Business
Letters
BUSINESS LETTERS 2
Any business will have to correspond in writing
with its customers, branches, suppliers, bankers,
and others with whom it has or would like to have
a lasting relationship
Business letters serve as a means to reach out to
people not only within the locality and
neighbourhood but also in other cities and nations
They represent you when you conduct
transactions in writing
They have become such an integral part of every
day business that one cannot think of running a
business without the related correspondence.
BUSINESS LETTERS
Though there are many modern communication 3
methods available these days, the traditional
business letters still retain their importance in the
business world for the following reasons:
Just as your personal letters help you keep your personal
relationship with your friends and relatives alive, business
letters assist you in sustaining your business relationships
with other businesses and customers.
They are the appropriate form of communication when
the information you wish to convey is complex.
They serve as permanent records and are a valuable
repository of information, which you can refer to in future.
They help you reach a large and geographically diverse
audience thereby enabling you to save money on
telephone calls.
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Purpose
The ultimate purpose of writing any business letter
is to sustain the existing business relationships or to
create and establish a new business relationship.
But each individual letter will have a unique
purpose. For example, when you apply for a job,
you aim at offering your services to your
prospective employer.
Similarly, as the purchase manager of a company
when you write a letter complaining about the
damaged consignment, your aim is not only to
bring the flaw to the notice of the recipient but
also to request for a corrective action.
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Business letters therefore are written for varied
purposes as mentioned below;
to inform
to congratulate
to enquire
to order
to request
to collect dues
to complain
to make an adjustment
to sell a product, service, or scheme
to apply for a job
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Structure
Business letters are different from personal letters as
they have a distinct structure and layout.
Although there are different types of letters, each
relevant in a specific context, they share a common
structure comprising various elements or parts.
You need to be familiar with not only these different
elements but also their positioning in the letter and
the purpose for which they are included in the letter.
Several of these elements appear in every letter;
others appear only when desirable or appropriate.
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Standard Elements
Heading: This element is also known as the letterhead,
which shows the organization’s name, full address, and
also telephone numbers.
If the letterhead is not used, the heading includes the
sender’s address.
Letterheads have the potential to create a favourable
impression and hence need to be designed with
thought and imagination.
The colour and quality of paper, the size of the
letterhead, the type of fonts that are used, and the
spacing are factors to be carefully considered.
Many companies even seek the help of advertising
agencies to design their letterheads.
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Whenever a letterhead paper is not used, the sender’s
address is either aligned with left margin or few spaces away
from the centre depending upon the layout of the letter.
For example, the same heading given above can be
displayed as follows:
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Standard Elements
Date: This refers to the date the letter was written. It
includes the date, the month, and the year. You
can represent this in either of the following two
ways:
3 June 2003 or June 3, 2003
For international correspondence, check the
accepted format for the recipient’s region.
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Standard Elements
Inside Address This part of the letter identifies the recipient of the letter and is
separated from the date by at least one blank line. The amount of space
separating the inside address from the date may be adjusted to suit the length of
the letter.
A courtesy title should precede the recipient’s name. Table 13.1 shows you the
appropriate titles to be used.
It is always best to address your letter to a specific person.
You can usually identify the name of the person by checking the organization’s
website or telephoning the organization.
If you do not know the name of a specific person, it is acceptable to address the
letter to the department or to a job title.
Immediately following the addressee’s name and title, separate lines should
contain the name of the company, the street address or post office box number,
and the city and state or province with proper postal code or zip code. If you are
writing internationally, the addressee’s country should follow in capital letters and
occupy the last line of inside address.
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Standard Elements
Salutation: Always try to address your letter to a person
by name rather than title. If you must send a form letter
or if you cannot find a specific name, you may choose
a salutation such as:
Dear Committee Member
Dear Students
Dear Colleagues
To All Sales Reps
To Whom It May Concern
Dear Sir or Madam
Dear Madam or Sir
Dear Purchasing Agent
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Standard Elements
Message: This part of your letter will usually occupy the
greatest amount of space.
