In the modern world, business contact often begins with business correspondence - a written form of business interaction, which includes any type of correspondence (letter, message, etc.) sent by any official on his behalf and by virtue of his position.
An important aspect is compliance with certain etiquette standards. Otherwise, established connections may be severed and a client or business partner may be lost. Well-designed business correspondence contributes to the most favorable impression of you or the company.
Mastering the magic of letters is important for every person. Let's say when searching new job: compiling and sending resumes, test assignments, cover letters, additional information about yourself, agreeing on a meeting time.
Interestingly, the rules of business correspondence that exist today were developed about 150 years ago in England.
Types of business letters
To decide how to compose a letter, you need to know the differences between its types. This will help you decide on the topic of the message and its correct design. This will help you avoid looking stupid in the eyes of an important opponent.
According to the design structure there are:
- Letters of communication
This includes letters of refusal, claims, excuses, and confessions. Everything that an employee uses in the course of his professional activities.
- Letters of agreement
An important type of writing. Thanks to her, the results of the meeting are summed up, agreements are formed, the time for completing tasks is determined, and both parties are convinced of the correct understanding of the contract.
Business Letter Rules
The way bloggers allow themselves to express themselves is not your choice. There is no excuse for mistakes and typos. You cannot console yourself with the difficulties of learning a language from childhood. You need to be as demanding of yourself as possible. Otherwise, it paints an unfavorable picture of your personality and education.
The peculiarity of business correspondence is that errors in the spelling of professional words are considered an indicator of a person’s incompetence in the chosen field.
Basic Rules:
- Avoid using words whose exact definition you do not know. As a last resort, check their meanings in dictionaries.
- Avoid using specific terminology. Some words may be unfamiliar to the interlocutor and may be misinterpreted by him. Business correspondence etiquette involves in such cases providing an explanation of terms and abbreviations.
- Write in short sentences. Length and floridness of constructions are appropriate when writing a novel, and not during business negotiations.
- First type the message not in the body of the letter, but in a document on your computer or online editor. A positive aspect is the automatic spelling and punctuation check of the text. This also prevents the letter from being accidentally sent to the recipient prematurely or lost due to the browser being closed or the Internet being lost. Working in Microsoft word, use autosaving of material at certain intervals.
- You should avoid typing a message on your phone or tablet. There is a risk of inappropriate autocorrection.
- Before sending, check for errors and the consistency of the text. It is recommended to recheck the typed text again after an hour, temporarily switching to other things and forgetting about writing it. This will help you look at the text from a different perspective, seeing all the inaccuracies.
Formatting a business letter
Special attention to detail is required when preparing and conducting correspondence. It also shows respect for your opponent and allows you to save time that could be spent on redoing the material.
The following aspects should not be neglected:
- Correct filling of the subject line of the letter
If this is the first message, the title may be bright. However, if communication with the opponent already exists, the subject of the letter should be stated briefly and concisely. These are the basics of communication. They help you find the message after a while so that re-reading will be easy for both the sender and the recipient.
- Citation
The message you send may contain questions that you must answer. It makes sense to answer them, quoting each one separately. When sending a letter with several forwardings, it is worth using numbering and breaking the text into paragraphs. This way it will be clear to the interlocutor what question you are answering.
Excessive quotation chains create a sense of chaos in communications. However, if there is a need to return to previously sent messages or remind the interlocutor of something, it is worth doing. In particular, when it comes to budget, service package, and time.
- Take into account all information received
When composing a letter, you must briefly comment on all documents attached by you or your interlocutor. This way it will be immediately clear to the recipient what contents of the files await him.
- Your own signature is an analogy to a business card
Business correspondence requires a signature. It can be made automatic, then it will be present in every letter sent. How to create an informative signature? Use the current first and last name this moment position, work contacts and company logo.
For example: “With respect, Ivan Ivanov, your project manager, phone number or any other messengers.” Or “Best regards, Ivan Ivanov...”.
