THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA MONTHLY LETTER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74-00005R000200080039-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 8, 1998
• Sequence Number: 39
• Publication Date: October 1, 1965
• Content Type: OPEN

Approved For Release 2001/03/02 : CIA-RDP74-00005R0002
TH E ROYAL BAN K OF CANADA
MONTHLY LETTER
HEAD OFFICE: MONTREAL, OCTOBER 1965
Courtesy in Correspondence
WRITING LETTERS is a skill; writing courteous letters
is a social art worth developing.
Courtesy means that you refuse a favour in so
considerate a way as to keep a friend, and do not
grant credit in so grudging a way as to kill all hope
of future business.
Considerations of manner and demeanour cannot
be dismissed as frivolous or unimportant. They are
significant elements in the lives of everyone from a
statesman engaging in international diplomacy to the
husband and wife making a go of marriage. In busi-
ness, our accomplishments are enhanced by our
observance of decorum and manners.
Every individual is required to operate within the
symbol system of his culture. He uses recognized
patterns of behaviour to demonstrate that he has
the qualities that are respected by his fellow men.
Confucius said: "It is good manners which make
the excellence of a neighbourhood. No wise man will
settle where they are lacking."
It may be true, as some people say, that manners
have progressively deteriorated as society has receded
from the patriarchal stage through industrial revolution
to the affluent age. One of the dangers in the growth
of the democratic spirit is that people come to take
bad manners as a demonstration of freedom from the
discipline of non-democracy, having not yet learned
that the power of the people has its duties as well as
its liberties.
How can we define good manners? To be well-
mannered is to do the thing you should do although
you are not obliged to do it. This means being con-
siderate of others, taking no unfair advantage,
avoiding personalities that hurt people, and never
being intentionally impolite.
Manners are of more importance than laws. The
law touches us only here and there and now and then;
manners vex or please us, exalt or debase us, con-
stantly. Moses is known as the "great law-giver",
particularly because he inscribed the Ten Command-
ments, but he entered the field of manners, too. He
went beyond the "musts" of a well-organized society,
and prescribed the conduct of a gentleman: to be
gentle with those who are afflicted, to refrain from
gossip, to respect the aged, and to be kind even to
strangers.
No matter to what station in life you belong, or
how highly educated you may be, you owe courtesy
to your fellow men. Here is an illustration from the
life of Sir Winston Churchill: On a day in May 1941
when he had already been on his feet in the House of
Commons with hard news about the fighting in Crete,
he rose for a second time with a piece of welcome
news, but he apologized all the same for interrupting
the House: "I do not know whether I might venture,
with great respect, to intervene for one moment. I
have just received news that the Bismarck is sunk."
Good manners include tact, the art of all arts. Tact
means taking pains and some trouble to see that others
are not neglected, and doing the kind thing in a pleas-
ant way. Great leaders are tactful in dealing with peo-
ple, taking many precautions which lesser men neglect.
When writing letters
Have you ever stopped to think how self-revealing
your letters are? Socrates said to a young man who
was introduced to him to have his capabilities tested :
"Talk in order that I may see you." In their letters
people reveal and picture themselves in all their
individuality.
Much of business today is done by correspondence.
We may close the biggest deal without meeting the
person with whom we transact the business. We must
read his letters carefully so as to get his point, and
write our own letters carefully so as to convey our
meaning.
More than that, we need to write letters of good
will. It is courteous to make it evident to your corre-
spondent that you are writing him cheerfully and not
as a chore.
Congeniality makes an important contribution to
1
Approved For Release 2001/03/02 : CIA-RDP74-00005R000200080039-3
 Approved For Release 2001/03/02 : CIA-RDP74-00005R000200080039-3
your happiness, even if it is expressed in face of
hostility. You belittle your dignity if you allow a
discourteous correspondent to set the pattern for
your reply. There is no surer sign of a great mind than
that it refuses to notice annoying expressions and the
cross-grained humours of fellow citizens and col-
leagues. As the Superman boasted in Nietzsche's
doctrine: "I have to carry what is heavy; and what
matter if beetles and May-bugs also alight on my
load!"
Nothing is so disarming to an angry opponent as
composure. Dogs bark at the slightest stir, before
they have seen whether it be caused by friend or foe,
but man's reason gives him the chance to deliberate.
Instead of dashing off an out-of-temper letter with its
sarcastic phrases and blunt aggressiveness we can
analyse the situation, take command of it, and avoid a
shabby display of peevishness.
When a man loses his temper he also loses his
sense of dignity, his common sense, and his feeling
for justice. It is a good rule, when you are so exasperat-
ed that you simply must get something off your chest,
to hold over your letter for a second look tomorrow.
Respect others and yourself
Tune in on people. One of the surest ways to win a
man is to show respect for his knowledge and deference
to his person.
There is no more evident sign of intellectual ill
breeding than to speak or write slightingly of any
knowledge you yourself do not happen to possess.
Your urge to show yourself superior will dig a hole
for your pride.
Men are fighting a constant battle against oblivion,
and do not like being taken for granted. The craving
of people for personal recognition is a deep and
fundamental human need. Your letters should be
written so as to make your correspondent feel im-
portant and capable.
Courtesy demands, therefore, that you treat your
correspondent's name and position and title with
respect. Some people, but they are few, do not care
what you call them so long as they get the information
they want. Most people respect their names, and
expect you to do so too. Your letter, though it be
truthful, must not rub your correspondent the wrong
way. Give him nourishment for his self-esteem.
It is well to keep in mind that the letter you write
may be read by others than the man to whom you
address it: his secretary, his assistant, the person who
will have to deal directly with the matter about which
you write, and the filing clerks. To humiliate your
correspondent in the eyes of these people is to impart
a grievous wound.
Every letter, even the most official, is capable of
a peculiar dignity in the form of it, peculiar in that
it is fitting to your correspondent, to its subject
matter, and to you. It is void of arrogance and yet
not condescending.
A good letter
There is general agreement that if a letter is worth
writing it is worth writing well, and no excuse should
be allowed to interfere. A firm may spend millions
of dollars to advertise its products, only to have some
untrained, uninterested or thoughtless clerk spoil the
effect by writing an uninspired or shoddy letter.
There is room for honest pride in the successful
communication of ideas. Despite all the imposing
titles he won in a lifetime of service to humanity,
Franklin described himself in his Will: "I, Benjamin
Franklin, Printer ... "
To be good communication, your letter ought to
have a tendency to benefit the reader; it should be
written distinctly and clearly. Your words should be
the most expressive that the language affords provided
that they are generally understood.
But there is more to it than that. Good letters are
not merely the written record of information we
desire to reach someone else. We are losing their
greatest effectiveness unless we use them to influence
people. Very few propositions are decided by pure
logic, but involve the imagination and feelings.
Good composition in letter-writing does not mean
using rhyme or alliteration, but the graceful expression
of a creative spirit. It changes the writing of letters
from a dull grind to an exciting exercise in which
your mind gives life to your words.
The basis of all this is to find out the dominant
interest of the person to whom you are writing, and
include in your letter some appeal to that interest.
You cannot just pick up an incoming letter and
start dictating a reply. Take a look at what you want
to express and then think about how to put it down.
Ask yourself what are your correspondent's interests,
and write about them.. You will be surprised to
notice how few are the questions and how unpenetrat-
ing are the comments you receive about your own
activities. Think what interesting things you could
tell if someone pushed the proper button!
When you write a letter you are in competition
with many other writers for your correspondent's
attention and interest. This is not a competition in
which the winner is the man who writes most poeti-
cally, or most grammatically, or most fluently, or
most ornately. It is one in which the prize goes to the
person who can best guide and inform and persuade.
To give information is one function of a letter. To
persuade to some action or belief is another function.
To combine these in friendly language requires the
greatest skill and a warm heart.
All correspondence will adhere to the simple rules
Approved For Release 2001/03/02 : 6A-RDP74-00005R000200080039-3
 Approved For Release 2001/03/02 : CIA-RDP74-00005R000200080039-3
of common decency, but you can go further. Let your easier than to change the intellectual capacity of
letters have something in them not common and another.
ordinary. Just as small talk is necessary in social
intercourse, so small talk is needed in a letter. It helps
to bridge the gap between thought and thought; it
brings down the technicalities and abstractions to the
human level.
