Then questions about how and by what means you can create and send, in principle, should not arise. However, not everyone is ready to immediately begin this task when it comes to official letters, especially when the author of the letter expects to receive a response to it. I will tell you a little secret of business correspondence, the stricter in character and style the letter is, the more chances there are for a response from the recipient. In this tutorial, I'll give you some sample emails that should help users develop their own style and write the best possible emails in the future.
First, you need to decide what character the letter we are creating will be. I divide all outgoing emails into three main types:
- Business proposal
- business request
- friendly treatment
Accordingly, for all three types, I have template blanks, both in the form of simple text files and in the form of templates tailored for certain email programs. Let's move on to each of them in order.
Business proposal
Hello (Good afternoon), [name of the person addressed]!
It is advisable to indicate the name in any letter when communicating, because a personal appeal sets a person in a friendly mood. However, if it was not possible to find out the name, a template greeting will suffice.
Let me introduce to you a new service (new product) from our company [company name].
Let me propose cooperation in the field of [name of field of activity].
Next, briefly describe the advantages of your offer in terms of price or some quality characteristics. The main thing is not to overdo it. Megabytes of text, and even supplemented by bright meaningless pictures, only scare people away. If the recipient of the letter is interested in your offer from the first lines, he will definitely contact you for additional information.
If you're serious about getting the right people to contact you the first time they contact you, then it makes sense to think about accessibility beyond just email. It will not be superfluous to create accounts in services such as ICQ andSkype. Sometimes it is much easier for a person to contact you by a regular phone, if the number of such, of course, will be prudently left by you in the signature.
Why do you need to duplicate your own e-mail address in the signature, you ask, if it is automatically forwarded by the mail server. There is a rule according to which excessive information in business correspondence is never unnecessary. Let's imagine a situation when your letter is received by a person who is potentially not interested in the proposal, or simply not competent to answer it correctly. He forwards the received message to another user, but for some reason, information about the true sender is lost from the automatically added data, which makes it difficult to contact you. However, it will always be enough to look at the signature to determine the author of the letter and his necessary contacts.
business request
Hello (Good afternoon)!
Or, if the recipient's name is known, then (Dear, [Name, Patronymic])!
Please provide information about the product (service) [name of product/service] with a description of the full characteristics and competitive qualities.
Based on the Federal Law of the Russian Federation [number and date of the document], I ask you to provide information [describe the data necessary to obtain].
You can also contact the management of a particular service on the Internet, in case of violation of your rights.
In connection with the violation of paragraph [paragraph number in the user agreement] of the user agreement, namely: “[quote the full text of the named paragraph]”, I ask you to check and take appropriate sanctions against the guilty [responsible (if we are talking about service employees)] person [site (site name)]. Please report the results of the check and the imputed sanctions to [my own e-mail address].
friendly treatment
Greetings (Good day) (Hi), [person's name]!
When you first contact in a friendly manner, a good indicator will be the completeness of your text message. A correctly written, voluminous text will indicate your high interest in contacting the right person and will cause a desire for a response. Don't forget to start the conversation with a few initial questions.
Email example
Good day, friends.
Once in correspondence with his future partner from Ireland, one of my acquaintances used words and phrases like hereby and acknowledge receipt of in their messages. He was rather embarrassed when they met in Russia, and John (that was the name of his partner) played a joke (very delicately) on his excessive officialism. Their further communication led to the fact that the business style of my friend became more natural, and John began to understand different semantic shades of Russian obscene language with his help ... :)
Today I will be happy to tell you how to write a business letter in English. You will get acquainted with both the basic principles and rules of business correspondence, as well as some of its nuances. Let's analyze the main types of letters, the structure common to all, as well as typical phrases often used in them. Perhaps, after reading this article, you will not become an ace in compiling business messages, but you will definitely increase your level.
