Business Writing

New Year's Wishes for 2012

People from around the world have been writing to me in search of the correct wording for new year's messages to their English-speaking friends and associates. To help them, I have composed these brief messages as models. I hope you find them helpful.

Note to international readers: If the message says I, it is from one person. If it says we, it is from more than one person or from a business. When you change the subject from I to we (or we to I), the verb stays the same. (Example: "I wish" and "We wish" are both correct.)

Happy 2012! I wish you a new year filled with prosperity, joy, and contentment. [for anyone]

Happy 2012! I wish you a beautiful, magical new year! [for anyone]

On New Year's Day and every day, we wish you joy and fulfillment. Happy new year! [for anyone]

We wish you a new year filled with wonder, peace, and meaning. Happy 2012! [for anyone]

I hope you are blessed with delight, fulfillment, and peace in the new year. [for anyone, has a spiritual feeling]

I wish you a wonderful new year filled with abundance, joy, and treasured moments. May 2012 be your best year yet! [for anyone, especially a professional]

I hope 2012 is a year of great happiness and success for you. Have a wonderful new year! [for anyone, especially a professional]

We are grateful for our work with you in 2011, and we look forward to working together in the new year. Happy 2012! [for a client]

Thank you for being a customer at our ______________. [fill in a word or a phrase such as hair salon, restaurant, gym, health club, or store.] We look forward to serving you in 2012. We wish you peace, happiness, and abundant good health in the new year. [for a customer]

Thank you for staying with us. We wish you a beautiful new year filled with peace and gladness. We look forward to seeing you again in 2012. [for a hotel guest]

Thank you for your business in 2011. It has been a pleasure helping you reach your goals, and we look forward to serving you again in the new year. We wish you a prosperous and wonderful 2012! [for a customer or a client]

We are delighted to have you as a customer, and we look forward to serving you in the new year. Have a terrific 2012! [for a customer]

We wish you great happiness in your new home. Have a wonderful new year! [for someone who has moved]

We wish you abundant success and joy in your new location. Happy 2012! [for a business that has moved]

I am personally grateful to each one of you for your tremendous efforts, and I wish everyone a rewarding, joyous new year. I look forward to working with you in 2012. [to a group of employees and associates]

I appreciate your contribution to our success this year. I wish you peace, joy, and fulfillment in 2012. Happy new year! [for an individual employee or associate]

My examples are generic so that you can use them in a variety of situations. However, the more personalized your message is, the more sincere it will feel.

Happy 2012 to you, dear reader! I hope your new year is filled with joyful learning, abundant opportunity, and pleasure in all you do.

Lynn
Syntax Training

How Do You Like Your Holiday Cards?

Cathy wrote to me today, concerned about a possible change in how her team sends holiday greeting cards.

In the past they have purchased holiday cards, addressed them to a mailing list of customers and other important people, had everyone on the team sign them, and then mailed them through the US Postal Service.

This year they are considering sending e-cards wishing their customers and important contacts a happy 2012.

Although they can design a beautiful card, Cathy is worried that an emailed PDF will seem lazy compared to their past efforts. She also wonders how recipients will react when they see "Best Wishes for 2012!" or a similar greeting as the subject line.

What do you think as someone who receives holiday greetings? Would you prefer getting a printed card signed by the team in your mailbox? Or do you like e-cards in your inbox?

Please share your views. If you are comfortable doing so, please let us know whether your age is 20-30, 30-50, or 50+, along with the country in which you work.

I look forward to reading your comments--and so will Cathy!

Lynn
Syntax Training 

"Few" vs. "A Few": What a Difference an "A" Makes!

I recently worked on business writing with a manager from India who spoke several Indian languages as well as English. She made an error that I have since noticed in another Indian manager's writing, so I thought it was worth writing about here.

It involved using "few" when she meant "a few." Here are examples:

• I have had few conversations with my director.
• We have received few emails from the New York office.
• I heard from few close friends.
• We planned few demos for the customer.
• I recommend making few changes to the procedure.

The word "few" in those examples emphasizes the small number. For example, the sentences "I have had few conversations with my director" and "We have received few emails from the New York office" suggest a lack of communication. But that was not what the manager intended. She meant "I have had some conversations with my director" and "We have received some emails from the New York office." "Some" can be expressed with the phrase "a few"--but not with the word "few."

