 Does
it bother you when you receive a business letter that is
not well written, properly formatted, and presented? It
bothers me. Making a good first impression is crucial to
business success. You know the importance of a good handshake
to giving a good first impression when meeting someone
in person. Equally important as part of your total professional
appearance is making a good first impression with your
business correspondence.
Here's a baker's dozen of ideas to help you produce
professional business correspondence, with style. If
you want to practice your writing, send me a sample and
I’ll be happy to provide a complimentary round of coaching
on the letter you submit. Be sure to include your email
address for a personal response.
- LETTERHEAD: Generally
business letters are written on 8.5 x 11 sheets
of
quality plain paper or pre-printed stationery. Your
name or company name should be clearly identifiable.
Your address and other contact information should
also
be easy to find and read.
- FORMATTING
THE LETTER: Use a consistent type
size and style that is easy to read and helps define
your overall company image. The most common layout
style for business correspondence is to justify
to the left margin and to place an extra line space
to indicate new paragraphs. Whether you indent
the first line or not is a matter of style and
both are fine. My only recommendation is not to
right-justify the letter as it often makes the
letter more difficult to read. Take care in laying
out your letter to have balanced margins all around.
- HEADING: Begin
all business letters with the following
information, in this order:
Date
List the
date the letter is being sent, spelling out the entire
date in either the American (April 1,
2004) or
European (1 April 2004) styles. Do not use any form
of abbreviation. Typically no more than
two to three line
spaces follows this line.
Addressee and Inside Address
Write the following
information each on separate lines:
Name
Title or position
Company name
Street Address, including suite number
City, State, Zip Code, and Country (as appropriate)
As a sign of respect,
especially for first-time letters
to someone you have never met,
it is best to address the person
properly as Miss, Ms, Mrs. or Mr.
(as applicable), followed by their
first and last name. If the addressee
has a designation, such as M.D.
or Ph.D., use only one style at
a time. For example, list John
Smith, M.D., not Dr. John Smith,
M.D. Please remember Ms is a proper
word requiring no period to stand
for an abbreviation.
When entering the name of a state type
the entire name, such as Pennsylvania,
not the postal code PA. The postal code
should only appear on the envelope. Follow
this block of information with two line
spaces.
- GREETING
AND SALUTATION: Letter
writing protocol dictates all letters
begin with “Dear” followed by the addressees
honorific and last name, followed by
a colon, not a comma. For example,
write “Dear Dr. Smith:” Again, Dear
Ms Smith is best for first time letters. As
you become better acquainted with the
person, one style is to type in their
proper name, then strike it out by
pen and hand write their first name
to show less formality. Follow this
information with two line spaces.
- BODY
TEXT: The current style
is to write letters in as conversational
a manner as possible. Long gone are
the days where letters were written
to sound more formal in an attempt
to elevate your level of professionalism
and education. Avoid phrases such as “Pursuant
to” or “Please find enclosed” and stick
with the same phrases you use in business
conversation. I like to write letters
using a sandwich approach: begin and
end all correspondence with positive
and cordial sentiments. Sandwiched
in the middle, write the core information
you want to convey. Separate each paragraph
of text with two line spaces.
- CLOSING: End
letters with a cordial phrase you are
comfortable using—Sincerely, Yours Truly,
or Best Regards—followed by a comma.
Depending on space left at the bottom
of the sheet, allow four to five lines
spaces for a signature.
- SIGNATURE
LINES: Type the name
of the person who wrote and signed
the letter, using both their first
and last name. In cases where a woman
wishes to be addressed a specific way,
be sure to add Mrs., Ms, or Miss in
parenthesis before her name. If the
letter is written by more than one
person, include a signature line for
each. A second signature line may be
used to list the person’s title or
position, as applicable.
- NOTATIONS: At
the bottom of the letter, typically two
line spaces below the second signature
line list notations for Enclosures, Postscripts,
and Courtesy Copies. List courtesy copies
as "cc" with the names of all individuals
who are receiving a copy of the letter.
I like to highlight each "cc" person’s
name when sending their copy.
- IDENTIFYING
INITIALS: When
someone other than the author types
and finalizes a letter, it is customary
to include a line indicating who performed
this work. Show the initials of the
writer of the letter in capital letters,
followed by either a colon or forward-slash
and the assistant’s initials in lower
case letters. For example, RFH:sjs
or RFH/sjs.
- PROOF
READ: Always print
out a copy of your letter and read
it before signing and mailing. Look
that the margins and format are pleasing
to the eye. Read the letter
for spelling, grammar, and correct
contact.
- FOLDING: One
of my biggest frustrations in receiving
a letter is how sloppy and incorrectly
it is folded. A crookedly folded letter
communicates a lack of care, interest,
and professionalism. Letters typed on
standard 8.5 x 11 paper, mailed in a
standard #10 business sized envelope
should be folded in thirds, leaving the
top flap just slightly short of meeting
a perfect one-third fold. Leaving a little
flap allows the receiver to open the
letter more easily. If you are using
a smaller envelope, fold the paper first
in half lengthwise, then in thirds
horizontally.
- INSERTING: Place
the folded letter into the envelope with
the top flap in front and upright in
the envelope. When the person opens the
envelope he or she can easily pull the
letter out, open it, and read it. Inserting
it any other way makes it more difficult
to open and read.
- ADDRESSING
THE ENVELOPE: For
that initial good impression, use printed
envelopes that match your letterhead.
Your return address should be easy
to find and read. When addressing envelopes,
use the U.S. Postal Service guidelines
for the fastest delivery service: Type
all addresses. Use all capital letters.
Eliminate all punctuation. Insert one
space between the city and state and
two spaces between the state and zip
code. Again, there is not comma between
the city and state. Use only the two-letter
state code. For complete details on
this and other related postal guidelines,
see http://www.usps.com/businessmail101/addressing/deliveryAddress.htm.
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BONUS: Print
a draft copy of every letter before it is finalized
on letterhead. Another irritation is how letters
are received with typed information all bunched up
at the top of the letterhead. Again, this shows a
lack of care and concern to format the letter to
show well on the page. Take care in laying out your
letter to have balanced margins.
Happy Practicing!
To
view our past Etiquette Tips of the Month, please
choose a topic below:
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