Content:
In our time, the correct design, competent construction and well-chosen style of a business letter are very important. By the way you conduct business correspondence, your partner creates the first impression about your professionalism and the solidity of the company you represent.
Let's get acquainted with some features of the preparation of such messages.
Main types of business letters
- Congratulations -
- Sentence -– sent to your potential business partner with your conditions and cooperation proposals.
- About hiring -– notifies you that you have been hired.
- Statement -- contains your resume and an offer of yourself as an employee.
- Refusal-- a business turn-around to your statement or proposal.
- A complaint -- contains a complaint or claims about the quality of the purchased goods or services rendered.
- letter of apology This is a response to a letter of complaint.
- An inquiry-– sent when it is necessary to obtain information about a service or product.
- Response letter to request- it actually contains the requested information.
- Letter of thanks -– everything seems to be clear here.
There are still a huge number of types and subspecies of business messages ( Order, Response to Order, Invoice, Statement etc.), and it will take more than one article to pay attention to the majority.
kind regards - an excellent and serious guide from a foreign author, a communications specialist, who has collected in this book her own and someone else's experience in business correspondence in English. There you will find many live examples and tips.
Business correspondence in English is also a popular book. There are many samples, even more common clichés, as well as a lot of advice and recommendations from the authors. As they say, study and apply!
Steep online business english course from Lingualeo - after passing it, you can gain confidence both in correspondence and in a conversation on business topics. By the way, you can try it for free before buying it.
General principles
Graphic design must comply with the following:
- All sentences start from one vertical line.
- The text is divided into paragraphs without red lines.
- To simplify perception, the written text is divided into semantic blocks approximately equal in size.
- The white space should evenly surround the text. Do not put one or two lines of text at the top of the sheet if the letter is small. Do not print to the bottom of the sheet and do not narrow the margins if the message is verbose - it is better to use the second page.
By style:
- Do not use colloquial abbreviations in correspondence - we write You are instead of You "re, etc.
- Do not solve two problems at the same time in one letter - it is preferable to write two letters.
- Decide which tone will be more appropriate - official or relaxed.
- It is necessary to take into account those rules that we do not have, but have a specific meaning for them, national and territorial features.
Components
And now we will analyze the so-called skeleton of a business letter, its structure and arrangement of elements:
- header(hat):
BUT) The sender's address is in the upper left corner. If the form is company, then the address is already affixed.
B) The recipient's address is on the left, below the sender's address. Format: from smallest to largest (Name, house number, street, city, postal code, country).
AT) Date - three lines below the recipient's address or in the upper right corner. Format: day/month/year. Commas are not used. - Greetings(address), or how to start a letter.
- the main idea(the main text of the message) - in the central part of the letter.
- Closing phrase(expression of gratitude and further intentions).
- The final formula of politeness; Signature; First name, last name and position of the sender.
- The attachment- indicates that additional materials (advertising booklet or brochure) are attached to the letter.
- May contain P.S., artist's initials.
Here is a sample business letter of inquiry with a translation into Russian:
John Stewart
1304 Sherman Ave.
Madison, WisconsinLemann & Sons
3597 43rd Street
New York, NY 12008With reference to your advertisement in Business Weekly Journal could you please send me more detailed description of your monitors.
I would also like to know about discounts that you provide.yours faithfully,
Translation:
From: John Stewart, 1304 Sherman Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin
To: Lehmann & Sons, 3597 43rd Street, New York, NY 12008
May 24, 2015
Dear Sirs,
With a link to your ad in a business weekly
could you send me a more detailed description of your monitors.
I would also like to know about the discounts you provide.
Sincerely,
John Stewart
Sales Manager
Now let's take a closer look at the elements.
The address or greeting should look like this:
Dear Sirs, Dear Sir or Madam-if you don't know the recipient's name
Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms[last name] - if you know the name of the recipient
Dear Frank- if the person is familiar to you
Dear sales manager– if only the position is known (in this case, the sales manager)
The courtesy formula before the signature looks like this:
kind regards, - Sincerely…
Yours faithfully, Sincerely yours - if you do not know the addressee's name
Yours sincerely, - if you know the name
Now you have a general idea of how to write messages to business partners and various companies.