The signature can also be catchy and creative, indicating a special connection with the company or cause. For example, employees of a book industry network can use the phrase “I’m currently reading...” when inserting the name of current new products. But it is better to coordinate such things with your superiors.
- Mailing address
The rules of business correspondence require the display of a postal address. It would be better if he was purely a worker. The company name, position, first or last name may be displayed there, but not the year of birth or playful nicknames/words. It is better to think about the correct name of the address for many years if you plan to leave it even if you change activities or positions.
- Font and spacing
In documentation, the font most often used is Times New Roman, size 12 for tables or 14 for text. 1.5-2 intervals. These are the unspoken basics.
Business communication style
Business correspondence involves a delicate balancing act. Friendly communication is inappropriate here, but emphatically harsh communication is not appropriate either.
Features of communication:
- Severity of designs
Diminutive words and slang expressions will be inappropriate.
- Using emoticons
Use emoticons carefully or avoid them. The first contact does not allow their presence in principle. In the future, brackets may be present, but only positive ones, in moderate quantities. Niceness and humor are unacceptable in this style of communication. This form is unacceptable if you are subordinate to your interlocutor.
- Greetings by name and patronymic
The rules for conducting business correspondence imply a respectful attitude towards the interlocutor, attention and interest in his person. This increases your opponent's interest in you and increases the chance of his leniency. It is advisable to know in advance the name of the person you are addressing, as well as his preferences for address.
- Reply within two days
It is correct to send a response to the message within a few business days. Otherwise it is considered disrespectful. If the letter was sent before the weekend or vacation, you don’t have to respond to it if it’s not urgent. Otherwise, you need to warn your interlocutor about the temporary absence of your response or briefly unsubscribe about the contents of the letter.
- Lack of intrusiveness
Constantly asking about something, asking for confirmation will show you in a bad light. If confirmation from the interlocutor is required, you can remind him of the need to respond in three days. If the matter is urgent, it is better to mention it initially in your first message.
- Mirror rule
Business correspondence etiquette often allows you to address your opponent the way he does. This increases the possibility of mutual understanding and communication on the same level. Keep track of what terms, style of communication, and address your interlocutor uses.
- Happy holidays
If communication takes place around or during official holidays, it is worth congratulating the interlocutor. These are the rules of business correspondence. It is also useful to know when your opponent's birthday is.
- Gratitude
Elementary politeness would be words of gratitude in response to a congratulation, invitation, or explanation.
Taking into account all the above features, it will not be difficult to establish contact with your interlocutor and form a favorable opinion about yourself.
The importance of business writing rules
In fact, any letter sent is a business card, a reflection of our chosen business position. So that she looks decent, inspires respect and trust, and negotiations are accompanied by comfort and efficiency in solving problems, knowledge of the rules of good manners and their constant observance is an unshakable guarantee of success.
With regard to any correspondence, on the Internet or in letters, the same strict standards apply as when communicating by phone or personal negotiations. The principles on which the interaction is built:
- mutual respect between opponents for the personality and business position of the other person;
- attention to the business interests of the opponent;
- maintaining confidentiality;
- punctuality in solving important tasks.
Business correspondence is necessary because:
- when sending a letter there is no answer, even if it was implied;
- letters get lost in the stream unnecessary information and employees constantly call each other asking to check their email;
- after reading the email it is completely unclear what is needed from you;
- Due to the abundance of details and chaos of information in messages, thoughts are confused, and a complex issue is never resolved.
You can save a lot of free time if you implement general rules for conducting business correspondence. This will help avoid the above problems.
Over the past decades, business correspondence via email has gained immense popularity and has become one of the main methods of business communication. Today it is difficult to find a person who would not use e-mail in the practice of interpersonal communications. Despite this, many today are asking the question: so that all the rules are followed? How can you use a competent letter to form a good impression of the sender among the recipient?
This article describes the regulations for business correspondence on e-mail, A practical advice The information presented in the article will help you learn proper business communication when composing emails.
Many people start their working day with checking mailbox for new messages. But, unfortunately, despite the prevalence of this method of exchanging information, many do not know how to correctly use the language of business correspondence, accepting emails for an informal way of communication.
