Key rules of business correspondence

Business letters are still an important means of communication and part of business processes in any field of activity. Much depends on how you compose a letter: whether the manager will agree on the task for you, how well the counterparty will complete the task, whether the client will quickly decide on a deal. Also, almost all document flow is carried out in the mail, and the more competently formalized official letters, the better for your company. In this article, we will analyze the basic rules of business correspondence from our free online course “Oral and Written Communication”.

Letter content

Work mail is for business communication, so it’s worth noting those letters that should be written in an official style in email:

1. Letters for setting tasks.
2. Letters for approval of work or comments on tasks.
3. Letters from the meeting.
4. Letters for an agreement, appointment, clarification.
5. Letters with documents.

Other minor issues can be resolved in a chat in instant messengers or during lunch.

Email subject

The subject line serves as an announcement to recipients and prevents the email from being spammed or lost among other messages. The subject should reflect the brief content of the letter without compromising the meaning, this will help you quickly find the necessary correspondence in the future. For example: “Urgently” is better to replace with “I ask you to urgently agree on the contract.”

Addressing

In the “To” field, select those from whom the answer is directly required. If there are several people in this line, then according to etiquette, everyone should give an answer. In the “Copy” field, those who should be aware of the correspondence are put. If you put a leader in this field, then the correspondence will be more constructive, and the issue will be resolved faster.

Greeting

Don’t forget to say hello to the person you’re writing the letter to. A simple “Hello, Oleg” or “Hi, Marina” will endear you to the reader and improve your mood. Even if you are writing a letter to your colleague, do not neglect the welcome word.

The first sentence of the letter

At the very beginning of the letter, it is important to state the main essence of what you want to receive from the addressee. If you want a colleague to make changes to the task, then in the first sentence write “It is necessary to finalize the agreement on the comments. Write when you can complete the task. If you need the help of a manager in a problem that you have already tried to solve yourself and you have accumulated a whole correspondence, then at the beginning you should briefly state the essence of the problem and the actions already taken.

Spelling and punctuation

Emails with errors give the impression that the sender of the letter is not competent in his field of activity. Before sending a letter, carefully proofread the text, pay attention to the structure and content, which should be as clear and concise as possible. Competent letters should be written to everyone without exception, even your colleagues. Perhaps this letter can then be forwarded in another correspondence.

Responsiveness

If the letter is internal, it must be answered within 1-2 hours. It happens that a question may require a detailed answer that needs to be prepared. In this case, write that you need to collect materials. Emails from partners or other people outside of your company can be answered within 1 business day. As a rule, they do not need to solve urgent problems with you.