Standard Expressions
Here are some typical phrases as an example:
It is very kind of you to- it's very kind of you
We apologize for- We apologize for
Please let me know-Please tell me
According to- In accordance with
In case- When
As you requested- At your request
until now- Still
With reference to your- Concerning your
unfortunately- Unfortunately
We enclose- We are applying
We are sorry- We regret
How to end a business letter? A few more courtesy phrases:
Thank you for responding to my offer Thank you for taking up my offer.
We look forward to hearing from you soon We hope to receive your reply in the near future
And at the end before the signature:
With best regards- Best wishes
With respect- Sincerely
Thanks for your cooperation- Thank you for your cooperation
With best wishes- Best wishes
Not tired of the theory yet? Then some practice!
This time, a rejection letter (such a letter must be in a correct and delicate style):
Mr Robert Brown
general manager
KLM Co Ltd
32 Wood Lane
London
Great Britain WC37TPJohn Stewart
1304 Sherman Ave.
Madison, WisconsinThank you for sending us your resume.
We are sorry to inform you that your candidature does not suit us/
kind regards,
Translation(translate the address and date yourself):
Dear Mr Stewart
Thank you for sending us your resume.
We regret to inform you that your candidacy is not suitable for us.
Sincerely,
Robert Brown
CEO
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Emails
Everyone's favorite e-mail messages account for about 80% of business turnover. It differs from ordinary correspondence in greater specificity and brevity. Unnecessarily long phrases are trying there avoid, in addition, they use acronyms (phrases formed by the first letters of the phrase), as IMHO. Email correspondence is characterized not only by personal messages, but also by mailing lists (they use the BCC field when confidentiality is required). Well, the main difference is that the majority prefers to refrain from transmitting confidential information by e-mail.
Of course, in the age of “OK, Google!” you can not look for difficult ways and just insert the typed text into the online translator. You are likely to be understood, but you are unlikely to achieve a favorable impression. Remember, the quality of your business correspondence is an indicator of the quality of your company.
Thank you for reading my article to the end. Encourage your friends to read it on social networks! Who knows, maybe someone needs this information here and now!
Subscribe to new portions of English.
Bye everyone! Take care of yourself!
In commercial and civic activities, it is often necessary to turn to officials.
Each appeal must be in writing. Official letters are sent in a variety of cases. This may be: a request for payment, a request to provide products without payment, a claim for the return of a debt, and so on.
No special forms apply to official appeals. The legislation of the Russian Federation assumes free writing. But beyond that, there are generally accepted norms. Their use makes it possible to apply legal status to letters. The lack of necessary conditions and attributes does not allow us to regard them as official correspondence.
Therefore, before officially contacting the addressee, you need to familiarize yourself with free samples and examples. They can be obtained using the links below this publication. This explanatory article can serve as a good help when writing.
Structure and Attributes of Official Letters
Official correspondence is conducted on sheets of A4 format. Moreover, for companies (legal entities) a letterhead is used. It already assumes the presence of registration identifying information.
This requirement does not eliminate the need for a "cap". It is written in the upper right sector of the sheet. It indicates the name of the addressee organization and official. It is also possible to write in it the name of the enterprise, department, manager, sender.
Opposite-to the left there is a place for making outgoing / incoming marks. They contain number, date and city. Accordingly, the sender puts the outgoing one, and the recipient puts the incoming one. For the recipient, a necessary requirement is to indicate the position and the person registering the document.
Next (below) is the text itself. For some letters, it is possible to write a title (optional). Under the text, you must indicate the full title of the position of the authorized person, his Last Name, First Name, Patronymic, contact phone number, details of the performer (if any). Opposite these data, the signature of the authorized person is put. This signature is certified by the seal of the sending organization.
