Electronic correspondence has always been and remains the main method of communication in the business world. A correctly composed letter is already half the success. But not everyone can write such letters. Sometimes, when reading a letter with a business proposal, it becomes not entirely clear what exactly they want to offer you, what benefits you will get from it, and why you even spent your time reading and understanding this letter.
The ability to write correct, persuasive letters comes with practice. And it’s good when the accumulated experience is shared, thereby allowing other people not to step on the same rake. Jeffrey James, author of Business to Business Selling: Power Words and Strategies From the World's Top Sales Experts, offers his simple 6-step system for writing persuasive letters.
Copyright Shutterstock
1. Always have a clear idea of what you are going to write about.
The main purpose of the letter is to make the recipient make a certain decision. Therefore, before you start composing a letter, ask yourself again what exactly do you want from the recipient? What decision should he make after reading your letter?
In this case, uncertainty is your archenemy. The clearer your purpose, the more persuasive your letter will be.
2. Start your letter with your conclusion.
Your conclusion is a statement of the decision the recipient should make based on the content of your letter.
At school we were taught to always start with an introduction. In the case of writing persuasive letters, this statement is incorrect. In the business world, everyone is too busy to appreciate your literary abilities. Therefore, you must get straight to the point.
For example, you want to get permission from your boss to install a gym in one of your company's premises.
Wrong:
"Jim,
As you know, employee absenteeism is a major issue at the moment that is having quite a significant financial impact on both our company and other companies in our industry... blah blah blah... So we should consider allocating money to arrangement of a gym at the main office of our company.”
Right:
"Jim,
I want you to approve the installation of a gym in our office."
3. Divide your arguments into several easily digestible paragraphs.
To make the arguments supporting your idea easy to read and understand, divide them into several paragraphs.
Wrong
“According to a recent government report, physical activity groups are extremely important even though few companies demonstrate a commitment to rewarding employees in this way. Many firms identify such groups as undervalued assets, but they do not have a plan to introduce such groups in this industry, even though fitness is closely linked to corporate and personal success. I believe that if we do not introduce such physical groups in our company, we will remain far behind our competitors."
Right
“The gym in the office will allow you to:
- reduce absenteeism
- increase overall productivity"
4. Support each argument with evidence.
If you write a letter consisting of solid arguments, it may be perceived as a solid personal opinion and nothing more. Every argument needs proof. Otherwise, how can you understand that it really works?
Wrong
“Having a gym in the office will be the right solution because people will prefer to go to work rather than stay at home. It will also help reduce overall illness in the office.”
Right
“Reduced absenteeism. According to a survey conducted by the National Institute of Health of 1,000 companies that have on-site gyms, employee absenteeism in these companies is 20% lower than in those companies that do not have such equipment.
5. Repeat your conclusion as a call to action.
At the end of the letter, repeat again your conclusion stated at the very beginning. Only now as a call to specific action. In this way, you lead the recipient to a specific conclusion that he should draw after reading your letter. This call should be simple and specific.
Wrong
“We will be very grateful if you support this project.”
Right
“If you reply yes to this letter, I will initiate the process immediately.”
6. Indicate the benefit in the subject line of the email
The subject line in an email is almost the most important part. Since it should anticipate the main subject of the letter and set the recipient in the mood you need. And that is why you should fill it out last, after you have written all the arguments and evidence that support your main conclusion.
Ideally, the subject line of the letter should accomplish two important tasks: it should interest the recipient so much that he opens and reads the letter; and it should convey the message you want to convey to the recipient.
In most cases, the best way to accomplish both tasks at once is to write about the benefits that will come from making the decision you want.
Wrong
“The impact on the health of employees of the program for equipping gyms in offices”
Right
“How can we reduce employee absenteeism?”
I'm interested in your opinion. How would you react to both options and what rules do you follow when composing such letters?
“What is most difficult for a person is what is not given to him.”
M. Zhvanetsky
Probably, everyone at least once in their life has had to deal with the urgent need to write a business letter to the head of a commercial company, a partner, an official, or, at worst, to the housing office. But if you consider yourself a businessman, even just a beginner, or are planning to open your own business, even in the distant future, you must learn to write business letters correctly.
