Chapter 8 Effective Correspondence

Letter-writing is one of the main facets of Business Communication. When you write a business letter, you represent
your company. Your customer may expect service from your company, but only you can deliver that personal attention.
When you deliver that personal attention, your company will benefit, and your objective is fulfilled. Hence, the goal of
the effective business is to personalize your letters to ensure that they are warm, friendly and tactful. It should not be
cold, stuffy and brusque (rough and abrupt). The primary goal of the letter writing is the immediate purpose for
communicating. We write a business letter to exchange information, collect payment, increase transactions, etc. Besides
this goal, we also have the public relations objective. This objective involves making or keeping a friend for the
business. People form images about the company from the correspondence they receive from it. In written
communication, such as, letters and memos, you need to keep the following six principles in mind:
1. Know your reader and the purpose of writing to him, (who, what, when and why)
2. Make the reader feel that you are communicating with him.
3. Write in the reader’s language .(one that he understands)
4. Communicate in terms of the reader’s understanding of the subject on which you are writing.
5. Communicate the right company image (not just your personal image).
6. Be as formal or informal as the situation dictates, keeping in mind the purpose of communication.
Address readers by name. Doing so helps make the message more personal-more like a personal conversation.
Always be sure that the reader’s name and title are precise in every detail.
1. Spellings can be tricky __ Caryn, Caren, Karyn, Karen, Basynat, Basnet, Basnyet.
2. Do not overlook the need for personal titles, such as Mr., Mrs., Ms. on envelopes and inside addresses. Use
Ms. when you don not know which personal title the woman prefers. Use Dr, Professor, Captain, etc when
appropriate.
3. Be sensitive to business titles in address blocks. The ‘Senior Marketing Representative’ does not want to
be addressed as “Marketing Representative” If you are not sure about a person’s name/title, find out. Check
recent correspondence. Copy it in your personal name and address file. If you have no way of knowing the
name of the person to whom you are writing, use a salutation directed at the appropriate group, such as ‘Dear
Publishing Group’. Instead of the outdated ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ you could use “Ladies and Gentlemen”.
Conversational Style: One technique is writing conversationally__making letters sound human. The message becomes
more personal and sounds like a normal conversation:
Dear Jim:
Thanks very much for rushing my last order to us overnight. We were out of stock on several of the items,
so I appreciate your giving special attention to this order.
In fact Jim………………

Writing in the conversational language is not easy for we tend to be stiff and formal.
The Language of Business: The pioneer business writers developed a highly formal unnatural style. Borrowing
heavily from the legal language of the courts and the flowery expressions of the aristocracy, they developed a style of
writing that became known as the language of business. This language was stereotyped, lawyer’s language, detached
with little warmth and devoid of friendly human relations. It has faded from use, but some of its expressions remain.
Despite its criticism for half a century, it is difficult to change people’s habits. We still use the old phrases from the old
language of business.
The old language of business: Your letter of the 7th inst. received and the contents duly noted, deem it advisable,
please be advised, wherein you state, Thanking you in advance, I have herewith enclosed a cheque against your
Invoice of the 12th inst. which please acknowledge upon receipt, We beg to remain, I shall be highly obliged, etc.

