Effective Business Communications and Writing

How to Write a Business Letter That Makes a Positive Impression

According to Kenneth Zimmer, Professor Emeritus of Business Education and Office Administration of Californian State University, “The style of a business letter contributes as much to that letter’s success as a person’s style contributes to his or her success” (p. 319).

Two factors define the style of a business letter: appearance and content. Appearance refers to the overall look of a letter, which is mainly the result of a letter's formatting, whereas content refers to the message contained in the letter and the writer’s choice of words.

The Business Letter and Content

Word choice influences how the recipient perceives the writer. For example, words determine whether the reader will consider the writer “out-of-date, verbose, and pompous” or “modern, businesslike, and down-to-earth” (Zimmer, p. 330). As a result, a business letter can either convince or fail to convince the recipient that the sender is the best person with whom to conduct business.

In order to ensure that a letter projects the desired professional image, writers should avoid the following:

• Out-of-date expressions and slang
• Redundancy
• Fancy words or jargon
• Verbosity
• Nonspecific writing
• Incoherence
• Incompleteness

Use Current Expressions in Business Letters

Fashions change, music changes, technology changes, and so do expressions, even regarding what is considered appropriate in communication. Therefore, writers need to avoid outmoded expressions, for example:

• Instead of using “in accordance with,” use “according to.”
• Instead of using “due to the fact that,” use “as,” “because,” or “since.”
• Instead of using “at the present time,” use “now” or “at present.”
• Instead of using “in re,” use “regarding,” “concerning,” or “about.”

Additionally, writers should avoid slang expressions since slang never makes a good impression, especially in business communications.

Eliminate Redundancy in Business Letters

The term “redundancy” refers to unnecessary repetitions of what has already been said; for example, it’s repetitious for one to say, “continue on,” since “continue” means to proceed onward. Some additional examples of redundancy include the following:

• “New beginner” instead of “beginner”
• “Converted over” instead of “converted”
• “Cooperate together” instead of “cooperate”
• “Connect up” instead of “connect”
• “Customary practice” instead of “practice”
• “Past experience” instead of “experience”
• “Enter into” instead of “enter”

Use Simple Language in Business Letters

There are some people who believe that simple, everyday language lacks pizzazz and should be replaced with fancier language, meaning bigger words. However, bigger words are not necessarily better, especially in business communications, since the goal of a letter is to convey the message as efficiently and concisely as possible, not to demonstrate the writer’s extensive vocabulary.

As a result, when writing a business letter, people should avoid using fancy-sounding or long words when simple words will convey the meaning just as well. For instance, as Zimmer points out, instead of saying, “I have amended and rectified the errors” or “The store and all its appurtenances were sold,” one should simply say, “I have corrected the errors” and “The store and its furnishings were sold” (p. 332).

Since jargon is technical language that is specific to a certain profession, its usage can also be inappropriate, although it really depends upon the purpose of the letter and the recipient. For example, if the letter’s recipient is a member of the same profession and, therefore, familiar with the terminology, then it’s acceptable for the writer to use those terms.

Be Concise, Specific, Coherent, and Complete in Business Letters

Additional guidelines that business-letter writers should keep in mind include the following:

1. Avoid verbosity: Time is a valuable commodity, and most people have no desire to wade through an entire paragraph in search of the writer’s meaning. Then again, people should never be so abrupt as to appear rude or curt. They should, however, omit irrelevant, excess verbiage and strive for conciseness.
2. Avoid non-specific writing: People should think through what they intend to say before they put their ideas on paper by asking themselves, “Will the recipient know what I mean? Will he know to whom I am referring?” If the answer is “no,” then they should make those points clear.
3. Avoid incoherence: A reader should not have to guess how a writer’s thoughts are related, which is why knowledgeable writers use transitions or “connecting words” to relate ideas. For example, they use such words and phrases as “for example, however, moreover, as a result, since, on the other hand,” etc.
4. Avoid incompleteness: Perhaps because they fear being verbose, some people make the mistake of being overly concise and, as a result, often omit essential information. For example, as Zimmer points out, a writer may know all of the specifics about a purchase order, but since the reader may not have this information at hand, then he or she will have to devote valuable time to locating the information.

In summary, since professional correspondence makes an impression, either positive or negative, about both the sender and the company for which that person works, if businesspeople want to write letters that make the right impression, they will be constantly aware of the message being conveyed through their choice of words.