April 2023 - TODAY INDIA

The Productive Skills – Writing

Speaking and writing are the ‘productive skills.’

Writing

Nowadays, there is very little need for long, formal written work in the classroom. With the advent of email and word processors with spell checkers, most people do very little written work except for short notes to friends and colleagues. Students may however have very specific needs such as those preparing for examinations where written work is still of great importance. Writing allows students sufficient time to process information whereas speaking doesn’t. Writing is also an avenue for those students who have limited confidence speaking in front of the class. Furthermore, writing allows for the practice of grammar rules and examination techniques. In order to convey a similar amount of information, a written text is shorter than speaking because the student has time to be more specific.

It should be remembered that students learn to read and write faster when they have real reasons to communicate. This could be in the form of journal writing or letter writing. Furthermore, it may be a good idea to create situations where they will need to write real invitations, requests, thank-you notes, and letters to pen friends, cards for special occasions, morning news, commercials, and opinions. You could even get the students to conduct surveys and interviews or make their own books by drawing or cutting out pictures, writing captions and word balloons. It is important to be clear as to the aims of the writing task before the lesson. Are you encouraging fluency or accuracy? A good starting point is to begin with a fluency activity and only focusing on accurate use of language at a later stage.

Guided Writing

Guided writing is an extremely useful way to prepare students for a writing task. Effective use of patterns as learning tools, takes the mystery out of learning. This is far more useful than simply giving students a writing topic and telling them to get on with it. It is extremely daunting for students to be faced with two tasks- writing and content.

Tell the students exactly what you want! If they are writing a letter, give them the format and what information you require in each paragraph. Try and focus on useful language models. List and review instructions step by step. Provide frequent summations of salient points of the lesson. Develop and maintain routines, which will help students anticipate what will happen. This careful preparation will ultimately culminate in the students preparing a draft which can be discussed with the teacher and others prior to preparing a final text.

Writing Genre

Students will explore typical examples or models of different writing genre before embarking on writing of their own. This is done in order to discover the format, layout, audience, the register, style and appropriate language to be used. When writing a letter, for example, students will decide whether the letter is formal or informal. They will then select the correct format to be used in a business letter or personal letter. This will in turn determine the register and general tone of the language to be used. This approach to writing is extremely useful for students preparing for school examinations in English and other subjects.

Writing Structure

As mentioned in the section on guided writing, it is extremely useful to provide your students with useful patterns as learning tools. There are many different ways to write an essay, but most standard essay forms follow the same basic patterns. Teaching your students these patterns will lay the foundation for sound writing structures and principles. It is surprising how many students, who have been studying English for a number of years, are still unsure of how to write an introduction, a paragraph or a conclusion.

Handwriting

Students who come from various cultural backgrounds may find the formation of English letters somewhat difficult (orthography). Students who experience such difficulties will need specific help in order to improve letter, word and text formation. Assistance may be offered in the form of extensive practice exercises focusing on the formation of individual letters. This could perhaps involve the teacher writing letters, words or sentences out neatly and leaving sufficient pace below for the student to copy or imitate the writing.

It is important to note that is essential that you encourage students with problematic handwriting to attempt to improve it. Handwriting is an important skill necessary for examination purposes and a student should not be unduly disadvantaged because of poor handwriting. This problem may prevent the student from getting his / her message across.

Spelling

Incorrect spelling may often give the reader the impression that the writer is careless and lacks education. One should try and remember that spelling is often very difficult for students studying English because of the lack of correlation between the sound of a word and how it is actually spelled. This is more than often, not that obvious!

Punctuation and Format

Punctuation and format conventions differ from one language and culture to another. Business and personal letters are laid out quite differently and follow specific formats as do emails. Punctuation conventions may often be specific to a particular language and may not be transferable from one culture or language to another. Successful application of punctuation conventions in the English language will assist students in conveying their message and communicating effectively.

Writing a Job Application Letter Impressively

Through your application letter, employers get their first impression about you. Therefore, you should be really careful in writing this very important letter. Make it as professional as possible so employers will have good impression about you. Use proper and effective language and do not beat around the bush. You can use these following guidelines in writing your job application letter properly and impressively.

Preparing to write the introduction is the first thing to do. In this paragraph, you need to state your reason in writing the letter. You should also state certain job position that you are interested in, so the employer will easily notice the position that you are going to apply. Besides, you also have to state that you have enclosed your resume with you application letter.

In this resume, you can also highlight your education. Any work experience corresponded to your applied position could also be mentioned. Then, if you are encouraged by someone in the company to apply there, you can also put this information in this paragraph. However, you should make sure that you have the permission of that person before putting his or her name in your letter.

The second step will be preparing body of the letter. You can use active voice and also action verbs in order to keep this paragraph energetic and concise. Here, you can explain your skills and experience that related with the job position you are applying for. Explain it briefly and clearly since the employers will get the detail of it in your resume. State your work qualifications as well. Use any persuasive sentences to explain that you are the most appropriate person to be in that position. However, keep in mind to avoid flowery language. You are now writing application letter for a certain job and are not writing a short story or poem.

