Transcript BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE Based on A. Littlejohn: Company to Company, Fourth Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2005

BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE
Based on
A. Littlejohn: Company to Company, Fourth
Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2005
LETTER LAYOUT
(extra sheet: Letter of Application,
T.Trappe: New Insights intoBusiness)
CHECKLIST

Sender's address (letterhead?)

Recipient's (addressee’s) name and address

Date

Salutation: e.g. Dear ...

Subject line (heading)

Opening: e.g. I am writing to ..., Thank you for your
letter of 13 November...

Main part (Body of the letter/e-mail)

Close: e.g. I look forward to ...

Ending: e.g. Yours sincerely / Yours faithfully, ...

Signature

Name in printed letters:
John Smith

Job title (position):
IT Department Manager
Date?
07/12/2015
12 July 2015?
07 December 2015?
Date
07/12/2015
12 July 2015
07 December 2015
(US)
(UK=CRO)
DATE *CC: ex. 4.3 (p.39)
CRO 07. 12. 2013., 7. prosinca, 2015.
UK 7 December 2015
US July 12, 2015
PREPOSITIONS
With reference to your letter ......... 7 December 2015;
The order was received…
a) ...........7 Dec 2015;
b) ........ December;
c) ....... 2015;
d) ….... .the first week of December;
DATE - prepositions
With reference to your letter of 7 December 2015 …
The order was received…
... on 7 Dec 2015;
... in December;
… in 2015;
… in the first week of December;
Ex: C to C p.39 (4.3)
SALUTATION: Dear...?
 to a company
 to a man if you do not know his name
 to a woman if you do not know her
name
 to a married or unmarried man
 to a married or unmarried woman
 to a married woman
 to an unmarried woman
 to a friend or someone you know well
Salutation
1.
2.
Dear Sir or Madam
Dear Sir
3.
Dear Madam
4.
Dear Mr Smith
5.
Dear Ms Smith
6.
Dear Mrs Smith
7.
Dear Miss Smith
8.
Dear John
US: Dear Ms Smith:
UK: Dear Ms Smith
1.
2.
to a company
to a man if you do not
know his name
3.
to a woman if you do not
know her name
to a married or unmarried
man
to a married or unmarried
woman
to a married woman
to an unmarried woman
to a friend or someone you
know well
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
NO! Dear Mr John
Salutation and closing
 Dear Sir or Madam /Yours faithfully
 Dear Ms Jackson /Yours sincerely
 Dear Mark/Best wishes (Best regards)
 Dear Ms Gonzalez, Dear David, Dear
Mrs Wilson, Dear Sir or Madam
CC: ex. 1.3 (p.9)
SUBJECT HEADING
CC: ex.1.4, p.9-10, ex.3.2, p.28
 key word(s)
 e-mail vs. traditional letters
Dear Mr Kane
Dear Mr Kane
Order ref.no.2345
Re: Late Delivery
I am writing to enquire about ...
I am writing to
complain about ...
E-MAIL
CC:ex. a-c, p.22-23
 expressions: cc, bcc, attach, forward,...
 attachments: Please find attached the
report. (I attach the report.)
 Open and close your e-mails
 Do not write in capital letters
 Do not send the original message
back to the sender (sometimes ok?)
 Use paragraphs - easy to read!
 Formal contacts – formal style!
STYLE
CC: ex.1.5,1.6, 1.7, (p.10-11)
LANGUAGE
 polite, clear, accurate, concise(KISS
strategy), formal (but natural)
 avoid contracted forms (I’m → I am)
LAYOUT (BLOCK STYLE)
 beginning/ending – punctuation?
 no indentation
 paragraphing and line spacing
PARAGRAPHING EX.
Source: Courtesy
of Stephen
)
I am writing to complain
about
aHindlaugh
management
motivation
training course organised by your company that I
attended on March 30th of this year. The main reason that
I was not satisfied with the course is that the presenter
was totally unprofessional. In the first place, he was
fifteen minutes late and didn’t even apologise. Secondly,
he was obviously unprepared and was unable to organise
his graphics. On top of everything, he finished half an hour
early and didn’t take any questions. I had spent a
significant amount of money on this course and expected
to gain some useful insight and tips on motivating my
team. The only thing that I learned was how not to give a
presentation. As a minimum, I expect a refund from your
company to compensate me for the money and time I
have wasted. If this is not forthcoming, I will take the
matter up with the Professional Management Seminars
Organisation. Source: courtesy of Mr Stephen Hindlaugh
PARAGRAPHING EX.
(CC: ex.a-b, p.32.33)
I am writing to complain about a management motivation
training course organised by your company that I attended
on March 30th of this year.
The main reason that I was not satisfied with the course is
that the presenter was totally unprofessional. In the first
place, he was fifteen minutes late and did not even
apologise. Secondly, he was obviously unprepared and was
unable to organise his graphics. On top of everything, he
finished half an hour early and did not take any questions.
I had spent a significant amount of money on this course
and expected to gain some useful insight and tips on
motivating my team. The only thing that I learned was how
not to give a presentation.
As a minimum, I expect a refund from your company to
compensate me for the money and time I have wasted. If
this is not forthcoming, I will take the matter up with the
Professional Management Seminars Organisation.
Source: Courtesy of Mr Stephen Hindlaugh
PARTS OF A LETTER
 beginning (opening)
 main message (paragraphing!)
 ending (close)
Beginning
CC: ex.2.5, p.20
 We are writing ... connection ...
 We are writing to enquire ...
 Thank you for your letter .... February
20 concerning (…)
 Further ... our telephone discussion
(…), we would like to inform you (...)
 With reference ... your enquiry …
Beginning
CC: ex.2.5,
p.20
 We are writing in connection with...
 We are writing to enquire about ...
 Thank you for your letter of February
20 concerning …
 Further to our telephone discussion …,
we would like to inform you that ...
 With reference to your enquiry about…
Ending