So what is the difference between a simple letter and a business letter?
First of all, the absence of emotional components, and the predominance of logic and pragmatic, rational presentation of your request or proposal. A businessman, company owner or manager of a large or even not very large enterprise, as opposed to just a “consumer”, is unlikely to be interested in your emotional and inspired letter to him asking for cooperation, assistance or establishing any other friendly relations.
First of all, you must understand that when you write a Business letter, you write it to the point! Many will now say to themselves, what a “pun,” but it is clear that a Business Letter differs from the others in its clear understanding of “To whom,” “Why,” and “Why.” I read a lot of letters and proposals, and, unfortunately, in some letters the meaning constantly eluded, and at the end of the letter it was not at all clear what the author wanted to ask or offer.
Therefore, so that the meaning and idea of the letter does not “spread throughout the tree,” you must answer the following questions for yourself:
1. To whom are you writing a letter? Have you made a mistake in the addressee?
2. Why are you writing a letter, what do you want to offer or ask? Are your arguments clear, your presentation style, and are your arguments convincing to the Addressee? And how will he benefit from working with you?
3. Why are you doing this? What result do you want? What further actions do you intend to “provoke” the Addressee to?
For business letters, the corresponding GOST R 6.30−2003 has been developed, which describes the basic requirements for the content and execution of documents. You can familiarize yourself with this GOST in more detail by purchasing it at a business book store, and use it in the future when completing your paperwork.
But I would like to pay special attention to some important points:
1. The header of a business letter must contain an appeal to the Addressee. It is issued slightly below the registration number: the Position and Full Name are indicated in the upper right corner. Addressee. Below you can specify the Subject of the letter. Even lower, in the center, the Appeal is drawn up. The address should express respect using generally accepted words: “Dear”, “Mr”, “Madam” (abbreviations are not allowed). The header is usually in bold.
For example:
Ref. No. 01 from 04/20/2012
on In. No. 01 - RiK from 01/01/1930
To the director
LLC "Horns and Hooves"
Bender O.I.
“About a batch of defective horns,
delivered on January 1, 1930.”
Dear Ostap Ibrahimovic,
2. Introduction. In the introduction, you need to briefly define the essence of the letter. You can start traditionally: “I would like to bring to your attention...”, “I ask you...”, “At the present time...”, etc. - if the letter is written in the first person.
If the appeal comes from a legal entity, then the narration comes from a third person (For example, “Our company offers...”).
Moreover, both in the introduction and in the following text of the letter, the pronoun you and all its forms (you, you, yours) should be written with a capital letter.
3. The conclusion of the letter sums up what has been written; often a request or proposal is written. For example: “Taking into account the above, I ask you...”
4. The main text of a business letter traditionally ends with the phrase: “With respect,...” - if a neutral address is intended. If you personally know the Addressee, then you can end the letter with the phrase “Sincerely yours,...”.
For example:
Yours sincerely,
Underground millionaire (signature) A.I. Koreiko
Position, full name (the first name and patronymic are printed first, and then the last name), the signature is put in your own hand.
5. The business letter ends with information about the sender, which must contain his full name. (preferably in full) position, and contact phone number. This is necessary if the Addressee or his representative needs to be contacted for additional information. You can also indicate the person in charge (full name) and his contact phone number. By the way, don’t forget to indicate the city code along with your phone number. Do not force the Addressee to waste time searching for this information.
I would also like to draw your attention to some points related to the presentation of the letter itself. At one time I used various options for presenting a letter, including the use of NLP, but all this gave little practical benefit, since the style of a business letter itself is very conservative, and letters that do not correspond to this style simply did not pass beyond “customs control”, in face of the company secretary. Therefore, I abandoned experiments and began to write as required by business style.