The last writing preparation will be the conclusion. This is the last chance to impress the employers so they will give you a chance for interview. You can request them a chance for interview in this last paragraph, and make sure that you are stating your interest on that certain position once again. Put any information that allows them to contact you easily.

Try to follow those guidelines in writing job application letter. When the employers respond your application letter by calling you for an interview, you need to show them your readiness to relocate.

Sales Letter Example That Sells

Sales Letter Example That Sells, No Matter The Industry

A sales letter is the page designed to sell your product. You can have a fantastic product, but you won’t earn a nickel if your sales letter lacks sizzle.

Your sales letter should grab a visitor’s attention, prove you provide a solution, remove risk, state a call to action, and hopefully (if done well) generate a sale.

Here is an example of how we write a sales letter…

All great sales letters include the following:

1. Catchy Headers and Subheaders

2. Unique Selling Proposition

3. Stated Product Benefits

4. Testimonials

5. Special Offers

6. Digital Covers

7. Video Demos

8. Exceptional Guarantees

9. Trust Building Techniques

10. Bonuses

11. Follow-Ups

12. P.S.

Catchy Headers and Subheaders

Your main header, also referred to as a H1 tag, can:

o Target a pain point. “Are You Losing Your Hair?”

o Highlight a benefit. “Now You Can Re-grow Your Hair… Without Chemicals!”

o Invoke curiosity. “Can Broccoli Prevent Hair Loss?”

o Include keywords.

Your subheaders will follow the same format as your header. These two work best when they attack the reader from two different angles. Your headline could invoke curiosity, while the sub-headline makes a bold claim like this “Now You Can Re-grow Your Hair… Without Chemicals!”

Example Headlines for a Sales Letter

o Who Else Wants _______?

o The Secret of _________

o Here’s How You Can (benefit) Without (problem)…

o Little Known Ways to _____________

o Get Rid of ________________ Once And For All!

o WARNING: This Letter Is For Serious __________ Only.

o Are You Still Suffering From _________?

o Are You Making These Same Mistakes?

o At Last! The (credibility indicator like “Bestselling” or “As seen on Oprah”) System That Is Revolutionizing ___________

o Save Yourself 30% on _________ By Following This Simple Steps

o How I Went From (loser) to (winner) in Just 2 Weeks!

o How To (Cook Thai Food) Like The (Locals)

o 56 Ways ____________Saves You Time, Work and Money

Highlight Your Unique Selling Proposition

This is where you subtly demonstrate to your reader that your competition sucks. To do this, examine your competitor’s sales letters, noting the benefits they offer- and more importantly, those they lack. Even if the two of you are selling the same product, you can position your offer in very different ways. Are they offering a money back guarantee? Do they fail to cover a specific topic that your explain in detail? Discover your competitor’s weaknesses and demonstrate them to your prospects… Chances are, your prospects will shop around before committing, and it pays to plant the seeds of doubt in their minds about your competitors. Remember that subtlety is the key; you don’t want to smear yourself as well!

Focus on Benefits, Not Features

Don’t rattle off the features of your product; explain to your prospect how they will benefit from it. For example, if you’re selling air conditioners, people aren’t interested in the features (e.g. voltage, wattage, what type of plastic it’s made of, etc.) they want to keep cool during summer!

To ensure you’re listing benefits instead of features, ask yourself “How does this feature help my prospect?” List your features, then add the word “which” after it: whatever follows is a benefit. For example:

o Low power requirements, which lowers your energy bill.

o New polymer plastic casing, which cools your house faster than traditional models.

o Timer setting, which saves you the hassle of getting up in the middle of the night to turn it off.

I’ve heard this phrase so many times I practically recite it in my sleep, and yet, so many people forget this simple law of copywriting. Bullet points tend to work best in sales letters, as they are easily scanned by readers. Keep in mind that your prospects aren’t interested in every single benefit your product offers, just the ones that apply to them. By listing off dozens of benefits, you are increasing the likelihood your prospects will come across one or two main benefits they are most interested in, and buy your product.

Include Testimonials

My wife and I were on Ko Phi Phi Island in Thailand (where the movie “The Beach” was filmed) getting ready to grab a bite. While looking at a map, a couple of guys came up to us and recommended a restaurant saying, “This is the best restaurant we’ve been to on the island. You should check it out.”

Guess where we went for dinner?

We didn’t personally know these guys, yet we trusted them. This demonstrates what is known as social proof – people making decisions based on someone else’s experience. If you’re interested in something and you see that it has worked for others, you are more likely to trust them and-case in point- buy it. Testimonials are a great way to demonstrate social proof to your prospects; they can see for themselves that your product works and provides value to real people without you forcing it down there throats. Rather than singing your own praises, why not let your satisfied customers do it for you?

Here’s two ways to gather testimonials:

1. When you’re first testing your product (that is, the product you haven’t created yet) ask people you know personally if they can provide testimonials citing your expertise in a specific area applicable to your product.

2. Once you create and sell your product, follow up with the customer via email and ask for a testimonial. Here’s what I use:

Dear ,

Thanks for taking our free course on . Many others have written to tell us how this course has helped , and I sincerely hope you feel the same way.

