https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1661/SAFETY-AND-SURVIVAL-IN-AN-EARTHQUAKE-PART-2/
Safety And Survival In An Earthquake, Part 2
SAFETY AND SURVIVAL IN AN EARTHQUAKE, PART 2 THIRD EDITION-AMERICAN RED CROSS SPECIAL TIPS FOR DISABLED AND ELDERLY PERSONS A recent survey of census statistics revealed that an estimated 31.5 million non- institutionalized Americans are functionally limited in some way by a chronic medical condition. 7.9 million are considered severely disabled, that is, unable to carry on some major life activity. As can be expected, disability generally increases with age. Of those aged 65 or older, 46% have a generally increases with age. Of those aged 65 or older, 46% have a chronic activity-limiting disability. These startling facts point dramatically to the need for providing special guidelines for disabled and elderly persons. Many people with disabilities live alone or with family or friends, are employed, go to school, and participate in all activities. Their lives are the same, or very similar to, that of the able-bodied population. However, persons with any type of impairment will need to take some extra precautions for their own safety and survival in the event of a disaster. From the following broad suggestions you may wish to choose those that apply to you and add others tailored to your individual needs. These special tips are designed to be used in addition to the guidelines listed elsewhere in this book. Before a Disaster Strikes Assess your own special need, limitations, and capabilities realistically, and write them down. Make several self-assessment lists; keep one on your person or readily available. This will be helpful to anyone assisting you. Be sure to include your requirements for medications and/or special equipment. Ask someone to be your 'buddy' to help you in case of an emergency. This may be someone who lives with you, a neighbor, a friend, or co-worker. Give this person a copy of your self-assessment list and other pertinent information. Update the information when conditions change! You may wish to give your buddy an extra key to your home or tell him where you keep one available. Identify exits, hallways, doorways, and possible alternate escape routes. Note these on your self-assessment list and sample floor plan. You want to avoid narrow exits, patios, atriums, or other enclosed areas where you may become trapped and escape notice by rescue personnel. Carefully note (and correct if possible) any obstructions that might impede your safe exit from areas in which you spend your time (home, school, work, recreation, etc.). Carry a small flashlight and whistle with you to help signal your whereabouts. Keep your special medications, with duplicate prescriptions, close by and in a safe place where they can be easily reached. These should be ready to be taken with you in case of evacuation. If required, keep extra bladder bags, catheters, and sanitary aids near your medication. A cloth string bag, into which you can scoop these items quickly, is helpful. Keep near you at all times any auxiliary devices you need to aid in your mobility-for example, a walker, crutches, cane, etc. If practical, keep extra mobile aids in different locations (work, school, etc.) Have an auxiliary powered generator at home, as a backup, if you are dependent on electricity for breathing machines, suction machines, etc. Have extra batteries if you use an electric wheelchair. Have extra hearing aid batteries available. Have a notebook and pencils available in several locations if you have difficulty in communicating. Written messages will be invaluable to anyone assisting you. Do not forget pet food, harness and equipment if you have a seeing-eye or hearing dog. During and After an Earthquake If you are able, get under a table or into a doorway. If you are in a wheelchair, lock the wheels of the chair once you are in a safe and protected position. If unable to move safely and quickly, stay where you are (even in bed) and cover your head and body with your arms, pillows, blankets, books, etc., to protect yourself from falling objects. Call for help if you need it! Use your whistle of flashlight to signal others. Bring attention to yourself in any way possible. Don't give up! If you are hearing-impaired and electricity is functioning after the quake, turn on the TV; there will be captioned instructions to watch. Do whatever you can to help yourself until outside assistance arrives. Try to prepare yourself for possible evacuation by gathering your special things together. A small lightweight drawstring bag is handy and easy to carry. Remember, if you have done your planning in advance, your buddy or someone will be coming to help you. HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR FAMILY DISASTER PLAN Use this guide to develop your family's Disaster Plan and to familiarize all family members with actions to take before, during, and after a disaster, particularly an earthquake. You may wish to add supplemental information specific to your family's needs. Have Family Meetings A good way to start is to call a family conference; discuss freely and openly the real possibility of a major earthquake and involve the whole family in the planning