The Salutation.

Develop your own signature salutation.

You can use standard ones like Best Regards or Kind Regards, or find something new that suits you.

Let this be your signature salutation, and stick to it in all your business letters and communications.

The Business Letter vs. Email Letter.

In today’s world the formal business letter is fast becoming a rarity, and is taking the new form of the email letter. However, remember its only a different form or delivery. Follow the same rules as above.

Some businesspeople like to write the business letter now on company stationary in electronic form and include them as attachments to an email. This is not a bad idea, and still retains some form of privacy.

Business Letter Language Guide

Here are a few tips from communication experts that may help you frame your use of language in your business letter or email.

· Speak in the present tense. Avoid a lot of “I will; it should be, and …”

· Use simple words. Do not show off your superior vocabulary.

· There are very effective words that are commonplace. There are power words, and all of them are simple and impossible to misinterpret

· Be direct.

· Go to your point, and do not speak in ambiguous terms.

· Avoid homilies

· Remember who it is you are talking to.

· If you are speaking to a superior, maintain your distance of respect, while still selling your points across.

· Avoid value judgments. Leave these for the letter recipient to decide for themselves.

Pronouns and active versus passive voice

Personal pronouns (like I, we, and you) are important in letters and memos. In such documents, it is perfectly appropriate to refer to yourself as I and to the reader as you. Be careful, however, when you use the pronoun we in a business letter that is written on company stationery, since it commits your company to what you have written. When stating your opinion, use I; when presenting company policy, use we.

The best writers strive to achieve a style that is so clear that their messages cannot be misunderstood. One way to achieve a clear style is to minimize your use of the passive voice. Although the passive voice is sometimes necessary, often it not only makes your writing dull but also can be ambiguous or overly impersonal. Here's an example of the same point stated in passive voice and in the active voice:

PASSIVE: The net benefits of subsidiary divestiture were grossly overestimated.

[Who did the overestimating?]

ACTIVE: The Global Finance Team grossly overestimated the net benefits of subsidiary divestiture.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16