Remember, your letter should contain three main sections, these are introduction, argument and conclusion. Many letter writers get straight to the point without introducing the interlocutor to the matter. Of course, if the letter is long enough, the businessman may not read the introduction, but will immediately get to the point. But he can also return to the beginning of the letter if this “essence” interests him. In conclusion, you need to write what you want to receive. The letter should not contain any double interpretations, only one clear thought throughout your letter. To do this, it would be nice to remember Aristotle, who 300 BC, considered the logic of statements and formulated logical laws on its basis:
1. Law of identity - a concept must be used in the same meaning in the course of reasoning;
2. The law of contradiction - “do not contradict yourself”;
3. The law of the excluded middle - “A” or “not-A” is true, there is no third.”
According to the rules of writing, the main part of a business letter should logically consistently reveal the content of the request or proposal, making it understandable to the Addressee. All previous paragraphs should logically flow into the next. Provide specific facts and figures if necessary. And don’t forget that “brevity is the sister of talent.” Remember that too long text can “tire” the Addressee, he may put your letter aside and not find out what the meaning of your unique offer is.
And only after you think that your letter is finally written, be sure to check it for spelling and punctuation errors. Check again its logical sequence and readability of the entire text ( best to read it out loud).
If you inadvertently or in a hurry make spelling mistakes, it will be an embarrassment. How can you “do business” with a company that distributes letters with errors? Be carefull!
In conclusion, I would like to say that your letter will also be greeted first by its “clothing”; you need to pay special attention to the quality of the paper on which the letter is printed, the design, whether the letter will lose its shape during transportation, whether they will want to pick it up. If everything is fine in this regard, then a neat, logically consistent, revealing, well-written business letter will incline the Addressee to a positive decision in your favor. Write letters!
If you liked the article, share it with your friends, click the appropriate button!
Letters have been written since time immemorial and continue to be written to this day. They serve as a tool for communication between people, helping to clearly convey the essence to the interlocutor, which was the reason for writing it. In this article we will look at several types of business correspondence and learn how to correctly compose business letters.
To correctly compose any business letter, you need to be able to clearly state its essence and correctly structure it. Business correspondence is conducted on company-approved letterhead with your own logo and address. In the upper right corner, fill out a header consisting of the position and name of the head of the recipient company. At the end of the header is written brief information about the sender. The next stage of writing a letter is writing an appeal. It may sound different depending on the degree of familiarity with the addressee. If you know him personally, then you can address him like this: “Dear Sergey Yuryevich!” If the addressee is a stranger, the address may look like this: “Dear Mr. Ivanov!” It must be borne in mind that in these cases it is unacceptable to abbreviate the word Mr. or put initials instead of last name and first name. To convey the essence of the letter in a concise form is the task of the preamble. Most often it consists of one paragraph. After reading the preamble, the recipient should already have a brief understanding of the content of the letter. After it, the main text begins, containing several paragraphs. The text should succinctly express your thoughts about the situation. It is advisable that the main text does not exceed four paragraphs. The letter should end with a conclusion, which briefly summarizes the results of the letter, puts a date and a signature indicating the name and position of the sender. Depending on the reason for writing the appeal, sometimes it is appropriate to end it with the words: “Sincerely yours!”, “With hope for further cooperation,” etc. One of the common types of business letters is a letter of guarantee. In its main text, the author guarantees the fulfillment of one or another promise, announces the end date for the fulfillment of guarantees and establishes the amount of the penalty that he will have to pay in case of violation of warranty obligations.Can be downloaded here.
Letters of gratitude are also a type of business, but already from the category of personal. They can be issued on company letterhead or a greeting card. The main text should include congratulations to the addressee, indicating the event that gave rise to the letter and listing the recipient's outstanding achievements.On our website.
Download here.
Email is one of the worst wasters of working time. We have already written about that.
But the responsibilities of some of your employees include not only viewing the contents of the mailbox, but also writing business letters: potential employees, work colleagues, business partners, representatives of various companies and government agencies...
The problem with many employees is that they do not have the skills to write business letters. This task confuses them, forcing them to edit the text for a long time.
How to write business letters quickly and so that you are understood
Our colleague also faced the same problem. But, fortunately, our corporate library has a book Sasha Karepina “The Art of Business Writing”. It has helped more than one employee, we will be glad if it is useful in your company.