process; Walk through your home together. Search for hazards and correct them. Learn and discuss how to protect yourself during an earthquake. Observe and become familiar with the location of utility shutoff valves. Instruct family members how to shut off valves properly. Delegate responsibility for specific tasks to family members. Plan for special needs of family members (infants, chronically ill, elderly). Instruct family members (especially children) how to call emergency phone numbers. Plan for family members to take Red Cross training in first aid and CPR. Plan how to evacuate safely after a quake if necessary. Draw a floor plan of your home indicating escape routes, the location of emergency supplies, and location of utility shutoffs. Hold earthquake drills; be sure family members are familiar with the plan. Practice evacuation of the home. Determine 3 or 4 nearby reunion locations, e.g., neighbors, Red Cross shelter, relatives. Identify an out-of-town friend or relative to be your contact person if family members are separated during a disaster. Share and discuss your plan with neighbors, friends, relatives, and coworkers. Total family preparedness must also include preparedness in the workplaces and in the schools that the family children attend. This is essential to provide the maximum possible peace of mind in knowing that other family members are prepared and/or cared for in the immediate confusion following an earthquake. For the purposes of the earthquake course, and in your planning 'the family' is not limited to the traditional mother, father, and children. It could be a 'family' of roommates, friends, neighbors, or even the residents of an apartment building. If you are a single person, you should create a family of friends or neighbors for disaster planning and assistance. HAVE ON HAND: Flashlight with spare batteries. Keep a flashlight beside your bed. Portable radio with spare batteries. Most telephones will be out of order or used for emergency purposes so radios will be your best source of information. First aid kit: Have a first aid kit and book such as the Standard First Aid and Personal Safety by the American National Red Cross. Have members of your household take basic first aid and CPR courses. Food: Have sufficient canned or dehydrated food and powdered milk for at least two weeks of meals. Water: It should be stored in airtight containers and replaced about every 12 months. A family of 4 should have about 6 gallons for 3 days. Also have purification tablets, but read the label on the bottle before using them. Pipe wrenches and crescent wrenches for turning off gas and water mains. HOW TO USE THE FLOOR PLANS Draw your house or apartment floor plan. Don't worry about how it looks- the artwork is not important! Now mark the exits, emergency equipment, and utility turn-off locations on your floor plan. The importance of this exercise is to have you actually learn these locations and mark them down. It is also very helpful when discussing how to escape from your home safely during a fire or other emergency. Also, note the reunion place where all family members will meet following the evacuation. Post your completed emergency floor plan in an accessible location such as inside a cupboard or closet door, back porch, or garage. Inform family members, baby sitters, and neighbors where it can be found in case of an emergency. HOME PREPAREDNESS Place large and heavy objects on lower shelves. Securely fasten shelves to walls. Remove glass bottles from medicine cabinets and from above or around the bathtub and sink. Remove all flammable liquids such as painting and cleaning products to the garage or outside cupboard. Store in proper containers. Make sure your home or place of work has ample exits that will not be blocked with fallen debris. Fasten all top-heavy furniture such as refrigerators, tall bookcases, and glass cabinets, to the walls by means of hooks, angle brackets or braided wire. Install fasteners or latches on cupboard doors. Strong child-proof latches will work well. Apply the same precautionary measures to your places of work. Secure, or bring to the attention of the appropriate person(s), apparatus that could move or fall, dangerous chemicals, and unreachable emergency shutoff switches. Hold a home earthquake drill. Provide your family with knowledge to prevent injury and panic during earthquakes. Practice what you have learned by holding an earthquake drill. Bolt down water heaters and other gas appliances, or strap them securely to the nearest walls. Fires start from broken gas lines and appliance connections. Use flexible connectors whenever possible. Relocate beds, if possible, so they are not directly under large windows. To secure a water heater, place two strips of metal straps or plumber's tape around the water heater (1 strap approximately 1/3 down from top of water heater and the other 1/3 up from the bottom of tank). Secure straps by bolting to the studs with 1/4'-diameter lag screws or bolts with washers. PROTECTING YOUR DECORATIVE ITEMS, ARTWORK, AND COLLECTIBLES The following suggestions have been gathered from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, to assist you in protecting from earthquake damage the decorative items, artwork, and