Speech and writing style
Since it is official correspondence that is being considered, the speech is supposed to be businesslike. That is, the text should not contain any literary turns (comparisons, metaphors, allegories). It should be understood that the person who received the message most likely does not have enough time to read unnecessary literary turns.
The structure of the text of an official letter is considered to be the following: at its beginning, the informational part is given. It describes the relationship between sender and receiver. Further in the text it is necessary to describe the essence of the problem.
The description should be concise and supported by end dates, figures, evidence.
After that, it is necessary to propose the desired scenario for the development of events aimed at resolving the problem.
Below is a standard form and a sample of an official letter, a version of which can be downloaded for free.
An integral attribute of any business is business correspondence. Employees of each enterprise communicate with colleagues and customers, with suppliers and consumers. In general, the daily routine of any office certainly includes participation in correspondence.
While the majority of employees in enterprises and organizations send and receive numerous messages every day, not everyone adheres to the established norms and rules when creating them. It turns out that writing a business letter correctly and correctly is not so simple. There are a number of requirements and patterns that are applied in the world and related to workflow. They include the rules for writing a business letter, as well as the main points regarding design.
When composing a message to a third-party organization or just to a colleague in a neighboring department, you should adhere to a strict style (with the exception of friendly correspondence, for which there are no such restrictions). Do not use too emotional words even to describe the importance of the transaction or the delight of the tested products. A business letter should be clear, concise and reasonably restrained.
The message should start with the addressee. If it is intended for an employee of a third-party organization, you must certainly indicate its name, position of the recipient, as well as his full name. In the case when the document remains within the company, a surname with initials is sufficient (you can also add the position held).
A business letter to a third-party organization should be written on company letterhead (regardless of whether it will be sent electronically or in paper form). In its absence, you can simply indicate the details of the sender in the "header" of the document.
Before you start compiling a text, you need to think about its structure, identify the main theses and goals of writing. This will make the writing process much easier. The letter should end with a signature, which indicates not only the name of the sender, but also the position, as well as the name of the enterprise that he represents.
When sending an offer to a potential client or partner, at the end, you must certainly express gratitude for the cooperation and hope for further joint work.
In addition to the rules used in business correspondence, there are also recommendations. For example, any document addressed to a specific person should begin with the words "respected" with full name, not initials. No need to use abbreviations in letters, for example, write "uv." or reduce the position of the addressee, his place of work.
International document management is considered the most difficult, since each state has its own nuances of communication, and the language in which you have to correspond with foreign partners is not always clear to the writer of the letter, so you have to use the services of translators. Before resorting to the services of such a specialist, it should be clarified whether he knows how to write a business letter in English, or whether we are talking about a banal literal translation. If foreign document flow is planned to be constantly maintained, it is better to hire an employee who speaks a foreign language enough to compose a business letter in it.
In general, the achievement of the task in many respects depends on how the document is drawn up and how it is designed. So in no case should you underestimate the importance of business etiquette when communicating.
Over the past decades, business correspondence via e-mail has gained immense popularity and has become one of the main ways of business communication. Today it is difficult to find a person who would not use e-mail in the practice of interpersonal communications. Despite this, many today are asking the question: so that all the rules are followed? How to create a good impression of the sender with the help of a competent letter?
This article describes the rules of business e-mail correspondence, and the practical tips presented in the article will help you learn the right business communication when composing e-mails.
Many people start their working day by checking their mailbox for new messages. But, unfortunately, despite the prevalence of this method of information exchange, many do not know how to use the language of business correspondence correctly, taking emails for an informal way of communication.
Due to the speed of delivery, it simplifies the exchange of important official documents, forms, applications, but even here people make mistakes when sending letters. It often happens that when composing an e-mail when exchanging any files, for some reason, addressees do not compose cover essays and do not enter topics, which can complicate the work of recipients. The purpose of this article is to answer the question: how to send an e-mail and follow all the rules of business written communication by e-mail?
