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About this lesson
Learn common uses of business letters, and their generally accepted tone, structure and format.
Exercise files
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Business Letters59.9 KB Business Letters - Solution
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Quick reference
Topic
Learn common uses of business letters, and their generally accepted tone, structure and format.
When to Use
When a formal business letter needs to be created.
Overview
Purpose
Typical purposes for business letters, which may be longer or more formal/less familiar than emails, are:
- Inquiries or requests
- Thanks or recognition
- Apologies or explanations
- Sales or prospecting
Tone is factual, often pleasant, sometimes firm.
Structure
- Use company letterhead
- Check for business letter templates: online, software programs, company files
- Use any company standards for fonts, signatures, etc.
- Important information or any specific actions suggested or required should be prominent in the body of the letter.
- Letters restricted to one page in length are ideal when possible.
Format
- Begin two inches from the top of the page with the date.
- Hit enter four times and begin the recipient’s name, title and address.
- Start greeting with “Dear ____:”
- Align the letter on the left margin.
- Use single spacing and double space between paragraphs.
- Space twice before closing (e.g. Sincerely or Best Regards work well).
- Space up to six times to allow for signature.
- Place name of sender under signature and title below.
- Notes regarding any CC: name, enclosure, etc. should appear four spaces below signature and title.
PROOFREAD and SPELLCHECK!
Login to download- 00:05 Let's start our Business Correspondence Basics with Business Letters,
- 00:09 which form the Basis of Professional Communications in Business.
- 00:14 In the professional environment, everything is connected
- 00:17 by the way the messages of executives and the company reach out.
- 00:22 And there's an art to crafting a business letter.
- 00:26 It reaches different audiences for different purposes and
- 00:30 the whole company is represented by what's printed on the paper.
- 00:33 It needs to be done right and done well because it can land on many desks.
- 00:39 It stands out from an email too.
- 00:41 Now, the purpose of a business letter might be to make an inquiry or request.
- 00:46 For example, ask for a donation even from customers.
- 00:51 Business letters often offer thanks or
- 00:53 recognition, maybe announce an annual award that will be given.
- 00:59 Apologies and explanations are typically handled in a formal business letter,
- 01:05 even to answer a complaint your company receives.
- 01:08 And sales or prospecting mail is often done in letter form too.
- 01:14 Because there may be an enclosure that must be included in the envelope,
- 01:18 such as, a company brochure.
- 01:22 Constructing a business letter, begins with a set of standardized rules,
- 01:27 that you can use to format the letter on company letter head.
- 01:31 We'll cover the main structure here but
- 01:33 it's good to know you can find templates and software programs or online.
- 01:38 This one is on the Microsoft Office website, and it's called the level design.
- 01:45 You want to begin two inches from the top of the page, and put the date there.
- 01:51 Then, hit enter four times.
- 01:54 So you can begin with the recipient's name, title, and address.
- 02:00 Start your letter then with a greeting.
- 02:04 Use dear, and don't worry, that is the standard.
- 02:09 Align the letter left side, along the margin.
- 02:12 Use single spacing, and then double space between paragraphs.
- 02:17 Use a plain font, like Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri.
- 02:21 Often, your company will have chosen a preferred font for you, so
- 02:26 be sure to check.
- 02:28 The tone of a business letter is factual.
- 02:31 It doesn't have to be very dry, in fact it's often pleasant but
- 02:35 sometimes it is firm.
- 02:37 We read an example of that here in the last sentence in
- 02:40 the paragraph shown at the top of the example when you call,
- 02:45 please have it on hand so that we can expect your requests.
- 02:51 Be sure to keep important information or any specific action suggested or
- 02:56 required for the recipient prominent in the body of the letter,
- 03:00 you can put them near the end for emphasis.
- 03:04 Letters contained to one page are ideal whenever possible.
- 03:09 If you're only a little bit over, definitely try to cut.
- 03:13 Space twice before closing a letter,
- 03:17 signing off with sincerely or best regards works well.
- 03:22 Space up to six times to allow for the signature and
- 03:24 that depends on the handwriting, you want to leave room.
- 03:29 Place the name of the sender under the signature and the title below that.
- 03:35 And finally, notes regarding any carbon copies in
- 03:39 the name or if there's an enclosure should appear four spaces below that.
- 03:45 Or here, we show the note about an enclosure and that's just fine, same rule.
- 03:51 So that is the basic structure, format and
- 03:55 tone and all the uses for business letter, which as you can see,
- 04:01 does form a very far-reaching form of communication.
- 04:07 You can rely on it as the basis for all the traditional,
- 04:11 professional communications.
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