English for personal assistants - part 23 ppsx

A terser letter could read as follows.
᭿
Task 5
Reply to example letter 1, explaining that the invoice has, in fact, now been paid, but
there was a delay due to the introduction of a new finance software package in your
system.
110 Deadlines and Reminders
Example letter 2
Dear Sir,
Non-payment of invoice No. TH 8943 – 09
Unfortunately, it has come to our notice that payment of the above invoice, due 15th
Dec 20XX, has not been received.
Please give this matter your immediate attention and transfer payment without
delay.
Should the above invoice have already been paid, please disregard this reminder.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Thompson
Director
Example letter 3
Second reminder
Request for Payment
Dear Mr Gerard
With reference to my letter of 22
nd
September, I enclose copies of invoices which
make up your July statement, the balance of which still remains outstanding.
Would you please either reply with an explanation as to why the balance of
£2,668.65 has not been settled, or ensure that the account is cleared within the next
seven days?
Yours sincerely
Jane Hervert

Credit controller
Encl.
᭿
Task 6
Write a second reminder to a company who has missed the deadline (June 5
th
) for
printing some brochures you ordered (April 10
th
). You sent the first reminder
June 8
th
.
Hopefully, by setting realistic deadlines and keeping track of progress, we can ensure
that deadlines are met and it is only the most severe of financial difficulties that will
result in a letter such as the Final demand!
The language of deadlines and reminders
When we are discussing or writing about deadlines and reminders, we often express
the idea of a condition. The condition is often expressed using If , .
Look at these sentences from the example letters, which express the idea of a
condition.
1. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.
2. Should the above invoice have already been paid, please disregard this reminder.
3. If payment is not received by January 30
th
, I have no alternative but to refer this
non-payment to our legal department.
Notice that in sentence 2, should is a more formal way of saying if. These sentences
are all examples of the zero conditional, i.e., they use a present tense in both parts of
the sentence.

However, there are other forms which can be used, e.g., sentence 3 could be written in
the first conditional form. The only difference in form is the use of a future tense in
the second part of the sentence.
If payment is not received by January 30
th
, I will have no alternative but to refer this
non-payment to our legal department.
Written reminders to clients 111
Third and final demand for payment
Dear Sir,
Invoice No. TH 8943 – 09
Our records indicate that payment on your account is overdue to the amount of
£5,460.00. A reminder was issued December 30th but we have as yet received no
payment.
If payment is not received by January 30th, I have no alternative but to refer this
non-payment to our legal department. You can however, preserve your credit status
with us by remitting your cheque today for the amount stated above.
Yours faithfully,
If you would like to look at sample sentences and the structure of all the conditional
forms in English, read Appendix D, page 167. You might like to do that before doing
Task 7.
᭿
Task 7
There are four mistakes in the use of conditional forms in paragraphs 2, 3, and 6 in the
article about stress. Find them and write the correct form.
112 Deadlines and Reminders
If you feel you’ve got too much to do and too little time to do it in,
you’re probably stressed.
Your deadline is coming up and you haven’t got any ideas. Your spouse smashed
the car. The in-laws are coming for a week. Your boss is trying to close a big sale

over the Internet and your computer crashes.
If this would sound familiar to you, you are almost certainly stressed out. Stress is
constantly with us. What happens to you when you’re under a lot of stress? Your
heart races, your breathing gets faster, your blood circulation and metabolism
speed up. Your muscles tense, getting you ready to fight or flee. But if you would
not do either, it builds up.
Most people don’t even realise they’re stressed until they are about to reach boiling
point. If something would have been done about it earlier, unpleasant symptoms
such as headaches, hypertension, insomnia, and abdominal pain could have been
avoided.
If you look someone straight in the eyes and see white under either iris or both, that
person is under too much stress.
As soon as you realise you are under pressure you should:
1) delegate tasks to others and trust them to get them done.
2) prioritise tasks. Do what must be done now.
3) take a break. Go for a walk or talk to someone.
4) do some exercise or some other fun activities.
8) do something totally different.
9) take deep breaths.
10) have a good laugh.
80% of your worries never occur. If you could have done something about it, do it. If
you can’t do anything about it, don’t let it bother you. Stress can best be managed
by realising what you can change about your life and knowing what you can’t.
13 Saying “no”
There are times when you want to say ‘no’ politely, times when you have to be more
forceful in your refusal, and times when you really have to put someone in their place.
The degree of politeness versus assertiveness of a refusal depends not only on your
relationship with the person who is asking you to do something but also on the
attitude of the person who is asking. There are those who are sensitive and
immediately recognise that you cannot do something, either because you have not got

the time to do it or it is not your job to do it. On the other hand, there are those who
are thick-skinned; they do not notice polite or indirect refusals or they simply think
you are there to do their bidding whatever it may be!
Saying ‘no’ politely
To say ‘no’ politely in English we often begin with what may sound like an apology:
᭤ I’m sorry, you’ve come to the wrong person. You’ll have to ask Renate to do that. or,
᭤ I’m afraid I don’t have the facts and figures to hand to be able to deal with that.
We can use I’m sorry or I‘m afraid followed by the reason why we cannot do
something.
᭿
Task 1
Say ‘no’ politely in these situations.
1. Frank asks you to check that the fire exit notices are all correct and in place. This is
not your job; Naomi is in charge of health and safety matters.
2. A pile of heavy boxes with photocopier paper has been left in the corridor. Sarah
asks you to put them in the paper store. You have a bad back.
3. A colleague asks you if you could read through the minutes she took of a recent
meeting before she distributes them. You simply do not have the time.
Different ways of saying ‘no’
1. The direct ‘no’
Sometimes, saying sorry, then saying no is not necessary or even appropriate. If that’s
the case, use the direct ‘no’.
e.g.,
A: Are you joining us for lunch?
B: No, no thank you.
2. The reasoned ‘no’
Sometimes you feel it would be polite to offer a reason for your refusal but, on the
other hand, you don’t want to open up any sort of negotiation. In this case, use the
reasoned ‘no’.
e.g.,

A: We’re leaving now. Are you coming with us for a drink?
B: I can’t come for a drink tonight. I’ve got to get this report out for tomorrow.
3. The reflecting ‘no’
You want to acknowledge the request but still want to say ‘no’ quite firmly.
e.g.,
A: Do you have time to go through some things now?
B: I know you want to talk to me about the conference arrangements but I can’t do
it today.
4. The raincheck ‘no’
This is similar to the reflecting ‘no’. It’s not so much saying ‘no’ as saying this is not a
good time.
e.g.,
A: Could you check through these figures for me?
B: I can’t right now, but I could some time tomorrow.
But be careful; only use this if you really do want to accept the request at a later date.
Don’t use it if you really mean ‘no’
5. The unwavering ‘no’
This is how you have to deal with pests – people who don’t hear ‘no’.
A: Come on let’s go for lunch.
B: No, I’m not going out for lunch today
A: Oh, please, it won’t take long.
B: No, I’m not going out for lunch today
A: Oh, go on, I’ll pay.
B: No, I’m not going out for lunch today
114 Saying “no”