Approaches to send a correspondence letter?

Based on the goal of the letter that you’re sending, you choose the one of the three correspondence letters approaches.

1-      Direct approach: you can use this approach when you want to transmit good news to your reader. The main and only rule is to start directly with the good news, and it’s recommended that you leave goodwill and a friendly frame in the mind of the reader at the last paragraph.

2-      Indirect approach: you can use this approach when you’re transmitting bad news to the reader or to say no. the main rule is to put the bad news in the middle of the letter, by putting a buffer between the reader and the bad news, the reader must begin and ends with positive message.

3-      Persuasive approach: Getting the reader to do what you want, to accept what you say, or to agree with you. In the persuasive approach the letter starts with a promise or imply some benefit or reward for the reader, then describe the service pr the product, and finally ask for action.

Planning a correspondence letter

Before writing any correspondence, you should plan what should be included in this correspondence and why it’s being sent.

As you plan your correspondence you should start by:

1-      The person who writes the letter

You represent your organization in the correspondence so never let the client or the receiver feel that you disagree with anyone in the organization or with its policy.

Your job is to put what the organization has to say in terms that your reader can accept.

2-      The person who receives the letter

This is the most important factor, before sending the message you should know as much as you can the mentality of the receiver or the way he thinks. Adapting to the reader means writing with the reader in mind which will help a lot getting to the letter goals.

A business message is successful only if the reader: Reads it – Understands it – Reacts on it.

3-      The purpose of the letter

You write a business letter if you have a need to communicate, to plan the letter effectively, you should know: why the letter is needed and the response it should bring.

The five “C” principles

Effective business correspondence can be ensured by applying the five “C” principles, the letter should be:

* To test the completeness of a correspondence you can ask the 5 W and the  H  ( Who, Why, Where, What and How)

Move To Written Communication

Job skills alone are not sufficient to ensure your success in business, if you have lack in the communication skills.

In business it’s not recommended to communicate verbally, written communication is highly recommended, some of the advantages:

1-      Less expensive

2-      More Penetrable (than a phone call)

3-      Written record

4-      Confidential

5-      Contains more details and visual representations (charts and diagrams)

6-      Fast

7-      Spend more time in the preparation, so it’ll be more accurate.

There are three types of sending and receiving written information:

1-      Letters

2-      Memos

3-      Reports