CC:ex. 2.7, p.21
I look forward to ... your reply.
I look forward to ... from you soon.
We look forward to ... you soon.
Please feel ... to ... us if necessary.
Please do not ... to contact me if you
have any ....
+
CLOSE (Yours ..., Best ...)
Ending





CC:ex. 2.7, p.21
I look forward to receiving your reply.
I look forward to hearing fom you soon.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Please feel free to contact us if necessary.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you
have any questions.
+
CLOSE ( Yours sincerely/faithfully, Best
regards/wishes, ...)
Dear Sir or ...........
I ................
to enquire about the capacity
and the price of your water heaters.
We are interested in buying the heaters for
our new facilities in Kensington.
I look forward to ............... your reply.
................................
Vincent Hugo
Purchasing Department
Dear Sir or Madam
I am writing to enquire about the capacity
and the price of your water heaters.
We are interested in buying the heaters for
our new facilities in Kensington.
I look forward to receiving your reply.
Yours faithfully
Vincent Hugo
Purchasing Department
Dear Mr Hugo
.................................................................................
We sell three different kinds of water heaters. The prices
are €1,600 (150 litres), €1,750 (200 litres) and €1,900
(250 litres).
I enclose some brochures.
................................................................................
................................
Jan Van Oss
Sales Department
Dear Mr Hugo
Thank you for your enquiry of April 15 asking about the
prices of our water heaters.
We sell three different kinds of water heaters. The prices
€1,600 (150 litres), €1,750 (200 litres) and 1,900 (250
litres). I enclose some brochures.
Please feel free to contact me if you need any further
information.
Yours sincerely
Jan Van Oss
Sales Department
TYPES OF LETTERS