collectibles in your home and office. Earthquakes cause things to fall from shelves and 'jump' off walls. They also cause cabinets, bookcases, and tall, narrow tables or pedestals to topple. Therefore the first step in protection is to secure the cabinet, case or stand itself. You may be hesitant to drill holes in your cabinets in order to protect them. Only you can decide whether you are willing to risk losing the entire piece of furniture and its contents rather than bolting it to the wall. The second step is to be sure that all cabinets with doors have secure latches. Those advertised as 'child-proof' or 'positive' latches are good. The third step is to secure the items themselves, as well as possible, without packing them all away. In determining how to secure them, take into consideration the composition of the item itself and of the shelf, stand, or wall on which it is displayed. Guidelines for material compatibility are given below. Also consider whether you intend to leave things in place for a long time or to move them frequently. Many strong aftershocks will follow an earthquake. You may wish, after the quake, to pack away special items until the aftershock period has passed, to avoid exposing them to continued risk. Methods of Anchoring Items: 1. Microcrystalline wax. Microcrystalline wax, available from hardware or hobby stores, can be used in tiny dabs to secure glass or high-fire ceramics to glass shelves. Do not use on ceramics with low-fire glazes or on porous surfaces; they will absorb the wax, causing damage and providing no security. 2. Natural waxes, such as beeswax. Natural waxes, available at hobby stores, can be used in small balls beneath almost any kind of decorative items to attach them to most kinds of shelving. For greatest adhesion, circle the entire bottom edge of the item with wax. 3. Silicone adhesives, available in tubes at hardware stores, can be used on non-porous surfaces such as glass, ceramic, or metal, from which it can be carefully peeled if you need to remove it. 4. Double-sided foam tape. Available in many supermarkets, variety stores, and hardware stores in rolls and 'spots,' double-sided tape has permanent adhesive. It adheres firmly; that is, when you try to remove it, the foam center splits and the adhesive surface remains. It cannot be peeled from soft surfaces, such as wallboard, without damage to the surface. It can be removed from slick hard surfaces, such as glass, with solvent or a razor blade. 5. Velcro. Adhesive-backed Velcro spots or strips are effective for flat-bottomed items sitting on shelves. As with other tapes, the adhesive can be difficult to remove. 6. Wire bracket. For dishes or other items that stand on a narrow edge, a wire bracket that clasps the item and can be attached firmly to a wall or shelf is recommended. These may be purchased or made at home. 7. Monofilament and eye hook. Similar to the wire bracket, but less visible, monofilament (fishing line) can be wrapped around an object, such as the neck of a vase or a piece of sculpture, and attached to a screw eye (eye hook), which is screwed into a stud in the wall or into a wooden shelf. For tall items, a combination of adhesive beneath the base and monofilament line near the top is recommended. 8. Pictures, mirrors, and wall-hung items. Prevent wall-hung items from jumping off their hooks by using screw eyes rather than open hooks in the wall, and run the hanger wire through the screw eyes. 9. Recessed shelves with sand. For very valuable items, or an extensive collection of small items, you can have a recessed shelf made, and fill it with fine sand. The sand help to hold items upright and provides cushioning if they fall. Caution Regarding Florist's Clay: While florists' clay has sometimes been recommended for use under objects, the Museum of Art advises that many florists' clays contains sulfur, which can damage both your decorative items and your shelves. WILL YOUR HOME SURVIVE? This section is designed as a very basic overview of the safety of your home. For more information, consult a structural engineer, architect, your local building department, or any one of the excellent books on the subject. 1. Joints. Basically, for the building to stay together during an earthquake, all parts have to be fastened together. The foundations must stay in the ground, the substructure on the foundation, the floor on the substructure, the walls on the floor, and the roof on. 2. Foundation. Check to make certain your house is securely attached to the foundations. Many wood-frame buildings built before the 1950s are not bolted to their foundations, but this can be corrected without great expense. Foundations beneath mobile homes need to be reinforced and the undercarriage of the home tied securely to the foundation. If these steps are not taken, the mobile home will be thrown from its pier foundation even during small tremors. Be sure any tie-down system you purchase has state Department of Building and Safety approval. 