It should be single-spaced, with a blank line separating
it from the preceding and the following parts of your
letter.
In addition, you should also separate each paragraph
of your message by a blank line.
Within the message part or the main text of your letter,
you can use formatting to help the reader.
For example you can use bulleted lists, italics, and bold
fonts.
But be certain that these are consistent with the existing
practice or style of letter writing in your organization.
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Standard Elements
Complimentary Close This element is a single word or phrase, separated from the message by a
blank line. Here is a list of expressions that can be used for complimentary closing:
Sincerely
Cordially
Truly
Faithfully
Respectfully
Faithfully yours
Respectfully yours
Cordially yours
Truly yours
Sincerely yours
Yours sincerely
Yours truly
Yours obediently
Yours faithfully
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Standard Elements
Signature Block The complimentary closing line is followed by
the signature block, which includes your signature, name and
title.
Every letter must end with a signature to give authenticity to the
information contained in it. An unsigned letter is of no
consequence.
Place the signature block four lines below the complimentary
close. Include your name and the title.
If your name might leave the reader in doubt about your
gender, you may include a title in the signature block as shown
in the sample given below:
Cordially,
Ms. Santosh Singh
Senior Executive
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Standard Elements
Your letterhead indicates that you are representing your organization.
However, if your letter is on plain paper or runs to a second page, you may want to emphasize that you are
writing legally for the company.
The accepted way of doing so is to place the company’s name in capital letters a double space below
the complimentary close and then include the sender’s name and title four lines below that.
Sincerely,
SHAREWELL INDUSTRIES
Mr.Atul Chauhan
President
If an organization has delegated the authority of signing letters to an executive by the Power of Attorney,
that executive will add per pro. or pp. just before the name of the organization and sign below it as:
Cordially,
Per Pro. Sharewell Industries
Lakshmi Deshpande
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Additional Elements
Formal letters differ greatly in subject matter, the identifying
information they need (such as addressee notation, attention line,
subject line, or reference line) and also the format they adopt.
The following elements may be used in any combination,
depending upon the requirements of the particular letter, but
generally in the order shown below:
Addressee notation
Attention line
Subject line
Reference initials
Enclosure notation
Copy notation
Mailing notation
Postscript
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Addressee Notation
This sort of notation generally appears a double space above
the inside address, in all capital letters. Personal, Confidential or
Please Forward, Through Proper Channel are examples of such
notations which are used in letters that have a restricted
readership or that must be handled in a special way.
Attention Line
An attention line can be used to draw the attention of a
particular person or a particular department in an organization
so as to ensure a quick and prompt action on your letter.
You may place the attention line two spaces below the inside
address. This line is included in the following manner:
Attention: Dr Satish Yadav
Attention: Personnel Manager
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Subject Line This element lets the recipient know at a
glance what the letter is about; it also indicates where to
file the letter for future reference.
It usually appears below the salutation. But sometimes it is
placed above the salutation and below the attention line:
Dear Mr Gupta:
Subject: Information regarding last week’s inspection
Attention: Personnel manager
Subject: Information regarding last week’s inspection
Dear Mr Gupta:
The attention line and the subject line are generally given
in bold as well as capital letters.
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Reference Initials: Often, one person may dictate or write the
letter and another may produce it. On such occasions,
reference initials are included to show who helped prepare the
letter. Reference initials appear two spaces below the last line of
the signature block. If the writer’s name appears in the signature
block, only the preparer’s initials are necessary. If only the
department’s name appears in the signature block, both sets of
initials should appeal usually in one of the following forms:
Ksm/rk
Ksm:rk
KSM:RK
The first set of initials is the writer’s and the second set is the helper’s.
At times, the letter may be written, signed, and prepared by different
persons. In such case, at least the file copy of a letter should bear all
the three sets of initials ( KSM/AS/rk: signer, writer, preparer). When
business people key in their own letters, reference initials are not
included. With the increased use of electronic mails, the use of
reference initials are becoming more and more rare.