Thanks to the speed of delivery, it simplifies the exchange of important official documents, forms, applications, but even here people make mistakes when sending letters. It very often happens that when composing an email when exchanging any files, recipients for some reason do not write accompanying essays and do not enter topics, which can complicate the work of recipients. The purpose of this article is to answer the question: how to send a letter by e-mail and comply with all the rules of business written communication via e-mail?
When composing emails, all fields provided must be filled in
The rules of business correspondence by e-mail oblige the sender of the letter to fill out all the fields provided in the e-mail, such as the address and name of the recipient and sender of the letter. A subject must be described that briefly describes the essence of the letter being sent. Very often, the fate of the sent letter and the speed of resolution of the problem stated in it depend on the correctly described topic. A business email should begin with a greeting - this simple show of respect for the recipient is very important when corresponding. After the greeting, there should be a text that is called the “body of the letter”, and at the end a signature should be left, for example, “With respect, Petr Ivanovich Brisov.”
Greetings in business correspondence
This point is worth further focusing on, since a gesture of respect is very important in any aspect of business communications. The optimal greeting phrase is “Good afternoon” or “Hello.” Conducting business correspondence via email limits the sender from using the phrases “Good evening” or “Good morning”, since the recipient may read the letter much later than receiving it. It is also not correct to use colloquial expressions used in greetings.
After a greeting word or phrase, you should address the recipient by name and patronymic, and if the name is unknown to the sender, this moment can be skipped. Then you can move on to stating the purpose of the letter.
Attached files in business emails
If the main purpose of the letter is not only a written narrative and presentation of the essence of the issue, but also sending a file, then it is better to attach the sent object first. It often happens that many senders, due to inattention, having stated the essence of the issue in the body of the letter, forget to attach the necessary attachment. Such negligence can negatively affect the business reputation of the sender of a business letter.
The email address should be recognizable and concise
The rules of business correspondence by e-mail require the sender to have a recognizable electronic name, which must contain truthful information about the name of the sender. Official letters and appeals look very unconcise and stupid when the email address contains informal expressions or words, for example, the email address “limon_petya”. This looks very undignified for an adult. To conduct business correspondence, it is better to create a separate email and observe business email etiquette.
Using the quick Reply (Response) function to respond to previously received emails
The Reply or Response function (in its abbreviated version it looks like Re:) helps the user in a fast way Reply to previously sent messages from the sender. This function also has the universal ability to read previous correspondence with an interlocutor on a given topic. But the rules of business correspondence by e-mail oblige the sender to rename the subject of the business letter if the essence of the discussion is changed during the correspondence.
Before sending a business letter, you should proofread for spelling errors and punctuation.
E-mail simplifies the exchange of information, but during business correspondence you should not neglect the rules of the Russian language, since a carelessly made mistake can affect the authority of the sender. Before sending a letter, you should review the text several times and carefully check it for spelling and punctuation errors. Many electronic email clients have a spell check function, so you should pay attention to the words underlined in red. If you have doubts about the correct spelling, you should seek help on the Internet or check the spelling using a spelling dictionary.
The addressee field should be filled in last.
To avoid sending unfinished or unedited letters, the address of the recipient of a business letter should be entered at the very last moment before sending. This rule is also included in the basics of business email correspondence. It happens that when filling out the addressee field, email may offer a list of previously used recipients; here you should also focus your attention so as not to mistakenly send a composed business letter to a third-party addressee.
Structuring a business letter
The rules for structuring text apply not only to paper media, but also to the rules of business correspondence via e-mail. It is not always convenient for the recipient to read large volumes of text of letters on the monitor screen. To simplify this point, you should break the text into logically formed small paragraphs and avoid complicated sentences when writing the text of business letters. The optimal length of one sentence in a business letter should be no more than fifteen words.
