last
letter…
•
•
•
•
Writing a letter:
With great delight I learn that…
I have the pleasure to tell you that…
We have begun a new system of manufacture which
we feel may be of interest to you…
• You were recommended to our company by the Bank
of China, New Your Branch and we wish to…
– The closing sentence
• We look forward to hearing form you soon.
• Please do not hesitate to contact us should you
require any further information
• We would be grateful if you could send us this
information as soon as possible.
• If you need further details (particulars, information),
please let us know.
• Any other particulars required I shall be pleased to
give you
• Should there be anything else we can do for you,
please let us know.
• We thank you for this order and hope to receive your
repeat orders.
• Any early reply would be highly appreciated.
• Thank you for you interest in our company/products.
• Any further information you can provide will be
appreciated.
• We would be very grateful if you would give this
matter your earliest attention.
• We await your good news.
• The second page
– The number of the sheet
– The name of your correspondent
– The date of the letter
– At least 2 lines of final text appear before the
complimentary close
– Never be typed on both sides of the paper
Page 2
International Trading Co. Ltd
July 8, 2008
Block form
International Trading Co. Ltd
Page 2
July 8, 2008
Block form
International Trading Co. Ltd. 2 July 8, 2008
Horizontal form
Parts of the Business
Letter
• The complimentary close
– Place: 2 or 4 lines below the last line of the
body of the letter
Salutation
Close
Comment
Dear Sir(s),
Dear Madam,
Dear Mesdames
Yours faithfully,
(or: Faithfully yours)
Formal—very commonly
used in Britain.
Gentlemen:
Dear Sir:
Dear Madam:
Dear Mesdames:
Yours truly
(or: Truly yours)
Very commonly used in
America and Canada
Dear Mr.
Henry,(:)
Yours sincerely,
(or: Sincerely yours,)
Informal—used between
persons known to each
other.
Parts of the Business Letter
• The signature
– Official signing for company
Yours faithfully
THE OVERSEAS CO., LTD
(Signature)
W. Black
General Manager
– Partner signing for firm (for)
Yours truly,
For THAMES BANK METAL CO.
(Signature)
Y
o
Jacson Brown
u
r
Parts of the Business Letter
– An employee with special authority to sign
(per pro)
Yours faithfully
Per Pro HOPKINS, WRIGHT & CO.
(Signature)
J. Bell
– An employee without special authority to
sign (for,by)
Yours faithfully
For Sales Manager
(Signature)
R. Hopkins
Parts of the Business Letter
– A woman’s signature (Miss, Mrs.)
Sincerely yours
(Signature)
Henry Brown
Sincerely yours
(Signature)
(Miss or Mrs.) Mary Green
Parts of the Business Letter
• Enclosure notation—Encl. Enc. Encls.
– Place: 2lines below the signature at the left
margin, or 2 lines below the reference initials.
– Enclosures (3)
– Encl. 3 catalogues
– Enc. 1 invoice
– Encls: as stated
• Carbon Copy—c.c.
– Place: below any enclosure notation at the left
margin
– c.c. Mr. J. Cooper (the person who will receive
the copies)
Parts of the Business Letter
• Postscript—P.S.
– Function: a device to draw the reader’s
attention to a point which the writer
wants to emphasize.
– Place: 2 lines below any other notations
and flushed with the left margin.
Enc. As stated
c.c. Mr. Henry Brown-EIE Co. (Sales Manager)
P.S. I’m going to see you at the
Chinese Export Corporation. J. B.
Addressing Envelopes
• The common form
Sender’s address
Stamp
Receiver’s address
Post notation
Addressing Envelopes
• The common form—indented style
Hunan Foreign Trading Corp.
32 Wuyi Road
Changsha, Hunan, China
Oversea Trading CO.
24 Park Street
LONDON EC4
England
Registered
Stamp
Addressing Envelopes
• The common form—Block style
Hunan Foreign Trading Corp.
32 Wuyi Road
Changsha, Hunan, China
Oversea Trading CO.
24 Park Street
LONDON EC4
England
Via Air Mail
Stamp
Addressing Envelopes
• Mailed to a third person who is bound
to pass it onto the addressee
Oversea Trading Co.
24 Park Street
London EC4
England
Via Air Mail
Stamp
Mr. John Smith
c/o Hunan Foreign Trading Corp.
32 Wuyi Road
Changsha, Hunan, China
Addressing Envelopes
• The letter is to be taken from someone by
somebody to the addressee
Oversea Trading Co.