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Enclosure Notation: This appears at the bottom of
the letter, one or two lines below the reference
initials. Some common forms are:
Enclosure: Draft of proposal
Enclosures: Two
Enclosures: 1. Report (10 pages)
2. Photographs (2)
3. List of participants
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Copy Notation: This indicates who is receiving a courtesy copy (cc). Some
companies indicate copies made on a photocopier (pc), or they simply use
copy (c).
Recipients are listed in the order of rank if they hold different ranks or in alphabetical
order if they hold equal ranks. This part follows reference initials or enclosure notations:
Cc: Charles Mathew
Pc: Leela Sampson
Copy to Ben Adams
C: Rahul Bhatia
In addition to the name of an individual, copy notation may include any combination
of that person’s courtesy title, position, department, company, and complete address,
along with notations about any enclosures being sent with the copies.
Cc: Charles Mathew, with the list of absentees and with a request to look into the
matter.
At times, copies are sent to benefit readers other than the person who receives the
original letter. In that case, place the notation bc, bcc, or bpc (blind copy, blind
courte. copy or blind photocopy) with the name where the copy notation would
normally appear—but only on the copy, not on the original.
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Mailing Notation This is placed either at the bottom of the letter after reference
initials or enclosure notations, or at the top of the letter above the inside
address on the left hand side. Mailing notations such as By Registered Post, By
Courier, By Speed Post, etc. will generally appear in capital letters to catch the
attention. In addition, the same notation will appear on the envelope also.
Postscript Letters may also bear postscripts, i.e., afterthoughts to the letter, to
the messages that require emphasis, or personal notes. The postscript is usually
the last item on any letter and may be preceded by PS., PS or nothing at all.
You can also show a second afterthought with the notation PPS., meaning
post postscript.
As far as possible try to avoid using postscripts as they convey an impression of
poor planning. However, you can use them in your sales letters, not as an after
thought but as a punch line to remind the reader of a benefit of taking
advantage of the offer.
The following example (Exhibit 13.1) shows both standard and additional
elements.
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Layout
Suitable and correct layout enhances the overall effectiveness of any
letter. The layout helps to arrange all the elements of a business letter
in an organized manner.
Although the basic parts of a business letter have remained the same
for centuries, the layouts do change. Sometimes a company adopts a
certain format as its policy; sometimes the individual letter writer is
allowed to choose the format most appropriate for a given letter or to
settle on a personal performance, but in general, four major letter
layouts are commonly used.
Block layout
Modified block layout
Semi-block layout
Simplified layout
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Block Layout
This form (Exhibit 13.2) is extremely popular as it
makes the letter look attractive, elegant, and
efficient. It has the following characteristics:
All elements except the letterhead heading are
aligned to the left margin.
It follows open punctuation. In other words the end
punctuation marks are omitted in each element
except the salutation, complimentary close, and
message.
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Modified Block Layout
Modified block format (Exhibit 13.3) differs from
block format in the positioning of certain
elements:
Heading, complimentary close, and signature
block are aligned vertically with the right margin.
Although businesses seem to prefer full block
format, modified block is acceptable.
Many people consider the modified block’s
appearance more balanced and traditional.
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Semi-block Layout
This resembles modified block style except that
the start of each paragraph is indented, i.e., each
paragraph of the message starts a few spaces
away from the margin.
This form makes the letter somewhat clumsy and
has gone out of style (Exhibit13.4).
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Simplified Layout
Though this format (Exhibit 13.5) resembles block
format, it is characterized by the following
features:
Omits salutation
Often includes a subject line in capital letters
Omits complimentary close
This format is convenient when you do not know
your recipient’s name.
However, some people object to this format
because it seems mechanical and impersonal.
Nevertheless, this drawback may be overcome
with a warm writing style.
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Principles
Read the following message contained in a business letter.
