Thursday, December 6, 2018

HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS / FORMAL LETTER



With advent of emails, mobile telephony and our willing inclination towards practicality and speed, the occasions for writing a formal letter is declining and with that the skill of letter writing is also dwindling. 

This is the very reason why in offices a person with a letter writing skill is considered an asset, particularly in business world. Though sending functional communications is gaining popularity, the overall numbers of Formal Letters written are increasing as written communication between businesses, between Government Departments and businesses/individuals is increasing day by day. Sometimes, variant of such communications are called application, complaint, representation, etc but in essence they are based on the principles of writing Formal Letters. Hence, skill of writing a Formal Letter is very important for an office-worker or an entrepreneur and also for an individual. 

The key aspects of writing an effective Business / Formal Letter:

1. Address of the sender: Generally, it is pre-printed on a letterhead with other contact details, website, if any. Pre-printed letterhead follows the overall “Branding Policy” of the organisation in the matter of font type, colour, style, etc. If the letter is sent in individual capacity, the address, contact number and date is written at the top right hand corner or left corner as per the modern practice in vogue.

2. Letter No. (also called outward number or Reference Number): Each business have their own style of numbering (which include one or more of : initials of the company name, code for center name, department code, Nos of years how old is the Company, File No., Financial Year, Letter Number, etc – may not be in the said order).

3. Date of the letter: Date is positioned with alignment of the line of the Letter No. Putting the date just below the letter No. is also in vogue if the space permits. Format of the date can be 14th April, 2018 or April 14th, 2018. DD/MM/YYYY is now also gaining popularity. However, this may create confusion as it may be taken as MM/DD/YYYY in certain countries.

3.1 For the purpose of instruction for mode of dispatch, the words like By Air, By Regd Post, Speed Post, By Courier, etc is also mentioned somewhere near/below  the date leaving some space.

4. Inside Address: Address of the recipient. The recipient may be addressed by official designation (in Govt Deptts / Organisations) or by personal name and Designation (in private sector) followed by full address. When personal name is used, ensure that the name is correctly spelled. The address must be in full  as letters are sent in “Window Cover” or noted down on the envelop by the Dispatch Deptt. When the letter is sent in a large office, it is advisable to mark Attention: XYZ Deptt. You can also mark Kind Attention : Mr/Ms XYZ (it should be noted that some persons may be averse to marking a letter in their personal name by the sender).

5. Salutation: The addressee is addressed with honourific words, appropriately selected depending upon the status/relations of the Recipient and the Sender. 

6. Subject Line (Written as Sub: or Reg: (i.e. Regarding): It states, in one to two lines, the matter of the letter to which the letter relates. It should not be a in the format of a complete sentence.  

7. Reference No. : No. of the Letter or such other communication (and also its date) is stated. If there is exchange of letters, quote latest letter sent by the writer and the latest letter received from the addressee. This is useful for the recipient to link the letter with previous correspondence already available with him/her.

8. Body of the letter: This is the most important part of a business letter. It presents the subject matter in details and the actions requested to be taken by the recipient. Generally, it contains multiple paragraphs depending upon the subject matter. The first paragraph introduces the subject matter and seeks to build relationship with the recipient or linking the present letter with the correspondence, if any, resting with the addressee. This part of the letter calls for high level of linguistic capabilities of the writer. Do not use flowery language. The general tenor of the letter should be polite, even in the letters involving contentious matters: Courtesy begets courtesy. When you have a reason to contradict the addressee, tread cautiously, particularly when the addressee is at higher rung of hierarchy.  Sequencing the developments in the subject matter in a chronological flow, proper use of linking words and sign-post words facilitate the reader to comprehend what the letter is all about. The penultimate (the last but one) paragraph should focus on what actions you expect the addressee to take.

9. Subscription: Depending upon the relation between the recipient and the sender and corresponding to the words used in salutation, appropriate words are used to conclude the letter as under:

·         Yours faithfully…in formal letters  
·         Your sincerely…for friends and relatives 
·         Yours truly…very close relatives 
·         Your obedient…in a letter written by a student to the teacher and similar situation of showing reverence
·         Your affectionate or Your loving… in letter written by father to his son/daughter and similar familial/social situations
10. Signature Part: This part contains the signature of the person/authority who issues the letter. The designation of the signatory is always mentioned and the name of the signatory is also some time written in bracket immediately below the signature and above the designation. Now a days, in private sector, the signatory’s Mobile Number is also mentioned below the designation. Signature Part is important as it legally binds the sender as to what is stated in the letter.

11. Encls (Enclosures): If any other papers are attached with the letter, the same are listed in this part.

12. Sometimes, a copy (Carbon Copy – CC)  of the letter is also sent to one or more recipients in addition to the addressee. The address/es of the recipient/s of the CC is mentioned below the signature portion in all the copies of the letter. To facilitate the proper dispatch of the CC, a tick mark is put before the respective recipient in each CC copy. Suitable remark, as applicable, may also be added (e.g. for information, for doing the needful, for records, etc).

12.1 The recipient name/ address of the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy), if sent,  is not written on the copy of the Addressee  or CC, thereby, the addressee and the recipients of CC will be unaware (blind) to the fact that a copy is sent to the recipient of BCC.

13. In addition to the Addressee Copy and CC copies, one more copy is also printed and retained as Office Copy marked O/C. In certain offices instead of one,  two more copies are printed, one for O/C and another one (marked P/C)  for Master File (also called “Pink Copy File” in olden days) , in which a copy of all the letter sent is filed, seriatim.

14. Considering our concern for “Save Tree” and availability of softcopy, printing O/C and P/C can be avoided by obtaining approval of the signatory by email. One has to judiciously weigh the need for hard copy of O/C and P/C before pressing Ctrl+P.

15. Spell Check and proofread before printing. If required, revise.

16. Format the letter before printing. Use Block Style as now days it is the standard practice.

17. Keep proper margin on both sides (3 to 4 cm on right and 1 to 2 cm on left). Font type: Calibri, Verdana, Arial and alike. Do not use calligraphy / cursive fonts.  Font size : 12 to 14. Use Make Bold, underline and Italics sparingly.

18. DO (Demi Official) letter is a special form of formal letter used in case of extreme secrecy, urgency, personal attention, etc.

Do you find the recipe of writing an effective formal letter ticklish? It is not so if you have basic knowledge of the language and its grammar. Practice makes a man perfect. Now onwards, draft the letters yourself rather than requesting the colleagues to do for you. Seek help only for correcting your draft. Make conscious and continuous efforts to improve your letter writing skills. The sooner, the better. A day will come when your colleagues will seek your help to correct their drafts.

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