job application
enquiries
replies to enquiries
good/bad news
requesting action
complaints
apology
orders ...
sample letters: MK, RB
sample letter: RB
sample letter: RB
sample letter: RB (slides)
sample letter: RB
Good news
We are
HAPPY to inform you that...
PLEASED
DELIGHTED
 ... you have been shortlisted for
interview for the position of ...
 ...we ARE ABLE TO deliver ...
Bad news +reason
We are SORRY to inform you that ..
We REGRET to inform you that ...
... we ARE UNABLE TO deliver ...
... we HAVE BEEN FORCED TO increase our
prices.
This is DUE TO unforeseen circumstances.
OWING TO ...
AS A RESULT OF ...
BECAUSE OF ...
Bad news
 We ... to inform you that we ... to
cancel the meeting scheduled for 27
May. This is .... to staff illness.
Bad news
 We regret to inform you that we
have been forced to cancel the
meeting scheduled for 27 May. This
is due to staff illness.
Referring (beginning) +
good news (CC:p.29)
 .............. your application for a post
as secretary, ........that we would
like you to start work as soon as
possible.
 .............our telephone conversation
last week, .................that your car
is now ready for you to collect.
Good news (CC:p.29)
 With reference to your application
for a post as secretary, we are
happy to inform you that we would
like you to start work as soon as
possible.
 With regard to our telephone
conversation last week, we are
pleased to inform you that your car
is now ready for you to collect.
Good/bad news + reason
We regret/are sorry/pleased/delighted to…
….that we have been forced to.../we are
unable to.../...we are able to/intend to...,
This is due to (the fact that)...
a)delay the delivery of the goods – strike
by airline pilots
b)cut all salaries by 10% - fall in sales
c)increase all salaries by 10% - rise in
sales
Good news/bad news and
giving reasons (cause-effect)
 With regard to your order of March 25, we regret to
inform you that we are unable to deliver the goods on
time. This is due to the strike by airline pilots.
 We are sorry to inform you that we have been
forced to cut all salaries by 10%. This is as a result of
a fall in sales of 12% in the last quarter.
 We regret to inform you that tomorrow’s meeting has
been cancelled. This is due to the fact that a lot of
staff have been ill.
 We are delighted to inform you that we have decided
to increase all salaries by 10%. This is due to a rise in
our sales last year.
Requesting action
 PLEASE COULD YOU...
 We WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF you
could ...
 We WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF you
could ...
Ex. You have moved your office and you
want the post office to forward your
letters to your new address.
Requesting action
CC: 5.2., p.50
 Please / arrange / for ten o’clock
/ could / an appointment / you
 we / send / asap / would / if you
/ the goods / be grateful / could
 appreciate / arrange / would /
for ten o’clock / could /it / an
appointment / if/ you /We
Letters of complaint
 complain (v.) - complaint (n.)
He complained.
He made a complaint.
 mild complaint vs. strong complaint
MILD OR STRONG?
I am writing to complain about a management motivation
training course organised by your company that I attended
on March 30th of this year.
The main reason that I was not satisfied with the course is
that the presenter was totally unprofessional. In the first
place, he was fifteen minutes late and did not even
apologise. Secondly, he was obviously unprepared and was
unable to organise his graphics. On top of everything, he
finished half an hour early and did not take any questions.
I had spent a significant amount of money on this course
and expected to gain some useful insight and tips on
motivating my team. The only thing that I learned was how
not to give a presentation.
As a minimum, I expect a refund from your company to
compensate me for the money and time I have wasted. If
this is not forthcoming, I will take the matter up with the
Professional Management Seminars Organisation.
Source: Courtesy of Mr Stephen Hindlaugh
STRONG COMPLAINT
1.PROBLEM
I am writing to complain about a management motivation training
course organised by your company that I attended on March 30th of
this year.
2.GIVE REASONS FOR THE COMPLAINT
The main reason that I was not satisfied with the course is that the
presenter was totally unprofessional. In the first place, he was fifteen
minutes late and did not even apologise. Secondly, he was obviously
unprepared and was unable to organise his graphics. On top of
everything, he finished half an hour early and did not take any
questions.
3.MAKE A POINT (SUPPORT THE COMPLAINT)
I had spent a significant amount of money on this course and
expected to gain some useful insight and tips on motivating my team.
The only thing that I learned was how not to give a presentation.
4.REQUEST IMMEDIATE ACTION
As a minimum, I expect a refund from your company to compensate
me for the money and time I have wasted. If this is not forthcoming,
I will take the matter up with the Professional Management Seminars
Organisation. (MAKE A THREAT?)
Source: Courtesy of Mr Stephen Hindlaugh
Mild complaints
Complaint (pg.1)
 UNFORTUNATELY, the invoice you
sent us is higher than we agreed.
 I AM AFRAID that the invoice you
sent me…
 It SEEMS to me that…
 It APPEARS that …
Complaints
Reminder / making a point (pg.2)
 I should like to remind you that…
 I would like to draw your attention to
(the fact that)…
 I would like to point out that …
Requesting action (pg.3)
 We would be grateful if you correct
the invoiced amount so as to keep to
our agreement.
Complaints
 RB:77: mild or strong complaints?
Differences?
 Letter correction, RB:p.111
Check the following:
a)grammar/spelling, b)style, c)layout
d)phrases
APOLOGISING
 apologise (v.)
 apology (n.sg.), apologies (n.pl.)
 We APOLOGISE FOR losing your
order.
 We are EXTREMELY SORRY FOR
losing your order.
(We are extremely sorry that we
have lost your order.)
Apologies (ending)
 With apologies once again.
 Please accept our apologies once
again.
 We hope that this has not caused
you any inconvenience.