English for Business Communication

� Contents

Module 1 Written

communication------ an

overview

Module 2 Establishment of

Business Relations

Module 3 Inquiries and replies

Module 4 Making Quotations &

Offers

Module 5 Counteroffers &

Declining Orders

Module 6 Acceptance & Orders

� Contents

Module 7 Terms of Payment

Module 8 Letter of Credit

Module 9 Packing & Shipment

Module 10 Insurance

Module 11 Complaints & Claim

Learning Objectives

� Be able to grasp the basic principles of

business letter writing

� Be able to grasp the layout of business

letters

� Be able to grasp the envelope addressing

� Be able to grasp e-mail writing

� Preface

� 1.Definition

English business correspondence refers to the

letters , cables, telexes, faxes and e-mails dealing in

international business, as well as in domestic trade,

of course.

� 2. Aim

The purpose of this course is to help you learn how to write good business letters by using up-to-

date expressions in the simplest possible language.

1. It has its unique language style and jargons

2. It is full of business terminations and abbreviations

3. There is a close relations between EBC and international trade

� 3. Features

� We are in the market for silk blouses and should be pleased if you could kindly quote us your keenest prices CFRLondon for the goods below

� Offer quotation order counteroffer letter of credit CIF FOB

� YL11/11RVD

� S/C123 L/CUNRCV PLSRUSH

� Examples:

Task 1

� Warming-up Discussion

� Suppose you work for China National

Garments Imp. & Exp. Corporation.

Counsellor's Office of the British Embassy in

Beijing, from which you note that they are in

the market for silk blouses. Now, you are

requested to write a letter to the buyer. Can

you list the layout of your business letter?

Specimen Letters Study

The Layout of business letters

A. The standard parts

B. The optional parts

� Layout of Business Letters

A. The standard parts

(1)the letterhead

(2)the inside address

(3)the date

(4)the salutation

(5)the body of the letter

(6)the complimentary close

(7)the signature

� Layout of Business Letters

B. The optional parts

(1)the references

(2)the special markings

(3)the subject line

(4)the enclosure

(5)the carbon copy notation

�Form of a business letter

1.The fully blocked style

This layout reduces typing time as all typing lines

begin at the left margin there are no indentations for

new paragraphs or the closing section.

1 J&J P laz a N ew B r un sw ick,

NJ 0 89 33 3 U.S .A . Te l: 7 32 -5 24 -0 40 0 Fax: 73 2-52 5-06 22

E-m ail: c arr ie @ jn j.co m

Da te : 22n d Ju ly, 20- -

Soft Hea lth Care Pro duc t C orp. Roo m 2 30 1 Yili BLD, 3 5 Na nj in g Road, Sh ang hai, C hina

A t te nt io n: M r. Wang , Im po rt D ep t.

D e a r S ir,

R e: SHAMPOO

We ’ve r ec eive d y our le tt e r o f July 10th e nq uir ing a bou t our JOHNSON 'S® B aby Sh am poo

W ith N a tura l L a ve nde r, bu t u nfo rtu nate ly, the s toc k of thi s pr odu ct is run nin g low due to the

h ea vy demand. Bu t w e w i ll in form yo u a s soo n a s th e n ew su ppl ie s c om e u p.

We se ll a w id e va rie ty of Baby’s Sham poo . A l l of them ar e made of th e NO MO RE T EAR S

fo rm ula. For yo ur re fe ren ce , w e e nc lose an i llus tr ated c ata log ue o f o ur shamp oos a nd w e h ope

y ou w i ll find it in te re sting.

We ho pe th at w e ca n c lose busine ss to our mu tua l ad va nta ge in the future .

You rs fa ithfu lly,

Jo hnson & John son

D oris F erg oson Do ris Fe rgo son

(M an ag er)

齐头式示例

除信头外全部左对齐

2. Indented style

Indented style refers to each paragraph (body of

the letter) taking in the first line of each

paragraph in the body of the letter, five spaces

for type, and other parts are the same as a fully-

blocked style.

�Form of a business letter

Nippon International Trading Co.Ltd.

3 Mihonbashi, Honcho 3 Chome

Chuo-ku Tokyo 104

Japan

The Wilson Company

1377 Main Stree

Dallas, Texas 7522

U.S.A.

