Everyday we write countless memos, letters, and reports without a second thought. Likewise, we give presentations, both formal and informal. Often this writing and speaking gets criticized for being jargon-ridden, obscure, or long-winded--in short, for not being in "plain English." But what is plain English, and how do we go about writing and speaking it? In Plain English at Work, Edward Bailey gives the answer, with down-to-earth tips and practical advice. Bailey, an expert in business communication, gives us a simple model for writing:
. Style write more the way you talk.
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Businessese, academese, legalese--these painful eses appear all too often in memos, letters, reports, and papers. You have probably fallen victim to them yourself, writing "commence" and "prior to" instead of "begin" and "before," burying your main point somewhere in the last paragraph. Now Edward Bailey offers help in The Plain English Approach to Business Writing . Bailey has spent twenty years working in bastions of bureaucratese, helping businessmen and government workers write in direct, effective plain English. This no-nonsense guide is an indispensable office companion. Bailey's...

When do you address correspondents by their first names over email? Need a refresher on the proper format for a business letter? Or perhaps a cram-course on how business is conducted in a particular foreign country? Now, all your workplace questions can be found in one convenient source from the most trusted name in reference. The Office Professional's Guide takes you through office basics (frequently misspelled words; proper telephone, fax, and email etiquette; common filing systems), important business and financial concepts (P&L, ROI, price to earnings ratio), international business (a...