I’d like to ask a favor. We’re always trying to improve our course, and would greatly appreciate your feedback. If it’s OK with you, please take a moment and jot down your thoughts in the box below. I promise not to include any personal information other than your name and city.

Feel free to say whatever you feel. If you have some ideas on how to improve our course, we’re all ears.

Thanks , and I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards,

Testimonial Box

I understand that has the right to use these comments in their marketing material. I also understand will NOT use any personal information with the exception of my name and city.

Comments:

Make sure to include a personal email address you check frequently in order to stay on top of testimonials as they come in.

Some people recommend offering an incentive in exchange for a testimonial such as a free report, though I’ve never had any trouble securing them with this form. Besides, if your free course isn’t good enough to warrant praise, you probably need to reconsider your product offer.

As the testimonials start to roll in, put them on your sales page as examples your product works!

People Don’t Buy Products… They Buy Offers

You may have the single greatest product in the history of humanity, guaranteed to cure a wide variety of ailments, train your dog to stop barking and initiate world peace, but without compiling it into a dynamite offer your product will fall flatter than a soufflé in a snowstorm.

Think of it this way: when you go to a fine dining restaurant, you’re not just paying for the flavor of the food; you’re also paying for the presentation. Your offer is the presentation; if your prospects don’t like the presentation they won’t even try your product. This is why creating a solid offer is imperative for your system’s success.

So what makes a good offer? Here are the key components you of a dynamite offer:

Have Quality Digital Cover

If you’re creating an information product that includes several downloadable CDs, create a professional looking digital CD cover for each disc. If you have an e-book or special report, create covers for those as well. Be sure to include screenshots of the content as well, which should be professionally formatted.

Include Video Demos

Videos are a great tool for marketing your product and should be used where possible- I’ve used video demos for several products with great success. The process is simple: use Camtasia to record you demonstrating your product while explaining its benefits, then upload the video to YouTube and embed the code they give you onto your website. We’ll talk about video marketing more in a bit.

Offer an Exceptional Guarantee

The main function of a guarantee is to remove all risk for your prospect. You want to make a guarantee so strong they’d feel like a fool for not buying your product. For example, you could offer a 60 day money back guarantee, and allow them to keep all the bonuses even if they decide to cancel. Another method is to allow your prospect to download your product for one dollar, and then charge their credit card the remainder seven days later if they don’t cancel.

Build Trust

When I receive emails from people asking me “Is this for real?” I know it’s time to build a higher level of trust with our prospects. Be sure to include links to your privacy policy, contact information and a brief bio about yourself.

Your privacy policy should go something like this:

: Privacy Policy

is committed to protecting the privacy and security of individuals that have contacted us. It is with that purpose in mind that we have formed our privacy guarantee. We realize that the concerns you bring to us are highly personal in nature. We assure you that all information shared will be managed within legal and ethical considerations.

Security of Information

We restrict access to personal information to employees who have a specific business purpose in utilizing your data. Our employees are trained in the importance of maintaining confidentiality and member privacy.

Accuracy of Information

We strive to ensure that our records contain accurate information. If there are any changes to your contact information (e.g. phone number, email, etc.), please email . We will promptly make any necessary changes to update your records.

Changes to Our Guarantee

We reserve the right to revise our privacy guarantee as our business needs change or as the law requires. If we revise our policy, we will provide you with the new policy at that time.

Web Links to Other Web Sites

Links to third party sites may be available from ‘http://www.yourwebsite.com’. Sites outside the ‘http://www.yourwebsite.com’ domain are NOT maintained by and is NOT responsible for the content or availability of linked sites. Recommended links are NOT an endorsement or guarantee of other sites or organizations and are simply provided for reference. The privacy and security policies of linked sites likely differ from and users are encouraged to review the privacy and security policies of these sites.

Contact Information

Buy a P.O. Box at your local post office and use that as your mailing address. Forty bucks a year provides peace of mind; you don’t want your home address advertised to hundreds of thousands of people, right?

It’s always better to include a phone number as well. You can leave your personal number, or get a redirect line through Skype or Vonage. If you receive lot of calls, consider signing up with a call center that will take messages and accept payments (there’s a list of them at the end of this book).

Bio

Including a bio is a great opportunity for you to sell yourself and build trust amongst readers, many of whom want to know a little about a person before doing business with them. Bios typically include the following elements:

o Educational Background

o Professional Background

o Experience with Current Business/Product

o Special Achievements

o Personal Information (e.g. city of residence and family information)

o Picture

All of these are completely optional and depend on your comfort level with sharing information online. internet. There is a fine line between highlighting your knowledge, skills, and achievements and coming off as a blowhard. Remember: the point is to build trust, hopefully to the point of getting a sale.

Offer Bonuses

Once you’ve demonstrated your product provides value and removed risk with a strong guarantee, push your prospects off the fence with a few value packed bonuses. The bonus is all about perceived value; many people in fact buy products for the bonuses themselves! If you’re offering an e-book on Cajun cooking, offer a video that demonstrates how to make roux, and several other Cajun sauces. How about recipes for cocktails that are famous in the South? A list of the best restaurants in New Orleans? All of these are easy to create and dramatically improve the value of your product.

