6/2/2023

Business Communication

Course Code: BUS 71 0 2

Instructor
Mohammed M oin Uddin Reza (Nadim)

Assistant Professor

Deportment of Accounting and Information Systems

Bangladesh University of Professionals

Phone: 01769021718; email: mnadim.du@gmail.com

Writing for a Positive Effect

Part 2: Fundamentals of Business W riting

Chapter - 5

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 THE IMPORTANCE OF A POSITIVE EFFECT

• Written communication within a business primarily requires clarity.

• Good business writing, especially to external audiences, requires both clarity and
the goodwill effect.
• Most people enjoy building goodwill.
• For their success, letters and some email messages often require achieving other
effects .
• Getting the desired effects is a matter of writing skill and of understanding
people .

MMU R, Business Commu nicat io n, Chapter·S

CONVERSATIONAL STYLE

One technique that helps build the goodwill effect is to write in conversationa l
language. Conversational language is warm, natural, and personable. Such language
leaves an impression that peop l e like, and it is also the language that is most easily
understood . For both reasons , it is courteous to use it.

1. Resisting the Tendency to Be Formal

2. Cutting Out " Rubber Stamp s"

MMUR, Business Commun ic"atlio n, Chapter-S

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Resist ing t he Ten dency to Be Formal

Stiff and Dull Conversational

Refe re nce is made to yo ur May 7 email , Pleaso (ofer 10 you r May 7 email in

In which you describe the approved which you tell how to lie a claim.

procedure for Initialing a claim.

Enclosed herewith is the brochu re about Enclosed is the b rochur e you requ8Sled.

which you made nqUiry.

In reply 10 your J uly 1 I letter, please be By foilowing Ihe procedures you listed in

informed Ihat your adherence to instr uc­ your July 11 letter, you ".",11 help us reach

tions ou tlined H1erein will gre, tly facili tato our goal.

atta inment of our objective ,

This is In reply to your le iter o f December " The GED you mention In yo ur

expreSBing concern ihat you do not tlove 0 Decem ber 1 latte r qualifies you for

h Igh school diploma and asking if aGED Ihe TAA Trai ning Program.

would suN ice as p rerequisite for the TAA

Training Progm m.

I shall be most pleased to avail myself 01 your I'll gladly follow your sugg estion If the

kind suggestion when ;lnd if prICes docllne. price falls.

MMU R, Bu s iness Co m m uni cat ion, Chapt e r- S

<

Cutting Out IIRubber Stamps"

• "Rubber stamps" are expressions used by habit every time a certain type of situation occurs.
• They give the effect of routine treatment. It is better to use words written for the individual ca se.
Expressions from the old language of business are also rubber stamps.
a blessing in disguise last but not least
as good as gold learning the rope s
back against the wall leave no stone untu rned
thank you for your letter if I can be of any further assistance
You do not need to know all the rubber stamps to stop using them. You do not even need to be able
to recognize them . You only need to write in the language of good conversation, addressing your
comments to a real person .
I[
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MMUR, Bu sine 5S Com munic at ion, Ch apter-S

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 YOU -VIEWPOINT

The you-viewpoint produces goodwill and influ ences people favorabl e. The you -viewpoint
emph asizes the reader 's interests. It is an attitud e of mind involving more than the use of yo u and
yo ur. We- Viewpoint You-Vi ewpo lnt
We aro happy 10 have your ordor for Your selection of Howlen· Packard products
H ewlen ~P a c ka rd products , whicl) we are were shipped by UPS today and should
sanding today by UPS, roach you by Saturday
Using the you­ We selilhe Chicago CuHoIY sol for Ihe low Wdh a cosl of oniy 524.00, eac h Chicago
viewpoint p rico of $24.00 each and sllggest a retail CuUery sal you soil at $36.50 will bring you
supports both price 01 $36.50. a S 12.5 0 prolit.
Ou r policy prohibllS us from porlnitling Our policy of ronling our facilitios to outside
clarity and Oll iside groups 10 usa ou r facilil ies except groups enables us to make our full range
courtesy. on a cash-renlal basis. of scrvicos 8vaTI nh!c to your guests.
Wo hove boo ll quile tolor3n1 of your If you are 10 continu o 10 (>oioy tho benefils
paSl-<lue accounl ilnd must nOw deman<J 01 credit buying, you m usl clear ~our
prJy menL account now.
We have received your report of May 1. Thank you lor your report of May 1.

M M UR , Business Co mm uni cat ion, Chapte r-5

ACCENT ON POSITIVE LANGUAGE

- We regret to in for-m you th at we cannot permit yo u to use our auditorium for you r m eeting, as th e
Sun City Investment Club asked for it first. We can , however, let yo u use our co nfe ren ce room, b ut it
seats only 60.
- Although the SunCity In vestment Club has reserved the auditorium for Saturda y, we can offer you
our confere nce room, which seats 60.

Negative
You failed to gi ve us the fabric
sp ecillcations of th e chair you ordered.
Smoking is not permilted anywhere excep t
In the lobby.
We cannot deliver until Friday.
Positive
To complete yo ur orde r, p lease C!18Ck yo ur
choi ce of fabric on the enclosed ca rd.
Smoking is pe rmitted in the lobby only.
We can delive r the goods on Friday.

M M U R, Business Comm unicat ion, Ch apcer~ 5

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COURTESY

Courtesy is a major contributor to goodwill in business documents.

- Tailoring Your Message to Your Reader (write for the one person)
- Refraining from Preaching
You must take advantage of savings like this if you are to be successful. The pennies you save pile up.
In time they will turn into dollars.
- Doing More Than Is Expected
- Avoiding Anger

- Being Sincere (avoiding exaggeration and overdoing the goodwill techniques)

MMU R, Busin es s Co m m un ica t io n, Cha pter-S

THE ROLE OF EMPHASIS

Use the fO LJ,r major techniques for emphasis in writing.

• Determine the items of information the message will contain.
• Give each item the emphasis it deserves.
• Show emphasis in these ways:

- By position (beginnings and endings receive prime emphasis).

- By space (the greater the space devoted to a topic, the greater the emphasis).

- By sentence structure (short sentences emphasize more than longer ones).

- By mechanical means (e.g., color, underscore, boldface).

M MU R, Business Comm uru cation, Chapter-S 10

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