Easy ways to personalize form letters
Standardized replies save you time but can cost you good will. Create templates and common paragraphs that you can pop into an e-mail or letter, then easily personalize. Use these shortcuts:
Category: Communication
Correspondence by the numbers
The wide availability of document templates makes it possible to create a range of business documents without thinking about the proper format. Test your knowledge of the current standards for correspondence with this quiz. 1. On the first page of a business letter, start typing ___. 2. On a standard-size letter, set the side margins […]
Write confidential information, don’t say it
What to do when passing confidental information.
Specify who and when.
How to arrange a long distance call.
Grammar Repair Shop: Quotation marks, inside and out
Problem: When quoted material comes at the end of a sentence, the pileup of punctuation causes con-fusion. Lesson: American style calls for always placing periods inside the quotation marks. (In contrast, the placement under British style depends upon whether the punctuation applies to the sentence or the quoted material.) Example: Then, he said, “Please finish […]
Don’t set presentations in stone
Writing and memorizing a well-researched presentation guarantees … well-polished boredom. Build flexibility into your delivery to better connect with your audience. Use these four tactics for deviating from your script.
Handle a heavy reading chore with these 4 tactics
You absorb most material that crosses your desk with ease. But once in a while, a heavy assignment—reading a book, proofing a long report or being asked to give your input on a complicated competitive analysis—can throw you off. Stop procrastinating and cut through that daunting reading assignment with these tactics…
Words, Words, Words: June ’20
Write it right, say it right, spell it right.
Grammar Repair Shop: A simple solution to an ‘article’ query
Problem: Patricia Cain, Philadelphia, asked whether to use “a” or “an” before the initialism SCSR, for senior customer service representative. Lesson: The key is whether the sound that follows the article is a consonant or a vowel sound. If you read SCSR aloud, the first sound you pronounce is a vowel sound, “ess.” Therefore, use […]
Tailor your pitch to the boss’s style
Feel like your ideas are falling on deaf ears? Maybe it’s your sales pitch, not the proposal. Focus your “pitch” with these tactics: