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The Art of Writing Business Letters
As rightly said, "Doing something
efficiently is doing it right, but doing it effectively is doing it well"
An effective business letter is a carrier of
goodwill and strengthen one's business. Letters are the most important
form of business correspondence since the organization has to keep in
touch with the world outside like the customers, government, suppliers,
dealers, media, society, government, banks, insurance agencies,
transporter etc. L. Garside in MODERN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE rightly
classified business letters as Information Letter (Like Routine and
Special Inquiry Letters, Response Letter, Purpose Letter), Sales Letter,
Problem Letter, Complain Letter, Acknowledgement Letter, Adjustment Letter
and Goodwill Letter which can be direct, indirect, persuasive, official,
demi-official, form or internal.
It can be future classified on the basis of
their subject, viz. enquiries, credit information, collection of dues,
complaints, sales promotion, sales circulars, appointment of personnel and
so on. And on the basis of the correspondence of different departments of
an organization. The language, content, style, length, structure, layout,
tone and purpose of a letter are essential to create good impact. Clarify
your purpose of writing whether it is to inform, invite, reiterate,
emphasize, remind, announce or to seek permission by keeping in mind the
reader and putting oneself in the reader's shoe while writing and by
analyzing the skills, knowledge, status and ability of the addressee,
feels Mrs. Veena Punamiya, a Senior Sales Manager of a reputed firm.
A good letter shows consideration and
thoughtfulness, it uses "You" more frequently than "I". Check the phases,
words, grammar and spelling since mistakes, corrections, striking,
overwriting creates a poor impact; have a powerful vocabulary and word
power, she added.
Simplicity, elegance, decency, complicity
and brevity are the hallmark of a good business letter. As said by William
Shakespeare that Brevity is the soul of wit. A communication is said to be
concrete when it is specific, sharp, focused, definite and to the point;
always emphasize on the Positive, Stress on what you can do for the reader
and not what you can't.
Always stay away from negative words and
phases.
A GOOD BUSINESS LETTER FOSTERS GOOD
BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP. Before you begin writing decide your purpose
and the readers needs- by answering all the following W's (why, when,
where, who, what and how); decide what you want to write in first
paragraph, the main body (heart of the letter), and conclusion which may
vary from the conversational style often found in e-mail messages to the
more formal style found in legal documents. Letter Head (Heading),
reference number, date, inside address of the organization, name and
address of the receiver, attention line, subject line, salutation,
complimentary close, signature with date and designation, reference
section (enclosure, courtesy copy - optional) are the parts of the
effective business letter. For accurate E-mail letter - format the
information, keep the contents brief, don't use ALL CAPS and don't get too
informal.
Notification of attachments or additional
information is included at the very end of the letter. Finally, Evaluate
whether you have included all the relevant information and did it
accomplish your purpose.
DO'S of an
Effective Business Letter:-
Be Straight forward, focused, specific and
never manipulate.
Use short and simple words with correct
meaning, punctuations and relevance.
Use short, crisp and succinct paragraphs.
Effectively use Pronouns and Active voice;
minimize use of passive voice.
The Tone should be lively, cordial, polite,
courteous and kind.
Practice consistency, accuracy and
perseverance in writing.
Try to keep your letter to one page; if the
letter continues on the second page don't use letterhead.
Follow the 7 C's of
Business writing: -
clear, concise, correct, courteous,
conventional, convincing and complete.
Emphasize on good quality of paper, letter
head, layout, color, size, spacing, design and margins.
Proofread it carefully.
DONT'S of an
Effective Business Letter:-
Use Bombastic Language.
Begin every paragraph with the word
Write unnecessary information and repetition
of words.
Use emoticons and acronyms.
Written By: Rupal Jain |
Written By
RUPAL JAIN is a faculty at ATHARVA
INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES and can be reached at
jainrupal@sify.com
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