Follow-Up

Let’s say your prospects sign up for a free two week course on southern cooking. They are then presented with an offer to buy the full product. If they haven’t purchased it, they receive another e-mail, but with a twist: this could be a reduced price, an added bonus, or the chance to pay in installments.

State a P.S.

Believe it or not, many people will scroll to the bottom of a sales page first. I do it all the time… once I know I’m on a sales page, the first question that comes to mind is “How much?”

This is precisely why you shouldn’t list your price at the bottom of your sales letter. Instead, use a P.S., or just another headline that reinforces your value proposition. Rather than asking “How much?” they’ll scroll up to learn more about your offer.

This sales letter example should help you craft a profitable sales letter in as little as a week. Write a draft and sit on it for a few days so you can see it with fresh eyes.

Get Your Job Application Noticed

There is no way for you to know how many other people are applying for a given job. Rather than focusing on that, pay attention to ways to get your job application noticed. You can take a wonderful example of a cover letter and modify it to fit your qualifications, your passions, and the job description. You want the person reading it to be excited to schedule an interview!

As you look through various examples, you can get a feel for the right way to format and to create your own product. You need it to talk about your objectives and your preferences. The style should be one that covers your personality as well as your integrity. Don’t just copy what someone else has written as it won’t help you in the interview part of the job hunt.

Always Include One

Many job announcements don’t ask for one, but you should always include it. This makes your application look professional. It also shows you took the time to complete documents because you are interested in that job. However, you need to make sure it flows well and it represents you successfully. You can take a part from an example of a cover letter and make it unique.

Keep it to One Page

A common problem is one that is far too long. You aren’t writing a report, you are writing a summary! Look for an example of a cover letter that covers all the main objectives but doesn’t exceed just one page. It may be hard at first to condense the details you wish to share. Keep in mind your resume and your actual job application also give you the opportunity to share details.

Introduction

A powerful introduction is very important. You only have a few seconds of time to capture the attention of the reader. What are you going to say to entice them to keep reading it rather than putting it aside? Take a look at many of them so you get a solid example of a cover letter introduction and how it should grab them.

Pick your Key Points

Next, you need to focus on a few key points. Each one should be a paragraph long. Make sure they flow well and they can lead into each other. Otherwise, your materials will be choppy and hard to follow. Look for an example of a cover letter that has the key points clearly shared and documented.

Wrap it Up

Don’t let the information just drop off and end, that is a common problem. Instead, you need to wrap it up completely. You want to tie it into the introduction so all of the pieces of the puzzle fit well with each other. Don’t leave any question in their mind that you are a prime candidate for the job they have available.

Call to Action

You may feel pushy by asking for an interview at the end, but you must do so. It can be done firmly but also respectfully. Don’t assume that is the natural next step for them to take. Instead, you need to give them that push to call you and schedule that interview! Find the right example of a cover letter that does this so you can customize it to find your needs.

Employers like people to take the initiative and ask for what they want. They realize such individuals bring valuable skills to their business. They tend to be motivated, detail oriented, and they strive to find solutions. These are all traits that benefit any business that individual works within.

How to Conclude a Resume Cover Letter

A resume cover letter is an important part of one’s job application. It is the responsibility of the job applicant to carefully craft a resume and cover letter that conveys a positive message to the hiring manager concerning the qualification, experience and skills of the job applicant.

One of the main reasons for writing a cover letter is that it should compel the hiring manager to call the job applicant for an interview and move things forward. In a way, it is a brief “sales letter” wherein the job applicant describes his eligibility for the job available.

In this article we focus on how to conclude a resume cover letter? Here are a few examples to consider:

Possible last paragraph sentences:

* I look forward to the opportunity for an interview soon.

* I look forward to speaking with you about this job opportunity.

* I look forward to an interview and hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.

* I am available for a personal interview at your convenience.

* I hope to schedule a personal interview at a mutually convenient time.

* You may kindly contact me on my phone number 900-000-0000 or email me at emailaddress (at) emailprovider.com

* Kindly review the enclosed resume and consider my application for the job.

* It would be an honor to work for your company.

* I will contact you next week to know the status of my application.

* Thank you for your time and consideration.

* Thank you for your consideration.

Sample closing words just before signature:

* Regards, Best Regards, Yours Faithfully, Yours Truly, Sincerely, Yours Sincerely.

Signature related tips:

* Below the closing words type job applicant’s name and leave sufficient space for a signature above it.

* While sending the cover letter via regular mail sign with a blue ink pen, if sending via fax sign with a black ink pen and when emailing it type your full name.

Enclosures:

* One can add “Enclosure or Enclosures” to the cover letter, usually it is the resume. For example: Enclosure: Resume

* Other enclosures could include: Copy of work experience certificate, copy of reference letters etc.

The above mentioned cover letter format points are a must read for every job applicant.

