Suppose you have some doubts in a chapter. You went to your professor to clear them. What will you expect from your professor? How will you ask your doubts? Don’t you expect your professor to clear your doubt in the easiest and clear way? Also, you will clearly state your doubt.
Similarly, in the business world, a person needs to express oneself in a clear way. He needs to write a business letter in clear, concise and to the point way. Business letter? Yes! In this section, we are going to learn about a business letter. Let’s start.
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Business Letter
Any letter written for business use is a business letter. It is mean to exchange information in a written form. It is the most formal method of communication in a business relationship. A customer writing a letter to a supplier, a job seeker writing a job application, cover letters are some of the common business letters.
Letter of inquiry, order letter, business contract, complaint letter, sale letter, letter of recommendation, and letter of resignation comes under this category.
Browse more Topics under Business Correspondence
- Meaning and Importance of Business Correspondence
- Parts of a Business Letter
- Human Resource Correspondence
- Goodwill Letters
- Purchase Correspondence
- Tender Process and Notices
- Handling Complaints
- Sales Correspondence
- Accounts Correspondence
- Insurance Correspondence
Learn Goodwill Letters here.Â
Essential Qualities of Business Letter
A person should always maintain the quality of the business letter. The qualities of a business letter make it presentable. It becomes easy for a person or an organization to imprint an impression onto the others. The qualities of a business letter can be classified as
- Inner Quality
- Outer Quality
Let us discuss each of them in detail.
I. Inner Quality
It refers to the quality of language used and the presentation of a business letter. They are
1. Clear
The language used in the business letter must be clear. It helps the receiver to understand the message immediately, easily, and clearly. Any ambiguity will lead to the misinterpretation of the message stated.
2. Simple
The language used in the business letter must be simple and easy. One must not write a business letter in difficult and fancy words.
3. Concise
The message written in the letter must be concise and to the point.
4. Concrete
The message is written must be concrete and specific. By using concrete language, a reader will have a clear picture of the message.
5. Accuracy
One must always check for the accuracy of the business letter. Accuracy generally means no error in grammar, spelling, punctuations etc. Correct personnel should be targeted for communication.
6. Coherent
The language used in the business letter must be coherent. The message must be in a logical way for the clear understanding of the message. The flow of the message must be consistent.
7. Complete
One must write a complete message. It helps the reader to know about the issue and the solution to be taken. It should provide all the necessary information. One must also keep in mind that the message should be concise and short along with the complete details.
8. Relevance
The letter should only contain important information. Irrelevant information should not be included and avoided in any business communication.
9. Courteous
The language used in the business letter must be courteous. A writer must always use open, friendly, and honest wording in his letter. It does not mean that one must use slang and abusive words. One must always add the words like please, thank you etc.
10. Neatness
A business letter must be neatly typed or handwritten. Proper spacing, indention, and use of paragraph should be used.
Learn more about Parts of Business Letters here in detail.
II. Outer Quality
The outer quality of a business letter means the quality of its outer appearance. The outer look of the letter must be catchy and impressive. Some of the outer qualities are
1. Size of the Paper
The standard size of paper should be used. An A4 paper is the most used paper for writing a business letter.
2. Quality of the Paper
The quality of the paper used must be good. It is not always possible for a firm to use the costly paper. One must use good quality paper for original copy and ordinary copy for the duplicate copy.
3. The Color of the Paper
Sometimes it is very useful to use the different color of paper for different types of letter. The receiver can clearly understand the intention and the purpose of the letter by its color.
4. Folding of Letter
One must fold the letter properly and uniformly. The folding must be done to fit the letter in the envelope. It is noticeable that one must not over fold the letter. It will have a bad impression on the reader’s mind.
5. Envelope
The envelope used must be of good quality. Special attention must be given to the size of the envelope for fitting the letter.
Solved Example on Business Letter
Problem: Write the category of qualities for the following statements.
- One must use the words like thank you, welcome, please etc.
- Details regarding orders like shape, colors, designs, date of delivery etc.
- One must not use aggressive tones or hidden insults
- One should avoid overwriting and cuttings
Solution: 1. Courteous
2. Completeness
3. Courteous
4. Neatness
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