Business Writing

To be able to

• Compose grammatically correct emails.• Adopt an appropriately warm tone.• Avoid common spelling mistakes.

Aim

Standards

Deficient Emails

Littered with misspellings Poorly chosen words Poorly structured sentences Overly formal Overly familiar Inconsistent use of capital

letters Inappropriate use of

punctuation

Professional Emails

Correctly structured sentences Consistent and appropriate use

of punctuation Capital letters only where

necessary Balanced tone: cordial and

business-like

Step-by-Step

Hi John

It was great to speak with you last week. Thanks for clarifying the PSL process for me and for letting me know the date on which it’ll be renewed.

You expressed interest in the CV I’d attached. I’m happy to confirm that the candidate is still available, so if you would like to have an initial conversation with him I’ll be happy to take care of it.

In the meantime, we both know what a headache it can be when you suddenly find yourself with an unexpected requirement. When there are developments on the project and you find yourself in need of a swift solution, please don’t hesitate to give me a call and I’ll be very happy to help.

Many thanks

Charlie

Step One: Addressing the Client

Hi John


Begin the sentence with a capital letter

Capitalise the client’s name: ‘J’ for ‘John’, ‘S’ for ‘Shakira’, etc

This is an email, not a letter, so omit the comma

Step Two: Spacing


You expressed interest in the CV I’d attached. I’m happy to confirm that the candidate is still available, so if you would like to have an initial conversation with him I’ll be happy to take care of it.


The client will scan your email to get the gist of what you’re saying.

To help him, keep your paragraphs short.

Also, leave a space between them. In an email, white space is good.

Step Three: Basic Punctuation


Begin the sentence with a capital letter

End the sentence with a full stop

Abbreviating words is fine; it helps to create a less formal tone. But make sure you use the apostrophe appropriately. It stands in for the letters you’re leaving out: e.g. it will = it’ll, let us = let’s, would not = wouldn’t

Step Four: Commas, Clauses & Connectives


A clause is a sentence. In particular, it is the essential part of the sentence.

A sub-clause is an extra bit of information that enhances the main clause.

The clause and sub-clause should be joined with a connective (and, or, but, because) or it should be separated by a comma.

Step Five: Creating a Positive Tone

It was great to speak with you last week. Thanks for clarifying the PSL process for me…

… if you would like to have an initial conversation with him I’ll be happy to take care of it.

Implies you like him!

You make him more receptive by expressing gratitude for his time and effort

Directly addressing him and you makes this feel far more personal—it creates an implicit bond

This affirms your attitude to service and reinforces the idea that you’ll solve his problems with ease

Step Five: Creating a Positive Tone

…we both know what a headache it can be when you suddenly find yourself ...

…please don’t hesitate to give me a call and I’ll be very happy to help.

Again, implies a bond or camaraderie—you have something in common

Demonstrating empathy shows it’s not just about your fee—you really care about solving his problems

You are inviting, not ordering, him to follow up

Re-emphasising this point demonstrates willing and suggests it will be easy to do business with you

Step Five: Ending

Many thanks

Charlie

Again, this is not a letter, so no comma required after your closing phrase

Never use ‘yours faithfully’ in an email (in sales, don’t even bother with ‘yours sincerely’; a simple friendly sign-off is adequate (‘many thanks’, ‘kind regards’ or ‘all the best’) is adequate

Do not use a capital letter to emphasise a point– Wrong: The candidate needs Analysis skills– Right: The candidate needs analysis skills

Do not use an apostrophe at the end of any old plural– Wrong: I’ve got lots of CV’s.– Right: I’ve got lots of CVs.

Do not use a semicolon in place of a colon– Wrong: There were three candidates; the consultant, the project manager and the developer.

– Right: There were three candidates: the consultant, the project manager and the developer.

Common Pitfalls

Beginning a sentenceExample: That was a great meeting.

Referring to oneselfExample: Admittedly, I am a seasoned consultant.