The Art of Personal Letter Writing: 7 Basic Elements

When was the last time you received a personal letter that was not sent by email, but regular snail mail? What type of attitude did it put you in when you received a nice handwritten letter or note outside of the stack of bills that sometimes become daily accessory items for your mailbox? After retrieving a huge box filled with an array of high school and college items from my mother’s house, I found at the very bottom, a smaller box containing letters previously written to me from some of my old friends. There must have been about fifty letters in this box before I discarded them. I couldn’t resist this last opportunity to read every one of them again. After about an hour of non-stop reading, I made a cup of hot tea and sat down to continue my journey “back down memory lane.” I remember rewriting most of my letters, especially if I made a spelling mistake or if my sentence structure wasn’t as I intended it to be. Judging from the amount of paper I wasted on editing, you would think that I was mailing them to a major book publisher instead of a friend!

Letter writing created a manifestation of memories bridging the distance between the sender and recipient. People were as meticulous about picking out decorative stationary to write their letters on, as much as the letter itself. This connection through written communication promoted the exchange of conversation, creativity and artistic expression.

The standard format that I followed practically every time I wrote a letter to my friends, immediate family who lived out of town, old sweethearts or occasionally some of my favorite teachers, was composed of the following basic elements:

1. The Heading (Name and Address)

2. Date

3. The Greeting (Dear So and So)

4. The Body (The message you are writing to the recipient)

5. The Closing (Sincerely, Yours Truly)

6. Your Signature

7. Post Script (There is the occasional comment that was not mentioned in the Body of your letter, but made after the signature, called the P.S. or P.S.S. The P.S.S. was an additional post script).

Sometimes on the back flap of the envelope, the writer would put a smiley face or an acronym like S.W.A.K. (Sealed With A Kiss) which indicated that a love letter was enclosed.

Penmanship in elementary school was extremely important years ago. It came as a surprise to me and some of my friends who are parents that cursive writing is not taught in most schools anymore. Therefore, the meticulousness and pride taken in one’s penmanship is not as evident today as it was when I was growing up. But a personalized letter or note makes you stop, sit down, read and appreciate the thoughtfulness behind the folded message. Personalized letters displayed a unique voice, taste and style. It showed that a lot of thought, even if it wasn’t especially pleasant, went into the written expression.

So why not do something out of the ordinary and make someone smile today by writing a personalized letter to them instead of an electronic one. The memories will be worth the effort, especially if the person is miles away. You will get a great deal of satisfaction from simply taking a few minutes to write an endearing personal message whether on some nice stationary or not. That would be a special gift and welcomed relief for someone to receive in the mailbox amid the endless bills.

The Second Law of Business Writing – Appearance Counts

A good first impression makes a difference; a document that looks unreadable will probably not get read.

Just as your business clothes make a clear statement about your professionalism, so the appearance of the material you write makes a statement too. If the page is sloppy or if it looks wrong, your expertise may be questioned. If content sounds arrogant, out of date, or impossible to read, you may have unwittingly set up a negative response.

Before you send your document, take a good look at it. Does it look inviting? Or is it off-putting? The white space you see is not merely an absence of print; it leads the reader’s eye to the nearest black. If there is too much black, it looks too tough to read and readers are reluctant to plunge in. They may set it aside, skim here and there, or simply trash it immediately. Whatever they do, you have not impressed them.

So, if there is not enough white space in your document, add some. How? Split any paragraph that is more than two and a half inches long. Use lists. Maintain good margins. Or create one wide column for text and a more narrow column for “pull quotes.” By the way, pull quotes are an ideal technique to use in dense documents because they lighten the overall look while repeating an important phrase or sentence from the text–and drawing attention to it.

Conversely, if there is too much white space, the material looks disorganized and impossible to read. Of course, you may have a paragraph that is only one sentence long. But if all your paragraphs are single sentences, the document looks like the writer doesn’t really understand what a paragraph is. Fix it.

Here’s how to improve the appearance of all your documents.

Think of the white space as an important component of the letter or document. The margins should frame the material, and the text must not appear too dense to wade through.
Try to keep letters to one or two pages. If you must convey a lot of information, use a cover letter and attach the information to it.
Avoid loose odds and ends–such as a single sentence on a second page.
Use lists to efficiently move the reader’s eye through information and to add white space.
Keep paragraphs to a maximum of four sentences. In a letter, remember to close with a separate paragraph “Call for Action”; do not write a one-paragraph letter.

What you say is important to the reader only if they bother to read. When you make your material look easy to read, it will actually get read. When your document looks accessible, it is. The truth is, whether we like it or not, appearance counts.

How To Improve Business Communication For Greater Success

In the age to steaming gadgets that govern your business it gets necessary to use the right way to communicate in business, that is, proper business communication. Today we send fewer letters than we used to do earlier but the speed and low cost of email has pushed the letter to extinction.

A primary role of emails, memos, letters, reports and proposals is to maintain good, relevant and timely follow of information within an organization and with its external publics. It plays a key role in business communication.

Any business writer can write emails, memos, letters and letters that communicate clearly and have impact. But that is not the actual business communication that prevails in the business world. Business people do not pay heed to the ethics of business communication. They write emails as thoughts occur to them and send emails without revising the words into coherent messages. As a result, business writing has come to excuse writing that is fragmented, incomplete, and full of careless language errors.