The sentence "I heard from few close friends" suggests that my close friends have abandoned me. But "I heard from a few close friends" suggests that a close circle of people have communicated with me.

Similarly, "We planned few demos for the customer" suggests that we don't care about the customer. Why else would we plan few demos? In contrast, "a few demos" sounds like good customer service.

"I recommend making few changes to the procedure" suggests that I like it the way it is. That's very different from "I recommend making a few changes," that is, "some changes."

If English is your second, third, fourth, or fifth language, remember this: "Few" means "not many"; it emphasizes the small number. "A few" means "some."

That little "a" makes a big difference.

Have you noticed this error in speech and writing? Please tell your story.

Lynn
Syntax Training

 

A Place for Two-Letter State Abbreviations

While reading an inflight travel magazine on my vacation, I came across an ad for a resort in Traverse City, MI. Do you recognize the abbreviation MI?

Is it Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, or Missouri? I am not familiar with Traverse City, so the ad kept me guessing. It wasn't until I had Internet access after the flight that I found the location of the resort.

The full-page ad had plenty of room to spell out Michigan on the same line with Traverse City. Why use MI and confuse potential customers?

See if you know which states in the U.S. these two-letter abbreviations represent:

  NE
  AL
  CO
  IA
  MA

You may have recognized them instantly, but many adults have spent more time reading email and text messages than noticing state abbreviations on envelopes. Like them, your international business readers may not easily recognize on that list Nebraska (not Nevada), Alabama (not Alaska), Colorado (not Connecticut), Iowa (not Indiana), and Massachusetts (not Maine or Maryland).

Customers seeking a restaurant, hotel, or business in Nevada don't want one in Nebraska, so be sure to make your location clear to potential customers and visitors by spelling out the state name.

The place for two-letter state abbreviations is on envelopes between the city and the zip code. They were created to fill that spot, and that is where they belong.

Guideline: In business writing and journalism, when you refer to a state in text (rather than a chart), always spell it out. That way, your reader will recognize Virginia right away rather than having to translate VA.

Guideline: In business writing, when you refer in text to a city-state combination, such as Orlando, Florida, spell out the state name if you follow the guidelines of The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago) or The Gregg Reference Manual (Gregg). I strongly prefer the spelled-out style because it eliminates confusion about the name of the state.

However, if you are a journalist or business writer who follows The Associated Press Stylebook (AP), you will abbreviate the state using the traditional state abbreviations below. Some of them are the same as the two-letter postal abbreviations. However, notice that these abbreviations have periods, and in some the second letter of a two-letter abbreviation is lower case.

Ala.    Alabama
Ariz.   Arizona
Ark.    Arkansas
Calif.  California
Colo.  Colorado
Conn. Connecticut
Del.    Delaware
Fla.    Florida
Ga.    Georgia
Ill.     Illinois
Ind.    Indiana
Kan.   Kansas
Ky.     Kentucky
La.     Louisiana
Md.    Maryland
Mass. Massachusetts
Mich.  Michigan
Minn. Minnesota
Miss.  Mississippi
Mo.    Missouri
Mont. Montana
Neb.   Nebraska
N.H.   New Hampshire 
N.J.    New Jersey
N.M.   New Mexico
N.Y.   New York
N.C.   North Carolina
N.D.   North Dakota
Okla.  Oklahoma
Ore.   Oregon
Pa.     Pennsylvania
R.I.     Rhode Island
S.C.    South Carolina
S.D.    South Dakota
Tenn. Tennessee
Vt.     Vermont
Va.     Virginia
Wash.  Washington
W. Va. West Virginia
Wis.    Wisconsin
Wyo.   Wyoming
 
Did you notice the absence of a few states? Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah are not abbreviated in AP style. Neither is the District of Columbia. Chicago abbreviates Texas as Tex.  

I bet you are wondering which style is preferred for slides, tables, and other places with limited space. Chicago prefers the two-letter postal abbreviations. AP and Gregg prefer the abbreviations listed above, but Gregg acknowledges the growing popularity of the two-letter postal versions. My Microsoft spelling and grammar checker flagged the abbreviations above, suggesting the two-letter postal versions.