A company employee shared her problem and its solution:
“I think that each of us has written letters at least once in our lives. (Correspondence with children from a children's camp and friends from the village, where my parents sent me every summer to stay with my grandmother, does not count).
In this article, I want to tell you about how difficult it was for me to write letters to clients and how the book “The Art of Business Writing” by Sasha Karepina helped me overcome my fears.
It all started with the fact that I came to a new job, where, in fact, I was faced with the problem of writing a business letter. The letter, which contained at most 10 lines, took me neither more nor less - 30 minutes.
Just think about it, I spent 30 minutes writing a letter (reading it now, I feel ashamed), pressing “Send” with a trembling hand and waiting with bated breath for an answer. And all because I didn’t know which side to approach the letter from: where to start, and how to write a letter so that the client would respond to it.
The problem was that I didn’t like the letters I wrote either. But I couldn’t write better than it was—that was my aerobatics.
Seeing how worried I was every time, a colleague recommended the book “The Art of Business Writing” to me.
So, what difficulties do we face when writing a letter?
1. There are a lot of thoughts, but where to start the letter?
2. All sorts of things are spinning in my head: dear sir, take action... This makes the letter long and boring.
3. I just want to write down the clerical expressions I have memorized since school. And a couple in each sentence.
4. How to convey the essence of the letter so that the addressee understands us correctly?
5 rules to help you write effective business letters
1. Structure the letter
A business letter must contain the following required elements:
1. Introduction.
- title;
- appeal;
- purpose of the letter;
2. Main part.
3. Conclusion.
You need to write a letter from the general to the specific: the most important thing and briefly at the beginning, and then describe the details.
Use special words in your letter linking words, such as:
for example, namely, in addition, moreover, because, as a result, thus, however, etc.
They will help you connect sentences and entire paragraphs, which means your thoughts will not be confused and the reader will easily understand the essence of your letter.
2. Determining the benefit for the recipient
The main thing in a letter is to interest the reader in answering you or fulfilling your request. And to do this, you need to try to understand his needs, try to understand what interests or worries the addressee. But do not forget that all recipients are different. It is necessary to understand what the reader will receive if he does exactly as we ask him. And present it as benefits.
3. Writing style
Particular attention should be paid to the style in which you write the letter.
It is necessary to clearly distinguish personal and formal styles. The use of one style or another depends on the situation and the content of the message.
By adhering to a personal style, we emphasize our personality, show our attitude; Using a formal style, we present the facts.
Therefore, if we want to show that we are speaking with the addressee on an equal footing, we understand him, we want to come to an agreement on a humane basis, or we want to praise him for good work, it is better to use a personal style.
If you need to write a complaint or claim, a formal style would be appropriate. Since the formal style is characterized by such features as: pressure from one’s position, statement of facts, dominance over someone, criticism. If you are writing to a government official, it is also best to write in a formal style.
After writing the letter, read it again and make sure that you have chosen the correct style. Then the recipient will not only understand you, but will also believe in the sincerity of your message.
4. Conclusion
The biggest mistake most often made when writing a letter is not writing the ending.
Remember, no matter how well you describe the essence of your proposal, no matter how you embellish everything with facts and vivid details, the letter must have an ending. It should be simple, clear and concise.
In conclusion, you need to once again emphasize the essence of the letter and the benefits for the reader. This is a kind of fixing effect.
After reading the ending, your addressee should understand what his reaction to the letter should be. What do you expect from him? This will push him to action, which you, in fact, expected from him.
5. Design
A beautiful, and most importantly correctly formatted text will not only interest the recipient, but will also make him want to be read. Therefore, the importance of letter formatting cannot be underestimated.
Design rules:
1. Select a font:
- serif - suitable for reading from paper;
- sans serif - for reading on the run or on the screen;
2. Making paragraphs in the text
3. Select headings;
4. Select the text we need:
- bold - highlight the main idea of the text;
- italics - you can highlight fragments of the text of letters to VIP clients or something less important;
- emphasized - if we want to really emphasize something.
5. Making lists:
- bulleted lists - if the number of items is from 3 to 5;
- numbered lists - more than 5.
