Personal Letter

Is a written type of communication of an individual to another concerning personal or family affairs rather than business
matters.
This kind of letter does not follow certain rules or structures and uses a less formal wording or colloquial language.
This type of letter can be type- written or handwritten depending on the length of the content.
EXAMPLE:
Birthday Greeting
Business Letters
A formal type of written letter concerning business transactions and other business related issues and information.
Use formal language
Sound like a person talking to another person.
Written on an 8 ½ x 11 inch-size clean bond paper.

Personal versus Business Letters

11 comparisons of personal letter and business letter
1. Nature: Business letter is impersonal and universal in nature. Personal letter is fully personal in nature.
2. Purpose : Business letter is exchanging various business- related issues and information. Personal letter is exchanging
personal or family- related affairs and information.
3. Scope: Business letter scope is wide and contains various type of business information. Personal letter scope is limited
and contains only personal information.
4. Structure : Business letter follows officially recognized structure. Personal letter does not follow any recognized
structure.
5. Formality: Business letter maintains formal rules and procedure. Personal letter is informal.
6. Size : Business letter generally is concise in size and avoids irrelevant matter. Personal letter may be concise or large in
size.
7. Types: Business letter can be categorized differently. Personal letter generally cannot be categorized
8. Salutation: Business letter salutation can be Sir, Dear, Dear Mr. X, etc. personal letter salutations are Dear friends, my
dear x, dear x, etc.
9. Language: Business letter language should be easy and simple. Personal letter language may be easy, poetic, emotional,
etc.
10. Copy: Business letter copy of business letter should always be preserved. Personal letter copy of personal letter may or
may not be preserved.
11. Method: Business letter uses direct and persuasive method. Personal letter uses only direct method.
The Technique of Writing Business Letters
Four basic psychological techniques according to Mager and Mager (1968):
Write from the “ you” attitude. Count the number of I’s and you’s in your letter and them compare. A good letter should
have a preponderance of you’s and a minimum of I’s.

Compare:
I : I was happy to hear that my letter of January 5th provided sufficient information for the completion of the order for us.
You: Thank you for your assurance that you had sufficient information for the completion of your order.
2. Accentuate the positive. Even a letter that has to say “ NO” can be written from a positive point of view. Make it an
absolute rule never to start or end your letter with a negative.

Avoid words with a negative connotation, such as:

Argument
Careless
Complain
Disagreeable
Error
Neglect
Unfair

Characteristics of a Business Letter

To ensure that we are writing an effective business letter, there are “Ten (10) C’s we should consider.

Completeness- inclusion of complete information. Answer the question WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and HOW.

2. Correctness- refers to the correct grammar, punctuation, spacing, information, structure and correct format of a business
letter.
3. Conciseness – refers to being direct and brief without
Compromising the complete idea.
Example:
Instead of saying: At the present time
Say: now
Instead of saying: Prior to
Say: before
Instead of saying: Pitch in
Say: join to
Instead of saying: Start from scratch
Say: make new from nothing
Instead of saying: Meet the deadline
Say: complete the job

4. Coherence- refers to the smooth flow of ideas in a business letter. The content of a business letter should be in order and
easy to follow.

Use of synonyms
Use of transitional words
Use of pointers
Use of repetition of words
Use of sentence patterns

5. Clarity- refers to readability of information which is easy to understand.

6. Concreteness- refers to use of specific words not general words.
Example:
Instead of saying: Return of investment
Say: profit
Instead of saying: Market penetration
Say: successful selling

7. Courteousness- refers to the politeness of the tone of the business letter.

Below are some examples of the negative and positive word. But the again, positive words are more preferred in doing
business.

Negative Positive
Bad good
Sad glad
Old new
Hard easy
 Slow fast
Disagree agree
Delay early
Demand request
8. Consideration- refers to the use of professional tone to show respect to the reader of the letter. Also, we need to
anticipate the ‘”YOU” attitude in writing our letter.

Example:
Instead of saying: We are glad to offer you the best services.
Say: You will be pleased to find must- try services in our branch near you.
9. Consistency- refers to the uniformity of the time and style of the writer of a business letter.
10. Credibility- refers to the personality of the writer as himself which might reflect on his writings.
Elements of a Business Letter

Because business letter is part of communication, I also follows the communication process.
3 elements in communication process
Sender
Message
Receiver
The sender of the letter is the one who is writing it. The complete name, position, as well as the address of the receiver
should be included in the letter.

The message is very important in the communication process because it is the reason that moves the sender to start the
communication process. The message of the letter should be well-written, simple, understandable, direct and persuasive,
concise and complete.
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER:
Letterhead-Identifies the writer, his/her address, and contact numbers.
Date-Placed between the letterhead and the inside address.
Inside Address-Identifies the reader’s name, position, company, and address. Should be placed immediately below the
date.
Attention Line-Used when the writer wishes to address the whole company but wants to bring it to the attention of a
particular person in the company
Can be written in two formats:
Attention Peter Burkin
Attention: Peter Burkin
Salutation- wtiter’s greeting to the reader.
Body- Message of the letter. Paragraphs are single-spaced, but double-spaced to separate paragraphs.
If the letter is too short, the body can be double-spaced or triple-spaced to separate the paragraphs.

Complimentary close- An expression used to end a letter.

HIGHLY FORMAL
Respectfully yours,
Respectfully,
Very respectfully,

POLITE AND FORMAL

Very truly yours,
Yours very truly,
Yours truly,
LESS FORMAL
Sincerely yours,
Yours,
Cordially yours,

INFORMAL AND FRIENDLY

As ever,
Best regards,
Kindest regards,
Regards.
Signature block- Includes the signature and the typed name of the sender.
The typed name can be in all caps or CLC format.
The space for the signature should be 3-5 lines.

Identification initials- Indicates the typist’s initials if the sender is not the one who personally typed the document.
Enclosure notation- Indicates the attachments to the letter
Can be written in the following formats:
Enclosures (2)
 Enclosure
Enc./encl.
Copy notation- Indicates the name of the secondary recipients of the letter
Indicated by cc:

FORMATS:
Full block

Modified block
Semi block