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The essentials which go to make up a good business letter may be divided into two classes – mechanical make-up, and contents. Before a letter can come into existence the mechanical side must be attended to. The subject matter may be pertinent and well composed and yet the letter itself be so arranged typo-graphically and so disposed on the page that the unity of the whole is lost.

The display as a whole should balance. Before the stenographer starts the address, calculation should be made as to how many lines the letter will run and as to how it should be disposed on the page. The body of the letter should neither be crowded near the top nor bottom of the sheet, but should be so placed that, viewed in connection with the letter head, it presents a well balanced and artistic effect.

This effect is often underrated, being in fact passed by without a thought by the average stenographer, and the ordinary business man is so busy seeing that his dictation is correctly transcribed that he gives little thought to this essential. Harmony of color effect should be observed. A yellow paper bearing the firm announcement in blue, the letter in green and signed with purple ink is not to be recommended.

Letters blurred in copying and wet from the press or otherwise violating the rule of neatness cannot help but produce an unfavorable impression. Orthography and capitalization, particularly of proper names, should be exact and uniform.

A misspelled word in the body of a letter, particularly if a mere transposition of letters in typewriting, may occasionally slip in and do no particular damage, but the misspelling of the name of the party addressed may lose an order, and cannot help but militate against the general effect of the letter. Neatness uncompromising neatness – that should be the first effect of a letter, giving the idea that the firm putting out the writing is thorough master of the minor (as well as the major) details of its business.

Contents

In letter-writing, contents may be divided into subject matter and expression. The subject matter is, broadly speaking, what the writer says. This should coincide with two other things:

(1) what the writer wants to say, and
(2) what the one addressed wants to know.

Something which is the a b c of life and a mere matter of routine to the writer in a certain line may be abstruse and complicated to a non-technical reader. To avoid an offensive simplicity of language on the one hand and excessive technicality on the other is one of the tests of a good business correspondent. There is a tendency to slight simple questions asked by different inquirers day after day, which must be avoided by putting oneself in the place of the one asking the question, and giving the knowledge for which he is looking.

One of the most, if not the most, important essentials of a good business letter lies in correct expression. The one thing which causes more failures in business correspondence than any other, is the incorporation of personal peculiarities in a letter. There may be called to mind, in fact, more than one established business backed by ample capital, having a broad field and financed by capable and conservative business men, that is at the mercy of a poor correspondent. This is ably expressed by Forrest Crissy, who says:

“So apparent must be the importance of this branch (tact and tone in business letters) of business systematization, that scarcely a word of argument is needed to enforce its necessity. Very recently a large whole-sale merchant said to me:

‘I have recently been obliged to discharge the head of my credit department – my confidential man. He is honest, conservative and shrewd, but recently I have been awakened to the fact that his incapacity to write a letter which does not leave a sting, a chill, or at least a sense of lofty indifference, is hurting my business more than would some downright reckless blunders. When he writes a letter granting a good customer a larger line of credit he gives it a twist that somehow makes that customer wish he hadn’t asked for credit and thus placed himself under added obligations. And if he refuses to meet the request for such a favor the refusal is so put that it seems a studied effort to conceal a strong unwillingness to give any credit at all.

Yet this man has always considered him-self an adept in letter-writing – and for a time he completely hypnotized me into that view. But at last the steady withdrawal of patronage and the occasional out-spoken retorts which his letters provoked forced upon me a recognition of the real condition of affairs. Then I went out after a man who could write a business letter that had just the right ring to it; that was neither so sloppy that it sounded hypocritical or so stiff and stilted that there was no tone of good hearty business friendliness in it.

I have found him. He comes high, but the difference in results is remarkable. Of course, there are other things required than this form of literary ability – that’s what you’d call it. He must have business experience, business judgment and all the other cardinal business virtues; but the addition of this peculiar capacity to write business letters that hit the mark is a rare gift and makes him a star man.’ ”

Simplicity and clearness as an element of expression cannot be rated too highly. The saying of a thing in the plain language of the common people, not only adds to the style and dignity of a letter, but has the most vital element of being understandable. As Chas. R. Weirs says, “Eloquence, either real or imaginary, has no place in a business letter.”

