THE YOU APPROACH

 You use the You Approach when you talk to

your audience about your audience.
 Another mark of the You Approach is that it

sets a positive tone.

 A simple way to communicate a positive tone

is to use positive words. For example;

 Have you ever been in a craft store or gift shop

that displayed this sign? “You break it, you
buy it.” When one sees that sign, one gets the
impression that customers are not even
welcomed there.
 This notorious sign might as well say, “Get your
clumsy self away from our stuff!”
 The traditional threat can be replaced with
positive wordings:
 “Allof our pieces are new and are
treasured. If you break one, we will gladly
wrap it for you.”

 When you communicate benefits, freedom,

and positive wording, you prepare yourself to
reap the benefits of the You Approach.
 Courtesy and tact are sometimes achieved by
what is called “you approach.” In other words,
your letter should be reader oriented and sound
as if you share your reader’s point of view.

For example:

Please accept our apologies for the delay.

is perfectly polite. But:

We hope you have not been seriously

inconvenienced by the delay.

lets your reader know that you care.

 The “you” approach does NOT mean you should
avoid “I” and “we” when necessary. When you do use
these pronouns, though, keep a few pointers in mind:

1. Use “I” when you are referring to yourself (or to

the person who will actually sign the letter.)
2. Use “we” when you are referring to the company
itself.
3. DO NOT use the company name or “our company.”

Now compare the two letters that follow, and see if

you recognize the features that make the second
letter more “you-oriented.”
 VERSION A
Dear Mr. Biggs:

Having conducted our standard credit investigation, we

have concluded that it would be unwise for us to grant
you credit at this time.

We believe that the extent of your current obligations

makes you a bad credit risk. As you can understand, it is
in our best interest to grant charge accounts only to those
customers with proven ability to pay.

Please accept our sincere regrets and feel free to

continue to shop at Allen’s on a cash basis.

Sincerely yours,
 VERSION B
Dear Mr. Biggs:

I am sorry to inform you that your application for an

Allen’s charge account has been turned down.

Our credit department believes that, because of your

current obligations, additional credit might be difficult for
you to handle at this time. Your credit reputation is too
valuable to be placed in jeopardy.

We will be delighted, of course, to reconsider your

application in the future should your financial
responsibilities be reduced. Until then, we hope you will
continue to shop at Allen’s where EVERY customer is our
prime concern.

Sincerely yours,
WRITING E-MAIL MESSAGES
 Example 1: Formal
Hello,

I read on your web site that you offer Music CD

copying for large quantities of CDs. I'd like to inquire
about the procedures involved in these services. Are
the files transferred online, or are the titles sent by
CD to you by standard mail? How long does it
usually take to produce approximately 500 copies?
Are there any discounts on such a large quantity?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my

questions. I look forward to your response.

Jack Finley
Sales Manager, Young Talent Inc.
(709) 567 - 3498
 Example 2: Informal
At 16.22 01/07/2002 +0000, you wrote:

> I hear you're working on the Smith account. If you need any
> information don't hesitate to get in contact with me.

Hi Tom,

Listen, we've been working on the Smith account and I was

wondering if you could give me a hand? I need some
information on recent developments over there. Do you think
you could pass on any information you might have?

Thanks

Peter

Peter Thompsen
Account Manager, Tri-State Accounting
(698) 345 - 7843
 Important Points to Remember
 Email is much less formal than a written letter. Emails are
usually short and concise.
 If you are writing to someone you don't know, a simple
"Hello" is adequate. Using a salutation such as "Dear Mr
Smith," is too formal.
 When writing to someone you know well, feel free to write
as if you are speaking to the person.
 Use abbreviated verb forms (He's, We're, He'd, etc.) in
informal emails only.
 Include a telephone number to the signature of the email.
This will give the recipient the chance to telephone if
necessary.
 It is not necessary to include your email address as the
recipient can just reply to the email.
 When replying eliminate all the information that is not
necessary. Only leave the sections of text that are related
to your reply. This will save your reader time when reading
your email.
 DECIDING WHEN TO USE E-
MAILS
Avoid E-Mails when:
 Your message is extremely important
 You need to deliver unpleasant news
 There is a chance your written message will be
misunderstood
 You need an immediate response
 You want to negotiate or hold a give-and-take
conversation
 You need to conduct a lengthy interview
 You want to involve several people in your
decision
 You run the risk of intimidating or turning off the
reader with a written message
 Use E-mails when:
 You want to deliver a message quickly
 You want to communicate directly with the
decision maker
 You want to avoid the expenses of long-distance
phone calls
 You are dealing with a different time zone
 You need to deliver the message to multiple
readers
 You need to maintain a record of your
conversation
 You are on a tight dead line
 You need to stay in touch with your office when
you are on the road
 Collecting your thoughts
 Who is your reader?

