Watch this space every Friday for a new article to help you once and for all to master the art of composing a business letter that impresses both colleagues and clients alike.
Today we begin with an Introduction to Business English Letter Writing.
The three follow-on articles are:
- Lesson #2 - Features of Business English Letters
- Lesson #3 - Layout of Business English Letters
- Lesson #4 - Appearance of Business English Letters
Introduction to Writing Effective Business Letters
Writing skills are often the most difficult for students of English as a Second Language to acquire.Unfortunately, too few teachers (native and non-native) are skilled enough to "teach writing" to their students which compounds the problem.
Writing pointers can be taught, but writing, like in your own language, is "taught" by doing - practice.
Fear no more!
You are going to learn pointers in the next blog posts to improve your Business English letter writing.
Why Effective Business English Letter Skills?
A good business letter is a competitive advantage in the turbulent business world. Again, few can actually write well enough to explain complex ideas or express the key benefits of a product to a client.You are going to learn the nuts and bolts of Business English letter writing so you may achieve both the personal and professional success you seek and deserve!
What is an Effective Business English Letter?
Business letters are pieces of correspondence written in connection to one's official work duties.A member of management or staff may need to write a letter to a colleague in the same office or at least the same organization.
For example, an executive may write to congratulate someone for a promotion or other accomplishment or the converse, to reprimand someone for adverse behavior.
A letter may be written to a supplier to request materials or to a customer to demand payment.
Four P's to Writing an Effective Business English Letter
Writing is an art, not a science. Every writer has his or her own style and approach to making words come alive on the page.Business writing is a fairly straightforward matter. A flair for writing is helpful in all cases.
Follow the Four P's of Business Letters and you will produce a solid document every time.
PLAN. Every great endeavor begins with a plan. Who are you writing? What is the issue? Is the document for internal or external use?
Research the facts of the issue and be well-prepared to write on the topic.
PURPOSE. Create a narrative or story line for your issue. Do you plan to congratulate or criticize? Do you want to persuade customers to buy a product or service? Do you want to inform clients of a new product? How will the product or service help the recipient of the correspondence?
What action do you want the letter reader to perform?
Your purpose defines the content, length, tone, and wording of the letter.
PERSUASIVE. The power of persuasion involves creating a win-win situation for both you and the recipient of your letter.
Persuasive business letters are planned and designed that its Purpose.
Two tactics for writing persuasive letters are 1) repetition and 2) reasoning.
Use persuasion to produce a desired outcome - to get the correct action from the letter reader.
Proofread your document for any mistakes in spelling, punctuation, and use of collocations and phrasal verbs.
Remember the 7 Elements of Business Writing and its 5 C's in our previous blog articles when you are crafting your business correspondence.
Any mistake weakens your argument and dilutes any impact you desire for the reader to act on your communication.
Conclusion
You completed Lesson #1 in our series How to Write an Effective Business Letter!Business success hinges on many factors. Written commercial communication is an inescapable fact.
Thankfully, you have begun the path to improving your Business English correspondence.
Stay tuned to this space for Lesson #2 when we discuss the Features of Business English Letters.
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