Whatever else may be neglected in writing, courtesy should not be slighted. A man may be told nearly anything face to face – it is qualified by the bearing, tone of voice, manner and earnestness of the speaker. A sentence may be given an entirely different meaning by a tone or gesture – it may even be diplomatically changed after partly spoken, to make it conform to the unconscious demand of the listener, and most of all spoken speech is transient. What is written, on the other hand, is put down in black and white to stay. The record is permanent. It can be offered in evidence, can be dug up years afterwards from a musty file, and discourteously written can queer, not only an immediate sale, but the sales of a decade.

Length

Letters often tend to verbosity from the fact that they are dictated instead of written. Were a man to write his letters himself with pen and ink he would study brevity and conciseness of expression, but having letters written for him, he will dictate more than he would write. Brevity is not always desirable. Some people – particularly those receiving few letters – like to receive lengthy correspondence. Getting few letters, they wish those long and newsy.

A letter is an event to some patrons and cannot be too long for a careful perusal. In this class of letters the party ad-dressed may be often appealed to in conversational style; as, “Judge of the goods yourself, Mr. Brown,” “We ask you, Mr. Smith, if we have not treated you fairly?” etc. At the other extreme is the business man, particularly the city business man. To him, brevity to the point of curtness is always welcome. As someone has alliteratively said, the formula for a business letter to a busy man is: Sir: Say it. Stop!

Judging the Other Man’s Letter.

One of the pre-requisites of a good correspondent is the ability, inherent or acquired to judge the general character and status of the writer by means of his letters. Until the last few years the letter-head of a firm was a considerable guide to the standing of the company putting It out, but good printing is now much more common and many one-horse concerns put out conservative, well-gotten-up stationery.

Ability to recognize the efforts of an amateur or schoolboy inquiring for a catalog with no intention of buying and to treat the writer accordingly, call for almost occult powers. The president of one of the large machinery companies putting out a cement mixer selling at $850.00, relates that one of the company travelers visited Detroit in response to an apparently good lead and found a twelve-year-old boy wanted a dozen cement mixers “to go into the mail-order business with.”

Some companies putting out expensive catalogs write a letter asking a doubtful inquirer to fill out an information blank before sending a catalog. The correct interpretation of the personality of a writer means the saving of dollars of expenditure as well as the ability to write him correctly. In a fire insurance concern employing hundreds of agents it would be easy for a manager to inform himself through his special agents as to each agent’s nationality, education, experience in the business, etc., and vary his correspondence accordingly, while a mail order house might have no means of judging a man but by his bare letter.

Form Letters

A form letter is one of a series of letters, to be sent on similar occasions. Such letters are usually in imitation typewriting with blanks left for the name of the party addressed, and when carefully executed are a close imitation of a typewritten letter. Form letters vary from those not to be distinguished from actual typewriting, to the stock letters of collection agencies, in which no attempt is made to imitate the machine. Some writers use a number of short forms or inserts which they use in dictating to avoid a repetition of dictation.

Letters of Recommendation

The promiscuous writing of letters of recommendation has done much to cheapen the effect of recommends. Many firms refuse such letters entirely. Perhaps the best plan is to have an employee, when leaving, use his former employer’s name as a reference.

This is an extract from The Businessmans Encyclopedia http://shopping.directorygold.com/zen/descriptions/lf/Business_Mans_Encyclopedia.htm
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At some point in our lives most of us will be working for someone else, so it is important to fully understand what makes our boss tick and how best to interact and influence him or her. How much attention have you given to your boss’s personality style? How does she function? What seems to agitate or please her? If we have a difficult boss we focus on what drives us crazy. If we have a great boss we tend to take things for granted. Recognizing the factors which contribute to creating the most successful, powerful working relationship is a skill to be utilized throughout one’s career.

