2. BUSINESS LETTERS
Heading Opening Body Closing
Printed Letterhead
Contains
•Name of the
organization
•Address with telephone,
fax nos.
• and e-mail address
•Company’s logo
•References
•Date, Day, Month, Year
1. Consists of:
2. Name of the person
addressed
3. His/her designation
4. The address-
(a) Street no. and
name
(b) City
(c) State
(d) Pin code
5. The Salutation
6. The subject-
Written either in block
letters or underlined
Contains the message
Follow the 6Cs
Be---
•Clear
•Concise
•Consistent
•Complete
•Courteous
•Correct
Complementary
Close
•If your salutation is
by name, Close it with
“Yours Sincerely”
•If it is Dear Sir/s
Or Dear Madam
Close it with
“Yours Faithfully”
3. Written Communication
• Written communication is formal and precise.
• It requires a formal beginning and ending.
• Oral interpersonal communication is most
often informal.
• Whereas in oral communication one can
depend on tone of voice, facial expressions
or gestures to put across one’s message, in
written communication one has to depend
only on the formal, written words to get the
message across.
4. Letters
• Letters are the most important means of written
communication as they become permanent
records and can be referred to in future.
• Maintaining customer relations, handling
problems, exchange of information, and
maintaining goodwill requires skillful letter
writing.
• Reasons for writing a formal letter:
• To inform-To tell someone about something
• To instruct/order –To make somebody do
something
• To reply- To reply to some communication
• To convince/persuade- To make somebody
interested in you or in your product
5. Features of Business Correspondence
• The overall tone of a business letter is restrained formality.
• Your letters should be brief but not curt.
• They should be polite and easily comprehensible.
• Plan your letter-
1. the reason and objective of writing
2. To whom you are writing-adjust your style according to the needs
of the person whom you are writing, his designation in the
organization etc.
3. When are you going to write? Do you have a deadline to meet?
4. What will be the layout and construction of the letter?
• Formal letters should be short and to the point and devoid of
complex sentences and jargon laded language.
• Formal letters must incorporate You-Attitude- that is show
respect for readers’ needs, intelligence, integrity and the POV.
6. • A Dictionary and thesaurus are a good letter writer’s constant companions.
• Pick the right word
• Avoid repetition of words and verbosity
• Building one’s word power aids to using words with consummate skill
• Avoid cliches
• Spontaneity in a letter ensures smooth reading
• Make the letter balanced and positive in approach. Avoid using negative words like
‘failure’, ‘refuse’, ‘sorry’, ‘damage’ etc.
• Good business letters maintain ethical and moral standards, and show a sense of
legitimacy.
• Learn to mitigate the hardship or adverse impact of the message through choice of
words and manner of presentation.
• Bring a unique perspective and experience to the letter by adding imagination and
creativity to it.
• The letter should reflect enthusiasm and innovative temper of the writer.
• A positive and progressive approach to writing letters generates regard and creates
goodwill for the writer.
• Prefer friendly and conversational style over stilted, dull and stiff writing.
• Clarity of goal should be reflected in both thought and expression.
• The most effective business letters are those that show the writer’s interest in the
receiver. Therefore, adopt “you” attitude.
• An effective letter emphasizes all important points by carefully positioning them in
sentences and paragraph.
• Effective business letters have tactful approach .Certain problems call for a ‘middle
ground ‘ approach.
7. FORMS OF LAYOUT AND PARTS OFA BUSINESS LETTER
• Full Block Form
• Modified Block Form
• Semi Indented Form
• Hanging Indention Form
• Standard Elements
• Heading or Letterhead
• Reference Number
• Date
• Inside Address
• Mode of Address
• Salutation
• Subject Line
• Body of the Letter
• Formal Close
• Complimentary Close
• Signature block/slot
8. • Additional Elements
• Addressee Notation- labels such as ‘PERSONAL’,
‘CONFIDENTIAL’, ‘URGENT’, ‘PLEASE REDIRECT’ etc, typed in all
capitals, two spaces above the inside address.
• Attention Line-Draws the attention of a particular individual or
department for action- ‘Attention Accounts Officer’, ‘Attention
Section Officer’ etc.
• Subject Line-The purpose of the letter; helps in filing the letter for
future reference
• Reference initials-A set of two initials formed by using the initials of
one who dictates the letter and followed by the initials of the person
who types the letter. There are two ways to do it-SD/VM or SD:VM
• Enclosure Notation: Enclosure: Resume
• Postscript- a second afterthought has the notation ‘PS’or ‘P.S.’
• ‘CC’ or Carbon Copy Notation
• ‘PC’ or Photocopy Notation-pc: Mr. P.K. Arora
9. Business Letter Types And Their Objectives
Types Objectives
Credit To enquire or request for loan
Collection To collect past due accounts
Order To place an order for products or services
Inquiry To enquire the status of sth; price lists;catalogues
Claim To lodge a complain and ask for a remedy
Adjustment To inform how the complaint would be taken care of
Sales To sell /promote a product or service
Fundraising To request the readers to donate money or time
Job
Application
To apply for an employment
10. Covering Letter
A covering Letter –
• Mentions the post you have applied for
• Whether you are sending the filled –in application form or a C.V., or both.
• Expand on some points about background or experience
• Emphasize the candidate’s interest in the job and suitability for it.
• Show some knowledge of the company
• Why you would like to be employed by the company
• That you look forward to hearing from them
• Examples:
Showing Eligibility-
• I have the requisite qualifications and experience to be a suitable candidate for the post.
• A C.V. giving the details of my qualifications and experience is attached for your reference.
• Please find enclosed a copy of my detailed C.V.
Showing Willingness-
• A position with your firm will give me the kind of experience I am looking for.
• Yours is a well-known company and given the opportunity, I believe that I shall be able to develop
myself professionally in your company.
Referring to Future Contact-
• I look forward to hearing from you.
• I would be happy to appear for an interview at any time convenient to you.
• I look forward to being called for an interview.
•
11. Ending of a Self application
Be very polite
Show confidence.
Be brief.
If you should find me a suitable candidate for the post advertised, I am
confident that
I shall satisfy your needs.
I shall live upto your expectations.
It will be a mutually rewarding experience.
I shall be happy to
Appear for an interview.
Work for your firm.
Meet the challenges of the job.
12. Questions For Self-Assessment
• Draft a sales letter introducing a new hand sanitizer that contains
Aloe Vera, Neem and Tulsi as prime ingredients and which provides
complete protection from diseases and infection.
• Write a persuasive letter to the Commissioner of the Municipal
corporation for garbage collection and the regular spraying of
disinfectant in different nooks and corners of the city.
• Revise the following sentences to improve you-attitude
• i) We will call you at our convenience to discuss whether we will hire
you for the job.
• Your service contract with us is hereby terminated.
• By this time next week, we will have made our decision on your
refund request.
• We can arrange for our tow truck to pick up your car between 10 AM
and 2 PM.
13. References
• Locker, O Kitty, Stephen Kyo Kaczmarek. Business Communication.
New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, 2007.
• Malhotra Prerna, et al. Business Communication. New Delhi: Book
Age Publications, 2015.
• Soundarraj, Francis. Speaking and Writing For Effective Business
Communication. New Delhi: Macmillan,2008.
