English_books / New Cambridge Advanced

s far back as biblical times businessmen have used powerful communication

to achieve wealth and position. Even today the right message at

the right time can lead to sweet success.

Want money? A promotion? To sell something? Explain something? Then write a good letter.

Letter writing is not a lost art just a forgotten one. The principles still exist. If you try them you'll see improvement in your very next letter.

TO BEGIN WITH

1. Start from the end. Decide what you'd like to happen as the result of your letter.

Make a list of all the things you'd like to say. Look them over. Find any that don't support your main cause, and cross them off without remorse.

Remember, the best letters have a strong sense of purpose.

2. Get to the point early. If your reader wanted a mystery, he'd be reading Raymond Chandler. A letter should tell whodunit in the first paragraph.

3- Put yourself in your reader's place. Think: if the same letter came to you, how would you respond?

Therefore, be friendly. Be nice. And find ways to turn negative statements into positive ones.

NO BUSINESS-ESE

4. Say it plainly. There is no such thing as a "business language". Phrases like "in compliance with your request and enclosed herewith" will only make you seem like a robot. Write the way you talk, naturally.

Keep your sentences short - one idea in each. Any sentence longer than two typed lines is automatically suspect.

5. Clear the deadwood. Chop out words, sentences, and even

whole paragraphs if they don't contribute. Work hard so your reader won't have to.

In particular, cast a questioning eye on adjectives. They can sap the strength from your words, or stretch your credibility. As Voltaire put it, "The adjective is the enemy of the noun."

6. Use active verbs. Face it, the passive voice is wimpy. 'A decision has been reached by the committee" wouldn't last three rounds in the ring with "The committee has reached a decision."

Also, your reader will sniff a coverup if you write: "Your order has been misplaced" instead of "I misplaced your order." Courage!

7. Be human. Your letter should read like a conversation, not a decree. Address your reader by name:

"Dear Ms Hartman." And if you can fit it in naturally use Ms Hartman's name once or twice in the body. You want her to know you wrote the letter just for her.

Whenever you can, use pronouns like /, we and you. Especially you - it's an arrow straight to your reader's heart.

BE POSITIVE

8.Never write in anger. Your anger will evaporate; your letter won't. President Truman often vented his fury in letters. He also had the sense never to send them.

Devise a way to handle the problem in an upbeat manner. Your chances of success will multiply tenfold.

9.End it with an action step. The last sentence of your letter should suggest the reader's next move. Or your own next move.

Resist the hat-in-hand, shuffling type of exit: 'Again, thank you for ..." or "If you have any problems, please don't hesitate to call."

Instead, try closing with a plain and simple "Sincerely", and your signature. It may be the perfect ending.

10.Be professional. The strongest business letter in the world can't survive a bad presentation.

Set up a clean, logical format for your letter. A crowded or overdesigned page will distract from your message.

11.Develop a regimen. The keys to powerful correspondence are 1) writing often, and 2) responding quickly.

If it sounds like work, read on.

WRITE FOR POWER

The easiest way to more powerful correspondence is QuickLetter™ from Working Software.

Unlike heavy-duty word processors, QuickLetter is designed to do one thing and one thing only - write letters fast.

Here's how:

QuickLetter's built-in address book places your reader's name and address into your letter. Automatically.

QuickLetter's page preview displays your letter, vertically centred, in the format you've defined. Automatically.

QuickLetter addresses any size envelope. Automatically.

And the list of features goes on. There you have it. All the secrets of brilliant business correspondence

at your fingertips. Except one. And you can pick that up at your local software store.

OR

Write a letter to your rich Uncle Peter in the USA, asking him to lend you some money for a round-the-world trip. You forgot to write him a thank-you letter when he sent you $50 for your birthday.

1Show your completed letter to a partner. Would he or she let you stay/lend you money after reading the letter?

2Write a postcard in reply to your partner's letter as if you were the Browns or Uncle Peter (about 50 words).

If you don't feel like writing a letter, or don't have the time, why not send a picture postcard? Although people like to receive personal letters, postcards can be more permanent - lots of people keep them and pin them up on their wall.

Whether you turn to Chronicle for nostalgia, enlightenment, reference or simply for fun, this unique book will be a treasured and much-read possession in every home. For the youngest and oldest, it is the book of our lifetimes.

There has never been a century like it - and never a book like Chronicle. This lavishly-illustrated book gives you a front-row seat for all the dramas of the century - from world wars to the fashions of the day - as they happened, with all the immediacy and excitement of tonight's television news.

Follow the lives of legendary figures such as Winston Churchill, recapture the whiff of scandals such as King Edward's abdication, thrill to great sporting victories, be chilled by disasters such as Aberfan, marvel at scientific discoveries and cheer at artistic triumphs from Picasso's first exhibition to the Beatles' first record - it's all in Chronicle, as fresh and dramatic as today's news.

Now, at last, it is available in an edition specially prepared for Great Britain, almost entirely new and reflecting the distinctly British perspective on a century that began when Queen Victoria was monarch to much of the world. With thousands of illustrations, many in full colour, this book captures the changing social and cultural life of our turbulent times.

Chronicle of the 20th Century is more than a book; it's an experience, taking you back in time to relive history as it happens. No wonder it's been a bestseller wherever it has been published with more than two million copies sold in Germany, France and the United States.

2Discuss these questions:

•What distinguishes Chronicle from other history books?

•What other editions of Chronicle have been published?

•How is the British edition different from other editions?

Chronicle of the 20th Century puts you there when man first flies an aeroplane or invents the "talking pictures". Discover what happened at the great moments of history - the Russian Revolution, the rise of Hitler, the D-Day landings, the bombing of Hiroshima, the assassination of President Kennedy and the Moon landing.

Coverage of all major fields of popular culture: film, music, fashion, design, sport, media

Imaginatively illustrated with photographs and full-colour artwork

Special features highlight events and personalities of particular interest

Chronological tables and datafiles provide factual reference at a glance

Text includes biographies of some 300 key figures of modern popular culture

Forthcoming titles in this series

Power: A Political History of the 20th Century

Wealth and Poverty: An Economic History of the

20th Century

The Family: A Social History of the 20th Century

The Arts: A History of Expression in the 20th Century

Science: A History of Discovery in the 20th Century