3. Stucco/gypsum walls. Stucco walls without adequate sheathing may be strengthened by the addition of plywood. Check to make certain that garage and basement walls have adequate lateral bracing. The addition of plywood sheathing is an inexpensive way to strengthen a wall. 4. Masonry wall facade. Remove or secure dangerous masonry moldings and facades, check that any masonry is securely attached to your home. If your chimney is very tall, consider means of strengthening or supporting it. 5. Other tips: Consider replacing large plate glass windows with safety glass. Install positive latches on all cabinets. Study the possibility of purchasing earthquake insurance. It may be a sound investment for you. If you rent your home, discuss these recommendations with your landlord. FIRE SAFETY Following a major earthquake, your local fire department may be overwhelmed with calls for assistance. They may be unable to respond to small residential fires (frequently caused by arcing wires, downed electrical lines, damaged wiring in appliances, etc.) Having a suitable home fire extinguisher in good condition, and knowing how to use it, may save your home-even your life! Remember, in 1906 the city of San Francisco was almost destroyed by fire, not by the earthquake. Fire Extinguishers When used correctly, fire extinguishers can: Keep small fires from becoming big ones Provide an escape route through a small fire Help fight a small fire until the fire department arrives (if they are able to respond) There are three major classes of fire: Ordinary combustibles (paper, cloth, wood, rubber, many plastics). Flammable liquids (oils, gasoline, kitchen greases, paints, solvents) Electrical equipment (fires in wiring, fuse boxes, motors, power tools, appliances) You may find the traditional A-B-C labels, or both the labels and the newer symbols on an extinguisher. To be safe and effective, you must use the right kind of extinguisher for each type of fire. If you plan to buy only one extinguisher, a multi-purpose dry chemical type labeled A-B-C puts out most types of fires. Place your extinguisher in an accessible location. Your local fire department will be pleased to recommend the proper sizes, numbers of extinguishers, and mounting locations for your home. HOW TO OPERATE YOUR FIRE EXTINGUISHER Learn Now, Before There's A Fire: Read the label Instruct all family members Periodically review instructions and operations. Learn how to P-A-S-S: Pull the pin or ring. Some units require releasing a lock latch, pressing a puncture lever, or other motion. Aim the extinguisher nozzle at the base of the fire. Squeeze or press the handle. Sweep from side to side slowly at the base of the fire until it goes out. If the fire gets big, get out! Close the door to slow the spread of the fire. SMOKE DETECTORS In addition to fire extinguishers, properly installed smoke detectors save lives! A smoke detector could warn you if a fire breaks out after an earthquake, in an uninhabited area of the home, or when you are sleeping. Location of a Smoke Detector The National Fire Protection Association states that 'smoke detectors shall be installed outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms, and on each additional story of the family living unit, including basements, and excluding crawl spaces and unfinished attics.' For maximum protection, smoke detectors should be installed on the wall or ceiling in each sleeping room and in each hallway, corridor, or adjacent area to any such sleeping room. Where sleeping rooms are on an upper level, a detector should also be placed in the center of the ceiling directly above the stairway. Avoid installation in bathrooms and in areas exposed to heating and air-conditioning vents. Smoke detectors require minor periodic maintenance, such as dusting and replacing batteries (if yours is battery powered). All smoke detectors, whether battery-operated or powered by house current, must be tested at least once a month. If you install a smoke detector on a wall, the top of the detector should be no closer than four inches and no farther than 12 inches to the ceiling. If you have additional questions about fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, or fire safety, check with your local Fire Department. IMPORTANT FAMILY RECORDS Use this list for your important family records. You may wish to add to this list-just staple another sheet to this form. Place these records in a safe location (such as a metal box or a safety deposit box). List Key Work or School Addresses and Phone Numbers of All Family Members Here: Father's Work: (Name of Business)____________________________________________ Address:_
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1334/TIPS-ON-WRITING-SALES-LETTERS/
Tips On Writing Sales Letters
