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Courtesy for effective business Communication

In business, no one can afford to be impolite or discourteous. Discourteous people will elbowed out of business. We often confuse “business like” as though it means a curt approach. A business-like person is an efficient person. Efficiency involves genuine and sincere courtesy. A business letter should have tact, sincerity and politeness. It is not the mechanical use of “Thank you”,” Please” etc., that show courtesy. It should reflect an inner feeling tactfully without embarrassing the recipient. A business letter should have the proper salutation .iikI apt closing. Do not hesitate to compliment or congratulate the receiver if he deserves it. Compare the two sentences in each pair and see how the second sentence is more courteous than the first one.

1. Your attitude is inexcusable.

We hope you will review the situation / issue.

2. We are amazed at your inability to assess the market trends.

We request you to reassess the market trends.

3. You failed to pay your dues.

We have not received the subscription..

Courtesy also means avoiding gender bias in writing. “Man” for a long time meant men as well as Women. Women resent the gender bias in words like man-power, man-made, best-man for the job. There is an increasing use of the word chairperson for chairman. Instead of saying “Each customer is expected to pay his bill”, say ‘all customers should pay their bills’. Some women resent the use of Mrs / Miss which are indicative of marital status thus showing gender bias. They prefer Ms. to the others.

{ 3 comments… add one }
  • lebogang k lesole October 5, 2011, 9:26 pm

    i love your site am making a presentation about this issue so you have been very helpful

  • jamili February 2, 2015, 9:05 am

    i cannot grant the leave that you have applied for

  • Hamza Khan July 15, 2017, 5:12 pm

    The explanation and examples are very helpfull to understand the concept

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