The essence of a business letter should be stated in essence
In addition to the specified topic of the business letter, the recipient should also be interested in the clearly formulated first and second sentences of the main text. The sender’s task is to state at the beginning of the letter the essence of the problem or issue for which he is addressing the recipient. The first sentence should indicate the purpose for which the business letter is being sent. Sample: “We inform you that the terms of the obligation under contract No. 45 of 01/02/2017 “On the supply of bulk materials” are coming to an end. To renew the contract, you must submit a second package of documents.” Thanks to the designated purpose, the recipient has the opportunity to understand the main idea of the business letter. If the text of the letter is too large, then it is better to use the function of attaching an object as an attachment in the form text document, but at the same time, the accompanying essay that highlights the business letter should be left with a text box. Sample: “We are sending you an electronic copy of the letter from the company Mak-Stroy LLC for your review.” We ask you to inform us of your decision on the issue of extending contract No. 45 of 01/02/2017 “On the supply of bulk materials” until the deadline specified in the letter.”
Every business email should have a response.
There are negative examples of business correspondence when the recipient ignores the business letter for some reason. Sometimes there may indeed be cases when an answer cannot be given due to certain situations, for example, the resolution of the problem may take several days or the recipient is in thought and cannot immediately answer the question posed. In this case, a brief comment on this matter should be given, for example, “Hello, Pyotr Ivanovich. I received your letter, but today I find it difficult to respond, since I must consult with senior management. I will report your problem to the CEO of our company and give an official response by the end of the week. Sincerely, Sales Department Manager Belov Ivan Gennadievich.”
It is worth remembering that if a response was not given within three working days, then the fact that the recipient of a business letter remains silent can be assessed as ignoring and refusing to communicate with the sender.
When writing response letters, you should answer all the questions asked.
If the letter sent to the recipient is of an interrogative nature, then when composing the letter you should give answers to the questions in the order that is present in the received text of the business letter. If questions have been asked, the sender hopes to receive specific answers to them. When composing a letter, you should not number your answers; you just need to state your thoughts in order. In order to answer all the questions posed, you first need to re-read the received business letter several times, and if there are too many questions, it is better to write them out separately to prevent them from being missed. If it is impossible to answer some of the questions posed, it is worth pointing out that at the moment for some reason the answer cannot be given.
Do not overuse abbreviations, emotional design and capital letters
There are negative examples of business correspondence when senders dilute it by using informal signs in the form of emoticons. Their use is popular when communicating in in social networks, however, the rules of business correspondence do not welcome such manifestations of emotions, since the recipient may not know their true meaning and take them for an incomprehensible set of punctuation errors.
You should also avoid writing text in capital letters. On the Internet, a set of words written in capital letters is called “flashy phrases” and more often than not such phrases carry a negative connotation. The recipient, when reading an electronic business letter, may evaluate such a font negatively, which will have a detrimental effect on the perception of meaning. If in a business letter you need to emphasize the importance of any point, it is better to use introductory phrases, for example, “Please note that you need to provide a package of documents to renew the contract no later than 02/10/2017” or “Please note that the documents the contract extension must be submitted by 02/10/2017.”
Do not transmit sensitive information via email
To transfer personal or confidential information It is better to refuse electronic mailboxes, as there is a threat of information being intercepted by attackers for use for their own selfish purposes. Such information may include: telephone numbers, passwords from bank cards, personal bank accounts, etc. It is important to remember that information is stored on the mail agent server and can be stolen if hacked.
The sender's signature must be at the end of the letter.
As mentioned earlier, every letter sent must contain a specific signature. Often, mailbox developers introduce a signature block function, in which you can enter your job title, name and contact phone number. Subsequently, this block will automatically appear at the end of each letter, which will make typing easier. It is important to write a signature correctly so that the recipient has the opportunity to correctly address the sender when replying to the letter. An example of a signature might look like this: “With respect, Nikolai Alexandrovich Petrov, +79810000000.”
Drawing conclusions, it can be noted that in order to understand how to conduct business correspondence by email, you do not need to master additional and complex basics. You just have to adhere to the basic rules of etiquette and observe the norms of the Russian language.