TIPS ON WRITING SALES LETTERS Sales letters have many purposes: to sell a specific product, to sell the agency image, to keep customers informed of new coverage options, to complement service functions. But when it comes down to it they all serve one end-to sell the product and then keep it sold. Here are some tips on writing sales letters. OPENINGS CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOUR LETTERS If your sales letters start by stressing benefits, there's a good chance you'll be successful in getting your message across. Here are some effective opening statements: examples of important concepts with which to begin your future letters. QUOTE-INDIRECT. According to a feature in Business Week, a man in your income bracket can expect to have approximately $175,000 in his estate by age 65. CASE HISTORY. The X Company, about your size, recently doubled sales in just six months. SHOCK. Every week, businesses just like yours waste up to $X in wasted copying costs. DO YOU REMEMBER? Do you remember when a gallon of gasoline cost 25 cents? (This type of thing can probably also go into the 'shock' category.) QUESTION. Would you bet $5 a day that your current copier is better than ours? You might just be making that bet-every day. ENVY. Mary lost 23 pounds in just four weeks. You can too. EMOTIONAL. While you read this, needy children . . . DO YOUR SALES LETTERS NEED A FACE LIFT? 1. More effective selling letters: Use direct-mail experience to improve business letters. Specific suggestions: Use an opening that promises the reader a benefit (a free booklet, time or money savings, and so on). Ask a question that gets the reader to agree with the points in your letter mentally. Get news into the message. Keep the opening paragraph short. Alternate long and short paragraphs. Address the reader as an individual. Get to the point quickly. Don't annoy the reader by saying obvious things about his or her own business. To carry a reader through the entire letter, use conjunctions liberally. They work particularly well at the opening of sentences and paragraphs. Keep the tone personal, low-pressured, friendly, sincere, informal. After writing the first paragraph, ask yourself: Is that what I'd say after the handshake if I were calling in person? 2. NEW! the 'Five Letter Word Formula' for easy reading. Short words. Short sentences. Short paragraphs. All help to make letters easy to read. And here's a new easy-to-use formula to check the readability of your letters. It's called the 'Five Letter Word Formula' and was developed by Maxwell Ross from a book called The Art of Plain Talk, by Rudolf Flesch. Here's what you do: Count the number of words in your letter, omitting all proper names, the salutation, and the close. Determine how many words with five letters or less you've used. Divide this total by the number of words in your letter. Thus you have your score. If you're near 75%, this is about right. If you fall below 70%, watch out! Your writing is more difficult to read than it should be. Why not print out some letters today and check their readability? It's time well spent. An Easy Way To Shorten Sentences Leave out the word 'that' whenever you can. While you're checking those copies for readability, check for unneeded 'that's' and 'which's.' Example: We are sure that you will like our new Zollywog. Simplified: We are sure you will like our new Zollywog. Another: Please endorse the check which you will receive. Simplified: Please endorse the check you will receive. Deleting a 'that' here and a 'which' there will streamline your writing. Yet the meaning will still be clear. But don't overdo this. Any writing technique, if overdone, brings attention to itself-and you don't want that! Headline Power. Two out of three readers notice an ad, but only two out of five start to read it. Once they start, about half will read at least half of the ad. To grab the most readers, write a headline that quickly and clearly communicates the subject, while making a convincing promise to the reader. A recent study found that the best headlines are no longer than 12 words, mention a product feature or benefit, and include the product name. WRITING THE 'GRABBER' Whether your sales letters are the first contact you have with your customer or prospect or the follow-up to a personal interview, you have to create a strong impression in your reader's mind. Some guidelines for writing effective, 'grabbing' letters can be found in this article from Small Business Report. SALES LETTER: MAKE IT WORK Selling by letter is the most demanding test of communication skills. Words alone must do the job. Write in strong, colorful language that gets ideas across in a way your reader will understand. Don't try to write a sales letter unless you have an idea to sell. Determine your audience: men, women, corporate presidents, salespeople, buyers. People in different positions and even different parts of the country often require different approaches. Being careful on this point can pay big dividends. A good sales letter has powerful sales arguments. Good writing, as such, has little to do with it. Grammar, style, and vocabulary take a back seat. Forget what your English teacher told you about redundancies. Don't be afraid to say, 'This gift is yours absolutely free without any obligation on your part whatsoever.' Aren't all gifts free? And doesn't 'absolutely free' mean 'without obligation'? But free gifts get more attention than mere gifts. Be redundant. Use precise, exact, and specific all in the same sentence. Use new, fresh, and revolutionary in another. Such sentences work. They sell! A writer who is not a sales writer might say that your letter is too repetitious, that you could easily cut it in half, that it should be a short, concise one-pager that tells its story quickly and directly. But a sales letter must sell, must lead the reader to take action. It must emphasize over and over and over again. It must stress the desired action