Business writing classes are a great way to sharpen a company’s image to the outside world by improving the written correspondence. Many companies that are located overseas have much more polished grammar and presentation in their written communications.
While many overseas companies excel at written communications many domestic companies are allowing their written communication standards to fall short. The laxness at maintaining high standards of written communication by domestic companies can be attributed to the following two reasons. Reason one is because most native school systems no longer put strong emphasis on teaching proper English grammar anymore. Reason two is because of the proliferation of email as a preferred method of business communication and people tend to be more lax in their writing when using it.
Why exactly overseas companies are better at formal business writing has still not been completely addressed. Exactly how do these overseas companies manage to have almost perfect structure etiquette in their business communications? The true answer to this question isn’t mysterious or complex by any stretch of the imagination. The letters which originate from overseas are most likely composed by someone whose native language is not English; they had to spend significant time and effort on grammar to learn English as a second language. In fact, many people at overseas companies often are in shock that a business communication from a company that is located in a native English country is so poorly written and constructed.
What can really hurt a company’s image is when an employee engaging in business writing becomes too over familiar with the person they communicate with. In fact, over familiarity in a written correspondence can be a deal breaker even if the deal had gone well for months prior during oral negotiations. A deal can go sour if an informal term of endearment is used, for example if John writes to someone using the salutation “Hey bucko” this could have unintended negative consequences to any potential deal that was being worked.
What other purpose can a writing class serve? Another integral part of business letters is that the content be clear and concise so there is no ambiguity on the reader’s part. Words must be chosen carefully, as many words in English can have multiple meanings. One such word which could produce ill results if used in a business communication is the word “wicked.”
One very famous incident that could have turned out very differently was the use of the word ‘wicked’ in a letter from one young executive to another. Although the phrase ‘Thomas you are so wicked’ was meant to be high praise, Thomas did not understand. Hardly surprising, I suppose, but a good business writing course would certainly warn against the use of colloquialisms.
It is best to avoid words like this at all costs when it comes to business writing. Words that can be interpreted differently by different people should be a subject that a good business writing course covers.
Many simple pieces of necessary paperwork can be made even more simple if the English used is clear. One of the strangest surviving anachronisms of today is the use of ‘ult’ and ‘inst’ in references to dates. Some people in the same office as the author may not know what ‘I am in receipt of yours of 6th ult’ really means. A good business writing course will teach you to say ‘Thank you for your letter dated 6th May’.
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