When composing emails, all the fields provided must be filled in
The rules of business e-mail correspondence oblige the sender of the letter to fill in all the fields provided in the e-mail, such as the address and name of the recipient and the sender of the letter. Be sure to describe the subject, which briefly describes the essence of the letter being sent. Very often, the fate of the sent letter and the speed of resolving the problem set out in it depend on the correctly described topic. A business email should begin with a salutation - this simple act of respect for the recipient is very important in correspondence. After the greeting, a text should follow, which is called the "body of the letter", and at the end a signature is left, for example, "Respectfully, Brisov Petr Ivanovich."
Greetings in business correspondence
At this point, it is worth further focusing your attention, since the gesture of respect is very important in any aspect of business communications. The optimal greeting phrase is "Good afternoon" or "Hello." Conducting business correspondence by e-mail limits the sender from using the phrases "Good evening" or "Good morning", since the recipient can read the letter much later than receiving it. It is also not correct to use colloquial expressions used in greeting in greeting.
After a word or phrase of greeting, you should address the recipient by name and patronymic, and if the name is unknown to the sender, this moment can be skipped. After that, you can proceed to the presentation of the purpose of the letter.
Attachments in business email correspondence
If the main purpose of the letter is not only a written narrative and presentation of the essence of the issue, but also the sending of a file, then it is better to attach the forwarded object in the first place. It often happens that many senders, due to inattention, having stated the essence of the issue in the text of the letter, forget to attach the necessary attachment. Such negligence can adversely affect the business reputation of the sender of a business letter.
The email address should be recognizable and concise.
The rules of business e-mail correspondence oblige the sender to have a recognizable electronic name, which must contain truthful information about the sender's name. Official letters and appeals look very non-concise and stupid when informal expressions or words are indicated in the email address, for example, the email address “limon_petya”. It looks very undignified for an adult. For business correspondence, it is better to create a separate email and follow the etiquette of business email correspondence.
Using the Quick Reply (Response) Function to Reply to Previously Received Emails
The Reply or Response function (abbreviated as Re:) helps the user in a quick way to respond to previously sent messages from the sender. This function also has the universal ability to read the previous correspondence with the interlocutor on a given topic. But the rules of business e-mail correspondence oblige the sender to rename the subject of a business letter if the essence of the discussion is changed during the correspondence.
Before sending a business letter, proofread for spelling and punctuation errors.
E-mail simplifies the exchange of information, but in business correspondence, you should not neglect the rules of the Russian language, since a carelessly made mistake can affect the authority of the sender. Before sending a letter, you should review the text several times and carefully check it for spelling and punctuation errors. Many email clients have a spell checker, so pay attention to words underlined in red. If you have any doubts about the correct spelling, then you should seek help on the Internet or check the spelling using a spelling dictionary.
The address field must be filled in last.
To avoid sending unfinished or unedited letters, the address of the recipient of a business letter should be entered at the very last moment before sending. This rule is also included in the basics of business e-mail correspondence. It happens that when filling in the addressee field, e-mail can offer a list of previously used recipients, here you should also focus your attention in order not to mistakenly send a compiled business letter to a third-party addressee.
Structuring a business letter
The text structuring rules apply not only to paper media, but also to the rules of business correspondence by e-mail. It is not always convenient for the recipient to read large volumes of text messages on the monitor screen. To simplify this point, you should break the text into logically formed small paragraphs and avoid complicated sentences in writing the text of business letters. The optimal length of one sentence in a business letter should be no more than fifteen words.