One of the ways to do this is by identifying your boss’s personality type. Let’s look at a few examples. Jo’s boss is extroverted, high energy, with lots of ideas which he makes happen. He tends to move quickly and rarely acknowledges the good work his staff does. He assumes they know he appreciates and values them. Bill’s boss is hard working and organized but tends to micromanage her staff. Bill worries that his boss does not trust him to do his job and therefore would not recommend him for a promotion. These are two different kinds of bosses, with different personality types. What does this mean for their colleagues and staff?

According to Mike Lillibridge who is one of the creators of the PeoplemapTM Personality Types, there are four Personality Types: Leader, People, Free Spirit and Task. Generally most people are a combination of two. The clearer you are on what type your boss is, as well as your type, the more capable you become in understanding how he functions, what are the strengths and weaknesses and how you can achieve the best results in working together.

Leader types are results oriented. They see the big picture and want to make it happen. They describe themselves as being assertive, honest, face problems directly and are willing to make hard decisions. Further, they admit to at times being impatient with others and often forget the importance of complimenting and acknowledging others.

People types are relationship oriented. They seek out others, enjoy working collaboratively, tend to be great communicators and listeners and enjoy helping others. They describe themselves as being social, caring, tend to seek approval and avoid conflict. This can lead to them having difficulty making decisions which others may not like.

The Free Spirit personality seeks adventure and excitement. They are risk takers and think outside the box. They tend to be great at problem solving, very creative and operate well in crises, but have difficulty with details and follow through. Hard handed authority does not work well with them and they are often easily distracted and bored by mundane tasks.

The last personality type is the Task type. They love work and organize themselves and others through having concrete plans and systems to manage all situations. They are good detail people and thrive on predictability. Their downfall is that they can be demanding of themselves and others in terms of expecting perfection and have great difficulty adjusting to change.

As you review these personality types, it will probably be fairly obvious to you which ones best describe you. Remember, generally we have qualities of at least two. Now think about your boss and which types best describe him/her. Is it similar or different from you?

Let’s return to our two examples. Jo’s boss is a Leader, Free spirit, while Jo is a People, Task. They are quite opposite, but at the same compliment each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The clearer Jo becomes in recognizing her boss’s personality style, the less upset she is with his “way of doing things”. She begins to value and learn from him and develops the comfort to make suggestions which will be helpful to him, such as acknowledging his staff more directly.

Bill’s boss is Task, Leader type, while Bill is People, Task type. Since they both are Task, they tend to focus on the detail and feel better when they know everything is taken care of. When Bill understands that his Boss is similar to him, then he is able to recognize that she does trust him, but becomes preoccupied with the details, just like him. He is able to use his people skills to develop a more collaborative relationship with her.

Understanding your boss’s personality as well as your own, creates a more effective and positive working relationship. When you come from a position of wanting to work well together, even when there are differences, it leads to a win-win situation. If you are interested in learning more about the PeoplemapTM personality assessment and how to use it in creating the most productive and favorable workplace, please contact me.

Copyright 2007, Gail Solish.

Gail Solish, provides Executive/Personal coaching to managers, directors and executives focused on workplace development and relationship management. Claim your FR-EE e-course “Unleash Your Potential and Increase Productivity and Fulfillment” at http://www.ActualizeYourGoals.com

Over the years, companies have searched for many solutions that would help them keep up with emerging technology. During that time, there have been many software packages developed specifically for corporations that deal with a high volume of customers over a short period of time. That is one reason why speech recognition is now being used in a variety of settings to help customers obtain answers to questions, pay bills, and conduct numerous other business-related tasks that traditionally required a live person.

While speech recognition still has a long way to go before it is even close to being perfected, it has been improved upon immensely over the past several years, and is now a very effective means for many types of business transactions, especially where customers are concerned. Because it is still quite volatile in nature, speech recognition technology is most commonly used in situations where only a few pieces of information are necessary, i.e. one’s name, phone number, and account number. Still, it has helped to expedite business quickly, and guide customers to the right live person for further assistance.

