Lesson 6: Setting the Tone
This lesson examines how you can make language work for you when tackling difficult situations in business.
Setting the Tone
Not only is it important to be able to adjust the style of your writing to different types of business document, it's important to be able to adjust your tone for different circumstances. This includes knowing when to be formal or informal, when to be conciliatory, and how to make effective requests and demands. In this lesson, we look at the ways in which you can adjust your writing to maximum effect.
Although most business communications require a degree of formality, it's useful to know when to be friendly, and how to make your writing reflect a friendly tone. Individual customers often respond well to writing which they feel is slightly more personal, less distant and cold. Even if you are writing to a large corporation, it can be worth your while to come across as a friendly person to the secretary, who will appreciate the difference in a day filled with less considerate communications. Secretaries and administrators who take a liking to you are more likely to prioritize your communications and to do favors for you when, for instance, you need to contact somebody urgently.
Of course, there is a fine line between being friendly and coming across as patronizing. Many customers do not respond well to the "How are you?" and "Have a nice day." approach, which they consider to be obsequious and intrusive. This is particularly true of British and Australian people, in whose countries that approach is not as widely established as it is in America. If you are an American writing to clients in these countries, try to temper your language so as not to seem overly familiar. If you are a British business person writing to an American, try to relax your tone a little so as not to come across as overly formal and stilted. Americans sometimes interpret traditional British formality as arrogance.
It's wise to tailor the level of formality within your business communications to the individual client, wherever that is possible. If you are responding directly to a customer's letter, try to match the level of formality which that customer has used. Exceptions to this will be discussed in the section on dealing with complaints and with problem clients.
Using more of the common abbreviations in English (words like 'can't' and 'isn't) can make your writing seem less formal, as can minimizing the use of technical terms and long words. Informal language uses a smaller vocabulary. Readers shouldn't have to pause to remember the meaning of a word. When you are communicating with people outside your specific field of business (such as general service providers and members of the public), it's particularly important to avoid using words which are only familiar within that field. If you are a doctor, for instance, you shouldn't expect everyone to know what oncology is; if you are a restaurateur, you shouldn't expect everyone to be familiar with the nature of a canapé. Such things can usually be explained using much simpler language.
In certain cases, business writers want to use more obscure terminology to impress, as when applying for funding. This can have a positive effect, but shouldn't be used to excess. You should never come across as if you are trying to impress, or people will suspect a lack of substance behind your words. In these cases, your use of specific terminology should suffice only to make it clear that you are well versed within your field.
When writing in a highly formal style, writers sometimes use long words (usually of French or Latin origin) in order to try and make a good impression. There is nothing strictly wrong with this, but you should be wary of over-reaching yourself. As an editor, I have encountered literally hundreds of cases in which people have used long words whose meanings they didn't fully understand. Often this made them seem slightly ridiculous. In some cases, it led to them saying the opposite of what they intended to say.
Remember that there is no point in using impressive words if your readers are consequently unable to understand you. In literary writing, it's reasonable to expect readers to have an interest in expanding their vocabularies. In business writing, this is not the case. Most people prefer business documents to be simple and clear. The public are often suspicious of documents which they feel may be using obscure language to try and conceal unwelcome information (such as interest payable on credit installments).
When you have finished writing a document, read through it and use a dictionary to look up any words that you are not entirely certain about. If this seems arduous, bear in mind that every time you do it you'll learn something, so there'll be less words to look up in the future. If you want to expand your vocabulary further, the best way to do it is to engage in a great deal of recreational reading. When you read, you learn about new words without even noticing it, and you'll be able to write more confidently as a result.