These are the simple but effective rules I discovered after reading the book “The Art of Business Writing.” Now I spend significantly less time writing letters (and my recipients, I hope, better understand what is expected of them).
I hope that my article will be useful to you and will help you and your employees in writing business letters to clients and business partners, as well as for internal correspondence with employees.
After all, you must admit, everything is quite simple. So why not put these simple principles into practice?
I advise you not to put off the book until tomorrow and start reading today.”
You can buy the book “The Art of Business Writing” (or wherever you come across it))
16Apr
Hello! In this article we will talk about business letters.
Today you will learn:
- Why business correspondence has not lost its relevance;
- What types of business letters are there and how they are formatted;
- How to write a business letter correctly.
Now outside our windows is the time of high technology and the Internet. But business correspondence has not lost its importance and relevance, it has simply moved to other media. Let's talk today about why it is important to be able to compose and format business letters.
Why do you need business correspondence?
First of all, this is an opportunity to exchange opinions, suggestions and thoughts with employees or business partners. With the help of correspondence, they state complaints, requests, and clarify misunderstandings between companies.
Business correspondence is one of the types of official correspondence.
Differences between business letters and others
The main differences are as follows:
- Stylistics of presentation;
- Vocabulary that does not allow clear expression of emotions;
- Done on the official letterhead of the company;
- The font is not too small, but not large either, and is the same throughout the text;
- Rarely occupy more than 1 page;
- Presence of strict official chain of command.
Types of business letters
All business letters can be divided into several groups. We will dwell on each in more detail and give a brief description.
Letters that do not need to be answered.
- Letter of guarantee;
- Accompanying;
- Informational;
- Warning letter;
- Reminder letter.
Letters that require a response.
- Appeal;
- Offer;
- Request;
- Requirement;
- Petition.
Non-commercial letters.
- Invitation letter;
- Letters expressing condolences;
- Letters expressing gratitude;
- Letters informing about something;
- Letters containing recommendations;
- Letters of guarantee;
- Letters confirming that the goods have been received, the service has been provided, and so on;
- Letters of congratulations on various occasions;
- Letter of request;
- Letters of instructions;
- Covering letters.
Commercial letters.
They are usually used before entering into an agreement, as well as during the validity of the contract.
These include:
- Letters responding to inquiries;
- Direct request;
- – a letter in which it is proposed to make a transaction or conclude an agreement;
- Claim;
- Reminder;
- A letter containing a warning about the termination of agreements or the need to fulfill obligations, etc.
If we talk about classification by structure, there are 2 types of business letters:
- Containing the author's text and written in free form;
- Compiled according to a strict pattern.
By addressee.
- Circular – a letter that is sent to several addressees;
- Regular – sent to one recipient on behalf of one person;
- Collective – sent to one recipient, but from several persons.
Letters are also divided according to the form in which they were sent:
- Sent as a fax message;
- Sent by email;
- Those sent in regular envelopes.
There are types of letters that, for ethical reasons, should be handwritten rather than typed. This applies to condolences and congratulations.
Secrets of proper design
The text of the letter is divided into introductory, main and final parts. They are logically connected to each other. The introductory part includes the circumstances that led to the creation of the letter, and the main part represents the content itself. The final part summarizes the results, which express the request, refusal, etc.
In general, business correspondence with all responsibility can be called an art, because it is necessary to learn how to conduct it correctly, in compliance with all requirements. After all, most often we only think about the information being presented clearly, and we forget about the fact that the letter can be considered the face of the company.
Stylistics.
Each letter is kept in a strict business style, using means of speech characteristic of official documents.
Requirements for presentation of information.
All information contained in the letter is presented as follows:
- Addressed, intended for a specific person;
- All information must be current as of the date of writing;
- Reliable;
- Impartially;
- Reasoned;
- As completely as possible, so that a decision can be made based on it.
Form.
First of all, the letter is drawn up on letterhead that is proprietary to the company.