Dear Sir
I am writing to complain that you haven’t paid any attention while
sending the goods to us. While we had ordered for 15 air
conditioners, you sent 50 air coolers instead. This is simply wasting my
time and is most annoying. What is the reason for this nonsense?
Have you any problems? Are you understaffed? Is the volume of
work too much for you to manage? Or is it simply due to sheer
carelessness? Whatever the reason, if this kind of mistake occurs
again, we shall stop our orders. Look into the matter carefully and
do the needful immediately.
Yours sincerely
Pradeep Bhatti
Purchase Manager
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How do you find this letter?
If you are the recipient of this letter, how would you receive it?
Will you react positively to the complaint? Most probably you
may not feel like responding. You will only respond to the
complaint but also may decide to end your relationship with this
customer
The Chinese proverb ‘In the midst of joy do not promise to give a
man anything, in the midst of great anger do not answer man’s
letter’ holds true in business letter writing.
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As already said, business letters are written mainly
to create, establish, or sustain your business
relationship with others. A good relationship is
based on respect and courtesy.
So, when trying to establish good relationships in
your business messages, remember to follow the
principles of business letter writing mentioned
below:
Use the you attitude
Be clear and concise
Be correct and complete
Emphasize the positive
Be courteous and considerate
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‘You’ Attitude
Focus on the recipient’s needs, purposes, or interests instead of your
own. Even if you must talk about yourself in a business letter a great
deal, do so in a way that relates your concerns to those of the
recipient.
This recipient-oriented style is often called the ‘you’ attitude. It does
not mean using more yours but making the recipient the main focus
of the letter. Remember that all letters are not propaganda material.
Even an unpleasant situation can be changed by using the ‘you’
attitude.
At the simplest level, you can adopt the ‘you’ attitude by replacing
the terms that refer to yourself and your company with terms that
refer to your audience.
In other words, use more of you and yours instead of I, me, mine, we,
us, our, and ours:
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We/Matter-of-fact ‘You’ attitude
attitude
We are glad we can now You would be glad to know
send our tape recorders. that your tape recorders are
ready for sale.
We are happy to receive Thank you for your request
your request for the for the automatic locks.
automatic locks.
We regret that the goods We regret that you could
did not reach the buyers not receive your goods in
in time. time.
We are pleased to Now you can avail our new
announce our new insurance scheme.
insurance scheme.
We offer the printer You may choose your
cartridges in three printer cartridges from three
colours: black, red and colours: black, red, and
blue. blue.
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Remember that the ‘you’ attitude is not intended to be
manipulative or insincere.
In fact it is an extension of the audience-centered approach.
Also, this attitude is not just a matter of using one pronoun
rather than another; it is a matter of genuine empathy.
Despite using you 20 times in a single letter you may be
ignoring your recipient’s concerns.
Hence, it is the thought and sincerity that count and not the
pronoun you.
If you are writing to a manufacturer, think like a manufacturer;
if you are dealing with a retailer, put yourself in that position.
The core of ‘you’ attitude is your attitude toward recipients
and your appreciation of their position or situation.
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But as you know, there are always exceptions to
rules. The ‘you’ attitude may not help at times.
On some occasions you will do better if you avoid
using you. For instance, when someone makes a
mistake, you may want to minimize ill feeling by
referring to the mistake impersonally rather than
pointing out directly.
You might say, ‘we have a problem’ instead of
‘you caused a problem’.
Look at these examples. The more impersonal,
matter-of-fact tone shows greater sensitivity and
avoids creating unnecessary hard feelings in the
recipient.
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Though the you attitude brings in effectiveness in letters, some
organizations may have a tradition of avoiding references to
you and I in their technical or business documents.
If you work for such an organization, follow its style and restrict
your use of personal pronouns in these documents.
‘You’ attitude Impersonal attitude
You should never use this This type of paper does not
type of paper for work well in photocopiers.
photocopiers.
You have not connected The wires have not been
the wires properly. connected properly.
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Clarity and Conciseness
Read the following two versions of the same message included in a
business letter and see which one gives you the information clearly
and succinctly (briefly):
Version 1: I am extremely sorry to have to point out to you that we do
not have
these brands in stock at the present moment of time.
