【正文】 our personal life. The volume and costs of business munication are great。 and partly from our choice of words, images, and sentence patterns. Vigorous sentences are characterized by active verbs, concrete nouns, and a minimum of wellchosen modifiers. Vigorous language aids understanding and makes our message more memorable. It also conveys confidence and conviction. No one will be fooled by typical anizational doublespeak such as “we plan to devote considerable effort to the study of developing requirements and will seek to develop proposed solutions to the various possible needs we can foresee well in advance of the time that a decision will be needed.” This sentence violates all the criteria for vigor. “We plan to” should be “we are acting now.” repeated words, such as develop and developing, and repeated meanings, such as considerable and well, are padding. Useless modifiers such as proposed and possible weaken the impact of key nouns. “Will be needed,” a passive construction, begs the questions by whom and when? “We will present our remendations for expanding our product line on November 1” takes onethird the space, sticks in the mind, and conveys much more vigorous information. 中國最大管理資源中心 Principles of effective munications Positiveness and optimism In the English vocabulary, there are certain words and phrases that evoke in us an unfavorable mental reaction towards the product or service referred to. Thus, a department store does not put up a sign saying “plaint department”, because it would stimulate an unpleasant association. The term “Adjustment Bureau” or “Customer Service Department”, on the other hand, makes the customer look forward to a helpful, favorable and positive response. What would be customers? reaction to an order form with the printed statement: “to avoid errors and mistakes in shipping, plete the order form as directed”? Their immediate “picture reaction” to this sentence is obvious. They can only see their order delayed or lost and anticipate being billed for merchandise they will never receive — it would be far better to tear up the order form and do business elsewhere. That is why the messages on most order forms do everything possible to stimulate a favorable reaction, a positive picture. It is far better to state: “Please plete the order form as requested for accurate and rapid shipment of merchandise.” What triggers different reactions to these two statements? It is the words themselves. Certain words in English culture, used in a specific context, induce mental associations that are not favorable (negative), while others evoke a positive response. Negative: We hope you will not be dissatisfied with the new AllAmerican Line. Positive: We are sure you will be satisfied with the new AllAmerican Line. Negative: We do not believe you will encounter trouble and difficulty in the installation of the new equipment. Positive: For quick and efficient installation of the new equipment, please follow the directions contained in the instructional manual. Under most conditions, it is wise to avoid words, which precipitate a negative or unfavorable response. Words such as “trouble”, “dissatisfaction”, “plaint”, “neglect”, “errors”, and “negligence” usually result in unfavorable mental associations for the product or service under discussion. Tact The quality of tact in munication is certainly abstract and, as such, somewhat difficult to define. If 中國最大管理資源中心 we are to ask the man in the street, he might say “Tact is saying the right thing at the right time in the right way”2[2]. But when we are trying to write a tactful letter, what is the right thing to say? When is the right time? What is the right way? It is clear that the standard definition of tact is not an adequate guide. Like so many other factors in munication, tact is intimately involved with words, their use and their interpretation. If we say, “We failed to include the order form”, or “We were surprised we did not understand the directions”, or “We received your letter in which you claimed we did not ship”, we are certainly being tactless. Is it because of the denotations of the key words, “we failed”, “we were surprised”, or “we claimed”, or is it their connotations? Words, which have simple basic meanings, can assume special connotations in specific contexts and result in statements which are interpreted as tactless and discourteous. What is the answer? It is simple. Avoid words or phrases, which may antagonize or embarrass. Pointing out another?s error can be done in such a manner that the other person will not “l(fā)ose face” if we choose the right words. Tactless: We received your letter in which you claim we did not send… Better: Thank you for your letter concerning our shipment of December 3. Tactless: We were surprised you did not understand the specifications we sent… Better: We are sending a more plete set of specifications for the job, which we feel, will… Tactless: You failed to indicate the colour you preferred… Better: Please indicate the colour you prefer and we will ship immediately. Significance of effective munication Creating a good reputation Effective munication to people outside the anization can help create a good reputation and have a positive impact on ultimate business success. The right letter, proposal, report, telephone call, or personal conversation can win back a disgruntled customer, create a desire for a firm?s product or service, help negotiate a profitable sale, encourage collections, motivate performance, and in general, create goodwill. 2[2] Sherron Bienvenu and Paulk. Timm. Business Communication: Discovering Strategy, Developing Skills. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, 20xx, P89 中國最大管理資源中心