- To write a business letter, A4 size sheets are used;
- The left margin of the form must be at least 3 cm, since after some time they will be sent to the file;
- The name of the company, its legal and actual address, and email address are indicated;
- It is better to use the standard Times New Roman font, size 12. It is the most optimal and is easy to read;
- It is allowed to draw up business letters without using a letterhead, but then you still need to provide the information from the form.
If the letter deals with large transactions related to finance or confidential information of another nature, it is not recommended to send such letters by fax or electronically. It’s better the old fashioned way, in a regular paper envelope.
Numbering.
If the letter consists of several pages, then they are numbered starting from the second. The numbers are marked at the top in the middle in Arabic numerals. There are no dots next to the number.
Division into parts.
This means dividing the letter into paragraphs. The text should not flow in a continuous stream, otherwise it simply will not be perceived. Thanks to the division into paragraphs, you can see where one thought ends and another begins.
Availability of fixes.
It is not advisable to allow corrections, typos, or erasures. The letter must be written correctly, and the text must be printed at intervals of 1.5 - 2.
Details used.
We will indicate only the main ones, since we already briefly talked about them a little earlier:
- If the enterprise is state-owned, the Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation is used. It is located in the middle of the official form;
- Full company name;
- Fax and telephone numbers;
- Bank account number;
- Addressee - and the name of the recipient company is used in the nominative case; to indicate the position and surname of the recipient, use the dative case;
- If the recipient has an academic degree or title, indicate it before the person’s last name;
- Any details are written on a new line and with a capital letter.
Business letter after a meeting
You held a business meeting, there was some prospect for. We will discuss further how to reflect this in a letter.
- First of all, at the beginning of the letter, refer to the date and time of your communication with your potential partner, even if a couple of days have passed since the meeting.
- Avoid mistakes or overly complex phrases: keep the letter short and clear, but in such a way that the recipient will want to read it.
- Mention what the conversation was about. Eg: " We discussed how much a Venetian-style vase would cost.”
- Make sure that the recipient of the letter expresses his/her opinion on the topic of the meeting.
- Indicate a time when you can communicate by phone or meet in person.
- Let the recipient know that you are looking forward to working with him: “ I look forward to future business relationships with you«.
- End your letter with the following or similar phrase: “ Best wishes to you...».
Electronic business letters
It is impossible to ignore the requirements for their design, since now more and more letters are issued in electronic form rather than in paper form. After all, it’s the 21st century.
Preparing an electronic business letter is not difficult; the formatting requirements are identical to traditional letters. The only thing is that such a letter should always have a title (or subject line) so that it simply does not get lost in the flow of documentation.
In addition, when such a letter is answered, it is better not to change the subject of the letter, so you will quickly understand what is being said if you receive a lot of emails.
Also, you should not use state-of-the-art software when creating attachments to such letters; it is far from a fact that your recipient has the same. If it is not there, the letter simply will not open.
Don't use emoticons when writing a business letter electronically. Technology is great, but keep it business-like when writing.
What is the deadline for replying to a letter?
If the letter is classified as requiring a response, then when to respond depends on the information contained in the letter:
- If you receive a request, please confirm that it has been received within the next three days of receipt. And the final answer can be given within a month;
- If we are talking about condolences, it can be sent within ten days after the sad event happened;
- It is permissible to send congratulations within 8 days from the moment you learned about the special date;
- If we talk about the general rules of good manners, then it is better to respond to letters within seven days.
How to write a business letter: in simple language about complex things
Distinguish between a business letter and personal correspondence. We have already talked more than once today about what these differences are, we should not forget about them. Now let’s look at writing a letter step by step.
Stage 1. We indicate the addressee.
In the upper right corner of the form we write the surname, initials and position of the person to whom we are addressing the letter. If the addressee is an organization, indicate its legal address.
Stage 2. Appeal.
We place it in the middle of the form. It is carried out in a respectful manner, without abbreviations or erasures.
Example: Dear (name, patronymic)! Also, the addressee can be addressed by indicating his position. But when you address a person by name, it reduces psychological stress and indicates that the business relationship is stable and established.
Stage 3. Statement of purpose.