The exchange of ideas
A sense of participation and sharing characterizes
successful communication, and this is helped when
you convey something of your feelings and motives.
The most important executive characteristic of
which we are certain is the ability to communicate
two ways - outward and inward. While writing in
such a way as to give your reader the opportunity to
apprehend your meaning readily and precisely, be
sure to give him his turn to express his thoughts so
that you understand them.
The letters exchanged between you and a customer
or supplier are nothing more than a conversation
between two people talking of their affairs. They
should have the grace and urbanity you would use in
a club lounge or over a coffee table.
During these conversations by mail you will run
into these situations: sometimes you are right; some-
times both are partly right; sometimes the other
person is right. Because of these possibilities, you
need to pay attention, not to listen by halves. What
your correspondent is saying to you may be misguided,
but it serves to bring your thinking into focus. The
great orator of ancient times, Cicero, left it on record
that he always studied his adversary's case with as
great, if not with still greater, intensity than his own.
Cicero believed that he who knows only his own side
of the case knows little of that.
When a troublesome suggestion has been made,
restate it clearly and simply for two reasons: to make
sure that you are both writing about the same thing,
and to make evident your sympathy and under-
standing.
Every wise person expects, and welcomes, objections
and opposition to his ideas and plans when he first
brings them forward. He appreciates having these
protests out in the open so that he can meet them and
lead their author toward a different way of thinking.
In developing this written conversation it is impor-
tant to be affable in phraseology and unvaryingly
moderate. We all know people who are handicapped
by the fact that even when their points are valid they
present them with such screechiness as to make us
back away.
If someone has difficulty in taking in what you have
written, think first whether what you wrote was as
clear as you could have made it. The fault may be in
yourself, and to change a fault in oneself is much
People require different periods for mental digestion,
but everyone requires some time to assimilate what he
reads. We should allow for this in our correspon-
dence, and by simplicity of explanation make the
digestive process easier. It is less difficult to move
your correspondent from one point of view to its
opposite by short steps than long ones. Show him
that you have explored alternatives and have ob-
jectively analysed their possibilities and drawbacks.
Always leave a way of escape open to your corre-
spondent. There is much to be said for the old Chinese
doctrine of "face-saving".
And know when to give in. There was a philosopher
who argued with an emperor, and lost. "I am never
ashamed," he remarked, "to be confuted by one who
is master of fifty legions."
Constructive and positive
It is never very satisfactory merely to clear your
correspondent's mind of error; it is equally necessary
to set it thinking correctly. Here is another area where
your personal interest counts. You can dip a thousand
pens into a thousand ink-pots without moving the
mind of your correspondent an inch, but if you pluck
a phrase of interest to him from the activity of your
mind, you have him in the hollow of your hand.
Charming ways are quick winners. These are your
expression of consideration and goodwill. Far from
being evidence of cowardice, intelligent compromise
is often the essence of courageous wisdom. When you
yield on small points which are of concern to your
correspondent, then out of sheer chivalry he is likely
to give in to you on points which are vital to your case.
We can say that the first thing a correspondent
looks for in a letter is friendliness. Then he seeks some
spark of emotional appeal or response.
These are not achieved by having beside you an
array of pleasant words and sentiments for insertion
in your letters. Such a list may help you to express
yourself, but unless your friendliness is real you are
putting up a fragile sham front.
Next on the list, or perhaps it should be first, your
correspondent requires that your reply be prompt.
People may differ about the form a letter should take,
how lengthy it should be, and many other points,
but no one can successfully argue against the need
for promptness in writing.
Some offices have the rule that all letters must be
acknowledged immediately, even though action on
them may be delayed. This courteous gesture serves
to assure the reader that his letter has been received
and will be given full attention.
"Discretion" is a good word for the letter-writer
to have in mind. Take no liberties, either in blaming
3
Approved For Release 2001/03/02 : CIA-RDP74-00005R000200080039-3
 Approved For Release 2001/03/02 : CIA-RDP74-00005R000200080039-3
or in complimenting. Intimacy is not an excuse for
rough manners, nor for telling the truth out of place
or unnecessarily. Prudence in letter-writing will make
up for many lacks.