Abbreviations or acronymsExamples: CV, HMRC, GMT, IT

Names of days, months or holidaysExamples: Wednesday, January and Easter

Using Capital Letters

Names of countries, nationalities, religions or languagesExamples: America, Spanish, Zoroastrianism and Mandarin

Names of individuals, including titlesExample: Commander Lampitt

Names of companies or trademarksExample: Oracle have bought Microsoft

Miscellaneous names of, for example, films, cities, ships, monuments, etcExamples: Alien, New York, The Titanic, The Statue of Liberty, etc.

Using Capital Letters

There are several conflicting guides to correctly capitalising a title.

The best advice is to capitalise all words in titles of publications and documents, except:

A Guide to Correctly Capitalising a Title

aantheatby

forinofonto

upandasbutit

or nor

1. Hyphenated compound wordsExample: High-Quality Web Services, First-Rate Project Managers, etc.

2. First word following a colonExample: Sentinel: A Top Recruitment Agency

A Guide to Correctly Capitalising a Title

Colon ( : ) The colon precedes a list, a rule or a statement. Example: I have to let you know: my services come highly recommended.Example: The PM cares about three things: time, budget and spec.

Semicolon ( ; ) Stands in for a connective, indicates a longer pause than does a comma, and allows you to build lists of longer phrases.Example: The project had been completed on time; however, it had gone over budget.Example: The candidate was knowledgeable; she was efficient; most of all, she was well dressed.

The Difference between the Colon and Semicolon

To show possession Example (singular): The candidate’s CV is on its way. Example (plural): The candidates’ hopes were dashed…

Note that yours, its, ours, theirs, hers already show possession so DON’T need an apostrophe

To indicate that a letter is missingExamples: I’d, can’t, don’t, we’d etc.

Exception: Where the word is odd and using an apostrophe would prevent confusion, you may although it is never incorrect not to do so.Examples: he bcc’d you in on it, T’s and C’s, do’s and don’ts

Using Apostrophes

There (locational)Example: The client site is over there.

Their (possessive)Example: It’s our candidate, not theirs.

They’re (abbreviation of ‘they are’)Example: They’re going to pay a 25% margin.

There/Their/They’re

Your (possessive)Example: It is your candidate, not mine.

You’re (abbreviation of ‘you are’)Example: You’re going to meet the client for lunch.

Your/You’re

RE-READ IT!Check it for spelling errors

Sound it out to yourself to see whether it has rhythm and flows naturally

Try to read the email through the recipient’s eyes. Will it definitely be read as intended or could it be misunderstood…?

And remember, once you’ve written your email…

1. There are the contractors’ CVs.2. You’re not going to believe this.3. My mate’s a consultant, too. He loves it.

Consolidation Exercise One (Answers)

1. Here’s what we’ll do: try calling the Swiss client again.

2. There are fifteen contractors onsite at the customer’s premises; the problem is one of them stole a laptop and the customer wants to get rid of them.

3. A few ideas spring to mind: we need to call more clients, get more CVs across and work longer hours.

4. Fifty per cent of my contractors’ contracts have been extended; however, fifty per cent haven’t!

Consolidation Exercise Two (Answers)

Consolidation Exercise Three (Answers)

Hi mate

There’s a problem with the contractor’s invoice. What I’m going to do is contact the client and tell her what’s happened.

The important thing to remember is: the guy has been on site for a few weeks already so he wants this sorted ASAP.

Don’t worry, we’ll get this sorted. In the meantime, let’s just focus on finding the rest of the people they need.

Cheers

Let’s discuss how we could improve this real-life example:

Consolidation Exercise Four

Hi ?. I hope your well? Your details where handed to me by one of my Colleagues in regards to your skills and expertise that you have for a key client of ours. Now the Client itself has over 150 years experience in the financial industry and have always strived to be innovative with constant Career progression and extensive time and money on training and tools to enhance there staff and improve profitability. With that in mind I would be very keen to catch up with you about this opportunity not only to work for an amazing organization but to take the next step in an already exciting career progressing up the ladder with a company that truly values its employees. Best wishes

Business Writing

Documents

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