当然，不管你身居要职还是一员小兵，不管你身处哪个行业，在工作中，你都不可避免地接触到taking notes和writing business letters。Informal language is often used when taking messages, because most of them are short notes for our convenience.所以taking notes相对来说还是比较简单的。However, when writing business letters, faxes or memos¹, we not only require more formal language, but also right forms and appropriate techniques.接下来，我们就列举一些商务信函的写作技巧：

　　1 Use the writing paper with the name and address of the company on it to help the reader know at once where the letter comes from. 最好使用公司的信纸。

　　2 Put each separate idea in a separate paragraph and number each paragraph to help the reader understand better.保证行文段落清晰。

　　3 Try to be concise² since most business people are rather busy and do not want to spend much time on reading letters. 尽量保证文字简洁。

　　4 Always try to be courteous³ even if the letter is sent to a much smaller firm.文字要谦逊有礼。

　　5 Don't forget to check the grammar, punctuation⁴ and spelling before you send the letter.发信之前认真检查是否有错。

　　6 Please also remember to sign (or ask the person-in-charge to sign) at the end of the letter.记得在文末署名。

　　需要注意的是，some changes have taken place in recent years in the style of business letters in English。The style that is now current is much less formal and old-fashioned than the style used in many other languages: the words tend to be less formal and the sentences tend to be shorter, and some commonly used abbreviations⁵ have also been accepted in writing business letters. 时下商务信函的流行趋势是行文不必过于正式，但务须简洁，也可以使用一些约定俗成的英文缩写。

　　提到英文缩写，我们再说一下英美的一点差异。Co. , Ltd. are short for Company or Limited for a British firm. If you read Plc, Bros. after a British firm, you know they stand for Public Limited Company, Brothers. If you read Corp. or Inc. after an American firm's name, you know they stand for Corporation or Incorporated⁶.

　　勤勤恳恳，小心谨慎，这是我们想要传达给你的公司处事哲学。然而，仅凭谨小慎微和老黄牛式的工作作风是很难得到职位的升迁的。所以我们还要学会推销自己，把自己最闪光的一面展示给公司，从而真正做到一分耕耘，一分收获。