Writing a Good Business Letter

By Brian Green

A good business letter is one that gets results. The best way to get results is to develop a letter that, in its appearance, style, and content, conveys information efficiently. To perform this function, a business letter should be concise, clear , and courteous.

The business letter must be concise. Little introductory or preliminary chat is necessary. Get to the point, make the point, and leave it. It is safe to assume that your letter is being erad by a busy person with all kinds of correspondence to deal with. Such a person does not want to spend time a a newsy letter about your ski trip or medical problem. Hone and refine your message until the words and sentences you have used are precise. Revision and rereading take time but are a necessary part of writing a good letter. A short business letter that makes its point quickly has much more impact on a reader than a long-winded, rambling exercise in creative writing. This does not mean that there is no place for style or even, on occasion, humour in the business letter. While it conveys a message in its content, the letter also provides the reader with an impression of you, its author. Your style is part of the message.

The business letter must be clear. You should have a firm idea of what you want to say, and you should let the reader know it. Be sure to use an accepted business-letter format. There are several, and they can be found in any book of business English. Use the structure of the letter—the paragraphs, topic sentences, transitions—to guide the reader point by point from your introduction, through your reasoning, to your conclusion. Paragraph often, to break up the page and to provide visual cues to the organisation of your letter. Reread what you have written from the point of view of someone who is seeing it for the first time, and revise to be sure that all necessary information is provided (including reference numbers, dates, and other identification) and that all explanations are clear. A clear message, clearly delivered, is the essence of business communication.

The business letter must be courteous. Sarcasm and insults are ineffective and can often work against you. If you are sure you are right, point out the fact as politely as possible, explain why you are right, and outline what you expect the reader to do. Always put yourself in the place of the person to whom you are writing. What sort of letter would you respond to? How effective would sarcasm and threats be in making you fulfill a request? Another form of courtesy is taking care in your writing or typing. Grammatical and spelling errors (even if you call them typing errors) tell a reader that you don’t think enough of him or her to be careful. Such mistakes can lower the reader’s opinion of you faster than anything you say, no matter how idiotic. There are excuses for ignorance; there are no excuses for sloppiness.

The business letter is your custom-made representative. It speaks for you and is a permanent record of your message. It can pay big dividends on the time you invest in giving it a concise message, a clear structure, and a courteous tone.