Business Letter and Report Writing

Business Letter and Report Writing

Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Discussion 2 Writing Business Correspondence 2 Appropriate Style and Tone to Address intended Audience 4 Formal and Informal Business Writing 5 Create and Format Basic Documents used in Businesses 5 Clear and Compelling Writing Styles for Business Communication 6
Conclusion 8
References 9

Business Letter and Report Writing

Introduction In business, communication is everything either at times of conducting business meetings, sending emails, writing business letters, minutes, other business correspondence, or simply using the internet and company’s website to attract customers. The way business men communicate delivers the key message how they conduct business which merely contributes in creating their first impression whereby poor communication can be extremely off-putting. This study aims to expound the importance of business writing for the business people as I am myself a Manager in UPS Company where I need to involve in the communication process throughout the day whether with the customers or internally within the organization. This is how I realized the significance of writing skills used in day to day business writing that includes the formal as well as informal types of writing such as emails, memos, short reports, business letters, job descriptions or specifications and acknowledgement letters. Learning the techniques of formal business writing helps the business people to be able to understand the audience and then adjust their tone accordingly with the clarity of expressions. It is believed that the good business letter can get you a job interview, get you promoted, get you attract the massive customers, or get you more money. In short, it is an essence to blow the chances of getting whatever we want with a business letter that effectively turns people on. Therefore, this study intends to extenuate the essential business writing skills that are suitable for managers, team leaders and staff whoever writes emails, reports, memos, letters regularly as a part of their core responsibility and whoever wants to enhance the quality and appearance of their written output.
Discussion
The business communication helps in understanding the importance of different styles as well as tones of communications in the best interest of the business. It intends to highlight the different kinds of written communication either formal or informal and their use at the right time to leave the best impact over the clients. It can either win and influence the people or lose them. It extenuates the way to deal with the complaints as well as to make a good business impression. Effective business communication or writing ensures the documents are well organized and delivers the right reasons in the right tone. The effective communication can turn the simple writing into the persuasive business reports, letters or emails (Matchett Group, 2013).

Writing Business Correspondence It includes writing the emails, short reports, job specifications, job description, minutes, memorandums, and other formal business letters such as appointment letters, acknowledgement letters, complaint letters, appreciation letters, and action letters. Writing any business correspondence requires a thoughtful preparation which can significantly turn the document more effective. However, it is said that the most effective correspondence writing lies within the statement ‘putting yourself in your reader’s shoes’ which requires the writer to organize the message or the information according to the interests and capabilities of the reader. Therefore, the correspondence writing includes the six step method to develop the effective writing plan for the business drafts, proposals, emails, reports and others (Leader’s Guide, 2010). 1. Write the first draft: the effective writing includes putting forward the thoughts through the first draft which simply includes jotting down the main idea or information that is intended to be delivered. However, once you are done with presenting the information, the message can be formatted and transited to make it clear.

2. Use the Concise Language: the long reports or letters can be confusing and time wasting. It is recommended to use concise letters with to the point information provided in the text with no sentence clutters, no repetition and redundancy and no unnecessary words or exaggerations. This also reflects that you value your readers’ time.

3. Use Clear Language: using the persuasive, compelling and clear language hold the attention of readers however reader may stop paying the attention at the texts of the document if they find the language vague or confusing. However, it is suggested to use straightforward sentences with the clarity that would grasp the reader’s attention easily.

4. Use Correct Grammar: using the incorrect level of grammar can emasculate the credibility of the organization however, it is required to apply widely accepted and easy to follow grammar guidelines in the business documents to make them more effective and understandable.

5. Use Correct Levels of Punctuation: carelessness with the punctuation may leave the adverse impression on readers. However, the incorrect use of punctuation can even change the meaning of the sentence. Therefore, the correct use of punctuation rules portrays the carefulness of the writer.

6. Proofread: proofreading the entire document has the immense significance as it is the cross check to see as if the document contains all of the required information with no grammatical or other issues.

