商業書信要注意選擇合適的措辭
Appropriate choice of words in business wiring plays a vital part in achieving the writer＇s anticipated effect. The diction you choose should therefore reflect your sincerity and objectivity; equally important, the words should be tailored to the situation in order to arouse and maintain the reader＇s interest in the message.
To accomplish this objective, it is desirable for you to strive for a simple, direct, and natural writing style. Good writings in business sound like an informal conversation between the writer and the reader. Two reasons justify this simplicity in business writings.
First, many people are inclined to write at too difficult a level, using big words and complicated structures for fear that others say they lack intelligence and literary talent. Winston Churchill once made an excellent remark when referring to this tendency: "Little men use big words; big men use little words." We would do well to follow the example of this big man.
Secondly, the writer is in rarer cases more informed about the subject of the message than the reader. Thus, the two are not equally equipped to the communication on the matter. Only by reducing the message to the reader＇s level could the message be smoothly communicated.
在商業書信中恰當的選詞是獲得預期效果的關鍵。措辭直接反映了寫信者的真誠態度和客觀事實；同樣重要的是，為了喚起和保持讀信者的興趣，你所選的句子要進行恰當地剪裁。
為了達到這個目的，我們就要力求使用簡單，直接和自然書寫字體。商務往來中好的書信是寫信人和讀信人之間的一種非正式的對話。兩個原因說明這個問題。
第一，很多人傾向于使用一種比較難的水平來書寫，用大詞和復雜的結構，惟恐讀信的人會覺得他水平不高。丘吉爾曾經對這一現象說過一句著名的話：“小人物用大詞匯，大人物用小詞匯。”我們應該信守這個大人物的名言。
第二，寫信人肯定比讀信者更清楚信息的內容。因此，兩者對信息的掌握不是同等的。只有把信息降低到讀者的角度才能使信息順利地交流。
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