Week 4 Business Letter Writing

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MIT634602 Communications

Business lettersemail

memo

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Business Letters

• successful business letters elicit the

expected response

• good news letters

• bad news letters

• persuasive letters

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Business Letters - layout

• letterhead

• date

•

inside address (recipient)

• attention line

• salutation (form of addressing recipient)

• subject line

• body of the letter

• close (should compliment the salutation)

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Business

Letter

format

From: Dwyer, J. (2009) Figure 18.6

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Business Letters - planning

• clear purpose

• what is to be said

•

ideas in point form• order the ideas in appropriate

sequence for letter

•review the letter (critically assess whetherthe purpose of the letter is likely to be achieved)

• rewrite the letter if necessary

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Plain English

• readable writing style

• ‘you’ approach 

•

positive language• clear expression (write to avoid misunderstanding)

• assertive courteous tone

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Plain English International

business letters

• avoid abbreviations, slang, acronyms,

 jargon, local analogies (these should also be

avoided in any formal communication)• avoid words that trigger emotional

response (eg. anger, fear, suspicion)

•

use simple and specific terms• Internet translation tools*

* use with caution

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bad news business letters

Order refused; ‘no’ to a credit request; refusing a pay rise;

declining invitations or requests;

• open with a neutral buffer

• explain the situation

• give the refusal or negative news

• close with a positive paragraph

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persuasive business letters

Influence; change an attitude; persuade to take some

action; persuade to pay an account; persuade to buy aproduct; apply for work;

• catch the readers attention

• develop an idea which is in the reader’s

interest

• develop the idea and your persuasion to

the reader to take some action

• state the specific action to be taken by the

reader

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Common emails

•

request• instruct

• provide authorisation (official)

• provide acknowledgement• notice of decision

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email layout

• receivers name (email address)

• senders name (system setup, machine

owner)

• subject

• date/time (system clock)

•

body• email address

• alternative way to contact sender

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emails

• Privacy

• When will they be read?

•

 junk mail/ spam• integral part of modern business

internal communications

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Uses for email

• contact someone who is not available

• send the same message to people simultaneously

• deliver a message inexpensively

• forward a message sent to you

• transfer sound, documents, video clips

• convey detailed information (rather than phone)

• speed – where a quick response is required

• where recording the communication is required 

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Non -uses for email

• sensitive communication

• bad or injurious news

• messages that should be conveyed personally• if immediate feedback is required

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memoranda memos)

• day-to-day routine information• relatively brief (1/2 to 2 page)

• not usually private (for general

consumption and re-use)

• mass communication

• written record of rules/ policies

• detailed and difficult information

• official

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Memo format

From: Dwyer, J. (2009) Figure 18.7

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References

Dwyer, J. (2009). Communicationin Business: Strategies and Skills,4th Ed. Frenchs Forest, NSW:Pearson Education Australia.

Ch. 18.