repeatedly. Start thinking in terms of composition, and you're a dead duck. Your sales story has to be true. But more than that, it must sound true. Sometimes the plain facts can sound like a hopeless exaggeration. To gain credibility, use your facts and figures to build your case point by point. Then use testimonials that come across truthfully. The first step is to gather facts and come up with ideas. A good sales letter creates interest, desire, and reasons for buying or taking other action. Even then, the world's most compelling letter cannot endow a product with values it doesn't have. But if performance can live up to promise, a good sales letter will get you customers. The second step is to put the ideas on paper, first as notes and outlines, then as a rough draft. The first sentence of a sales letter must be a grabber. If you don't immediately grab the reader's interest and make him or her want to read further, all your efforts will be wasted as the letter gets tossed into the waste basket. Write and rewrite your opening sentence until you are sure it makes a compelling entrance for your presentation. Build your letter around the needs, fears, desires, happiness, or profitability of your readers. Slant the language and thought toward him or her. The reader is interested in his or her own problems, opportunities, and success, not in yours or your company's. The only reason a customer buys is for self-benefit. Stress what action you want the reader to take by explaining it, and then emphasizing it in several places in the letter. The third step is to be the critical editor and delete and rewrite until it says what you want it to say. Writers say, 'Cut it until it bleeds.' Keep rewriting, cutting out the flab until the substance of the thought is revealed. Lean writing moves people to action. When your sales letter is completed, evaluate it. Does the opening sentence arouse interest? Do subsequent paragraphs create desire? Are there convincing reasons for buying or taking action? Does each paragraph lead to the next and the next, giving your letter momentum? Is it written in the language of your average prospect? Does it give the prospect enough information to make a decision? Have you used testimonials? Do you ask for definite action and then make it easy for the prospect to act? Have you enclosed a folder, circular, or other sales literature with the letter? As A Follow-Up Sales letters should also be used to follow up sales calls. Even an impressive sales presentation will fade from your prospect's memory. Keep the door open with a series of letters that stress what was missed or slighted during the sales call. Develop a series of letters to fit the type of product each sale represents. Follow-ups work best spaced one to two weeks apart. Personalized letters are expensive. So make only the first letter in a series personal. Then switch to form letters. Include a reply card with each letter so the prospect can request literature, prices, or a sales call. Each letter should emphasize a different feature relating to such things as cost benefits, quality, service, delivery, workmanship, design, and so on. Enclose something the prospect can use-a catalogue, case history, feature story, testimonial, price list, or annual report. Also, remember people get promoted, transferred, and fired. One of your follow-up letters should be the 'list-cleaning' letter that updates your mailing list. To find out if your letters are still reaching the right person, enclose a reply card asking, 'Are we addressing you properly? If not, please make the change in Name, Title, Department, Address in the space provided below.' Not only will this direct your sales letter to the key people, it can also help identify new prospects. If one person is promoted, you can work to convince both that person and his or her replacement in your next sales letter. ONE THING AT A TIME The more ideas you put in a single letter, the less you can emphasize any one of them. This applies to all kinds of letters. The proof, however, is most obvious in the field of selling. In all the years we've been selling by mail, we have rarely succeeded in selling two different items in the same letter. Every time we introduce a second item, even briefly, total sales or leads produced by the letter declines. Sales of the second item or service, or sales response cards, rarely make up for the loss of sales caused by distracting attention from the first item. If you want to make an impression on your readers, sell one product at a time. Having Trouble Getting Started? Below are eleven suggestions for the opening paragraph of a letter. One of them is bound to fit almost any situation: 1. Use a tie-in with the letter you are answering: The problem raised in your letter of July 3 is not an easy one to answer. Ms. Smith, our president, has asked me to reply to your letter concerning late deliveries. 2. Plunge directly into the subject of your letter-especially if it is something that can be easily understood without a lengthy introduction. In your order, which was shipped today, two items were omitted. Here are the specifications on which we are soliciting bids. 3. Use the you point of view. Your courtesy in sending us advance notice is appreciated. You will be pleased to know . . . 