When you need to abbreviate the names of Canadian provinces and territories, use the two-letter abbreviations of the Canada Post, which are appropriate in both English and French:

AB   Alberta
BC   British Columbia
MB   Manitoba
NB   New Brunswick
NL   Newfoundland and Labrador
NS   Nova Scotia
NT   Northwest Territories
NU   Nunavut
ON   Ontario
PE   Prince Edward Island
QC   Quebec
SK   Saskatchewan
YT   Yukon

To my mind, the only place for two-letter abbreviations of states, provinces, and territories is in addresses. I follow that principle so my readers will not be confused for a moment by MA, MO, CO, ON, OR or AK.

What rules do you follow for rendering the names of states, provinces, and territories?

Lynn
Syntax Training

Recognizing Words With No Plural Forms

I am working with an executive who speaks English as a second language, with Chinese as her first language. She was very surprised to learn that the words information, knowledge, and jewelry have no plural forms.

Would you join me in making a list of such words for her? I have started the list below, and I would appreciate your additions. Not one of my reference books has a list of nouns without plural forms. [Note added on January 20: Dala Beld suggested Googling "list uncountable nouns English," which gave me several lengthy lists. Thanks, Dala.]

These are called "mass nouns." I call them nouns that do not have a plural form in English.

Here is my list so far:

furniture
information
knowledge
jewelry
homework
marketing
livestock
education
courage
bravery
cowardice
greed
clarity
honesty
evidence
insurance
mud
weather
racism
sexism
patriotism (and the other -ism words)

I am certain my client will be grateful for your help, and so will I.  Ah--that statement made me think of another word: gratefulness!

Lynn
Syntax Training

Today Is 1/11/11--Or Is It?

In the United States, today is 1/11/11. In much of the rest of the world, it's 11/1/11.

That difference is enough to argue against using numbers alone. Although all those 1s look terrific together, numbers alone can't communicate with the clarity of words, especially if you have clients, employees, or business partners around the world.

So, to be clear:

Today is January 11, 2011, or 11 January 2011.

Do you agree?

Lynn
Syntax Training

Being in the Moment

I sent out our monthly e-newsletter, Better Writing at Work, yesterday. As usual we got hundreds of out-of-office messages. Here is my favorite, which came from Phillip in Germany:

"I am in the moment not in the office."

I prefer Phillip's preposition.

Lynn
Syntax Training

Birthday Confusion--A U.S.-vs.-the-World Problem

We have just welcomed to our home an international exchange student from the Middle East. When I read the information she included on her program application, I added her birthday to our calendar: June 5.

But here's the problem: Her birthday is May 6.

How could I have gotten that wrong? Her birthday was listed on the application as 6/5/9_. In the U.S., that means June 5. However, in the rest of the world it means May 6. 

Yet today I traveled to Canada and back. On both the Canadian and the U.S. customs forms, I was asked to provide my birthday in this format: day-month-year. Having the month-day-year habit, I had to cross out what I originally wrote and start over.

What is the solution to my confusion? A global standard that people in the U.S. agree to? Spelling out the months at all times?

I guess I will just have to confirm the date before I schedule any birthday parties.

What do you recommend?

Lynn
Syntax Training

When Your Audience Is International

With some business audiences, it's easy to know exactly what to say and how to say it. We do it almost without thinking, following the usual rules. But with a global audience of non-native English speakers, the usual rules get tossed aside. We need to take a fresh look at communicating.

So it is with a question Henriette raised yesterday about the latest version of my monthly newsletter, Better Writing at Work, in which I wrote about verbs. I suggested using strong verbs rather than weak ones that need modifiers.

For example, I recommended "Darren flies through his tasks" rather than "Darren works extremely quickly on his tasks." I preferred "She masterminded a solution" to "She very creatively came up with a solution."

Henriette questioned that approach for her audience. She wrote, "I often deliberately choose the lightweight verbs over the heavyweight ones in order to make it easier to understand for non-native speakers/readers."  

Yes, Henriette, I agree.  For your readers around the globe, you are wise to choose familiar verbs and add very and extremely to strengthen them.

It's the rule that trumps them all. (Or, for our international audiences, it's the most important rule):

Know your audience.

Lynn
Syntax Training

Where Is WA? A Lesson About Communication

I've been writing here about dates and times, but today I got a good laugh about places. A psychologist who lives in Redmond, Washington, shared a story of an Australian consultant who was trying to track him down. Only when she realized that Redmond, WA (mentioned on a website), was not in Western Australia was she able to find him.

The lesson: Write for Planet Earth!

Lynn
Syntax Training