Tips for business Letter Writing

1. Clear in Language and Expression:

The letter should be clear in language and expression. There should not be any ambiguity of words: no vague expression should be included. Everything must be clear and easily understandable.

2.Definite and Exact about Purpose:

A business letter should have a definite purpose and exactness of communication. Round-about expressions are not expected. A letter should have one definite purpose. If there are more than one subject to mention then separate letters should be written so that proper filing can be done at the other end, otherwise, it is difficult to find reference for future correspondence. Everything should be exact in detail. If you are sending quotations, then be exact in rates, quality and quantity while quoting. Later excuses will render you unreliable, and you will lose goodwill of business community.

3.Complete in Contents:

A business latter must be complete in contents. Terms and conditions of supply, delivery, packing etc. must be spelled out in detail. Nothing should be left to the imagination of the addressee.

4.Courteous in Tone:

The letter must have a polite and courteous tone. Even if the customer is bitter in expression and wrong in allegations, you have to send a mild reply though a firm one. Never annoy with words any customer whosoever he may be. Courtesy and civility pave a smooth way to progress in business.

5.Brief in Expression:

Traders and men of commerce are extremely busy. They have no time to read largely-worded letters. Brevity should, therefore, be the rule in such letters. Say clearly in a small number of words what you have to convey. But this brevity should not be at the cost of clarity or facts that you want to quote.

6.Simple and Lucid in Style:

The style of such letters should be highly simple and lucid. It should have no vagueness. A straight forward and direct approach is better than beating about the bush in round-about language. The whole thing should be easily comprehensible.

7.Prompt in Reply:

A letter in reply should be written very promptly. If not the same day, a reply must be dispatched the next morning. Inordinate delay may change business conditions and may cause you untold damage. This creates an impression of uncertainty and unreliability about your company.

8.Correct in Spellings and Punctuation:

While typing letters the steno must be clear about correctness of spellings all business managers dealing with correspondence should learn correct spellings. Even a single wrong spelling creates a very poor impression upon the reader and erodes the image of efficiency of your firm. For this all those who dictate or write business letters must remember correct spellings. A handy list of words, which are often miss-spelt, is useful. Correct punctuation marks are also an essential feature of a letter. Wrong punctuation marks or punctuation marks wrongly placed may change the meaning of sentence and may thus cause loss or misunderstanding.

9.Divided in Paragraphs:

All the mater I in a letter may not be placed in one paragraph. Each point may be conveyed in a separate paragraph. Thus, we see that a good business letter should be clear in language, definite about purpose, complete in contents, courteous in tone, brief in expression, simple in style, prompt in reply, correct in spellings and punctuation, and placed in paragraphs.