Here are certain tips to improve business communication:

1. Plan and organize:

One should have clear objectives while writing an email or a business letter. It should include everything that you are intended to write to give information to the reader in order to attain your objectives of proper and clear business communication.

2. Build the business communication infrastructure:

In business communication through emails, letters and memos write thanks, commendation and genuine statements of good that will build teams and partnership with clients. Use the tone and level of formality that fits the objectives and the reader, and convey your thoughts straight and firmly.

3. Prepare the reader for proper business communication:

Write the email or letter subject lines using words that alert the reader to contents, required action or critical information in the email. In the introduction explain everything readers need to know to understand fully why they are receiving the document. Describe all actions the reader is expected to perform, actions you will perform and any critical information that reader is expected to know. Summarize conclusions at the beginning. Write clear statements of contents at the end o introduction so that readers know what to expect and prepare them for reading, which will transform it from just communication to business communication.

Not only emails and letters but meetings also play a vital role in business communication. In any organization, meetings are a vital part of the organization of work and the flow of information. They act as a mechanism for gathering together resources from many sources and pooling then towards a common objective. They are disliked and mocked because they are usually futile, boring, time-wasting, dull, and inconvenient with nothing for most people to do except doodle while some opinionated has-been extols the virtues of his/her last great (misunderstood) idea.

Your challenge is to break this mould and to make your meetings effective. As with every other managed activity, meetings should be planned beforehand, monitored during for effectiveness, and reviewed afterwards for improving their management. A meeting is the ultimate form of business communication. One can organize the information and structure of the meeting to support the effective communication of the participants.

Thus proper business communication whether through writing or verbal i.e. through meetings can do wonders to the business. All that is needed is a skillful, flawless and

effective way of business communication.

Reading Older Books Often Reveals the Basics That are Often Covered in Present Day Buzzwords

For those who really want to know their industry and really want to understand the basic fundamentals and underlining philosophy of such – it is recommended to have not only the newest and latest books on the subject, but also the books of days gone by.

Why you ask? Well, often new books are riddled with buzz-words and new hooks to help them sell, yet fail to address the reality behind it all. This is why our online think tank often reads older books and discusses them and then considers the implications of the changes and what those books were saying at the time. Great understanding can come from this sort of reading and deep digging for reality sake. Below are listed many books, with a short commentary as to why this information deserves further consideration.

“Feel the Fear And Do it Anyway – Dynamic Techniques for Turning Fear, Indecision, and Anger into Power, Action and Love” by Susan Jeffers, PhD. 1987. This work is very complete and it starts out by defining what fear is and how to figure out what you are afraid of and why.

Next it explains how to make it go away, to conquer your fears and use your new found knowledge to increase your personal power. Going for complainer to achiever and how to spot someone else who is limiting themselves by fear – she takes the book from the action phase to the life balance phase and turning your life into a wonderful experience full of success, enjoyment, fulfillment and love.

With fear tactics being used for political reasons and social control or even to increase media outlet loyalty – one needs to understand fear, its psychological buttons and how to overcome it all, if they are to survive and capitalize on the chaos created by others and accepted by the masses. We know that fear depletes vitamins in the body and causes stress, this also affects the bio-systems ability to operate efficiently and allow the brain the nutrients necessary for higher levels of reasoning and thought.

“The Technique of Handling People – Eleven Helps for your Human Relations” – by Donald A. Laird & Eleanor C. Laird 1954. This book is great to help people get along with others and is similar to “How to Win Friends and Influence People” in many regards. It starts by giving the reader tips in human relations, winning cooperation, clearing up troubles, becoming a confidant, arousing enthusiasm. There are chapters on harnessing criticism and turning it around, boosting loyalty, securing best efforts through praise and generating harmony in groups or personal relationships when it really counts. Finally, it explains the difference between leading and driving an organization or group.

Should we be appeasing hard to deal with people or rather get them to change on their own free will, allowing them to realize that if they will modify their behavior in the working environment everyone, including them will win – fellow employees, customers, themselves and the company. Why should all of us dealing with hard to deal with people develop psychological skills to counteract these problems?

“Help Yourself – A Guide to Self-Change” by Jerry A. Schmidt 1976. This short book is broken into parts, and the first part explains the need to be motivated to make a change, as you cannot help anyone against their will, including or especially yourself. It is necessary to set goals, be motivated to attain these goals and admit that you need a change. In part II, it explains more of the philosophy, methodology, techniques, tactics and strategies to complete the process to a new you.

So many people who are unhappy constantly blame others for their conditions, and refuse to look in their own mirrors. It is hard to evoke a positive change in others without them buying into a plan to change them selves. There are numerous self-help books out there, but no one is going to change until they decide they are ready. Once they do such self-help books are relevant, choosing the best one for the situation is too.

“Peak Performers – The New Heroes of American Business” by Charles Garfield 1986. This book starts out with the search for peak performance and expectation driven results, as it gives tips of where to find peak performers in large organizations. How to collect evidence, do research and profile those who are walking their talk. How to find those who love what they do and do it well. Next the book explains how to accelerate the organizations achievement and understand the growth curve, where to invest in human resources and use this inherent talent.