In principle, questions about how and by what means can be created and sent should not arise. However, not everyone is ready to immediately begin this task when it comes to official letters, especially when the author of the letter expects to receive a response. I’ll tell you a little secret of business correspondence: the stricter the character and style of the letter, the greater the chance of a response from the recipient. In this lesson, I will provide several sample emails that should help users decide on their own style and subsequently compose messages in the most competent way.
First, we need to decide what nature the letter we are creating will be. I divide all outgoing emails into three main types:
- Business offer
- Business inquiry
- Friendly address
Accordingly, for all three types I have template blanks, both in the form of simple text files, and in the form of templates tailored for specific email programs. Let's move on to each of them in order.
Business offer
Hello (Good afternoon), [name of the person being addressed]!
It is advisable to indicate the name in any letter when communicating, because a personal address puts a person in a friendly mood. However, if you still can’t find out the name, a template greeting will suffice.
Let me present to your attention new service(new product) from our company [company name].
Let me offer cooperation in the field of [name of field of activity].
Next, briefly describe the advantages of your proposal in terms of price or some quality characteristics. The main thing is not to overdo it. Megabytes of text, and even supplemented with bright, meaningless pictures, only scare people away. If the recipient of the letter is interested in your offer from the first lines, he will definitely contact you for additional information.
If you're serious about getting the right people to contact you the first time you contact them, then it makes sense to think about reach beyond just email. It would be a good idea to create accounts in services such as ICQ andSkype. Sometimes it is much easier for a person to contact you by regular phone, if there is one, of course you will prudently leave it in your signature.
Why do you need to duplicate your own e-mail address in the signature, you ask, if it is automatically forwarded by the mail server. The rule here is that excessive information in business correspondence is never unnecessary. Let’s imagine a situation where your letter is received by a person who is potentially not interested in the offer, or who is simply not competent to respond to it correctly. It forwards the received message to another user, but for some reason, information about the true sender is lost from the automatically added data, which makes it difficult to contact you. However, it will always be enough to look at the signature to determine the author of the letter and his necessary contacts.
Business inquiry
Hello (Good afternoon)!
Or, if the addressee's name is known, then (Dear, [Name, Patronymic])!
Please provide information about the product (service) [name of product/service] with a description full specifications and competitive qualities.
Based on the Federal Law of the Russian Federation [number and date of the document], I ask you to provide information [describe the data necessary to obtain].
You can also contact the management of a particular service on the Internet if your rights are violated.
In connection with the violation of clause [clause number in the user agreement] of the user agreement, namely: “[quote full text named point]”, I ask you to conduct an inspection and take appropriate sanctions against the guilty [responsible (if we are talking about service employees)] person [site (name of site)]. Please report the results of the inspection and the sanctions imposed to [your own email address].
Friendly address
Greetings (Good day) (Hello), [person's name]!
When you first contact us in a friendly manner, a good indicator will be the completeness of your text message. A correctly written, voluminous text will indicate your high interest in contacting the right person and will arouse a desire for a response. Don't forget to open up the conversation with a few initial questions.
Example email
When we write a letter to a friend or relative, we can ignore mistakes and punctuation marks, abbreviate words as we like, and use slang. The main thing is to make it clear what we are talking about. But if we write to a stranger or an unfamiliar person and want to get an answer from him, then we should take into account some rules.
Rules of communication
1 . Always indicate the subject of the letter.
The “Subject” field must be filled in in any case and it is highly desirable that it corresponds to the content of the message.
For example, if you want to make an appointment for a consultation on March 5th, write: “Sign up for a consultation (03/05).”
2. When replying to a letter, save your correspondence history.
When you receive a letter from someone, you can respond to it in three ways:
- Copy the sender's address and write him a new letter.
- Click on the special reply field at the bottom of the message.
- Use the "Reply" button.
For business correspondence, you should respond in the third way, that is, click on the “Reply” button. A new email will open, repeating the one you received. The topic is the same, only with the prefix “Re:”, the original text is fully quoted.
This is the standard response form and you should not change anything about it. Your answer must be printed before the quoted text. This is done so that each participant in the conversation can remember what was discussed at any time.
