Business correspondence in the modern business world is an important part of success. Every day, employees of any organization are faced with the need to compose their own business correspondence and respond to incoming mail.
Business correspondence has its own broad classification: official, personal, external, internal, according to the purpose of writing and form of departure.
One of the competencies of a modern employee is the ability to write a business letter competently: gratitude, request, confirmation, guarantee, claim, press release, congratulations, recommendation and others.
Consider the basic steps in writing a business letter.
The culture of business correspondence is the design of letters, the literacy of the text, and the correct use of words and expressions. Therefore, it is best to use a draft first, in order to check yourself later and eliminate unpleasant misunderstandings.
The structure of a business letter includes: appeal to the addressee, preamble, main text, conclusion.
Business correspondence does not allow appeal to “you”. Therefore, most often, the appeal begins with the words "Dear (th) ...". Continued treatment depends on many factors. The name and patronymic of the head is used in the event of a personal acquaintance (however, it is often used in letters addressed to the head of a state body). It is permissible to contact the head of a commercial organization with the word "gentleman" and add the name without initials. If you do not know the ranks of military personnel or the exact name of positions of senior employees, it is better not to use them. In this case, the name of the addressee will look more correct than the error.
The preamble is needed in order to show in a few words the motivation and purpose of the letter. For this, the common expressions are: In accordance with ... (name of the document, regulatory source), In order to ..., In response to ..., In confirmation ..., In the manner of rendering ..., In connection with .... and other suitable phrases.
Next, we draw up the main text, which should clarify your position, opinion, request in several paragraphs (two to four). It is necessary to coordinate textual information with the form of the person from whom the narration is being conducted. The legal entity more often uses the singular and plural of the third person, and individuals transmit information from the singular and plural of the first person. Suggestions must be consistent, logical, so that the recipient has a holistic picture of what you want to write about. The text of the letter should not be interpreted in two ways. A business letter should cover one subject or question, and should not exceed two pages.
In conclusion, it is necessary once again to briefly summarize the purpose of the letter.
The rules of conducting business correspondence provide for a clear design of business letters. After the text of the letter is checked, edited, agreed, it is necessary to correctly execute it.
The business letter form contains information about the organization: name, physical address, phone, fax, web site and e-mail, as well as registration number and other necessary details.
A business letter necessarily involves fields: on the left - three centimeters, on the right - one and a half centimeters.
The font is most often used Times New Roman, the 12th (14th) size of a pin, a single (one and a half) spacing between lines.
The heading of the business letter in the upper right corner contains the answer to the question “To whom the letter is addressed”: to the head, director, administration, etc. indicating the position, company name, surname and initials.
If the letter contains attachments that are drawn up on separate sheets, you must indicate their number before the signature of the sender.
The necessary part of a business letter is information about the contractor, with the surname, first name and patronymic must be given in full, as well as a contact phone number by which it is best to contact a specific employee.
Business correspondence should be kept in order, as it is an important proof of the activities of the enterprise on this issue.