Attn.:Shipping Dept.

Shipping Advice

Dear Sirs,

We are pleased to advise you that your Order for 5,000 pcs of men’s shirts have been forwarded onto S/S

Peace this morning.

Enclosed please find a full set of copy shipping documents as required in your L/C No.332.

We are very glad to have been able to executed your order as stipulated and assure you of our close

cooperation with you in all your future dealings.

Yours faithfully,

Nippon International Trading Co.Ltd

Sales Manager: YOKOYAMA

Enc. As Stated.

缩行式示例缩行式示例缩行式示例缩行式示例

3. Modified Blocked-Style with Indented

Paragraphs

� Placement of the letterhead, the date, the

complimentary close and the signature on the

right side of the paper. Paragraphs have

indentation with five spaces from the left margin

in the letter. And this form is current used.

�Form of a business letter

改良齐头式示例

参考编号和日期靠右

签名偏右

�Envelopes addressing

� accuracy

� clearness

� appearance

The principles of addressing envelopes:

� Name and address of the receiver should be typed

above half way down the envelope, leaving enough

space for the postmark or stamps.

� the return address should be printed in the upper left

corner of the envelope.

� Post notations such as ‘Registered’, ‘Certified’ or

‘Confidential’ should be placed in the bottom left-hand

corner.

� Envelopes addressing

� Envelopes addressing

� When a letter is mailed to a third person who is bound

to pass it onto the addressee, write the third person's

name down below the addressee’s, write the words

‘care of’ in front of it.

齐头式举例

CHINA NATIONAL CEREALS, OILS AND FOODSTUFFS IMP & EXP CORP.

11th Floor, Jingxin Bldg. 2A Dong San Huan Beilu stamp

Beijing, People’s Republic of China

EL MAR PACKING COMPANY

12 MAIN STREET, FRESNO

CALIFORNia, USA

Confidential

Par Avion

写信人名称地址

收信人名称地址：左端对齐

缩格式举例

MESSRS WILLIAM & SONS

76 Lancaster House stamp

Manchester,

England

Mr. Wang Kai-ming

CHINA NATIONAL TRANSPORT CO.

120 Nanjing Road

Shanghai, China

Registered

收信人名称地址：逐行右缩

写信人名称地址

捎交

Mr. Charles Wood

Kindness of Mr. J. W. Smith

由Mr. J. W. Smith 捎交给

Mr. Charles Wood

转交

Mr. Part Davis

c/o Mr. Harold Bean

32 Bright Street

Rangoon, Burma

Mr. Brian Tories

c/o Overseas Trading Co.

153 Market Street

London

最终收信人

转交人 转交人地址

Layout of E-mails

电子邮件格式电子邮件格式电子邮件格式电子邮件格式

外发的邮件 收件人收件人收件人收件人

被抄送人被抄送人被抄送人被抄送人

被暗抄人被暗抄人被暗抄人被暗抄人

事由事由事由事由

主体部分主体部分主体部分主体部分

添加附件处添加附件处添加附件处添加附件处

接收的邮件

主体部分主体部分主体部分主体部分

发件人发件人发件人发件人

收件人收件人收件人收件人

被抄送人被抄送人被抄送人被抄送人

事由事由事由事由

日期日期日期日期

附件附件附件附件

Language and tone Ø Choose the method of communication carefully.

Ø Create the document thoughtfully.

Ø Present the document so that it looks good and gives

an impression of efficiency and reliability.

Ø Use a format that is neat, easy to read and structures

logically.

Ø Use appropriate tone, considering the circumstances,

the situation and the recipient.

Ø Ensure your message is accurate in terms of

grammar, spelling and punctuation.

�1. Remember your ABC

Accurate Check facts carefully

Include all relevant details

Proofread thoroughly

Brief keep sentences short

Use simple expressions

Use non-technical language

Clear Use plain, simple English

Write in an easy, natural style

Avoid formality or familiarity

�2. Be courteous and considerate

�Reply promptly to all communications-answer on the

same day if possible.

�If you cannot answer immediately, write a brief note and

explain why. This will create goodwill.