Version 2: These brands are presently out of stock.
The second version is more direct and concise not only because of
using lesser number of words but also it does not use redundant
expressions which camouflage (disguise) the meaning.
Alexander Pope, a renowned Eighteenth century Poet says:
Words are like leaves and where they most abound
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.
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Conciseness means saying what you need to say in as few words as
possible—a respected skill in technical communication. While many
writers can get their meanings across to readers, only skilled ones
can do so succinctly.
You must make sure that your message is clear. Perhaps a sentence
is so cluttered that your reader cannot unravel its meaning, or it is
constructed in such a way that your reader can interpret it in more
than one way.
By being unambiguous, you can not only be concise but also be
clear. Lack of clarity and conciseness is mainly because of the
following reasons:
Long involved sentences
Sentences revealing over-enthusiasm
Verbosity or wordiness
Redundancy or use of Low Information Content (LIC) words Now let us try to
understand these features through some examples:
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The italicized phrases in examples 7 and 8 are
redundant. They serve no purpose and contain
little information.
If you develop the practice of removing such
phrases from your business or technical writing,
your writing style will turn out to be more effective.
Examples of some common phrases that can
easily be replaced with short, more concise words
or descriptions are given in Table 13.2.
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Correctness and Completeness
Suppose you enquire from a company about the mode of
payment for the equipment you have purchased from them
and they reply like this:
‘Send your payment by demand draft as soon as possible.’
You will obviously be irritated by such a reply because
it doesn’t give you the complete details about payment,
i.e., the name on which the draft has to be taken and also
whether it should be account payee, and
it does not specify the deadline for sending the draft.
Though your business letters may be concise and clear, unless
they are specific or precise and compete in all respects, they
may not fulfil the objective.
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The term correctness refers to concreteness or precision,
and the term completeness refers to thoroughness or
giving all the required details.
To be correct and completes you need to understand the
purpose of your letter and think clearly.
In addition, you can achieve these qualities in your letter
writing by following certain guidelines given below:
Use evaluative and factual words/phrases rather than abstract
and general expressions.
Use unambiguous words/phrases.
Proofread your message for accuracy of spelling and grammar
before sending.
Check whether you have answered all queries and provided all
details.
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Original Revised
We need a large office space. We need at least 10,000 square feet.
A number of customers filed their Ten customers filed their returns
returns today. today.
On July 1st, the company will close On July 1st, the company will become
its doors. bankrupt.
This antiquated merchandising This old sales strategy will not work in
strategy is ineffectual in today’s business.
contemporary business operations. If you have any questions, please
contact us.
If you have any questions, please We are sending a cheque for Rs.
feel free to contact us. 20,000.
We are submitting a cheque in the
amount of Rs. 20,000
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The italicized words in the original version refer to
abstract/general, ambiguous, and grammatically
incorrect words/phrases.
They are changed to factual, unambiguous, and
grammatically correct ones in the revised version.
The examples given in next slide show you how
abstract phrases can be substituted with more
factual ones in order to make writing more
correct and concrete.
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Abstract Factual/Evaluative
Leading company First among 2000 companies
Substantial discount Discount of 20%
Light weight Feather light
As soon as possible Latest by/on or before 2nd August
Sold a good number of Sold 25,300 books
books
Books/magazines/manuals/bulletin
Publications s/brochures
Huge area 7000 square feet
Many storeys Four floors
The majority 65%
Excellent attendance 100% attendance record
record
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Positive Approach
As you know, one can frame a message in many ways,
and each way may convey a different meaning. Much
of the difference lies in the meaning of the words as
understood by the writer and the reader.
Consider, for example, the following words of Ernest
Hemingway, a renowned American novelist:
Never think that war, no matter how necessary nor how
justified, is not a crime.
If you need to understand the author’s opinion of war,
you must shift the negative terms never and not to
positive. In doing so, if you omit one, you may arrive at
the intended meaning which is:
All war is crime.