The book explains how to master your own skills, hone in on your talents and self manage your own peak performance. Next the book discusses how to leverage your own strengths within a team and lead the entire team to achieve more, by leading by example. How to handle change management and maintain peak performance while setting up the perfect team. The book is not only about peak performance of you and your team, it is much about winning, going all the way.

There is a lot of talk about the poor work ethic in today’s workforce. Many say that we need to give accolades, kudos and praise to produce performance, but us in the old school find it hard to praise those who are not giving their best efforts and insist that they are doing as much as should be expected. Giving the minimum never produced superior results for any organization, so this book peak performers is relevant and a must read for those who wish to win.

“Writing Business Letters and Memos – Getting your message across, Write with authority, Keep a reliable paper trail, Reply to co-workers and the boss with Confidence” by Havis Dawson 1993. The book is short, but filled with great information, explaining right off the bat what is wrong with most business letters and why they fail to communicate properly and how you can change that and not make the same mistakes. The book offers tips of layout, format, grammar and hooking the reader’s interest. Next it discusses the many types of letters like sales letters, complaint letters, collection letters, requests for information, business memos, faxes and how to do a proper email.

“Better Letters – A Handbook of Business and Personal Correspondence” by Jan Venolia 1982. If you recognize the name, she is the same author of Write Right, which has become a classic amongst authors and writers. She starts by discussing letter writing style, organizing your thoughts and composing them into perfection. Listed are all sorts of Business Letter type formats and the next chapter discusses personal type letters and the vast differences. The book even has a chapter of how to be the benevolent dictator, promoting an agenda in harmony and getting results.

The art of business letter writing seems to be lost these days, as you read your email correspondence, you should consider how things have changed. Often we see abbreviated words used by text-message’rs and wonder what on Earth is this person thinking sending this in an email? Other times we read very professional emails, which say nothing at all and are laden with buzz words, how can we take any of this seriously?

“The IBM Way – Insight into the World’s Most Successful Marketing Organization” by Buck Rodgers with Robert Shook – and foreword by Tom J. Peters. 1986. The book dives right into the implications of a business and its beliefs and how leadership guides or detracts from its mission. How IBM built a sales and marketing strategy that dominated the high-tech world by focusing on the customer and the future – then monitored the success, paid more than fairly and maintained an entrepreneurial spirit in the process.

In hindsight, one has to ask if the ideas in this book are reality based, they seem to be, but then again IBM is not nearly the company it once was. Is it because they lost their way from these policies and strategies or because of them? Things have sure changed, did IBM walk the talk or is this just another book hyping an unattainable utopian business climate that never really fully existed?

“Guerilla Marketing with Technology – Unleashing the full potential of your small business” by Jay Conrad Levinson – 1997. This book is the same as Guerilla Marketing, but with a technology based focus when marketing. It goes into real world scenarios with real small business owners asking questions and getting world-class advice from Jay Levinson.

It is ten years later and the world has really grown up now with social networking websites, AdSense ads on all the websites, so many variations of marketing strategies on the Internet, perhaps it is time for another book to help folks enjoy guerrilla marketing with the latest new tools, mobile marketing and innovative technologies?

“Future Scope – Success Strategies for the 1990s & Beyond” by Joe Cappo – 1990. The book discusses the challenge in predicting the future and the fine art of forecasting. Then it explains the issues with the population demographic shifts, immigrant labor and planning for the retirement of the baby boomers. Indeed, everything we are seeing now.

He discusses the middle class issues, many of which he got incorrect. He admits in advance that things can change along with consumer buying behavior and predicting people’s future tastes. He talks about the fitness craze as well. Attitude towards work, play, convenience and the FutureScope.

“Five Great Rules of Selling” by Persy H. Whiting – 1957. This is another one of those old classics on selling, and the advice is good and relevant, and mostly timeless. It is a good book to read to understand the foundation and fundamentals of selling, that so many new entrants either forget or fail to use to their own folly. This book is a remake of “The 5 Great Rules of Selling” that was a hit in the 1940’s. The book gets into the importance of product knowledge, getting the appointment, arousing interest, producing conviction and interest, closing the sale, overcoming objections, repeat business and referrals, working efficiently and scheduling, etc.

“Ziglar on Selling – the ultimate handbook for the complete sales professional” by Zig Ziglar – 1991. Zig Ziglar tells us why selling is paramount to our economy and how it is the oldest profession and why selling in the modern market is a honor and a good career choice. He discusses prospecting, cold calling, meetings, sales process, handling objections, closing the sale, dealing with people, getting referrals, making friends, solving problems, developing interest, desire, and rounds out all the potential topics on the subject of selling.

“One Smart Cookie” (the Story of Mrs. Fields Cookies) by Debbi Fields and Alan Furst – 1987. Here is a lady who never spent one penny on advertising, used intuition to make decisions, gave away cookies for free and ignored all the marketing experts, their advice and papers. Here philosophy and story of success is intriguing and fascinating. Her motto: Good enough, never is. And; If you chase the only the money, you will never have any. An American success story, well worth reading.

