With all the digital communication tools at one’s fingertips these days, it would seem that letter writing is a lost art. The reality is that good letter writing skills are still important in business communications.
It’s not unusual for me to resort to sending a letter by regular postal mail. I even get some added satisfaction as I consider more carefully my choice of wording and structure than if I were sending an email. Signing the letter with pen in hand adds another touch to the experience.
Early in my business career – in those days, electric typewriters were considered high-tech – it was a time-consuming process to compose a quality letter. Fortunately I had some good coaching along the way. Here are two suggestions I still follow to this day.
The first is, “Say it in a sentence, say it in a paragraph, and say it in a page.” The idea was to keep each line short, and to the point. Sentences should be brief, and paragraphs should consist of as few sentences as possible to make the point. Lastly, the letter should never be more than a page. This guideline has proven useful beyond just letter writing. A good Press Release can be composed in 400 words, or less. That’s usually less than a page with a reasonable font size.
While I am on the topic of page size, one of my current ‘hot buttons’ is the ease of variable font sizes in a letter. 10 pt. font is a good all-around size for a letter; using something less to squeeze more words per page is self-defeating if the reader has to struggle just to read it. Jumping up to 12 pt. font in an effort to fill a page, and make it look like more content, is not much better. Stick with easier read font styles, too; I find Arial my font of choice.
The other good advice I learned early on was to outline the key points of the message before composition. Although computers make this a breeze, it’s sometimes just as easy to scribble some notes on paper. Add some time for reflection and you will probably spend less time in the actual writing or composition of the letter.
Speaking of reflection, I believe that the setting in which you write the letter, or compose your work, can help set the tone. When I want to write a more personal letter, retreating to a peaceful surrounding is helpful; here’s where wireless access on the deck - early in the morning or before the sun sets – pays off handsomely for me. But, if it’s ‘all business’, I find I can really crank it out in the confines of my office.
There is much to be said for brevity in this exercise. But, it doesn’t call for the shortcuts learned from instant messaging or email. I would encourage you to take a few minutes to consider your own communications needs. Are you spending adequate time in preparation before you compose? How many rewrites before you consider it a quality piece; or is it more like, running with your first draft? Does your sense of urgency to get something out interfere with the quality of your work? If you have some additional advice on effective letter writing, please share it with the rest of us.
p.s. I applaud those of you who send hand-written notes as a “Thank You”. I wish my handwriting were such that others could easily read it. When I send these, I have to resort to printing if the recipient has any hope of reading it. When was the last time you sent a hand-written Thank You to a customer or business associate?
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