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Positive words are always best to achieve your goal.
Most information, even bad news, which you convey through
your business letters has some redeeming (positive) feature.
You should make your audience aware of this feature.
Emphasize the positive side of your message rather than the
negative side.
Stress what is or what will be rather than what is not and what
will not be. Tell what you have done or what you can do
instead of what you have not done or what you cannot do.
Letters which reflect positive attitude are more acceptable to
your readers.
In addition, the positive side of your message will also help in
healing the wounded feelings of your customers when you
offer criticism or advice.
Compare the differing results obtained from the negative and
positive versions of each of the messages given in next slide:
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Negative Positive
We never exchange You may exchange the purchased
goods provided they are in good
damaged goods. condition.
We regret to inform you that For the time being we can serve you on
we may not be able to grant cash basis only.
you request for credit.
It is impossible to repair your Your car will be ready by Thursday.
car in two days.
We cannot send you the Please check your size and colour
preferences in the enclosed order form
gowns until you tell us what and send us so that you receive the
colour and size you want. gowns.
You should have known that The instructions explain why the contact
the contact lenses cannot lenses should be washed only with
be washed with tissue, for it particular solution.
is clearly mentioned in the
instructions.
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Also avoid words with negative connotations
(suggestion). In other words, try to frame your
message with words which will not offend or hurt
your readers. Replace words with the unpleasant
connotations with mild terms
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Courtesy and Consideration
Given below is a business message received by a
candidate a week after submitting an application for a
job:
Your application for the post of Purchase Manager cannot be
considered by our company.
You can imagine the candidate’s state of mind on reading
such curt, discourteous reply.
Of course it is not possible for the company to give an
opportunity for every applicant.
But at the same time, it can be little courteous in rejecting
an applicant.
Had the company prepared a standard message like the
one given below and sent to the rejected applicants, it
would not have hurt their feelings and also would have
kept the lines of communication open with them:
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Courtesy is oil; it reduces friction.
Being polite to your readers is another way of earning their
respect and sustaining your relationship with them.
Not only do you show consideration for their needs and feelings
but also you treat them with friendly concern when you are
courteous in your business letters. The resultant climate will
facilitate both you and your readers to forge stronger bonds.
When you meet somebody face to face, you can express your
courtesy and consideration through non-verbal means and by
speaking appropriate words.
Similarly when you wish to be courteous and considerate to your
recipients of your letters, you need to:
use a conversational tone (be natural)
avoid dogmatism (do not preach)
avoid anger (be patient)
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The following examples will give you an idea of
how courtesy and consideration bring in a
positive a desirable change in the style of your
business letters.
You may also notice that when you express
courtesy, you may have to explain something
extra and in this process you may end up with
more words.
But never mind. Cutting down on words is not your
objective in writing letters:
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Here are certain phrases which may help you in
expressing courtesy and consideration:
Many thanks for your letter dated...
Kindly respond to our request for...
Please refer to our order dated...
You are correct Ms Varma in saying that...
You will be pleased to know that...
Please do not forget to send us the original as.
We appreciate your prompt response to our...
We are sorry that we may not be able to grant you
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But remember to avoid the artificial
and angry expressions as the ones
given below:
Please permit me to say that...
Please be advised that...
It has come to my attention that...
We beg to state that...
Never has there been, nor there will be, a
customer as good as you...
We have no intention of allowing this state of
affairs to continue.
I simply cannot understand your negligence.
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Types and Samples
Depending on their purpose, business letters can
be classified into various types, as shown in Table
13.3.
Credit and collection letters
Order and enquiry letters
Claim and adjustment letters
Sales and fund-raising letters
Job application letters
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Among these types, order, inquiry and claim, and adjustment letters are mostly
informative; they either ask for information or provide information for further
action.
On the other hand, credit, collection, sales, fundraising, and job application types
of letters are persuasive, as they attempt to persuade or motivate readers toward
a desired action.