The essence of a business letter should be stated on the merits
In addition to the specified subject of the business letter, the recipient should also be interested in a clearly articulated first and second sentence of the body text. The sender's task is to state at the beginning of the letter the essence of the problem or issue on which he addresses the recipient. The first sentence should indicate the purpose for which the business letter is sent. Sample: “We inform you that the terms of the obligation under contract No. 45 dated 02.01.2017 “On the supply of bulk materials” are coming to an end. To extend the contract, you should submit a new package of documents. Thanks to the designated purpose, the recipient has the opportunity to delve into the main idea of a business letter. If the text of the letter is too large, then it is better to use the function of attaching an object as an attachment in the form of a text document, but at the same time, a cover essay should be left in the text field that illuminates the business letter. Sample: “We are sending you an electronic copy of the letter from Mak-Stroy LLC for review. We kindly ask you to inform us of your decision regarding the extension of Contract No. 45 dated January 2, 2017 “On the supply of bulk materials” until the deadline specified in the letter.”
Every business email must be answered.
There are negative examples of business correspondence when the recipient ignores the business letter for some reason. Sometimes there may indeed be cases when an answer cannot be given due to certain situations, for example, the term for solving a problem may take several days or the recipient is in thought and cannot immediately answer the question posed. In this case, a brief comment on this matter should be given, for example, “Hello, Petr Ivanovich. I have received your letter, but today I find it difficult to answer, as I must consult with higher management. I will report your problem to the CEO of our company and give an official answer by the end of the week. Sincerely yours, Sales Manager Belov Ivan Gennadievich.
It is worth remembering that if the answer was not given within three working days, then the silence of the recipient of a business letter can be assessed as ignoring and refusing to communicate with the sender.
When writing response letters, you should answer all the questions posed.
If the letter sent to the recipient is of an interrogative nature, then when composing the letter, answers to the questions should be given in the order that is present in the received text of the business letter. If questions have been asked, the sender hopes to receive concrete answers to them. When composing a letter, the answers should not be numbered, you just need to state the thought in order. In order to answer all the questions posed, first you need to re-read the received business letter several times, and if there are too many questions, it is better to write them out separately so as not to miss. If it is impossible to answer some of the questions posed, it is worth indicating that at the moment, for some reason, an answer cannot be given.
Do not abuse abbreviations, emotional design and capital letters
There are negative examples of business correspondence when senders dilute it using informal signs in the form of emoticons. Their use is popular when communicating on social networks, however, the rules of business correspondence do not welcome such manifestations of emotions, since the recipient may not know their true meaning and take them for an incomprehensible set of punctuation errors.
It is also worth refusing to write the text in capital letters. On the Internet, a set of words written in capital letters is called “shouting phrases” and more often such phrases carry a negative connotation. The recipient, when reading a business email, may regard such a font negatively, which will adversely affect the perception of meaning. If in a business letter it is necessary to emphasize the importance of any point, it is better to use introductory phrases, for example, “Please note that you need to provide a package of documents to extend the contract no later than 02/10/2017” or “Please note that the documents to extend the contract must be submitted before February 10, 2017.
Do not send sensitive information via email
To transfer personal or confidential information, it is better to refuse e-mail boxes, as there is a threat of interception of information by intruders for their own selfish purposes. Such information may include: phone numbers, bank card passwords, personal bank accounts, etc. It is important to remember that information is stored on the mail agent's server and, in case of hacking, can be stolen.
The sender's signature must be at the end of the letter.
As mentioned earlier, each email sent must contain a specific signature. Often, mailbox developers introduce the function of a signature block, in which you can enter your data about the position, name and contact phone number. Subsequently, this block will be automatically displayed at the end of each letter, which will make typing easier. It is important to write a signature correctly so that the recipient has the opportunity to correctly address the sender when answering the letter. An example of a signature might look like this: "Respectfully, Nikolay Aleksandrovich Petrov, +79810000000."
Drawing conclusions, it can be noted that in order to understand how to conduct business correspondence by e-mail, you do not need to master additional and complex basics. One has only to adhere to the elementary rules of etiquette and observe the norms of the Russian language.
