THE TECHNIQUE

OF WRITING
BUSINESS
LETTERS
Reported by: Dana Faith
Andales
1. Write from the “you” attitude. Every person is interested primarily
in himself and thus responds to a letter written from his point of
view. To test the effectiveness of your letter on this point, count the
number of I’s and you’s in your letter and then compare.

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, complaint,
disagreeable, error, neglect, and unfair.

Compare:

Positive: Thank you for your order. The merchandise will go out to
you as soon as…..
Negative: We regret to inform you that we will not be able to ship
your order until…
3. Make your letters smile. A business letter should leave a pleasant
impression. Get a smile into your letter, a bit of your personality, and
atmosphere of good will.

Some phrases have a built-in smile. Here are some friendly phrases
that you can and should use freely.

We shall be glad to…

It is a pleasure…
Thank you..
We appreciate very much..
With our compliments..
4. Make your copy live. The reader should feel what you say. If
possible, create a visual experience. Let the reader see himself
doing something-running a machine, telling his friends about his
triumphs, selling more accounts, reinterpreted the same copy.