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Chapter 3 Using Words:
Verbal Communication
Chapter 8 Letters, e-mails
and text messages
Chapter 3 Using Words:
Verbal Communication
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7.
Plain English
Active voice vs. Passive voice
Metaphors
Idioms
Cliches & empty language
Euphemism
Jargon & specialist terminology
Using plain English
Plain English is a term used to describe clear
and concise use of the English language that
avoids unnecessary jargon or complication.
To make your English clearer, aim to
 use shorter words
 use fewer words
 use ‘pictures’ if possible
 ensure grammatical accuracy
Using the Right Voice
Active Voice
Passive Voice
Subject + Verb + Object
Object + Verb + Subject
Jane wrote the letter.
The letter was written by Jane.
Which one is preferable in business writing,
active voice or passive voice?
Active voice vs. Passive voice (1)
Avoid passive voice in order to make your
writing lively and direct
The new procedure was developed
by the operations team.
The operations team developed the
new procedure.
Legal problems are created by this
contract.
This contract creates legal problems.
Active voice vs. Passive voice (2)
However, use passive voice when you need to
be diplomatic or want to avoid personal
pronouns to create an objective tone.
You lost the shipment.
The shipment was lost.
I recruited seven programmers last month.
Seven programmers were recruited
last month.
Words that challenge
communication
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Metaphors
Idioms
Cliches & empty language
Euphemism
Jargon & specialist terminology
Metaphor
a word or phrase used to describe sb/sth else, in a
way that is different from its normal use, in order to
show that the two things have the same qualities
and to make the description more powerful
Feeling Happy
I’m feeling up
That boosted my spirits
The height of ecstasy
Feeling Sad
Her spirits sank
The depths of misery
He fell into a depression
Idiom
A group of words whose meaning is different from
the meanings of the individual words.
Let the cat out of the bag
To tell a secret by mistake
A high flyer
A person who is very ambitious
A cold fish
A person who seems unfriendly and
without strong emotions
Cliches & empty language
Words and expressions that have become so over-used
that they lose their original meaning.
Empower
1. to give official authority or legal power to
2. to promote the self-actualization or to strengthen
Hot spot
1. A place of political danger.
2. A lively nightclub.
3. An area on the screen which can be clicked on to start
an operation such as loading a file.
4. An area where you can get connected to the Internet
through a wireless network.
Euphemism
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innocuous word(s) used to disguise or reduce the
impact of an unpleasant reality, e.g. ‘passed away’
rather than ‘died’.
Instead of This
Write This
o Used cars
 Pre-owned vehicles
o Cheap merchandise
 Economy merchandise
o Elderly person
 Senior citizen
o Pimples and zits
 Complexion problems
Jargon & specialist terminology
Distinctive vocabulary or specialist terminology that is used by
specialist groups, but which may be unfamiliar to wider audiences.
Bond
1. Strong connection between people or groups
2. The ropes or chains keeping prisoner; anything that stops you from
being free to do what you want
3. (Finance) an agreement by a government or a company to pay you
interest on the money you have lent; a document containing this
agreement
4. (Chemistry) the way in which atoms are held together in a chemical
compound
5. (Law) a legal written agreement or promise
6. (Law) (especially NAmE) a sum of money that is paid as bail
7. (SAfrE) a legal agreement by which a bank lends you money to
buy a house, etc. which you pay back over many years
Chapter 8 Letters, e-mails and
text messages
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Types of business letters
Style and content of a letter
Format of an internal memo
Format of an email
Text messaging and
Instant messaging
Some examples of widely used business letters
Type of
letter
Sender
Promotional
Marketing
Prospective Increase brand awareness,
department customer
stimulate sales
Credit
control
Accounts
Customer
department
Speed up customer payments
Supplier
payments
Accounts
Supplier
department
Avoid conflict over firm's late
payment
Complaints
Customer
services
Customer
Keep customer loyalty by
prompt action
Employment Human
contract
resources
Employee
Provide accurate information on
pay and conditions
Human
resources
Employee
Inform, meet legal obligations
and provide appropriate support
Redundancy
Receiver
Typical communication
objectives
Structure of a business letter
Figure 8.2 Structure of a business letter
A letter in fully blocked layout with ‘open’
punctuation
Figure 8.1 A letter in fully blocked layout with ‘open’ punctuation
Prompt questions when deciding on
the style and content of a letter
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What is your relationship to this person or organisation?
Are there related factors you should take into account?
Does it include everything that is essential?
Are the sentences clear and concise?
Does the tone of the letter appear appropriate?
What is the letter trying to achieve?
Could the wording of the letter be misinterpreted?
If the roles were reversed, how would you react to the
letter?
Typical format for an internal memorandum
Figure 8.4 Typical format for an internal memorandum
E-mail: channel characteristics,
formats and applications
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Non-interruptible (i.e. the receiver cannot ask for
clarification mid-way through the message, as in
a conversation).
Leaves a permanent record of what has been
said.
Almost synchronous (i.e. happens in real time,
without any time delay, so that the sender sends
the message and the receiver instantaneously
receives it).
Format of a typical e-mail
Figure 8.5 Format of a typical e-mail
Text messaging and instant messaging
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Advantage? – synchronous communication, happens
in real time, without any time delay, without the kind
of time delay that occurs with an exchange of letters.
The future – the Gartner Group predicts that ‘by 2011,
instant messaging will be the de facto tool for voice,
video and text communications in business’ replacing
the relatively inaccessible e-mail (Cane 2007).
Misuse? – e.g. staff at Accident Group, a personal
injury specialist, informed by text message that they
had lost their jobs.
Summary of Chapter 3
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In general, organisational communication is
improved through the consistent use of plain
and unambiguous language.
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The basic principles of plain English are: use
fewer words, use shorter words and use
pictures in place of words, where appropriate.
(the use of pictures will be discussed further in
Week 39).
Summary of Chapter 3 (continued)
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Careful consideration should be given in using
metaphors, idioms, clichés, euphemisms and
jargons.
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Correct use of grammar, spelling and
punctuation is also an important discipline that
can reduce the scope for misunderstanding and
increase the speed of communication (to be
discussed further in Week 41).
Summary of Chapter 8
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Letters remain an important communication
channel for a variety of organisational purposes.
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Today, letters are normally prepared in a ‘fully
blocked’ page layout with ‘open’ punctuation.
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Style and content of letters should reflect the
receiver and the purpose of the message.
Summary of Chapter 8 (continued)
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The internal memorandum (or ‘memo’) has been
largely superseded by e-mail, which has adopted
aspects of its original format.
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Text messaging and instant messaging are the new
hybrids which combine characteristics of text-based
and conversational communication. However, a lack
of consensus over communication practices remain
problematic.