24 Park Street
London EC4
England
Private
Stamp
Mr. Hohn Smith
Kindness of Mr. Zhang Ming
Addressing Envelope
• Should agree with the inside name and address
• Should be written in the following order:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Name
Title (position or department)
Company name
Street address
Town
County (or province)
country
Addressing Envelopes
• Per S／S "Empress of
Canada"
• Via Siberia for Europe
• Via Suez
• Via Cape Town
• Via Air Mail
• Via Air Mail Registered
• Registered
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Express
Parcel Post
Printed Matter
Samples of
Merchandise
Sample of no
commercial value
Private
Personal
confidential
The Facsimile
•
•
To(致)：
FAX传真
Fax(传真号码)：
Attn(收件人)：
Page (Including this page) (页
数，包含此页)：
From(自)：
Date(日期)：
If the fax transmission, Please inform us immediately. 如未能收妥此传
真文件，请立即与我们联系。
Content (内容)：
The E-mail
• An enquiry on the Web
• An offer on the Web
Words, Phrases and Grammatical Points
basic (to sth): forming a base or starting-point
e.g. These facts are basic to an understanding of the
case.
means: action by which a result is brought about
e.g. This money wasn’t earned by honest means.
by all means: yes, of course; certainly
e.g. ‘Can I see it?’ ‘By all means.’
by means of sth: by using sth; with the help of sth
e.g. lift the load by means of a crane.
by no means: not at all
e.g. She is by no means poor; in fact, she’s quite rich.
商务英语写作>>Unit One Business Letter
Words, Phrases and Grammatical Points
address sth (to sb/sth): write on (a letter, parcel,
etc) the name and address of the person, firm, etc
that it is to be delivered to
e.g. The card was wrongly addressed to us at our old
home.
address sb as sth: use (a particular name or title)
in speaking or writing to sb
e.g. Don’t address me as ‘Colonel’; I’m only a major.
open (sth) with sth: start with sth
e.g. He opened the conference with a speech.
call one’s attention to sth: point sth out to sb
e.g. She drew my attention to an error in the report.
商务英语写作>>Unit One Business Letter
Words, Phrases and Grammatical Points
make sure: do sth to ensure that sth happens
e.g. Make sure that the visit goes well.
to the point: (in a way that is) relevant and
appropriate
e.g. His speech was short and to the point.
available:
(of things) that can be used or obtained
e.g. Tickets are available at the box office.
(of people) free to be seen, talked to, etc
e.g. I’m available in the afternoon.
reluctant (to do sth): unwilling and therefore
slow to co-operate, agree, etc
e.g. She was reluctant to admit the truth.
商务英语写作>>Unit One Business Letter
Exercise
• 根据以下内容写出函电正文格式及信封
– Sender’s name: Shaanxi Machinery & Equipment Imp. &
Exp. Corporation
– Sender’s address: 29 Changle Zhong Road, Xi’an, China
– Sender’s telephone: 5332653
– Sender’s telex: 70105 MAIEC CN
– Sender’s fax: (029)5335496
– Date: …
– Receiver’s name: The Pakistan Trading Company
– Receiver’s address: 15 Board Street Karachi, Pakistan
– Attention Line: Export Dept
– Salutation: Dear Sirs
– Subject line: …
– Message: …
Exercise
• We apologize __ the delay __ replying __ your email of 19th September
• We should be grateful if you would treat this
information __ confidential
• Would you be __ kind __ to sign the enclosed
documents, and return them as soon as possible?
• We feel sure you will be interested __ our new
product which is now available
• Our new product will help you __make substantial
savings
• We would be delighted __ send you samples if you
require them
• We would take great pleasure __ organizing a
demonstration ++ a suitable date
Exercise
• __ request a demonstration, kindly fill __ and return
the enclosed reply coupon
• We are taking the liberty __ enclosing our current
price-list
• Please find enclosed full information __ our new
range
• We should be happy to send you our brochures __
requested
• Our sales representative will be __ touch __ you
shortly in order to arrange an appointment
• Please do not hesitate __ contact us should you
require any further information
• We remain __ your disposal should you require any
further information
Exercise
• Translation
– Quotations and sample books will be airmailed
to you upon receipt of your specific inquiry
– Our company has been in this line of business
for many years and enjoys high international
prestige
– Our products are of very good quality and our
firm is always regarded by our customers as
the most reliable one
– You will be interested to hear that we have
just marketed our new product
– We have seen your advertisement in The New
York Times and should be glad to have your
price lists and details of your terms
Exercise
– We should appreciate full particulars of your
newly developed product
– We have pleasures in sending you our catalogue,
which gives full information about our various
products
– We should be pleased to let you have samples to
give a demonstration at your premises
– In order to give you some idea of various
qualities of handicrafts we carry, we have
pleasure in forwarding you by airmail one
catalogue and a few sample books for your
perusal
– Enclosed please find two copies of Purchase
Contract No. 241, which we trust will be found in
order. Kindly sign and return one copy for our file.
Exercise
– 我们愿与贵公司建立商务关系
– 我们希望与您建立业务往来
– 我们深盼与英国公司接洽，希望成为其销售
代理商之一
– 请将下列货品的最低价格赐知
– 随函寄上询价单一份