The Book of Business Etiquette

of the other half so many are incomplete or incoherent that a transaction which

times takes several weeks to write one, but for ordinary correspondence a few minutes is usually all that i

only two items which are essential. The others are valuable only as they contribute to them. The letter must succeed in getting its idea across and it must bui

rt, in aimless advertising, worthless salesmanship, ineffective letter writing, and in a thousand and one other ways. A lot of it is hammered out o

l three praising the letter. One was from a teacher of commercial English who declared that he was going to use it as a model in his classes, and the other two congratulated the firm on having so excellent a correspondent. The physical make-up of the let

al format indicates freakishness rather than originality. They are like that astonishing gentleman who walks up Fifth Avenue on the coldest m

adings giving explicit and useful information are best. The name and address of the firm (and "New York" or "Chicago" is not sufficient in spite of the fact that a good many places go into no more detail tha

especially those that are proud of their appearance, carry their own picture on their stationery. There is nothing to say against it, but one of the most beautiful factories in America has on its letter head only the name of the firm, the address, and a small t

be placed so that the address is in plain view without having to be jiggled around in the envelope first. A letter passes through the hands of several postal clerks before it reaches the person to whom it is addressed, and if each one of them h

. In most places the typing is taken care of by girls who have been trained for the purpose, but most young girls just entering business are highly irresponsible, and it is neces

ut experience in copying her own notes will teach a stenographer to estimate them correctly so t

om the others by a wider space than that between the lines, double space between the paragraphs when there is single s

dispatched if two subjects are to be covered. This enables the house r

alutation when a letter is addressed to a group. "Dear Friend" is permissible in general letters sent out to persons of both sexes. Honorary titles should be used in the address when th

a. "City" is not sufficient and should never be used. Nor should the name of the state ever be omitted even when the letter is addressed to some other point in the same state

of carelessness and thoughtlessness. In a town in New England last year one of the specialty shops received at Christmas time twenty different lots of money-money orders,

me or just above it. It should be written in ink (black or blue ink), not in pencil or colored crayon, and it should be blotted before the page is folded. The dictator himself should sign the letter whenever possible. "Dictated but not read" bears the mark of discourtesy and sometimes brings back a letter with "Received but not read" written across it. When it is nece

ours sincerely" or something of the kind, and not "Yours cordially," "Yo

right to the pronoun of the first person, and he (if he is wise) seldom avails himself of it. If the matter is so near personal as to make "We" somewh

is position may be. The name may be placed in the lower left-hand corner of the letter "Attention Mr. Green" or "Attention Advertising Manager," and it may also be placed just above the salutation inside the letter. Sometimes the subject of the letter is indicated in the same way, Re Montana shipment, Re Smythe ma

tion that no man south of Fourteenth Street in New York reads a letter more than three lines long. But there is danger that the too brief letter will sound brusque. Mail order houses which serve the small towns and the rural districts s

ould likewise be thrown into the discard. "As per our agreement of the 17th" should give place to "According to our agreement of the 17th," and, wherever possible, simplified expression should be employed. Legal phraseology should be restricted to the profession to which it belongs. Wills, deeds, and other documents likely to be haled into court need "whereas's" and "wherefores" and "s

recently by one of the oldes

r M

r full payment of your bill. Pl

ld say that if she will call at our office at he

r past favors,

very

that wi

Mrs.

ith your receipted bil

office at her convenience we shall take ple

very

o typical of the kind th

r S

have forwarded it to Mr. Stubbs and will se

re

sinc

ve been just as

r. Tho

ave forwarded it to Mr. Stubbs and will se

since

l over the country. It was a pleasure to read the excellent replies that came in response to it. One letter reached

e when his mind is pretty well occupied with thoughts co

mind with regard to matters undertaken by the company which have contri

another

ne which practises courtesy in business. We should like nothing better than to

ethods of ob

nt beginnings with (and th

what part courtesy plays in business and office

tely covers the situation. There is no excuse for a poor routine letter, for there is plenty of time to think it out, and there is no excuse for sending a routin

tter is written by a person who either has no i

st the key to her apartment and wrote to

f the landlord to furnish more than one key for an apartment. Should

matter of some little difficulty. She was at least entitled to a bit more information and to more courteous treatment than is shown in the letter signed by his landlordly hand. She went to see him and found him most suave and polite (which was his habit face to face with a woman).

