To be a competent PA or secretary, you need to have superb command of English, both written and spoken. Numerous emails are received every day and they should be handled quickly and professionally. Also PA or secretary will have to type business letters or memoranda which may be composed or via audio so spelling and grammar should be A1. Needless to say, document presentation should be perfect as this letter represents the company, A letter with grammatical or spelling errors or not well presented on the paper can put off a potential client.

In a company where the terminology is unfamiliar, the PA or secretary can compile a glossary to which she can refer if uncertainty of the spelling. She or he may have problems spelling certain words such as 'accommodation,' 'receipt,' 'brochure' etc. Therethrough through her career, PAs or Secretaries can find their knowledge of words, whether the meaning or spelling, will expand considerably. Try to make sure that you do not fall into the trap of misspelling common words.

Other words to be aware of are 'will' and 'would' and 'can' and 'may.' The meaning of a sentence can subtly change using these words for example; "I will send you our brochure 'means that the person will receive the brochure.

Interjections are very popular when texting or when using Facebook. These include 'WTF', 'BTW', 'NTH' etc. These should never be used in letters or emails to clients but only when communicating with friends and family. Also substituting words with a letter or number is taboo in the business world. These include using the letter 'u' for 'you' or '4' instead 'for.' text language is another blocked method; for example, using "2" instead of "to." Remember you are writing on behalf of the company so letters should always be businesslike.

Be cautious about when you use capital letters. Only the name of a person, an official work title, an address should have the first letter in capital letters, ensure that all of types of nouns do not have their first letter in capital letters.

We have not been able to cover all of the mistakes made in business writing, but this is a good guide. You should try to be aware of any weaknesses in your writing at work and resignation a plan to correct these shortcomings.

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Source by Theresa Tanvier