Another area where speech recognition software is becoming widely used is through unified messaging. This type of system allows employ to retrieve a wealth of information while giving them more than one option for doing so. For example, through unified messaging, you will now be able to retrieve voice mail messages via E-mail, and E-mails messages via the phone. This makes it easier to keep up with important incoming messages you don’t want to miss, and do so literally from any location.

There are several benefits to using unified messaging. The first is that it allows you and your employees the ability to gain flexibility through a wide variety of options. Because of this, it can also help increase the response time for returning important calls or messages. This makes it quite effective.

Unified messaging also helps to increase mobile staff productivity. Even when your employees travel, they will still be able to easily retrieve messages, and return them before even setting foot back in the home office. It also makes them more available should any problems occur that require their immediate attention.

Unified messaging also helps to keep high-value, third-level workers connected. This also decreases the amount of time in which problems are solved, and insures that someone is on it at all times. It also means that more problems can be solved in a shorter amount of time.

Unified messaging also helps to build more effective communication not only between you and your employees, but also between you, your employees, and your customers. This also helps to promote the security your customers have come to depend on, and makes it a viable technological choice for you and your flourishing business.

VoiceGate Corporation is an innovative leader in the voice processing, call logging, predictive dialers and more!

http://www.voicegate.com/dialers.htm

If you work in an environment where you deal with people on a regular basis, it is important that you master a few image management rules. For example, models are required to look fabulous day in and day out. It’s the wow factor nature of the fashion business so models take to great lengths to ensure they look their best all the time.

Corporate jobs, while not as runway glamorous, also require a certain level of presentable-ness. You know what they say…to be successful, you must project success! This comes more into play when it comes to the crucial first impression.

First impressions are crucial when establishing rapport and relationships with others. For instance, if you fail to make a good impression with your professional appearance, you’ll find it harder to convince colleagues to heed your requests or agree with your business decisions simply because they do not ‘see’ you as a business professional.

So do want to make a good first impression? Here’s how!

First Impression That Lasts Tip #1 – Exude Warmth.
Create a warm atmosphere about yourself. Ask yourself – what kind of person would you want to converse with? What type of personality would you be happy dealing with, sharing ideas with, and who would you feel comfortable with to ask for help? Identify how you can best be ‘warm and accommodating’, then make it a goal to genuinely be that kind of person.

First Impression That Lasts Tip #2 – Display a Sense of Humor.
People enjoy someone who knows how to laugh and make light of things at appropriate moments. Good humor contributes considerably to your wow factor. I can also produce a halo effect as others will automatically think you are a fun person to be around. Just remember that some people might not find your jokes or asides funny; know when to be humorous or serious by reading people, situations, and using common sense.

First Impression That Lasts Tip #3 – Demonstrate Confidence.
Be forward and confident. In your quest for personal branding, show people you know what you’re talking about by studying in advance what you have to say or how you are going to make a presentation. You must also strive to practice emotional intelligence when dealing with others; yes, even in the face of big egos and overwhelming personalities. Take charge of yourself, show initiative, master business etiquette, and build your voice power. As your confidence grows, so will your success at interaction with others.

First Impression That Lasts Tip #4 – Look Amazing.
Dress for success. You don’t need to have the most expensive Italian clothes and shoes to make a good first impression but aim for decency and neatness every time. Again, it’s about the wow factor. Let people appreciate your sense of neatness. Sloppiness will turn off most people.

First Impression That Lasts Tip #5 – You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a SMILE!
Smiling is a very important part of establishing and maintaining relationships. We usually don’t give much thought to smiles but if you think about it, the world would be a sad place without them. So it’s in your best interest to be able to up your wow factor and smile with grace and dazzle.

The best way to this is to have some professional tooth whitening done. This can be done through bleaching and you can either go to a dentist or do it yourself with some great over-the-counter tooth bleaching products. The results can be astounding. Whiter teeth mean a more amazing smile which in turn can spread lots of good cheer all around. Don’t underestimate the power of a fresh, white smile. It’s often all you need to seal a great first impression.

