COMMUNICATION THROUGH LETTERS
Introduction
Letter-writing is an art. Very often in our daily life, we have to express our mind on paper. whether for the sake of passing the examination or to communicate our feelings and thoughts to another fellow. Letter is a medium of conveying our feelings to our friends, relatives or colleagues. It may be a business letter; it may be an official letter; it may be a letter of invitation or appointment or in whatever form it is, it communicates the sender's feelings to the recipient.
A letter should be written clearly and precisely as our good writing depends on these qualities. To be lacking in these powers proves our unworthiness. In writincr personal letters particularly. a sense of nearness. intimacy and simplicity should be maintained. Naturalness, not artificiality, is the main quality of a letter.
Letter can be considered as a means of sharing of ideas. There is perhaps no literate person in the world who does not write letters. Letters are the reflections of feelings, sentiments in one's personality. The pleasure one enjoys while expecting and getting a letter is something beyond comparison.
Letter provides exchange of views between two par ties through _ writing. It is a kind of written communica tion. Unlike other system of communication like telephone, telegram, letter has double effects. On the one hand the message is sent and simultaneously a record of it is cre ated. Another aspect is that in letters there is no face to face contact between communicator and communicatee.
Writing a letter means some sort of building a bridge with another person. It is like entering into a personal re lationship. Hence every letter situation is a problem in hu man relations. The problem must be thought out clearly before writing. First of all the writer must have a clear pur pose in mind, i.e., he must be sure about, why he is writ ing. It has often been noticed that many people who are otherwise warm and friendly become cold and rigid per sons in their writings.
While writing letters the writer create's a Cordial re lation with the reader who can trust whole heartedly. So it must be remembered that the secret of good letter lies in its writing in a simple, easy and natural way. One should create a feeling of friendliness through writing letters.
Business Letters
A business letter is communication of information on mat ters of trade and commerce. It serves not only as a commu nication of information but it is a means of preserving record of the communication. With the remarkable expansion of business, it finds it very difficult to deal with its custom ers and suppliers in persons. Therefore it is forced to makeuse of letters to maintain business connections. The let ters act as the main channels through which a business undertaking makes and keeps contact with the outside world. The reputation of a business depends in a large measure upon the quality of the letters which are sent out and the way in which it is dealt with.Now a days, even a new technique of mail order busi ness has been developed. If the system of correspondence were to be abolished abruptly from commercial operators, then definitely the present commercial system shall be pa ralysed. It will not be too much to say that if the commerce is the body of the present culture and civilisation, then correspondence is its soul. In the absence of letters, affec tion can still grow, but not business. Every person in this world is a seller, a trader or if he does not sell goods, he definitely sells or purchases services and ideas. Therefore, correspondence has an important place in the life of every person. Though the wireless and the telephone are an ef fective medium of quick transmission of a message, yet their confirmation is only made through letters.
Mr. Herbert Kesson has commented, "Every letter go ing out from is your sales representative. If car ries a message. It is silent, but not dumb. It attracts or
reples. It helps to make the reputation of a firm........."
Objective of Business letter
The objective of business letter is not just to inform the reader, but to influence his attitude and action. The busi ness letter aims not just to communicate with the reader, but to achieve the desired goal. For example, the objective of a sales letter is not just to get an enquiry but to get an
order.
Writers desire
A writer who bears in mind the reader's motives and feel ings and shape his messages suitably. The writer influ- ences the reader's feelings, thoughts and actions in such a way that his response will be beneficial to the writer.
The aim of writing letter is therefore not merely to tell some-
thing but also to create a favorable response. This is the psychology of letter writing in business.
Readers desire
A writer who thinks only of his own advantage and offers more to the reader does not succeed in getting the things done. For this purpose the "you" attitude is the secret of effective letters. It is an understanding of the readers mo tives and desires. Usually the readers will watch what ad vantage that he is getting. Therefore the letter writer must show the reader that it will be to his advantage to take the action suggested in the letter.
Functions of Business Letters
In business, letter writing performs a number of functions.
They are
It helps a business house to seek or give the required information.
It promotes sales, i.e., creates demand for new prod ucts, or expands the markets for the existing products.
It helps a concern to buy its requirements
It helps a firm to collect the outstanding dues from the customers.
It helps a business to get the required credit from financiers or lenders
It helps a firm to adjust complaints.
It helps a concern to clear up misunderstanding
It helps a firm to enhance its prestige and reputation and build up goodwill.
i. Business letters serve as a record for future reference
Business letters serve as written evidence of business transactions entered into.
Importance of Business Letters
There are many modern communication methods avail able today, but the traditional business letter remains an important means of sending printed messagea. As the busi ness letter acts as an ambassador for the company, it is ' vital that it gives a good first impression. In this respect, it is good business practice to ensure good quality stationery and printing of the letterheaded paper. The business letter also conveys an impression of the company in many other ways
The importance of business letters is as follows:
The possible way
No doubt, business relationship through personal contact is preferable to that by letters. But it is physically possible only within a limited area. In many cases, it is practically impossible. But letters can establish business connections all over the world.
Saves time
Time is money for a businessman. Generally personal talks will be long, and the long personal talks result in much loss of time.'-But such a difficulty will not arise with regard to letters, as they are generally short. Even if the letters are long, they can be kept aside during the busy time and read conveniently in spare time.
Confirmation
Of course, business transactions can be conducted through telephones or telegrams. But transactions effected through these means require to be confirmed by written state-
ments. Further, these means are costlier than letters.
Reaches destination
Letters can reach places where the salesmen fail to find access.
Characteristics of a Business Letter
While writing a letter. the writer should bear in mind cer tain principles to make the letter effective.
Correctness
Correctness in every respect is the supreme quality of busi ness letter. The language used therefore should be accu - rate. The message should be appropriate to the situation. Appropriate expression is an essential aspect to be remem bered in business letters. Since identical words could be spoken in many different tones. giving rise to variant re actions of the reader, one has to be very careful in choosing words while writing a letter. Wrong or incomplete information is incorrect and it should be avoided. Incorrect drafting leads to waste of time and loss of goodwill to the organisation.
Clarity
A business letter should be clear. It means that a business letter should be written in such a way that there cannot be any scope of misunderstanding. So it has to be written in plain and simple words and in a straight forward man ner. While focussing on clarity, one should take extra care to write the opening and closing paragraphs because they should leave a very good impression on the reader. The letter should be " to the point" with clear and exact expres sion as needed in all business writings. It is advisable to avoid commercial jargon and it is not appropriate to use indirect and meaningless words of expression. The language should be clear.
Conciseness
Fewest possible words should be used for writing. Well thought ideas should also be used. Using more words than necessary to express an idea makes the thoughts confused. It is more important to keep the letter brief. It should be remembered that long sentences are difficult to understand while short one containing definite information are easier. Clarity and consciseness must go together.
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