1 / 15

Business letters

Business letters. Letter of Transmittal. A transmittal letter accompanies a document and explains what the document is, why it should receive the reader's consideration, and what the reader should do with it.

lamya
Download Presentation

Business letters

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Business letters

  2. Letter of Transmittal • A transmittal letter accompanies a document and explains what the document is, why it should receive the reader's consideration, and what the reader should do with it. • Transmittal letters are usually brief. The first paragraph describes what is being sent and the purpose for sending it. A longer transmittal letter may summarize key elements of the proposal in one or two sentences and provide the recipient with other useful information. • A Transmittal Letter is a business letter and should be formatted accordingly; that is, you should include the recipient's address, your address, a salutation and closing. Depending on the project, you may also need to include contact information.

  3. Letter of transmittal is the letter that accompanied a document of more than two or three pages such as, a report, a proposal, or an article. • Functions of transmittal letter: • Identify the letter and orient the reader to it. • Held the reader decide whether to read the document or to send it to someone else. • Features of transmittal letter: • It should be short (no more that one page). • It should identify the document being sent, the project about which it is written, and any special points related to it. • The form of this letter may vary depending on the audience( see example p. 220-221). If it is to be sent to someone who is familiar with the topic, it is usually shorter and gives less information. • Sometimes you need to add more context.

  4. Letter of Complaint • Letter of complaint is written to improve the situation about which one is complaining. • We write it such a letter when we feel cheated or victimized, especially in important ways. The writer of the letter of complaint should: • Identify the nature and seriousness of the problem. • If possible, request or suggest a solution to the problem. • Features of the letter of complaint: • It should be polite but firm. • It shouldn't threaten the reader. • If you suggest a solution in your letter, it should be reasonable. Reasonable solutions have a better chance of being accepted than unreasonable ones. • It should reflect that the writer is fair and helpful even in difficult situations. • Try to make sure your letter is sent to the right person or departmentTry and keep your letter shortBe polite as sarcasm or rudeness will not help your cause!Say what you want for your complaint to be resolvedGive a reasonable timetable for action to be taken before you will consider other optionsKeep a copy of letters you write

  5. Response to a Letter of complaint • When you write a response to a letter of complaint, you need to look knowledgeable, helpful, concerned, and apologetic. • Things you should do when writing a response to a letter of complaint: • Identify the purpose of the letter, reminding the reader of the source of the complaint as well as of any suggestions the reader originally made for dealing with the complaint. • Deal with the complaint, outlining the whatever the writer can do to help the reader. • Assure the reader of the writer's goodwill attention to the problem. See figure 11-12 , p. 226

  6. Letter of Request • When you write a letter of request you should very clearly • Orient the reader to the topic of the letter. • indicate why the writer should be willing to respond. • Indicate what the writer is requesting the reader to provide (equipment, information, etc). Things to keep in mind when writing a letter of request: • Go straight to the point and do not insert unnecessary personal information. • Make your request as simply and directly as possible. • cultural differences should be taken into account when writing a letter in a language other than your mother tongue. • If you do not know the addressee, use a standard salutation like “dear Sir./Madam” or “ To Whom It May Concern.” • Give only enough background information as is necessary to explain the reason for your request. • Politely thank the addressee for his her help. • Close with “Sincerely” or “Sincerely Yours” and your signature.

  7. Response to a Letter of Request • A response to a letter of request should • Orient the reader • Identify the purpose of the letter, reminding the reader of his or her request and any conditions upon it. • Provide the information requested. • If the reader has requested a physical object to be sent in a separate package, you include information on the package status and the date of arrival. • If the reader requested information, try to include all the relevant information the reader requested.

  8. Cross-Cultural Differences • Cultural norms differ from one country to another. • When you write a letter, try to adapt it to the norms that the reader expects. • Note: read about these difference in p. 230.

More Related