 What is the purpose?

 When does the action take place?

 Where does the action take place?

 Why should the reader care about your e-

mail?
 Some useful tips
 Make sure your spellings are correct
 Write a meaningful subject line
 Don’t assume privacy
 Proofread your email
 Avoid short forms
 Avoid all caps
 Use active voice
 Keep your e-mail gender neutral
 Jokes have no place in e-mails
 Use of technical language when appropriate
 No negative comments
 Do not hire or fire through e-mails
 Do not use e-mail to let off steam
 Respect others’ time
 Identify yourself clearly
 Avoid unnecessary attachments
 Do not mail to the world
 Ask permission to forward material
 Keep your editorial comments to yourself
 Treat others as you would have them treat
you
 Respect the organization’s policy on e-mails
 Avoid e-mail if there is any chance your
message will be misunderstood
 Do not rely on e-mails to the exclusion of
personal contact
 Choose the right font:
 Times New Roman-10 point

 Ariel -12 point

 Courier-11 point

 Select appropriate colors (avoid red or green)

 Avoid underlining

 Keep each line short

 Start each sentence with a capital letter

 Controlling your In-Box clutter:
 Do not feel obliged to respond to every
message
 The electronic gate keeper
 Whittle down your mail
 Subject line scan
 Delete all messages from strangers or
senders with odd addresses
 Manage your time wisely
 Scan the first three sentences for the meat of
the message
 Rank your e-mail
 File and archive saved e-mails
 Limit e-mails to four sentences
 Do not send e-mail to colleagues who are
working next door
 Do not use e-mails to schedule lunch or
internal meetings
 Maintain your privacy and perspective
 Never reply to spam
EFFECTIVE SUBJECT LINES

 Clarity
 Descriptive

 Critical information
INEFFECTIVE SUBJECT LINES
EFFECTIVE SUBJECT LINES
EFFECTIVE SUBJECT LINES
EFFECTIVE SUBJECT LINES
EFFECTIVE SUBJECT LINES
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:44:33 +0500
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: _____________________
Subject: HELLO!!!!!

hi Shirley

Hope things r well with u its good 2 know that u will be back in
malaysia again in nov to hold your seminar on

effective biz writing. PLS LET ME HAVE SOME FREE DATE while u r
over here.some bookstores r interested ina talk cum signing event, I
hope u will agree to take part.

Tnks & rgs

Harry
Date Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:44:33 +0500
From [email protected]
To [email protected]
CC _____________________
Subject Book Signing in Malaysia

Hello Shirley

I hope things are well with you.

I was pleased to know that you will be back in Malaysia again in November to hold
your seminar on Effective Business Writing.

Some bookstores are interested in asking you to do a talk and signing event. I
hope you will agree to take part. If so please let me have some free dates while
you are over here.

See you soon

Harry
POOR EMAIL CONTENT
 Jon,
Hey, I was just thinking about the meeting we had about the
new workshop you were planning for next week about
resume-writing. I think that we may have forgotten to
include all of the students who might benefit from this
workshop. There are several groups of students at the
School of Public Health that were not on your list. Of course
you may have added them to you list since our last meeting.
Sara from the School of Public Health contacted me to ask if
the students from the Epidemiology program were on our
list of included students. She also wanted a list of all of the
included departments from the School of Public Health. Can
you send me a list of all of the included student groups? I
can then send the relevant information on to Sara because
she needs this information by tomorrow.

Thanks,
Rachell
BETTER EMAIL CONTENT
Jon,
Can you send me a list of the students included in the
resume-writing workshop by tomorrow?

We may have forgotten to include all of the students

who might benefit from this workshop. There are
several groups of students at the School of Public
Health that were not on your list. Sara from the
School of Public Health contacted me to ask if the
students from the Epidemiology program were on our
list. I will send her that information tomorrow after I
get the list from you.
Thanks,
Rachell
REMEMBER…

 Emails are permanent

 Emails are searchable
Security is, I would say, our top priority
because for all the exciting things you will be
able to do with computers, organize your
lives, stay in touch with people, become
creative. If we don't solve security problems,
then people will hold back. Businesses will be
afraid to put their critical information on it
because it will be exposed.
Bill Gates