| Business Letter Etiquette
Business etiquette is fundamentally concerned with
building relationships founded upon courtesy and politeness between
business personnel. Etiquette, and especially business etiquette, is a
means of maximising your potential by presenting yourself
positively.Writing a business letter is not simply a matter of
expressing your ideas clearly. The way you write a letter and the
etiquette you employ may have a significant impact on your success or
failure in business.Failure to observe correct business letter
etiquette can result in you adopting an inappropriate tone, causing
offense or misunderstandings, lack of clarity or purpose and hostility
or soured relations.The foundation of good business letter etiquette
is ‘Think before you write’. You should be considering who the
letter is addressed to, how and why? This will then influence style,
content and structure.Here we cover some of the main issues relating
to good business letter etiquette: Addressing the Letter Always make
sure you have spelt the recipient’s name correctly. It may sound
simple, but you would be surprised at how many people fail to do so.
The recipient’s name should include titles, honours or
qualifications if deemed necessary. Many people use the ‘Dear
Sir/Yours Faithfully’ formula when addressing the receiver. Although
this is acceptable for routine matters it is impersonal and should not
be used when dealing with those you know, queries or complaints. With
these the ‘Dear Mr…./Yours Sincerely’ formula should be
adopted.Once a certain level of familiarity is reached it is not
considered bad etiquette to use phrases such as ‘Kind Regards’ or
‘All the best’ at the end of the letter. Confidentiality If the
content of the letter is sensitive, personal or confidential it must
be marked appropriately. Marking the letter ‘confidential’ will
suffice in highlighting this fact. If you only want the letter read by
the receiver without the interception of a secretary or PA, mark it as
‘Private’, ‘Personal’ or ‘Strictly Confidential’. If you
have received such a business letter it is good etiquette to
reciprocate and ensure that all future correspondence is kept at that
level of confidentiality. Style Proper business letter etiquette
requires that a consistent and clear approach, combined with courtesy,
be employed. As a rule of thumb, aim to keep all business letters
formal in style. Even when the receiver is familiar to you, it is
advisable maintain a certain level of business etiquette as the letter
may be seen by others or referred to by a third party in the future.
However, this does not mean you should use long or uncommon words to
express yourself. This merely looks odd and makes the letter
unreadable. It is best to read a letter first and consider whether you
would speak to that person face to face in the same way. If not, then
re-write it. Letters should be signed personally. It looks
unprofessional, cold and somewhat lazy if a letter is left unsigned.
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