今天我们来学习礼貌守则的最后一个P——professional。

Being Courteous: How To Be Professional 

So far, you've learned three ways to make your writing more courteous. You've learned how to make your sentences polite, positive and personal. You also need to learn how to use the fourth "P" to make your writing professional.

Did you know that modern business English includes many standard expressions?

Many phrases in English are standard. That is, they don't change. If you know these phrases, you can use them again and again.

And when you use these standard expressions, your writing will look more professional.

However, you need to use these expressions correctly, or your writing will look very unprofessional. Look at this sentence.

"I am appreciate if you send me the documents."

The person who wrote this sentence tried to use a standard expression. However, they didn't use it correctly.

It should be:

"I would appreciate it if you could send me the documents."

You can use the table below to learn some of the standard expressions in English business correspondence.

STANDARD EXPRESSIONS

To begin a letter

We are writing to enquire about ...

We are writing to request ...

I refer to your letter of ...

Thank you for your letter of ...

To request

We would be grateful if you could ...

We would appreciate it if you could ...

Could/Would you please ...

Would you mind -ing ...

To ask for clarification

It is not clear whether ...

We are not sure if ...

We would be grateful if you could clarify this.

To clear up misunderstandings

We were under the impression that ...

We were led to believe that ...

There appears to be a misunderstanding about ...

To apologise/express regret

I am afraid that ...

We are very sorry that ...

We sincerely apologise for ...

Please accept our apologies for ...

To confirm

I would like to confirm the arrangements for ...

We will wait for your confirmation before going ahead.

To make suggestions

May I suggest that ...

One possible solution would be to ...

To explain/give reasons

This is because ...

This is due to ...

To refuse politely

I am afraid that we are unable to ...

We are aware of the problems, but unfortunately, ...

We appreciate your point of view, but ...

I'm sorry that we are unable to ...

To close a letter

We look forward to hearing from you.

I look forward to receiving your reply...

We hope to hear from you shortly.

I hope this information will help you.

If you would like any further information, please call me on/at ...

You can practise writing professional sentences by doing the exercise below.

There are five business situations below. For each situation, choose the correct standard expression(s).

Some situations have more than one correct answer.

1. Request someone to send a catalogue of their products.

A. Would you mind to send a catalogue of your products?

B. Could you please send a catalogue of your products?

C. Would you mind sending a catalogue of your products?

D. I would request a catalogue of your products?

2. Suggest that someone refer to the "Quick Guide" for information.

A. Please refer to the "Quick Guide" for information.

B. Please reference the "Quick Guide" for information.

C. May I suggest that you refer to the "Quick Guide" for information?

D. May I suggest you to refer to the "Quick Guide" for information?

3. Refer to a fax you received on 9 March.

A. Your fax of 9 March refers.

B. Thank you for your fax of 9 March.

C. Thank you for your fax on 9 March.

D. I refer to your fax of 9 March.

4. Close a letter politely.

A. I look forward to hearing from you.

B. In anticipation of your reply.

C. Eagerly awaiting your reply.

D. I hope this information is helpful.

5. Ask for clarification of a meeting time.

A. I am not clear for the meeting time.

B. It is not sure for the meeting time.

C. It is not clear whether the meeting time.

D. I am not sure about the meeting time.

Keys:

1. BC 2. AC 3. BD 4. AD 5. D

我们已经了解了being courteous的四个P原则：polite，positive，personal，professional。下一节我们将对本章所讲述的内容作一次总结练习。

来源：中国物流论坛