If, in spite of all your efforts to be moderate and to
compromise, you must disagree with your corre-
spondent, do it gently. Avoid delivering finaljudgments.
Dogmatism is all right in a railroad time-table, but it
has little place in the discussion of a commercial
transaction or a personal problem.
One of the greatest talents is that of knowing when
to give way, and then to yield with good grace. You
thereby remove all appearance of constraint, and
like the warriors in King Henry V, sheathe your swords
for lack of argument.
Complaint letters
There is no more testing exercise in business than
the handling of complaint letters. Do not do it
grudgingly.
A letter of complaint is advance warning of a
possible rupture with your correspondent. A most
effective tactic is to treat it as a constructive suggestion
about how to improve your service. Tell your corre-
spondent he has done you a good turn. A quite
moderate degree of conciliatory behaviour will placate
your correspondent and win him over to the adjust-
ment you suggest.
Above all, if you or your firm are in the wrong,
admit it quickly and whole-heartedly. Instead of
trying out an alibi, or working around to your con-
fession by degrees, come right out and say "You are
entirely correct" or "You are quite right to com-
plain". One of Confucius' most famous sayings is that
"a man who has made a mistake and doesn't correct
it is making another mistake".
Seldom is it safe to joke about a complaint. People
with complaints usually crave sympathy, not humour.
Sarcasm is a sharp weapon and is sure to leave a deep
wound. To make your correspondent appear ridicu-
lous may give you a narrow sort of satisfaction, but
result in grievous harm to your firm or your cause.
Your letter of apology for a mistake need not be
tear-stained, but it should be sincere and should
evidence your integrity and chivalry. As Princess
Victoria wrote in her diary: "People will readily
forget an insult or an injury when others own their
fault and express sorrow or regret at what they have
done." The letter of apology should be signed by an
officer of importance in your organization. This
demonstrates to the man with a grievance that he is
someone of account.
Do not let your people bottle up complaint letters.
Keep a "hot line" open. If an employee takes half a
day to decide that a complaint is worth passing
upstairs to his manager, and the manager hesitates
for a day before admitting that a customer has found
fault with someone or something under his manage-
ment, and one of your assistants holds back the letter
until you are in a receptive frame of mind - then
you have lost the priceless advantage of quick action.
On the other hand - appreciation
Courtesy is not only in response to some challenge
or act. It is outgoing, seeking means for expression.
The worst sin toward our fellow creatures, said the
sharp-tongued George Bernard Shaw, is not to hate
them, but to be indifferent to them.
To praise good work or actions heartily is in some
measure to take part in them. Because there are many
times when it is necessary to deal sternly with people
it seems only sensible to take advantage of every
opportunity to recognize and compliment them. Dr.
Samuel Johnson wrote with bitterness to the Earl
of Chesterfield: "I had done all that I could; and no
man is well pleased to have his all neglected, be it
ever so little."
When someone writes you a letter of particular
charm or ready understanding, do not shy away from
writing to express your cordial appreciation.
We are not machines
In any discussion of letter-writing, someone is sure
to bring up the question of the modern way of doing
things. They deny the fact that communication be-
tween people is not a variation of communication
between computers.
Letter-writing demands that we write as if we were
talking with one of our peers. If we must choose
between discourteous abruptness and the snuffy and
old-fashioned manners of courtesy, business will be
the better and human relations will be happier if we
lean toward the latter. Many schools have most
lamentably neglected to provide pupils with alternative
courtesy phrases to use instead of those which are
condemned.
The greatest social asset that a man or woman can
have is charm, and charm cannot exist without good
manners. This does not mean slavishly following some
rules, but using habitually manners polished by the
continuous practice of kind impulses.
Courtesy is far and away the most effective quality
to lift you above the crowd. It makes you treat every
man with such consideration that his memory of you
will be pleasant.
Ralph Waldo Emerson expressed a true idea of
courtesy in his "Conduct of Life". Some people
brush off good manners as being superficial, but
Emerson said: "Manners are the happy ways of
doing things. If they are superficial, so are the dew-
drops which give such a depth to the morning
meadows."
Approved For Release 2001/03/02: CIA-RDP74-00005R000200080039-3