In short, the business correspondence requires the extra care as the well written document increases the direct relation with the audience. However, the bad or worst written document may not always contain the spelling, punctuation or grammatical error but it can have poor organization of the ideas and the flow of the message where the most important information is buried at the middle of the document and the key information is ostensibly missing. The entire document is filled with the unnecessary details and the tone of the document is inappropriate or confrontational. However, the beginning and the ending of the document also hold the key position in the business writing as the business people do not usually go through the entire piece of document rather they accentuate on reading the first and the last paragraphs of the document. So, it is recommended to place the most important information in the first paragraph where it is more likely to be noticed or remembered as according to the psychologists that people have the best memory of information which they read in the first and the last (Pearson Education, 2011).

Appropriate Style and Tone to Address intended Audience The effective writing requires maintaining the appropriate tone and style to attract the attention of the intended audience where the writing does not only starts with the routine characteristics such as utterance of idea or the message but it requires the good organization of the document to approach the audience in more efficient way. The first and foremost thing is to understand the audience which will consequently help in arranging the ideas and using the correct style according to their capabilities (Business Communication, 2006). For instance, at times of writing the email within the organization, it requires to understand the audience as the information which a co worker requires may not be the same information that your employer is likely to need. In short, the message must focus on the needs of the specific reader with the correct choice of tone as well as style to address them. This is because, we cannot address our employers as we communicate with our co workers that are more informal. It is also required to be courteous and firm with the people rather than being abusive or insulting that may even cause to damage the credibility. In short, it is suggested to use the firm tone not the confrontational even at times of writing the action messages or claim documents (Pearson Education, 2011). The selection of appropriate level of language, style and tone can even win the heart of the rigid and grumpy clients.

Formal and Informal Business Writing Business writing is usually formal where the writer of the document or the letter needs to mind the level of familiarity with the intended audience. However, the formal business writing includes the longer sentences to reach the mind of the audience with the full words although the business writing which is normally used within the organizations are usually colloquial with the utilization of contractions and abbreviation or the company codes and where the sender does not require to make a formal introductory paragraph rather than they can directly jump into the main point. However, in the other case, the sender or the writer needs to be careful when addressing the business partner, clients, or customers to use the appropriate language with no use of abbreviation that can make the document or the sentence vague or unable to extenuate the main objective of the document (Marc, 2011).

Create and Format Basic Documents used in Businesses The effective documents include the impressive features that make it appealing and grab the attention of the readers. Therefore, adding the flair to the document has the immense significance which makes the important information standout such as changing the font color and size to highlight the vital information. It also includes the selection of content carefully, select the theme of the document such as graphic effects to create it more impressive and to illustrate the key points, use tables for layouts, heading styles, table of content to easily locate the desired content through the page number (Krieger, 2007). These all help in the effective creation of the document with the visible information. However, the second thing which is also considered as the vital part of the effective writing skills is the formatting. Formatting the very basic thing which is greatly considered during the creation of the documents. Hence, it includes setting margins, tab positions, consistency of font size and the font style, header and footer for the entire document, spacing, justification, line or page breaks, and the other flow of style throughout the document (Gregors, 2013).

Clear and Compelling Writing Styles for Business Communication The clear and compelling writing styles for business communication overtly reflects the organization of the entire document around three main sections that consists the heading section, an opening section, the body of the document and the closing section. The heading of the document mostly contains the subject or the powerful line to compel the reader. However, the opening section begins with the actual statement of the information or the idea that the writer intends to convey to the recipient which requires the clarity as the key essence. While on the other hand, the body of the document requires the utterance of the most important information in the comprehensive manner but it should also be precise followed by the most important information first and then less important information. Whereby, the closing paragraph includes the recommendations and the actions that the writer wants the reader to take. The ending paragraph should be concise and should not include the irrelevant information (Heaps, 2012). The effective piece of business writing must incite the interest of the reader with its writing style which is positive, nice, concise, natural, specific, and should not be flippant. The document must look appetizing that can strike the attention of the intended audience. Keeping the letter or the document short is another key point of the effectiveness of the good letter. He writer of the document needs to be crystal clear with the perfection of the information, no typos, no spelling or factual errors as even the single mistake can make the reader to think that you do not know the information well. It is also required to edit the document ruthlessly as it is believed that the words are like inflated money that is the more you use, the less each one is worth. However, it is necessary to go through the entire document after completing the letter and search out and erase all those unnecessary words that are of no use. The writer must follow the effective criteria of communication that is known as 7Cs which is discussed as following (Forbes, 2010): 1. Clarity: apply the KISS formula which is ‘Keep It Short and Simple’.