This style of writing reached its peak in the late 1800s, and remained very much with us in the early 20 th century. In
fact most letters of business were filled with similarity in phrases and expressions.
Gentlemen,
We have to thank you for yours of 28 th inst., enclosing cheque for $95.12 in [payment of our invoice of 17 th
ins]t. Formal receipt enclosed herewith. Trusting to be favoured with your further orders,
We are gentlemen,
Yours faithfully,
The old language of business no longer receives authoritative support. It has faded from use, but some of its
expressions remain. Despite its criticism for half a century, it is difficult to change business people’s habits. We still
use the phrases and expressions, such as, ‘please be advised, please find enclosed, Thanking you in advance, I
remain, we wish to thank, permit me to say, I take the liberty, which please acknowledge upon receipt.’
‘Rubber stamp’ expressions’:
Rubber stamps are expressions we use automatically in a certain type of situation. They are expressions we use without
thought. The old languages of business are rubber stamp expressions, and so are the most recent ones. You can avoid
rubber stamp expressions by writing in your conversational vocabulary.
Dull and stiff Rubber stamp expressions Friendly and conversational
I herewith hand you…. Here is…
 Thanking you in advance… I’ll sincerely appreciate…
Please find enclosed herewith… Enclosed is…
I deem it advisable… I suggest…
Kindly advise at an early date.. Please let me know soon…
I hope this meets with your approval.. I hope you approve
The ‘You Viewpoint’: Human beings are self-centered creatures. Therefore, as we are selfish, we have structured our
thinking (opinions, attitudes and beliefs) to conform to our own well being and self-interest. In letter-writing, we have a
writer-oriented, we-viewpoint approach-one that places emphasis on ourselves and our interest rather than our reader’s.
This approach does not elicit the most positive responses in our readers, for they too are self-centered.
We –viewpoint You-viewpoint
We are happy to inform you You will be happy to know that
that the prices have fallen. the prices of goods have fallen.
Accent on Positive Language: Positive ways are better for letter goals for persuasion and goodwill. Beware of
negative words. Negative words stir up resistance and hurt goodwill. You should be wary of negative words such as,
blunder, mistake, error, problem, damage, loss, failure, refused, rejected, not, do not, etc. Also we should not use
unappealing words such as, itch, scratchy, slimy, sticky, sloppy, nauseating, obnoxious, smelly, bloody, etc.
Overall Tone of Courtesy: Courtesy and politeness brings goodwill in letter writing. Selecting positive words and
creating a friendly atmosphere helps to enhance the relations:
1) Single out your reader: Single out and write directly to your reader. Give the reader an
individualized treatment. Use references such as, ‘As you will agree, Mr. Smith…’
2) Refrain from Preaching: A preaching or lecturing tone is offensive. You may insult a reader with
preachy words, such as, ‘You must take advantage of savings like this, if you are to be successful’.
Sometimes flat statements fall into the preaching category, such as, ‘Rapid turnover means greater
profits’.
3) Doing more than is expected: Goodwill is earned by doing more than what you have to do. Give
helpful suggestions besides acknowledgements. Suggest alternative actions. An insurance agent
may send good luck or congratulations to a policy holder.
4) Avoid anger: Anger destroys goodwill and business relations. Use tactfulness instead of goodwill.
5) Show sincerity: Courtesy must also have sincerity. People must believe in you. You must apply
what you have written.
6) Overdoing goodwill: Too much you-viewpoint may sound insincere. Do not make too many
references to your reader by name, such as, Dear Jim, we have enclosed the payment in this letter.
Jim you are a good man. Jim we want to do more business with you because you Jim are good.
7) Avoid exaggeration: Exaggerated statements: show insincerity. Superlative degree often shows
exaggerations, such as, greatest, finest, healthiest, most amazing, extraordinary, stupendous, etc.
The Technique of Emphasis: Every fact should get its due emphasis. There are four major Emphasis Techniques:
1) Emphasis by Position: Beginnings and Endings carry more emphasis than do the center parts. This is true
whether the unit is the overall letter, a paragraph, or a sentence within a paragraph, or a sentence within a
paragraph.
2) Emphasis by Space: The more space one gives a topic, the more emphasis the topic receives.
3) Emphasis by Sentence Structure: Sentence structure determines emphasis. Short simple sentences emphasize
content, whereas long sentences do not.
4) Emphasis by Mechanical means: Mechanical devices, such as, quotation marks, bold type, capital letters,
underlining, italics, fonts, drawings, arrows, diagrams, etc. give emphasis or highlight the content.
Coherence in the letter: Letters are made up of different bits of information. The bits should be related with one
another. Presenting information in logical order enhances coherence. For coherence, we need four major devices or
aids:
1) Tie-in sentences: You can design sentences to link or tie – in two successive ideas.
2) Repetition of Key words: By repeating key words, from one sentence to the next, you can make smooth
connections of successive ideas.
3) Use of Pronouns: Pronouns and particularly Demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) make good
transitions between ideas or forming idea connections.
4) Transitional words: By transitional words, we mean words that link the thoughts in your message, such as, in
addition, besides, in spite of, however, for example, likewise, therefore, moreover, etc.
5) A word of Caution: Do not use transitional devices arbitrarily. Make them appear natural.
Writing for Effect for International Correspondence: International communication involves cultural and language
differences. There may be problems of cultural differences, problems of language (two word verbs, such as, break
away, break out, break in, break down, etc., slang words, such as cops, bucks, fag, joint, booze, etc.