Sometimes all the business advice in the world is worthless, without a hard charger behind the push forward. Then again, with a superstar entrepreneur, well, they can often get it done anyway, without using conventional methods. The will to win, and succeed is worth all the strategic methodology in the world

“100 Ways to Make Money in Your Spare Time, Starting with Less than $100” by John Stockwell and Herbert Holtje – 1972. The first 238 pages list literally 100 different types of businesses that you can start on the cheap and how they operate and make money. Next there are chapters on business formation, selling, marketing, buying a business opportunity and record keeping.

If one is to read the Entrepreneur 500 today or any of the wonderful books by Robert Bond listing all the possible franchise opportunities, in contrast to this older book in 1972, we see very few innovations really. Although things do change, and have changed with technology, they have not changed nearly as much as we a lead to believe or nearly as fast as we think they will.

“Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Practice and Principles” by Peter Drucker – 1985. Participating in the entrepreneurial economy means you must understand what it is and how it works and Mr. Drucker starts out by explaining it in the introduction before he even starts the book. Fostering innovation, understanding the animal and using this knowledge to produce constant and continual creativity in business is the first section and next he explains entrepreneurship in action and how practicing these techniques and strategizing can produce winning products and services and methods for marketing them.

What an interesting book to read again now that we have experienced another two decades of constant innovations. Amazing that some of these strategies seem so obvious now and it is equally as interesting that even with all the modern communication, that the underlining foundations of innovation creation are similar.

“Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun” by Wess Roberts, PhD. – 1987. The book is a quick history of who Attila the Hun was and how he commanded respect and leadership in his time. The book takes some of these strategies and puts them into a modern context. How one must desire to lead, honor customs, pick your enemies wisely, responsibilities of leaders, decisiveness, delegating, negotiation, discretion, and leaving with dignity.

Despite the current accepted methods of “feel good leadership” one thing should be noted and that is that leading by fear, strength, honor and conviction also works. There are times no matter what any Neo-Feel Good psychologist tells you, that such methods would be wise to employ. Surely, not a topic that will make you many friends discussing, but the reality is it works.

“Inflation Can Be Stopped” by Robert S. Morrison – 1973. This is an excellent book for folks to read who do not understand the problems of challenges of inflation. It was written by a street-smart entrepreneur and businessman and is easily understood by the average readership. Mr. Morrison explains what inflation is and why it is so important. He explains how to deal with it and control it and why we must.

Those who often speak on economic issues of our time ought to have this minimum background knowledge and perhaps this book on their bookshelf as well. The FED fears inflation and for good reason, inflation comes with it, huge economic implications and we as citizens owe it to ourselves to understand what it is and how it works.

Can you now see why it is important to read older books too, rather than just the every day new buzz-word books, hyping and hooking you with new sub-themes? Think on this topic a bit, see what you come up with?

Importance of Business Communication

In this era, the business or trade world is the most money-spinning and creative platform for the businessmen. You may be a business entrepreneur, a startup venture or a big industry, you need to grow and create an impact on the customers through quality of your service or product.

It is mandatory to update your business acumen, the trends and the technology. To compete and excel in the market, it is essential to keep an eye on every aspect that may help you gain big profit and name.

Communication is one feature that is of foremost significant for growth of any business. The message you send to the masses or target audience should generate goodwill depending on the brilliance of communication sent across. Successful companies have a dedicated team to take care of Public Relations and Communication.

Business Mails have become one of the major forms of business communication. One must carefully draft emails and put the message in an interesting and innovative way to attract the attention of readers towards the idea or concept being sold.

A well composed mail itself should be sufficient for any proposal or business idea. It should be so alluring that a proposal can be agreed and sealed, inception of new alliances could take place, and partnerships or projects could be renewed.

Hence, business email is immense important in today’s cut throat competition. The business email is the first impression; it creates the business image of a company. It enhances the company’s position, its standards and objectives. It develops the confidence in reader’s mind about the service or industry, the competence and business acumen of its team members.

Thus, it becomes most challenging to draft an effective email. While drafting a business email one must ensure a flawless documentation and presentation:

· Format: The design or the template of email should be contemporary. Always follow the structure of formal letter with every rule or parameter taken into consideration. Don’t forget to put salutation, and subject of mail in the opening.

· Email Receivers: Keep the receiver email in “To” and others in “BCC”, “CC” to your seniors or team members can also be sent.

· Brevity: Remember to keep it short. The reader would ignore long and tedious mails. You have to value a busy schedule of the reader.

· Wording: Use formal, polite, yet attractive and compelling vocabulary. A second person addressing gives a personal touch and it would impress the reader.

· Accuracy: Ensure that the mail has crisp and clear words, and it should be properly addressed. Go for spell check to guarantee that there are no spelling errors. Also, ensure there should be no grammar mistakes. The content should be precise and unblemished.

· Signature: The signatures should be given at the end in a defined format:

1. Thanks/ Regards,

2. Yours faithfully/ Sincerely, Truly,

3. Name of sender,

4. Designation of sender,

5. Contact information with the mobile number and email,

6. Company website and logo,

7. Link to social media.