3. Always say hello and address your interlocutor as "you".
Any message should begin with a greeting. And it is better if it is individual. If appropriate, call the interlocutor by name, otherwise - by first name and patronymic.
It is advisable to end the letter with the following construction: Sincerely, ... (first name/surname or first name/patronymic).
For example: Hello, Alexey Petrovich. Please send the contract to Ivan Mikhailovich. Best regards, Ilya Krivosheev
4 . Reply as quickly as possible.
The sooner you respond to a message, the better. Ideally within a few hours. But it is also possible within a few days. The longer you wait to respond, the worse it affects your reputation.
As for the text of the message, when writing it you should also follow some rules.
Write specifically, but in detail
Don't make the other person guess what you meant. If the problem is not obvious, describe it in as much detail as possible: how you got the result you have, what exactly you want to achieve and what is required from your interlocutor.
But this does not mean that you need to indicate all the details in great detail. Skip the unnecessary stuff - value the other person’s time.
Try to write briefly and to the point
There is no need, for example, to talk about how your wife, mother-in-law and other relatives are doing.
As for size, ideally one “screen” (no scrolling). Maximum - text size that fits on an A4 sheet.
Use common sense and common decency
Be polite, attentive, thank you for your letters and time.
What you absolutely CAN'T do
1 . Abuse punctuation marks.
One exclamation or question mark is enough. They should not be duplicated. Also, do not overuse ellipses.
An example of a “bad” letter:
2. Use different fonts, letter sizes and colors.
Mail sites and programs allow you to change these settings. You can choose an unusual font, make the letters larger or smaller, or color the text in different colors. But this is inappropriate in business correspondence!
It’s better not to change anything at all and leave everything as it is by default. The only thing that is acceptable is to highlight some words in bold or italics. But only if necessary!
An example of a “bad” letter:
3. Insert smiley pictures.
Leave happy and sad faces, flowers and hearts for personal correspondence. In business letters, it is better not to use emoticons - neither text nor pictures.
An example of a “bad” letter:
4 . Print text in capital letters.
Typing text in capital letters on the Internet is considered bad manners. This applies to both business and personal correspondence, as well as communication on social networks, Skype, forums and other places. Moreover, this applies to both the entire text and individual words.
The Caps Lock keyboard key is responsible for capital letters. That is, if all your letters are typed in capitals, you just need to press it once and release.
Moreover, do not print the “Subject” of the letter in capital letters - this is the height of disrespect!
On a note . Typing individual words and entire text in capital letters feels like shouting. And screaming is aggression, which goes beyond cultural correspondence.
If you really need to highlight something in the text, it is better to do it using bold or italics.
And it is also very advisable to avoid the words “Urgent”, “Important” and others that express impatience in the subject line of the letter.
Literacy
You should not be too strict about this, but try to write correctly in your letters. A few simple tips:
- Every sentence must begin with a capital letter. To type it, hold down the Shift key.
- There must be a period at the end of every sentence. In the Russian keyboard layout, it is located in the bottom row on the right (before Shift).
- To type a comma, hold Shift and press the period key.
- Do not put a space before a comma or period. There should be a space after them.
And one more piece of advice for those who at least a little know how to use text editor Word (Writer). First type the letter in this program. She will highlight the errors with a red line and, by clicking on such a word right click mouse, it can be fixed.
Copy and paste the finished text into the letter field. But before inserting, you should disable formatting so that it is added without formatting from Word programs(Writer).
In mail.ru, to do this, click on the inscription “Remove design” at the top.
In Yandex.Mail - the “Disable design” button on the right.
After pasting, the appearance can be turned back on.
There is nowhere in business without business correspondence, regardless of whether you write on behalf of a company, or on behalf of yourself as a private entrepreneur. Or rather, how you follow its rules. Your potential business partners or clients will largely judge you by how you communicate with them. A business letter is, one might say, the “face” of a businessman. And in order not to lose it, it is important to know about the golden rules of communication in this format.
