By Sangeet Sharma

The beauty of English Language is that it changes and adapts itself to express ideas freely. It even absorbs words from foreign languages to maintain its cutting edge in the power of expression. Thus we have Indian words like “hawala”, “bandh”, “dhaba”, and “chamcha”, in the English lexicon. And the latest in the series is “Badmash”.

Model Business Letters, Emails & Other     Business Documents      Sixth Edition      By Shirley Taylor      Pearson Education      496 Pages    Price: Rs 225.00

If we compare English as it is spoken today to a decade ago, perceptible differences can be observed. But when it comes to Letter Writing, we unconsciously follow an unwritten guideline to show that the letter has been written during the Raj era of our great grandfathers. Some of the stuffy examples of this type are “Please be advised”, “For your reference and perusal...”, “I would like to inform you...” etc. This style may have been appropriate during the British Raj, but now it restricts the free expression of ideas and sounds boring. Business documents should accurately convey ideas because billions of bucks depend on them.

“Model Business Letters, Emails & Other Business Documents” is a step in this direction and shows how to write in a conversational style. This book contains 30 chapters and is divided into four parts. 

The first part is “Written Communications - an overview”. Although it is the shortest among the four, it should not be ignored as it shows the importance of presentation of a business document. The first chapter is about printed stationery as it is the starting point of any business communication. This is followed by structure, language and tone of any communication. Email being one of the greatest inventions of this era has seen explosive growth. This growth has created some problems. Taylor discusses the top ten diseases plaguing Email communication and shows how to follow Netiquette to make Email work for you, not against you.

The second part, “Routine business documents” deals with enquiries, quotations, tenders, orders, invoicing and other business correspondence. To the non-business person this might give an idea about tons of correspondence that goes behind completing a simple-looking business deal.

the third part deals with “Creative and Persuasive Documents.” These are the documents where creativity and imagination of the writer take precedence in such typical situations as handling complaints, goodwill messages, advertising, sales marketing and publicity matters. Successful writers of these types of documents occupy top positions.

The final part deals with “Classified Business Letters.” It dwells upon writing documents for agencies, international trade, transport, banking and insurance. Much of this unit concerns day-to-day activities such as how a bank corresponds with its clients, transportation of household goods, getting insurance and filing claims.

Leonard Gartside originally wrote this book in 1971. Shirley Taylor, who has written several bestsellers on communication, has authored recent editions of this book. It is one of the international bestsellers and has sold more than 3,25,000 copies.

This title contains over 500 specimen documents for a wide range of business situations. The aim of this book is to help you write clearly in today’s fast-paced world and earn the trust and confidence of your readers; and it succeeds in its aim.

By Sangeet Sharma

The title and cover design of this book gives an impression of it being a routine dry book on business communication. However, the moment you read the first page you are gripped. It starts with a real life example of an interesting company and the rest of the chapter develops on that theme. At the end of the chapter the same company comes into picture where the reader is put into a challenging situation. So is the case with all the eighteen chapters.

Business Communication Today      Seventh Edition      By Courtland L. Bovee, John V.Thill,     Barbara E. Schatzman       Pearson Education      704 Pages    Price: Rs 360.00    Available with all major book stores in metros and towns    all over India.

The title makes it seem a bit out of place for Technical Writers; however, its treatment of all types of communication in an office environment renders it an invaluable aid in advancing one’s career or business prospect. Technical writers with their penchant for writing simple English should be able to appreciate it.

This book lays the foundations of Business Communication in a global perspective. Companies have offices and clients in foreign countries and foreign workers in workplaces. When we communicate in an office, business or any organizational environment, there is a definite purpose and goal behind it; and it can be verbal, nonverbal, spoken, written, or a combination of these. Moreover, communicating across cultures can be complicated. For example, a contract represents the end of negotiation amongst U.S. businesses, while for Chinese it is the beginning and they may quite often ask to change the terms of agreement. What is desirable in one culture may be offensive in another. The book explains cultural differences as a line falling between High Context Culture and Low Context Culture in a simple and effective way.

For information to be of some value, it should be factual while conforming to ethical standards. Suppose sales increase by 17 percent and you say "Sales have skyrocketed," or if your company loses money and you say "Negative cash flow has just been experienced". Both the statements are not wrong factually, but at the same time correct picture is not projected which is unethical. Communication presents plenty of scope and enticements for such acts, so authors keep readers focused on ethics. Numerous situations and exercises have been given, which force the readers to think from an ethical viewpoint.

One of the important principles of writing explained in this book is the "three-step writing process," which consists of planning, writing and completing a message. These steps can be used for any type of message: memo, email, reports or even an oral presentation.

Although messages can be presented to a group of people through written documents, nothing can beat the impact of an effective oral presentation. While it may seem as simple as talking, once delivered, it cannot be revised like a written document. Thus it is important to design before delivering oral presentations. Here the authors present their views for mastering the art of speaking using visual aids and importantly maintaining control over questions and answers.

Availability of accurate information is one of the major requirements for businesses, without which business plans and proposals cannot be written. The book recommends forming a research strategy to achieve this objective. Collecting primary data, types of secondary resources, effective database search, interview questions and determining the credibility of information are discussed.

Besides providing lots of practical information, the book also shows the hidden treasure available on the World Wide Web. Whether you are looking for business communication material, want to learn instant messaging, require tips on reducing legal liability or want to speak with flair, all are revealed here.

After reading this bestselling book, what should the reader do next? Start writing resume and prepare to face interviews! The last part of book is dedicated to this purpose. After revealing the secrets of effective business communication in a global economy, the authors do the same for job hunting. They show how hiring practices are changing, and guide even those who are still studying. When we apply for a job, we should learn about the organization and also its hiring process. The book lists 16 possible interview questions. These questions along with their answers would be quite useful even for experienced job seekers.

Resume writing is explained using a three-step process for solicited as well as unsolicited resumes. Besides writing resumes there are other employment-related information. There are cover letters accompanying resumes, job inquiry letters, follow up, thank-you letters and finally the resignation letter.

With over 700 pages, this large book would remind you of your student days. "Business Communication Today" is actually a textbook, which has been accorded an award in textbook excellence by Text and Academic Authors Association in 2000. (http://www.taaonline.net/awards/archivetextys.html) It is one of the largest selling in its category with over 1.5 million copies sold so far. It is being used as textbook in many universities around the world.

The book also comes with lots of supplementary packages for instructors like Instructors Resource Manual, Test Item File, Computerized Test Manager and a PowerPoint presentation. For students, a Study Guide and Video Series is available. Finally there is Internet support at http://www.coursecompass.com and http://vig.prenhall.com/

The authors are distinguished personalities in the field of Business Communication. Courtland L. Bovee is professor of Business Communication at Grossmont College. John V. Thill is CEO of "Communication Specialists of America and Barbara E. Schatzman is President of "Summit One Global Business Solutions."