�Understand and respect the recipient’s point of view.

�Resist the temptation to reply as if your correspondent is

wrong.

�If you feel some comments are unfair, be tactful and try

not to cause offence.

�Resist the temptation to reply to an offensive letter in a

similar tone. Instead, answer courteously and do not lower

your dignity.

�3. Use appropriate tone

�If your letter is to achieve its purpose the tone must be

appropriate. The tone of your letter reflects the spirit in

which you put your letter across.

�You alter your tone of voice to convey messages in

different ways. Much of what you say is also interpreted

through non-verbal clues----- eye contact, gestures,

inflections of the voice, etc. This type of ‘reading between

the lines’ is not possible with the written word. Therefore it

is vital to choose your words carefully. You can be firm or

friendly, persuasive or conciliatory—it depends on the

impression you wish to convey. It is important to try to get

the tone right because using the wrong tone could cause

real offence to your reader.

�4. Write naturally and sincerely

Try to show a genuine interest in your reader and

his/her problems. Your message should sound sincere

while written in your own style. Write naturally, as if

you are having a conversation.

�5. Remember the KISS principles

KISS stands for:

Keep

It

Short and

Simple

KISS means instead of long or complex words,

use short ones.

�6. Use modern terminology

Old-fashioned phrases add nothing to your meaning.

Such unnecessary, long-winded phrases are likely to

give a poor impression of the writer and may even lead

to confusion. A good business letter will use no more

words than are necessary to convey a clear and

accurate message.

�7. Include essential details

If the recipient of your letter must ask a

question, or if something is unclear, then

something has been omitted from your message.

Do not leave anything to chance. Include all

essential information.

�8. Be consistent

Consistency is not only important in the

way your massage is presented, it is

important within the message itself.

The people attending will be George Bush, Bill

Clinton and Denny from the Sales.

The people attending the next committee meeting

will be George Bush, Bill Clinton and Denny

Smith.

�9. Use active not passive voice

‘Voice’ is a grammatical term that refers to whether

the subject of the sentence is acting or receiving the

action. Using active voice can considerably improve

your writing style. Active voice makes your writing

more interesting, more lively and more -- well, active!

Active voice: Tom played the violin.

Passive voice: The violin was played by Tom.

Make comparisons:

�10. Compose CLEAR communications

CLEAR objectives. Your message should be:

Clear Leave no doubt in your reader’s mind.

Help yourself by being specific, avoiding

vague expressions, using familiar words and

using simple English. Remember also to use

straightforward language that your reader

can understand, written in a friendly, natural,

conversational style.

�10. Compose CLEAR communications

CLEAR objectives. Your message should be:

Logical Structure your message logically,

remembering to use the 4 point plan. Start with

an introduction, develop your points logically in

the central section, and come to a natural

conclusion in which you state the action you need

from the reader. Finish with an appropriate one-

line.

Empathetic Put yourself in your reader’s place

and ask yourself how the reader will feel when he

/she reads your letter. If anything is unclear, or if

anything is worded badly, then change it before

you sent it.

Accurate Make sure all the relevant details are

included------times, dates, names of commodity,

facts and figures.

Right Proofread carefully (not just spell check) to

make sure everything is 100% right before you sent the

message.

CLEAR objectives. Your message should be:

The Seven Cs � Consideration

� Courtesy

� Clarity

� Conciseness

� Concreteness

� Correctness

� Completeness

Consideration

Completeness

Concreteness Clarity

Conciseness

Correctness Courtesy

7Cs

Effective Business Writing Criteria

� The motto in business letter-writing

A letter is personal contact. The

exchange of information is basic to

business. Letters should be easy to

read and easy to understand, they

must be friendly and courteous.

Business letters should develop

goodwill.

�Structuring communications

4 POINT PLAN Introduction

(Background and Basics)

Details

(Facts and Figures)

Response or Action

(Conclusion)

Close

(A simple one-liner)

1

2

3

4

Situational Training---1

Headings

Date

Inside address

Special markings

Salutation

Subject line

Body

Complimentary close

Signature

Enc. CC to

Situational Training---2

Sender’s name & address stamp

recipient’s name & address

Postal ways