Business and Technical Correspondence

Two traditional forms are letters and memos, but email has become popular for both internal and external communications.

David V. Lewis—Making Your Correspondence Get Results
I really enjoyed reading this essay. I felt like it was organized well and contained useful information. I found it interesting that New York Life Insurance Company has recognized the importance of writing in client relations. In high school, I interned for an NY Life agent and I thought that the company had a very positive image, but it was cool to read that they invest a lot of time and money into educating their employees. Other points from Lewis:
- “Write for him, not to him”—an approach aimed to convince readers to do something you want them to do by making it sound more favorable to them, use more “you, your and yours” rather than “I, me and we”
- Tone—important in sensitive areas such as rejection letters, use positive rather than negative statements
- Write the same way you talk—conversational language is more effective, use contractions to add warmth and personality, but not so many that it sounds informal
- I also found the lists of words/phrases useful to determine what is conversational vs. what is “old hat”

Allan A. Glatthorn—I Have Some Bad News For You
- People appreciate straightforwardness, especially when they’re receiving bad news
- Indirect
o Formula=thanks-because-sorry-thanks
o Cushion bad news with positive, reassuring statements
- Direct
o Formula=thanks-sorry-because-thanks
o Same elements as indirect, but with more non-nonsense language
From what I understood of the essay, it is up to the writer to correctly assess a situation and choose the right way to break the bad news. Most cases will come down to the type of bad news as well as the way the receiver of the news will take it.

Harold K. Mintz—How to Write Better Memos
Organization:
What are the facts?
What do they mean?
What do we do now?
Elements:
- Summary, Conclusions & Recommendations, Statement of Problem, Proposed Solution, and Discussion
Important things to remember:
- Be clear, brief, and relevant with seeming brusque
- Use a personal, human approach
- Reflect diplomacy and political savvy

John S. Fielden & Ronald E. Dulek—How to Use Bottom-Line Writing in Corporate Communications
- The problem that corporations run into comes down to money
- Misunderstood memos and letters could result in monetary losses as well as lost productivity
- Superior and Subordinates Credos (?)

Janis Fisher Chan—Email: Presenting a Professional Image
I was unclear on the relevance of this particular essay in relation to email. I think it is important to use the same rules and guidelines in business emails as it is in any business communications. The essay was essentially a grammar lesson, something that is somewhat useful, but should be recognized as necessary at this point. Right?