Rules for business correspondence by email
Since e-mail is now used much more often than regular mail, we decided to pay attention to how to properly conduct business correspondence online. Here are a few recommendations that, if followed, will prevent you from losing face in front of your interlocutor.
Mailbox name
The first thing that catches our eye when we open a new message is the address from which it was sent. Many people underestimate the importance of this point and send business letters from personal email accounts. There's nothing wrong with this as long as the email address only contains your name in a human-readable format. But if there are various nicknames like “kissa1988” or “pupsik-26”, then sending a message from such a mailbox is simply unacceptable. Imagine what emotions a person will have when he receives a business proposal from a “babe” or “sweetie”.
Also, postal addresses that begin with info@, inbox@ and the like are not welcome in business correspondence. They simply aren't taken seriously, and there's a good chance the email won't even be opened. Most the best option– is to conduct business correspondence from a mailbox [email protected], where name is your first and last name, company is the name of the company.
Recipients
In email correspondence, it is possible to send a letter to a direct addressee and copy other recipients. Recipients in the copy of the message are not expected to respond to it. They are like invited observers. Therefore, before sending, determine in advance who exactly you want to receive an answer from and arrange the recipients correctly. However, if possible, do not list multiple people as direct recipients of your email. A situation may happen that none of them will answer you if everyone mentally decides to “shift” this responsibility to another addressee.
If you yourself find yourself in a copy of a business letter, then, as you already understand, the sender is not waiting for your response. But if there is a need to respond specifically to you, then you can do this, but it would be polite to apologize at the beginning of the message for “interfering.”
Formatting a letter
Official business style. In business correspondence, of course, the formal style is used. It lacks adjectives, unnecessary qualifications and details. Only specifics, clarity and logic. After writing a business message, it is useful to read it again and remove all phrases that do not carry any special meaning and do not change the essence of what is being stated. Only when you are sure that all such words and phrases have been removed, then you can say that this rule of writing a business letter has been followed.
Literacy. Saying that it is important to write a message correctly and without errors is the same as saying “a snowman must be made of snow.” However, this rule cannot be ignored. Literacy is the basis of any correspondence. A person writing a business letter with spelling errors is unlikely to be taken seriously by anyone.
Letter subject. It is a must to write it. Try to make it short but succinct, so that the recipient can immediately understand at one glance what the letter will be about. The topic should not consist of one word. “Information”, “Question”, etc. – incorrect business letter topics. “Proposal from Company X” is the right topic. If the information in your letter is especially important, then you can mark it with a special “importance” flag, which is available in almost all e-mail services.
Font. The text of the message must, first of all, be readable. Therefore, use the font Arial or Times New Roman, select a medium size (for example, in mail.ru the optimal font size is 3). Don't experiment with fonts or colors. This is inappropriate in business correspondence. Don't use Caps Lock exclamation marks and various special characters (including emoticons). The only thing that is allowed is highlighting some phrases in italics or bold. But try to use this only when absolutely necessary.
For ease of reading and better communication of ideas, you can use subheadings throughout the text of the letter. But there should not be too many of them - no more than 3-4.
One paragraph should not be longer than 4 lines. When we read very long paragraphs, the text blurs together and the main idea can be lost.
Any enumerations and lists should be drawn up using special markers.
Corporate template. It would be great if you developed a branded email template in your corporate style. And you will send all business messages only with this template. This will allow you to stand out from the rest and maintain the formality required by a business message. However, you should not overdo it with “branding” - excessive creativity will only do harm. Still, we are talking about business communication, not entertainment. Don't forget also that recipients can read your messages not only on their computer, but also on mobile devices. Therefore, the template must be optimized for different screen resolutions.
One letter should contain only one news item. And accordingly, only one target action should be expected from the recipient. It is considered incorrect to place several questions, suggestions or requests to the recipient in one message at once.
It should be broken down into the following parts:
- introduction;
- main part;
- conclusion.
In the introduction, briefly state the purpose of the message and the reasons for writing it. The main part is the very essence of the letter. In conclusion, you need to summarize the above - these can be conclusions, requests, instructions, suggestions, and so on. It is highly undesirable to use any “postscripts” in business correspondence. Also avoid aphorisms, metaphors, proverbs, and so on.