we have had so many similar requests that w

ksmith at 45 West 119 St. His

r

it which will be added to your bill at the end of the month. I

se who take pleasure in granting favors like to feel that they do so of their own free will. It takes away the pleasure of doing it when some one asks a favor and then

at is what would happen if the man who dictates a letter were to exchange places with his stenographer. Each would then appreciate the position of the other, and if they wer

d have in mind what he wants to say before he begins speaking, and then he should pronounce his words evenly and distinctly. He should not bang on the desk with his fist, flourish his arms in the air, talk in rhetorical rushes with long pauses between the phrases, or raise his voice to a thunderous pitch and th

e occasion. Each time his secretary quietly stopped the letter. Each time the Colonel came in the day after and asked if the letter had been sent. Each time the

letters so they can recast awkward sentences and make other improvements. It can usually be dis

ectly capable of taking dictation from one man will find it very difficult to follow another until she has grown used to the sound of his voice. I

correctly. She should be able to spell and punctuate correctly and to make the minor changes in phrasing and diction that so often can make a go

road view of the entire business. Sometimes that is the fault of the employer, but that does not excuse the young man. Those who command attention are the ones who are actually pushing the boss.... I

on her quite as much as she depends upon him, though in a somewhat different way. It takes personal effort together with native ability to raise any one to a position

with the correspondents who need help. In other places courtesy campaigns for a higher standard of correspondence are held, while in others the matter is placed in the hands

id not like, or one that he did like a great deal, he sent for the person who wrote it and talked with him. It was not necessary for him to go over the letters often. The fact that the people in the office knew that it was likely to

ut one thing must be understood in the beginning, and that is that the spirit of courtesy must firs

ess letters which nearly every business man at

y, though he may state what salary he would like, and he should not say "Salary no object." It would probably not be true. There are comparatively few people with whom money is no object. If it is the first time the applicant has ever

tion is accompanied by, or calls

If he is asked for a recommendation he should speak as favorably of the person under consideratio

. Welsh of Johns Hopkins. Dr. Welsh wrote a letter praising the man very highly, but ended by saying that while it was true that he would be a good man for the place, he did not think he would be as good as the one they already had-General Gorgas. The C

gives the name of his reference, the person to whom he is applying writes to the one to whom he has been referred, and the entire correspondence is carried on between these two.

od on his own responsibility. But it should give the reason for the presentation and suggest a way of following it up that will result in mutual pleasure or benefit. It should be in an unsealed envelope and the envelope should bear, in addition to t

e who asks for this sort of letter, but often kindest for all concerned) and then they send in secret another letter explaining how the first one came about. This really throws the burden on the person w

believe can give you some valuable information which has resulted from his research there. He is a man upon

Introducing Mr. Mills of Howard and Powell Motor Co." written across it to a man whom he wishes to int

papers and the letters sent out to the "trade" are often so condescendingly written that they infuriate the men to whom they are addressed. It is safer to assume that the man you are

lness (mutual helpfulness) gives pulling power to almost any letter. The one which presents a special offer on special terms specially arranged for the benefit of the customer wins out almost every time, provided, of course, that the offer is worth presenting. There is no use in declaring that all of the benefit is to the subscriber

improvements made before the whole campaign is launched. The results in the small group are a pretty fair indication of what they will be in the large one, and a

n of answers to the questions that are asked. In an order letter one should state exactly what he wants, how he wants it sent, and how he intends to pay for it. If the order consists of several items, each one should be listed separately. If they are or

ve the reason for it, but even when the order is filled promptly (if it is a large or a comparatively large one) the letter of acknowledgment should be sent. Then if anything goes wrong it is eas

f acknowledgment should simply state the fact and beg indulgence until it is finished. Complaints should always recei

ble when and where and how it came about. One should be especially careful about placing the blame or charging to an individual what was really the faul

tempt for you. The first letter in a series (and the series often includes as many as six or eight) should be simply a reminder. Drastic measures should not be taken until they are necessary, and at no time should the letters become abrupt or insul

tract attention it must be vivid, unusual, and convincing. Increasingly-and there is cause to be thankful for this-exaggerated statements are being forced to disappear. In the first place the ballyhoo advertisers have shouted the publ

he United States and marked off the areas where automobile trucks were used, where they could be used, and where they should be used, and sent it to the manufacturers along with a statement of the circulation of the magazine and the advantages of reaching the public through it. The result

t you saying, "There is a home at Blankville for you," "Watch out to use Baker's Best," and "You're next!" After all, Uncle Sam is the only person who has a right to point his finger at you in any such manner and say, "I need you." And besides, there is the moral side of it. Imitation is the sincerest flattery, but the dividing line between it and dishonesty is not always clear. And the law cannot every time prosecute the offender, for there is a kind of clevernes

be dropped and nicknames should not be used although initials may be. Memoranda should never be personal unless they are sent confidentially. An open memorandum should never contain a

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