Business Communication Essentials
Your Company Name/Your Name
123 Business Rd.
Your City, State, ZIP
Calculating date...
Recipient Name/Title
Recipient Company
456 Corporate Ave.
Their City, State, ZIP
Dear [Recipient Name],
Purpose of a Business Letter
A business letter (or formal letter) is a formal way of communicating between two or more parties. There are many different uses and business letters. Business letters can be informational, persuasive, motivational, or promotional. Business letters should be typed and printed out on standard 8.5" x 11" white paper.
Elements of a Good Letter
The most important element of writing a good letter is your ability to identify and write to your audience. If you are addressing your letter to the department of human resources, avoid using highly technical terms that only engineers would understand, even if your letter is addressed to an engineering company, chances are that the personnel in human resources does not have an engineering background.
The next element is that you make sure your present your objective in a clear and concise manner. Don't be vague about your objective, most people will not have the patience to sit there and guess at the meaning of your letter or the time to read a long-winded letter, just get to the point without going into unnecessary details.
Another important element to remember is to remain professional. Even if you are writing a complaint letter, remain polite and courteous, simply state the problem(s) along with any other relevant information and be sure to avoid threats and slander.
Sincerely,
[Your Typed Name]
Automated Date Examples:
Document Issue Date:
Follow-up Deadline (7 days from issue):
Previous Report Date (30 days prior to issue):
Glossary of Terms
- Parties: Individuals, groups, or organizations involved in an agreement or communication.
- Informational: Providing facts or data.
- Persuasive: Intended to convince someone to do or believe something.
- Motivational: Designed to inspire or encourage action or effort.
- Promotional: Aimed at publicizing a product, service, or event to increase sales or awareness.
- Standard: A level of quality or attainment accepted as normal or average.
- Audience: The intended readers or recipients of the communication.
- Technical terms: Specialized vocabulary related to a particular field or subject.
- Personnel: People employed in an organization or engaged in an organized undertaking.
- Objective: A goal or purpose.
- Concise: Giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words; brief but comprehensive.
- Vague: Not clearly expressed or understood; uncertain or indefinite in meaning.
- Long-winded: (Of speech or writing) tediously long and rambling.
- Relevant: Closely connected or appropriate to what is being done or considered.
- Courteous: Polite, respectful, or considerate in manner.
- Slander: The action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation (in this context, it generally implies any false damaging statement, written or verbal).