Explain the purpose of the letter, its essence and main ideas. This part is the main one. Write about what you want to say, what is the reason for your appeal. But do not forget about the official and neutral style.
Stage 4. Making proposals and recommendations.
Almost any business letter implies that the addressee will respond to it. This is generally not required only by letters of an informational nature. Therefore, do not just describe the problem, but also suggest how it can be solved.
If you file a complaint, ask for certain measures to be taken; if you offer to cooperate, tell us what options are available.
Simply put, the one who receives the letter must see that they not only want something from him, but also understand how this can be accomplished.
How to end a business letter
A business letter must be written perfectly. If writing rules are not followed, it can negatively affect the company's reputation as a whole. Therefore, we now propose to dwell in more detail on the design of the final part of a business letter.
At the end of the letter, summarize everything that was discussed earlier. But you shouldn’t stretch your conclusions into 10 sentences; after all, brevity and conciseness are valued in business letters. It's better to limit yourself to simple phrases.
We will base the ending on 2 indicators: it should be as polite and correct as possible. There are different options for how to build it.
Here are some examples:
- Thank you for your attention or help: Thank you! (Let me thank you...);
- Express your hopes for the future: We hope for mutually beneficial cooperation (We hope to receive a response in the near future...);
- You can construct a phrase to assure the addressee of something: We would be glad to cooperate with you;
- Make a request: We ask you to report the results;
- Apologize for any inconvenience caused: I apologize for the unexpected delay in payment for the material.
How to say goodbye to the recipient.
Despite the fact that the correspondence is official, you can say goodbye in different ways.
Here are a few options:
- With respect to you...;
- With wishes of success...;
- Best wishes…
We sign correctly.
When signing the letter, indicate your position, first and last name. If you doubt the appropriateness of a phrase like: “ Yours sincerely" - just don't use it.
You can indicate your contacts, additional phone number or email address in the signature, so you demonstrate to the recipient that you are ready to communicate and cooperate with him.
In the next part of our article I would like to talk about business letters in English.
Business letters in English
There is no regulated form for composing such letters. Everything will depend on the purpose of the letter and who its addressee is. Here are some brief recommendations for drafting.
Date of writing.
If we are writing in the USA, then when indicating the date we put the month first, then the day and only then the year. If to the UK, the date is entered as in the Russian Federation. In this case, write the month in letters to avoid confusion.
Recipient details.
- If you write to a man, contact him like this: Mr (insert last name);
- If a woman who is married: Mrs (insert last name);
- To an unmarried lady: Miss (indicate last name);
- If you don't know the lady's status: Ms (insert last name).
Specifying the address.
The order is the opposite of that accepted in the Russian Federation: office, house number, street name, zip code, state name (if writing in the USA), county name and country name (if writing in the UK).
How to contact the recipient.
Standard calls:
- Dear Madam;
- Dear Sir;
- Dear Sir or Madam;
- Dear Mrs;
- Dear.
After the address we put a comma (if writing to the UK) or a colon (if writing to the USA). It is not customary to put an exclamation mark.
Subject.
Be sure to indicate the subject of the letter, just like in the Russian Federation.
Main text.
Divide it into paragraphs. Or write each sentence on a new line.
How to say goodbye.
For example, like this: “ Thanking you for assistance, we remain Yours truly"– Thank you, my devoted one..., although it could be less formal.
Signature registration.
We put our signature under the farewell paragraph, indicate our first and last name, company name and position.
Design of applications.
If you are enclosing any documents, please indicate this at the end of the letter: “ Enc." and list applications.
What to write with a capital letter.
- Last names and initials;
- Company names;
- Names of cities, states, etc.;
- Any words that indicate the position held;
- The first words in farewell;
- Opening addresses.
Before we end the conversation, here are some examples of business letters in Russian and English.
Samples of business letters in Russian and English
Conclusion
To summarize, I would like to say that a business letter is a tool for communication in any field of activity. If it is written correctly, it will definitely present your company in a positive light.
On the other hand, a letter written sloppily and with errors can completely destroy the most promising business. Write letters correctly, and we tried to tell you how to do it.
Loading...