BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

The following expressions will help you to write business letters and emails:

Dear Sir or Madam.........................Yours faithfully
Dear Sirs........................................Yours faithfully
Dear Mr Jones................................Yours sincerely
Dear John.......................................Best regards

Following our recent telephone conversation...
Further to our recent telephone conversation...
Following on from our recent telephone conversation...
With reference to our recent telephone conversation...
I refer to
As agreed during our recent telephone conversation...
Thank you for your letter/email of 8 March 2011.
Thank you for your enquiry about...
I am writing to confirm/enquire about/inform you/complain about
I regret to inform you that
I am pleased to inform you that

I am writing concerning/regarding
Please find attached
I attach
Please find enclosed / Enclosed you will find (not emails)
I apologise for the delay in confirming the dates of the conference
Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this mistake.

I would be grateful if you could send me/confirm/reply
Would you kindly inform/forward/send...
Please note that these prices do not include...

We have yet to receive payment for our invoice No. 543TEW87. Please find a copy of the invoice enclosed. If this amount has already been paid, please disregard this notice.

I would appreciate it if you could settle this invoice at your earliest convenience.

Should you require any further information do not hesitate to contact me/my assistant

I look forward to hearing from you.
We look forward to seeing you at the conference.

EFFECTIVE MEETINGS

FIVE BUSINESS IDIOMS IN CONTEXT

• Let's have a brainstorming meeting and see if we can come up with some original ideas. 

• It's a bit of a problem at the moment, but I'm sure we'll be able to sort things out.

•  As we already have the sales meeting on Friday, I think it would be wise to bring forward the presentation to Wednesday.

•  How are the negotiations coming along ? Have you made any progress ? 

•  Everything was going smoothly when we suddenly came up against a problem.

'FALSE FRIENDS' IN CONTEXT

The following sentences illustrate the correct usage of some problematic 'false friends'.

"Let's stop here. We'll resume the meeting after lunch."

"What we're looking for is someone versatile enough to work in different departments at the same time."

"What are the prospects for a sustainable economic recovery ?"

"Having unsuccessfully approached 8 banks with our business plan, we eventually gave up."

"Yes, I agree that investing in the commodities market would be more sensible at this stage."

"The formation of a new government could take a few weeks."

"Looking at the problem from the customer's perspective, might help us to understand what went wrong".

"We'll have to devise a strategy which will allow us to become a global brand rather than just a European one."

"Parking one's car in a car park is safer, albeit more expensive."

"Can we assume that this will be accepted by the board ?"

"There are 5 points on the agenda of tomorrow's meeting."

"While experts remain sanguine, ordinary investors were spooked by the scandal."

"Madoff's deception fooled many, including the SEC. He even deceived his friends and family."

"It's possible that the results will exceed expectations."

"A preview of the film, to which the media have been invited, will take place next week."

"We'll have to weigh up the pros and the cons."

"The rent that we'll have to pay will obviously depend on the location of the premises."

"AA and the Transport Workers Union have reached a tentative contract agreement."
 

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS : POINT

There are a number of useful expressions in which the word 'point' is used :

1 The following expression may be used as a diplomatic way of expressing disagreement : "I take your point, but...."

2 If you feel that interlocutor is taking too long to explain himself/herself or is presenting an argument in a long-winded way, you can say :
"Please get to the point."

3 If you wish to indicate to your interlocutor that you are taking his/her arguments seriously, you may say :
"Point taken!" or "Good point!"

4 Should you wish to question the necessity of an action this expression may be employed :
"What's the point ?"

5 Equally, the following expression, similar in meaning to "It's not worth it", can be employed to express the futility of an action :
"There's no point meeting the client at this stage."

6 If you feel that a particular fact needs highlighting, you may say :
"I would like to point out that..."

7 In order to indicate that you will express yourself without too much preamble, particularly if the information that you wish to convey is of a serious nature, you can employ the following expression :
"I'll get straight to the point."

8 In order to return to the key arguments or facts during a discussion in which the participants may be deviating from the subject, you may intervene by saying :
"The point is...."

9 Equally, to remind the participants of the purpose of a meeting you can say :
"The whole point of this discussion is to come up with new ideas".

10 You may indicate that you agree with an opinion to a certain extent, i.e not 100% by employing the expression :
"I agree up to a point." or "He's right, but only up to a point."