If you need to submit in a letter graphic image, then do not insert it into the text of the message itself, but attach separate file. Images may not display correctly on different devices or be completely disabled in the recipient's email program interface. In the text, where necessary, simply indicate “information is in the attached file.” If there are several such files, be sure to write their names.
If you use abbreviations and abbreviations of words, you must be 100% sure that the recipient will understand what is meant by them. In general, it is better to play it safe and not use such things.
Lack of emotions. Business letters should not contain any emotional overtones. At all. Even if you are writing a complaint and you really want to show the fullness of your indignation, or, on the contrary, you sincerely thank your partner for a successful transaction. The message should be restrained and even somewhat cold-blooded. Each person values his individuality, but business correspondence does not The best way manifest it. An official letter from a cheerful or sad person, a janitor or a CEO should be the same.
Use of vocabulary. To link sentences in business correspondence, the following stable expressions are used:
- for that reason;
- based on what;
- by virtue of (something);
- in accordance with;
- based;
- pay attention to;
- considering;
- what served.
And so on. Also in business letters it is allowed to use abbreviations and abbreviations that are generally accepted in the industry within which the message is written. If you doubt whether the addressee will understand a specific abbreviation, it is better to write the phrase in full.
Greetings. Please never use the cliche "Good day." This, one might say, is bad form not only for business correspondence, but also for emails in general. The optimal greeting is “Hello, First Name/Middle Name.” By the way, it’s good to address the recipient of the message by name not only in the greeting, but also further along the text. If you are writing to a person you do not know personally, you must indicate at the very beginning where you got the recipient’s address from.
Letter size. This is not a work of fiction and not your personal thoughts “on the topic.” The message should be as short as possible to convey all the information in it. It is optimal if the text of the letter fits into one “screen”. Reading long letters is tiring, and many people find it annoying.
Replies to letters. When you reply to a message you receive, always click the Reply button, not the Write button. With the first option, your entire correspondence history will be automatically included in your response. This is correct, because a person may not immediately remember who you are and what you want from him if he does not see the background story. Especially if more than five days have passed since the last correspondence. Feel free to quote your interlocutor while responding to his message. This will give him a chance to remember what you talked about before.
Always thank the other person where appropriate. For example, you can write “Vladimir, thank you for your letter” or “Irina Alekseevna, thank you for such a quick response.” Such nuances will show your respect for the interlocutor and soften the mood of electronic communication.
If the interlocutor sent you a message in which he expressed his dissatisfaction or even was openly rude to you, try not to answer him in the same way, no matter how much you would like it. Situations vary, but always respond politely and with restraint.
Of course, the sooner you respond, the better. It's great if you can respond within a few hours. This period is optimal. But let's say we get a response within a few days. Psychologists say that a comfortable time for a person to wait for a response to an email is 48 hours, that is, two days. If you have to wait longer, this may already be perceived as disrespect or ignorance. If the question raised in the message requires more time from you to respond, then be sure to write that you received the letter, accepted it for consideration and will respond as soon as you can. This way the sender will at least not feel ignored.
Conclusion of the letter. You should not write phrases that could be perceived as an attempt at manipulation: “I really hope for a profitable cooperation,” “Thank you in advance for your answer,” and so on. It is better to say goodbye in email correspondence with the phrases “With respect,” “My sincere wishes,” and the like. Yes, such phrases are cliched, but they are perfectly suited for business communication. In the signature, write your first name, last name, position and company name. Also leave contact details where you can be contacted, other than email.
Dispatch time. Of course, emails do not mean that they should be read immediately upon receipt. But in business ethics email correspondence it is considered incorrect to send mail messages on the weekend, holidays, late in the evening or at night. Try to stick to standard working hours.
And of course, before clicking the “send” button, carefully check the correct spelling of the recipient’s name and his email address. Re-read the entire text of the message and check it for typos or incorrect phrases.
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