4. Ask a question. It's a good way to force attention. Have you reviewed your requirements for the coming season? When do you expect to ship our order No. 6141? 5. Make a statement of fact pertinent to the subject at hand. Twenty of our home office salespeople are driving leased automobiles at considerable savings. 6. Show your appreciation! Thank you for your interest in our new models. You were very thoughtful to forward the samples. 7. Open with a name that means something to your reader. Your neighbor, Mr. Jones, suggested I write you. 8. Open with a story or saying that has a special meaning in this case. My father, a Vermont farm boy, had a favorite expression: 'A hit bird flutters.' Your recent letter caused such a flutter that I'm sure your criticism was justified. 9. Make an offer or give a gift. Please accept with our compliments the enclosed tickets to the Home Furnishing Show. 10. When appropriate, a bit of friendly sentiment is an excellent opening. It creates a friendly atmosphere for the entire letter. It's a pleasure to have an excuse for writing you. I still chuckle every time I recall the delightful evening we spent together at the convention. 11. Make a challenge! We can cut your utility costs by 10% -- if not, out service costs you nothing. There are other ways to start a letter, of course, but we hope this list will occasionally help you over the hump. Most important, don't be afraid to use an opening that gets immediately to the heart of the subject. Don't be afraid to write a short letter. As long as it is polite and friendly-not insultingly abrupt-a short letter is usually more forceful, more effective than a long one, especially if the longer one contains a lot of needless introductory remarks. WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE Nonsexist language is a must in your sales letters and promotions. The following excerpts from 'How to Avoid Sexism When Writing Copy' by Brian Christian Turley in Direct Marketing Magazine will give you some clues, and do's and don'ts, to avoid offending one-half of your potential prospects. P.S. Be careful about the salutations of your sales letters, too. In the absence of further information, 'Ms.' is better than guessing about the marital status of 'Mary Smith.' If a woman prefers to be called 'Miss' or 'Mrs.,' she will generally indicate that on her correspondence. HOW TO AVOID SEXISM WHEN WRITING COPY Women and men should always be treated equally in copy, and in illustrative material as well. At no time should a woman be described strictly in terms of her appearance. She should never be stereotyped in terms of life-style or job function or patronized in terms of femininity. Women and men should be treated with the same degree of respect, vis-a-vis job, physical attributes, and ability-mental, physical, or otherwise. At no time should women be demeaned through use of innuendo or cliches such as flighty, curvy, catty, fragile, gossipy, spinsterish, ladylike. Here are some common wrongs and rights: Wrong: Chairman Salesman Fireman Foreman Mailman Businessman Bakeryman Statesman Congressman Right: Presiding Officer, the Chair, Leader, Moderator Sales Representative Fire Fighter Supervisor, Group Leader Carrier, Delivery Person Business Executive Baker, Pastry Chef Leader, Opinion Maker Representative, Member of Congress Just eliminating 'man' whenever it's a suffix is most often the simplest thing to do when searching for the proper word. What's more difficult is to make judgements about situations and how people are portrayed in typical instances. Traditionally, men are portrayed as strong, decisive, risk-taking and athletic, and women as sensitive, demure, prone to tears, shy, delicate, and non-assertive. The trick comes in making the sexes equal no matter what their traditional roles or stereotypes. Unfortunately, English is without a pronoun that straddles the sexes-one which can be used as a 'neuter,' if you will, in he/she situations. The result is that we generally opt to use the masculine. The only way around the problem, most often, is to use 'his and her,' making an attempt to vary the masculine and feminine pronouns to 'her and his' for a change of pace and fairness. Unquestionably, this technique sometimes contributes to contrived, forced, and self-conscious writing. But there aren't too many other options. With thought, however, the pronoun need not appear at all: The typical sailmaker likes his thread heavy and waxed. The typical sailmaker likes heavy, waxed thread. The simplest thing to do is just reconstruct the sentence entirely, using the plural, the closest we have in the language to a generic, all-purpose pronoun: Sailmakers like their thread heavy and waxed. Alternatively, the 'his or her' can be replaced with 'one': The typical sailmaker is one who prefers heavy, waxed thread. The dictum is clear enough. Women and men should be cast as people, humans- not as beings in opposition. They should share characteristics and abilities, swap roles and missions, portrayals and personifications. Vive la difference! But please, don't make a big deal out of it in a letter. In essence, writers should avoid treating men and women as members of the opposite sex.