2. Completeness: make sure to provide all of the relevant information that is required to be delivered to the audience.

3. Conciseness: keep the document or letter short with no wordy expressions and repetitions.

4. Correctness: use the correct and accurate information and facts with the right level of language.

5. Concreteness: provide the specific facts and figure to outweigh the letter.

6. Consideration: the document must reflect the benefits that are reader specific with the integrity and ethics. The message should be delivered in the best interest of reader which shows how the reader will be benefitted.

7. Courtesy: the document must not include phrases or words that have negative or criticizing tone rather than it should be tactful and sincere.

Conclusion It can be concluded that the effective business writing and communication have the immense significance in the lives of business people as it helps them in dealing their day to day tasks such as writing the business letter, reports, memos, minutes, and other business correspondence. The effective communication can turn the simple writing into the persuasive business reports, letters or emails which can either win and influence the people or lose them. The effective writing requires maintaining the appropriate tone and style to attract the attention of the intended audience where the writing does not only starts with the routine characteristics such as utterance of idea or the message but it requires the good organization of the document to approach the audience in more efficient way. The compelling business document must contain the effective criteria of 7Cs to incite the interest of the reader in the positive way.

References

Business Communication (2006) “Everyday Writing: Memos, Letters and Email”, retrieved from < http://my.woodbury.edu/Faculty/Writing/WPRD/AcademicWorkplace%20Genres/Everyday_Writing__Memos__Letters__and_E-Mail.pdf >
Forbes, M. (2010) “How to Write a Business Letter”, Forbes Magazine.
Gregors (2013) “What does Formatting a Document Mean?”, retrieved from < http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_formatting_a_document_mean >
Heaps, S. (2012) “How to Write A Business Memo”, retrieved from < http://www.writeexpress.com/business-memo.html >
Krieger, S. (2007) “12 Tips for Creating Better Documents”, retrieved from < http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/skills/documents.aspx#fbid=F_eD14Ggp8Z >
Leader’s Guide (2010) “Professional Writing Skills: A Write it Well Guide”, retrieved from < http://www.writeitwell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/PWS-LG-extended-excerpt.pdf >
Marc (2011) “Formal vs Informal Writing Styles”, retrieved from < http://blog.ezinearticles.com/2011/03/formal-vs-informal.html >
Matchett Group (2013) “Business Writing Skills”, retrieved from < http://www.matchettgroup.com/training-courses/matchett-essentials/business-writing-skills/ >
Pearson Education (2011) “Writing Routine Letters, Memos and Emails”, retrieved from < http://www.pearsoned.ca/highered/showcase/hanson/pdf/9780138002688_08.pdf >

References: Business Communication (2006) “Everyday Writing: Memos, Letters and Email”, retrieved from < http://my.woodbury.edu/Faculty/Writing/WPRD/AcademicWorkplace%20Genres/Everyday_Writing__Memos__Letters__and_E-Mail.pdf > Forbes, M. (2010) “How to Write a Business Letter”, Forbes Magazine. Gregors (2013) “What does Formatting a Document Mean?”, retrieved from < http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_formatting_a_document_mean > Heaps, S. (2012) “How to Write A Business Memo”, retrieved from < http://www.writeexpress.com/business-memo.html > Krieger, S. (2007) “12 Tips for Creating Better Documents”, retrieved from < http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/skills/documents.aspx#fbid=F_eD14Ggp8Z > Leader’s Guide (2010) “Professional Writing Skills: A Write it Well Guide”, retrieved from < http://www.writeitwell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/PWS-LG-extended-excerpt.pdf > Marc (2011) “Formal vs Informal Writing Styles”, retrieved from < http://blog.ezinearticles.com/2011/03/formal-vs-informal.html > Matchett Group (2013) “Business Writing Skills”, retrieved from < http://www.matchettgroup.com/training-courses/matchett-essentials/business-writing-skills/ > Pearson Education (2011) “Writing Routine Letters, Memos and Emails”, retrieved from < http://www.pearsoned.ca/highered/showcase/hanson/pdf/9780138002688_08.pdf >