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Business Letters





Helpful tips:


Learning how to write an effective business letter can take some practice, but it will not take long before writing professional-sounding letters comes naturally to you.

Here are the basic steps to take when writing a business letter:

  1. Establish what you wish to accomplish when writing the letter. Think about your reader's needs as well.

  2. Jot down a list of the points you wish to cover in the letter.

  3. Write the first draft.

  4. Take a break and allow yourself to "clear your head."

  5. Read over the first draft and make revisions until you feel it is good.

  6. Proofread several times, checking for spelling and grammatical errors. Do not rely solely upon your computer's spelling-check program. Computers do not understand context or homophones.

Using the steps above will help you write a well-thought-out and organized business letter. When writing a letter, it is important to remember that business letters are meant to be professional, not casual. That does not mean the letter needs to sound like a boring government document with big, legal-sounding words. It just means that you will refrain from using some of the more casual words you might use when writing a note to a friend. For instance:

Change: This is great! I had no idea that sales would jump so high!

To: The new sales numbers are very impressive and even higher than I had expected.

Establishing the Tone of Your Letter

In writing, tone is the writer's overall attitude toward the reader and the subject matter. For business letters, the tone should always be professional; however, in different situations, your letter also may need to take on an additional tone, such as the following:


Typically, a business letter is written to a specific individual. It is important to remember, whether or not you know the person, that you are writing to a human being, not to a company. Remember, a business letter is not a report; it is a personal yet professional message. Your words should sound natural, not forced. A business letter should be written in a professional, conversational style. As you are writing, put yourself in your reader's position. Ask yourself, "How would I feel if I received this letter?" Be sure nothing is offensive, impersonal, or unfriendly. Remember, when you are writing a business letter, you are representing not only yourself but your company. Your letters should always express thoughtfulness and sincerity.

Here is an example:

Change: We cannot refund your money unless you include a receipt.

To: So that we can promptly refund your money, please enclose a receipt.

Writing an effective business letter also means putting your reader's needs first. That means using the words "you" and "your" more than "I," "my," "we," and "mine." You always should try to stress the reader's interests and benefits. Notice in the revised example above that the reader's benefit, refunded money, is placed at the beginning of the sentence rather than at the end.

When delivering bad news, the opposite technique should be used. You should take careful attention to first offer a positive explanation before giving the bad news. This is called the "buffer." Then, in closing, you should offer some additional positive words as a "goodwill" gesture. For instance:

Before: Your application for the retail manager position has been rejected. We decided to hire a more qualified candidate.

After:
(buffer): Thank you for taking the time to apply for our retail manager position.

(bad news): Because we are looking for someone with experience in both management and retail sales, we have selected an applicant with more than five years of experience in both fields.

(goodwill): I am sure that, with your background in retail sales, you will soon find a position with another company.

In general, good news should be delivered like this:

  1. Good news

  2. Explanation

  3. Goodwill

Bad news should be delivered like this:

  1. Buffer

  2. Bad news

  3. Goodwill


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