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Dear Reader
It's June already! We're almost half way through 2004!
Doesn't time fly? Well my May was full of good things
both professionally and personally - I enjoyed my public
workshops in JB (thanks to ELS) and KL (thanks to
Partners) as well as in Singapore (thanks to JobsDB) as
well as some in-house workshops too.
I also enjoyed the wedding of some very dear friends -
Patrick and Lee Fong (aka Maggie). You can read
more about that in the first section below.
June also looks like being hugely busy, with lots of
in-house as well as public workshops. I'm also looking
forward to doing some shopping in Shanghai when I go
up there this month to speak at the 1st Annual
Shanghai Secretaries' Conference, as well as
conducting 2 one-day workshops there ... plus of
course making many new friends ... oh, and did I
mention shopping!?!
Make June a great month! See you again soon!
Shirley
| Congratulations to Patrick and Maggie |
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In June I was very proud and happy to attend the
wedding of some very dear friends -
Lee Fong and Patrick. What a fabulous day it was,
starting with the Chinese tea ceremony at lunch time
and then the fabulous wedding ceremony and dinner at
the Changi Meridien. The evening was full of fun,
dancing, singing, jokes, speeches,
good friends, and lots of laughter. It was certainly
a totally different kind of wedding, and one that will
remain in the hearts and minds of everyone who was
there. Congratulations to the happy bride and
groom, and may you enjoy many happy years
together. I'm so glad the mandarin ducks worked!! ;-)
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| Writing to persuade - the carrot and stick strategy! |
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I am very pleased to bring you an article contributed by
Tim North about persuasive writing. You'll find many
more helpful tips like these in Tim North's much
applauded range of e-books. FREE SAMPLE CHAPTERS
are available, and all books come with a money-back
guarantee. Check out his website now at
http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com.
Certain types of writing involve doing your utmost to
persuade the reader to accept your recommendations.
Business examples of persuasion include:
- arguing for more staff
- assuring the boss of the merits of a new
project
- convincing management to continue with a
worthwhile program
- encouraging your manager to investigate a safety
hazard
- justifying a budget increase
- promoting your innovative business strategy
- selling a product or service
- supporting your position over that of
others
There's a 5-step process that I call the
carrot-and-stick strategy. It can be very effective in
such situations. The strategy is this: the following 5
elements should be in every attempt to
persuade:
- A clear statement of the reader's problem.
- A clear statement of the consequences for the
reader of not solving the problem.
- A clear statement of your proposed solution to the
problem.
- A clear statement of the benefits to the reader of
solving the problem.
- A clear request for a specific action, eg "Please sign
and return this application".
If you do any writing that involves trying to
persuade your reader in any way, you will want to take
a look at the rest of Tim North's 5 steps in further detail.
The first step is discussed in detail here:
1 The Problem
If you want to get a sleeping teenager out of bed,
simply telling him or her to get up may be only
marginally effective. Pointing out that the house is on
fire is likely to be far more so. Why? The first approach
may be perceived as just another annoying request for
compliance. The second, though, presents a problem:
their problem.
So, if I want to persuade someone to do something
then the first step in the carrot-and-stick strategy is
to convince him or her that they have a problem that
needs to be solved.
Little other than self-interest motivates some people;
others can be paralysed by indecision and only act
when compelled. No matter the situation, no matter the
person, one of the best ways to put people in the mood
to act is to convince them that they have a problem.
In an unsolicited case or proposal this is especially
important as the reader may be completely unaware of
the existence of the problem, and it will be your job to
walk them through it.
Of course, some cases and proposals will be solicited, in
which case the reader presumably already knows that
there's a problem that needs solving. In such cases,
you may need to spend less time explaining it to them.
Never skip this step, though, as the reader may have
forgotten the problem since you last discussed it.
Alternately, she or he may be underestimating how
severe it is.
Continue reading this article on Writing to persuade »
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| Send or take or bring or fetch? |
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One thing I'm often asked in my workshops is when do
we use send, take, bring and fetch? If this is
something that puzzles you, then read on....
If you send your children to school in the
morning, you do not go with them. If you mean that
you drive them to school in the morning, you should use
the word take.
Use take when you are going to hand
something to someone, eg: I must take these
flowers to Mandy in hospital.
Also use take when you are asking someone to
do the delivery, eg: Please take this form to
Accounts Department.
Use bring when the person you are talking to is
at Point B while you are at Point A, and you want the
person to get you something, eg: When we meet
tomorrow, please bring me the book you borrowed.
If the person you are talking to is at the same point as
you are, the word to use is fetch, then the
person will have to go away from you to another point
and return to where you are, eg: Please fetch me a
cup of coffee.
Try these simple sentences, and check the answers
next month:
- I would like to _____ you out for dinner tonight
- My flight is at 7 pm today. Will you please _____
me to the airport?
- When I see you later, will you _____ that book you
borrowed last week.
- I will meet you at the airport tomorrow night, and
_____ you to your hotel.
- Please _____ your report to my e-mail address
before the end of this week.
- I would like you to _____ me a copy of your new
catalogue when it is published.
- I don't feel well. Will you please _____ me to the
doctor's clinic?
- Let's _____ Richard out to lunch on his birthday
next week.
- I always _____ my children to school before I go to
work every morning.
- Please _____ me some A4 paper from the stationery
department and ____ it back here.
If you want to learn more about other common
problems in business writing, please click here and don't forget to try the quiz
too.
Read more about common errors »
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| Last but not least ... |
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It was great to make so many new friends at the Asia
Business Forum Secretaries' Conference in Singapore in
May. Here I am with the girls from ABF and my good
friend and fellow-trainer, Ricky Lien.
Ricky is a professional speaker on change, customer
satisfaction, communication skills and sales training. To
learn more about Ricky please visit
http://www.mindsetmedia.com.au.
I hope you've enjoyed this issue of Shirley
Says. If you have any ideas about what you
would like me to include in future issues,
please write to me at
news@shirleytaylor.com.
PS: You may reprint this e-newsletter or forward it to
your customers and colleagues. However please keep
this copyright and contact information intact:
Copyright Shirley Taylor 2004. Shirley Taylor
is author of several popular books on effective
communication and business writing. She lives in
Singapore and works as an international trainer, seminar
leader, professional writer and conference speaker.
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