First Impression That Lasts Tip #6 – Listen Closely.
People love it when others are listening to them. When you pay attention to someone when they air their thoughts, they feel comfortable and understood. Lend your ear to your clients, customers, and colleagues and they will remember you for your appreciativeness.

First Impression That Lasts Tip #7 – Don’t Strive to be ‘Perfect’
Some people think they have to look and act absolutely perfect all the time; that the wow factor should be constantly working. Well, the truth is, it’s better to be a little less than perfect. Think about it – is there anybody out there who is truly flawless? Not really.

Anyone who pretends to be is immediately exposed as artificial and that’s the last thing you want to register as a first impression about you. Look good, be funny when appropriate, be confident… but don’t pretend to be perfect. It’s okay to be human and that’s what people will eventually love you for: being human and being honest.

Ashley Truitt empowers men and women to increase their Wow Factor through personal development and
image makeovers. For a dazzling first impression you need the confidence of a bright white smile! Go to http://www.novawhite.com/t/am8/ for our amazingly affordable home tooth whitening systems.

How can I understand podcasting?
If you were to ask someone on the street what podcasting is, most of them will not have any idea what you are talking about. They will ask if you said “broadcasting.”

You might explain to them that it is a special audio file that you can listen to on your MP3 player. But even then you would not be doing it justice. Here are some other ways of understanding what podcasting is.

That is one way to think of podcasting: the information that you are interested in delivered to you, without the stuff you don’t want. Some people have called podcasting TiVo radio.

Another way to think of podcasting is like a radio program that is only about your specific interests and when you click the link or synchronize your MP3 player with your computer, it gets downloaded to you automatically.

And a third way to think of podcasting is a targeted audio program for businesses to add value to their customers and prospects, and for organizations to pass information on to their users.

However you think of podcasting, other people will still give you a funny look because it is still in its infancy. In fact, the term “podcasting” was only coined in 2004! It won’t be long, though, and everyone will be talking about it.

How does it work?

Essentially, podcasting allows you to select the things you’d like to listen to, subscribe to them, have them downloaded to your computer or portable audio device, and listen to them when you want to. Once you’ve subscribed, they will update automatically for you, like a magazine you don’t think about until the subscription arrives in your mailbox every month.

What is the advantage of a podcast over other types of broadcasting? Podcasts assimilate radio, portable CD players, and satellite radio, into one convenient format, and allow new uses not previously available.

So what is it that you can listen to? What kinds of podcasting are available? The answer to those questions is this: everything you can possibly imagine! You will be amazed at the volume and variety of podcasts out there and the possibilities that exist.

Just as the Internet has allowed pretty much anybody to create visual files of information and entertainment, called web pages, podcasting has allowed virtually anybody to create audio files of information and entertainment.

While the technical details are not important here, all someone needs in order to become a podcaster is a computer and an Internet hook-up.

You don’t even need a microphone to create your first podcast. (You may want to get one later, but you don’t need one now).

In fact, if you have a telephone and can browse the Internet, you will be able to listen to podcasts and even create your own.

Who can podcast? Anyone can podcast! We’ll go into much greater detail later about who might want to podcast, but generally speaking, there are several reasons why everyone would want to podcast:

Organizations like churches and nonprofits will podcast to keep people up to date with what’s going on, providing news, seminars and speeches, meeting transcriptions, etc.

Businesses will podcast to maintain their name in the marketplace, offer information on products or strategies, and position themselves as the expert in their industry.

Individuals will podcast if they have something to say to the world. Opinions, rants, and artistic offerings are all fair game in podcasting.

Podcasting formats are as varied as the types of podcasts available.

Some podcasts are like monologues where one person simply shares their ideas into a microphone for the listener to hear. Other podcasts are a dialogged between two or more people and may or may not follow format.

Some podcasts are unscripted while others seem to be very scripted. Podcasting contain music, interviews, and while audio podcasts are quite popular now, audio/video podcasts are slowly gaining popularity as well.

Richard Reichmann is internationally known as a millionaire maker.

He’s a leading consultant in real estate and internet marketing strategies that are profit proven.

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