WRITING

EFFECTIVELY

(CHAPTER 2)
 THE GOOD CHARACTERISTICS OF
WRITTEN MESSAGES ARE
DEFINITELY RESULTS OF
ADHERENCE TO THE PRINCIPLES,
RULES OF ACTION OR CONDUCT,
GENERAL TRUTHS AND GUIDELINES
OF WRITING.
CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE
LETTERS
CORRECTNESS. NO ERROR, FAULT,
MISTAKE OR DEPARTURE FROM TRUTH.
THESE MISTAKES IF EVER COMMITTED
DEFINITELY MANIFEST ORGANIZATIONAL
INEFFICIENCY. SO, IN ORDER TO AVOID
ERRORS WHICH MAY BE INADVERTENTLY
DONE IN SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, PRICE,
SPECIFICATION, SENTENCE STRUCTURE AND
GRAMMAR AMONG OTHERS, THE LETTER
SHOULD BE THOROUGHLY EDITED.
CONCISENESS. BRIEF, SHORT OR LIMITED IN
WORDS. WE SHOULD CONSIDER THAT BUSINESS
PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS BUSY. THEY THEREFORE
HAVE NO AMPLE TIME TO READ WORDY LETTERS
THAT WOULD ONLY TARRY THEIR WORK. IN FACT
THEY ONLY SPOT THE ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
IN THE LETTER. HOWEVER, CONCISION DOES
NOT MEAN DELETING WORDS THAT COUNT AND
MAKES YOUR STATEMENT BRUSQUE. BREVITY
MEANS USING NECESSARY WORDS ONLY AS YOU
RETAIN THE NATURAL TONE OF YOUR
SENTENCES.
COMPLETENESS. THIS MEANS
PERFECTNESS, FULLNESS OR SUFFICIENCY
OF THE LETTER AS REGARDS INFORMATION
AND PARTS. YOU SHOULD CHECK THE
DOCUMENT IF IT CARRIES ALL THE
NECESSARY MESSAGES INTENDED TO BE
TRANSMITTED. THIS PREVENT
CLARIFICATORY CALLS OR REPLIES THAT
MAY ONLY DELAY TRANSACTIONS INCLUDING
DESIRED ACTIONS TO MESSAGES.
COURTESY. THIS IS AKIN TO ACTS OR
EXPRESSIONS THAT MANIFEST POLITENESS,
CIVILITY, AFFABILITY, URBANITY,
CONSIDERATENESS AND RESPECTFULNESS.
EXPRESSIONS LIKE PLEASE, KINDLY, THANK
YOU SO MUCH, WE ARE GLAD, WE
APPRECIATE, IN BOTH ORAL AND WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION PROMOTE GOOD WILL.
VISUAL APPEAL. THE WORTH OF A LETTER MAY
EXCEED EVEN THE VALUE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE
MERCHANDISE. IT POSSIBLY CREATE A LASTING
IMPRESSION THAT LINKS UNCEASING BUSINESS
RELATIONSHIP. HENCE A LETTER SHOULD BE
ATTRACTIVE, HAS VISUAL IMPACT AND GENERALLY
LOOKING GOOD BUT NOT MULTI-COLOURED.
TONAL APPEAL. STATEMENTS MAY EXUDE TENSE,
HOSTILITY, ARTIFICIALITY, FRIENDLINESS, NATURALITY,
OR SINCERITY OF THE COMMUNICATOR. IN SEVERAL
COMMUNICATION SITUATION, THERE IS NO
SUBSTITUTES FOR SIMPLICITY, STRAIGHT FORWARD,
MODERN AND READERS WORDS AND PHRASES. HENCE
WE SHOULD ORGANIZED A LETTER SOUNDING LIKE
WE ARE TALKING PERSONALLY TO OUR READER.