PRINCIPLES OF BUSINESS

CORRESPONDENCE
ROBERTO V. MABULAC
 DEFINITION/MEANING AND IMPORTANCE
OF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

• Meaning of Correspondence:-
• The term in modern times for correspondence
• Means communication by letters

• Correspondence is communication in writing between two persons

• On matters of personal/official/business interest
 MEANING OF CORRESPONDENCE

• Correspondence is communication in writing of

ideas/opinions/views between friends /relatives /between
business houses/offices
• Matters relating to personal matters/welfare/trade &
commerce/official matters
• Communication takes place between parties living at
distant places
• Distance one yard /thousands of miles
 MEANING OF CORRESPONDENCE

• The objective of the writer of the letter-convey to the

receiver a message /information without establishing
personal contact
• Writer and receiver are not exchanging words
/exchanging their views through written communication
• Gestures to stress a point/modulation of voice not
available to clarify
 BUSINESS WRITING

You have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you ,for the law is too
slow. I’ll ruin you.
Yours truly,
Cornelius Vanderbilt

 One of the most effective business letters ever written

 The above master piece was sent to his business associates who tried to
swindle him
 To write & convey your thoughts clearly /needs essential skills/success in a
business
 IMPORTANCE OF WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION

• Writing is crucial to modern organizations

• Serves as major source of documentation
• Business documents:-
Reports/proposals/procedures/manuals/guidelines/business
plans/memorandum/letters/emails/circular/notices/newslett
ers/websites
• Employers look for good communication skills in
employees/compose-edit your own mail
 IMPORTANCE

To be successful effectively communicate your business

messages(with whom?)
You may write business messages to convey
Routine messages
Goodwill messages
Negative messages
Persuasive messages
It is necessary to use the Right approach/right words/right style that
most suit your message & reader
 IMPORTANCE

• Correspondence in business activity is important function

• The business activity is conducted /when they come in contact
• Correspondence helps to bridge the distance and bring people together
• Cheap and reliable method
 It provides permanent record/necessity in litigation/extensive government
regulation
 They are convenient/can be composed & read when convenient
 Drawbacks:-
 Require carful preparation/sensitivity to audience & anticipated effects
 Words spoken in a conversation may be soon forgotten /words committed to hard
or soft copy become public record if conveyed to the media
 TYPES OF MESSAGES

• Positive messages/good news messages

• Negative messages/bad news messages
• Neutral messages/routine messages
• Persuasive messages/influential messages
 5 / FIVE MAIN STAGES OF WRITING
BUSINESS MESSAGES

Prewritin Formattin Proof

Drafting Revising
g g reading

• Prewriting is planning stage

• Determine your purpose
• know your readers
• Search and collect data for your message(appealing to
your audience
• Organize & prepare an outline(main points)
 5 / FIVE MAIN STAGES OF WRITING
BUSINESS MESSAGES

• Drafting: second stage/organize the collected information

• -The right balance-concise and to the point
• -The right words
• -Tailoring language to the audience
• Revising: Third stage /process of modifying a document
• Formatting: Fourth stage Good looks/way you package your message
• Proofreading: Is the final stage/essential part of rewriting & careful review of the
final draft
• This stage ensures that all errors in terms of content /tone/style have been
eliminated
• In 1979 Fortune Magazine interviewed many successful executives
about what business schools should teach
• “What kind of academic programme best prepares business school students to
succeed in their careers?”
• “Teach them to write better”
• The seven C’s of Business letter writing
1. Clear
2. Concise
3. Correct
4. Courteous
5. Conversational
6. Convincing
7. Complete
 EFFECTIVE BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE :BASIC
PRINCIPLES

• Place the Reader First

• Keep to the point
• Set the right tone
• Write a strong opening
• Write a strong close
 COMMON COMPONENTS OF
BUSINESS LETTERS

1. Heading
2. Inside address
3. Salutation
4. Subject or reference line
5. Body of the letter
6. Complimentary close
7. Enclosures
8. Copies
 STRATEGIES FOR WRITING THE
BODY OF A LETTER

• State the main business /purpose or subject matter

right away-let reader know from the very first sentence
what your letter is about
• Keep the paragraphs short
• Provide topic indicators in the beginning of paragraphs
• Place important information strategically
 STRATEGIES FOR WRITING THE
BODY OF A LETTER

• Focus on the recipients needs/purposes/or interests instead of your own-

recipient oriented style (you –attitude)which does not mean using more of
you
-making the recipient the focus of the letter
• Give an action ending whenever appropriate (clears what the writer of the
letter expects)
-I am free after 2.oo pm on most days. Can we set up an appointment to
discus the matter further? I shall look forward to hearing from you
 INTERNAL COMMUNICATION IN AN
ORGANIZATION

 Memorandum(memo)
 Office Order
 Office Circular
 Office Notes
 Office order-It is an order . While drafting keep in mind
-It should be correct /short & to the point
-It should draw the attention of the concerned person’s/who have to comply with the office order
-It must contain the specific instructions or directions for compliance
-It must be authentic & duly signed by competent authority
 Aman Watch Company
New Delhi
Office Order

Reference :HR/2008/09 Dated: 05-09-2008

The management is pleased to grant the promotion to Mr Ashish

sinha in recognition of his meritorious service to our organization
for last five years. With effect from 01-09-2008,he will hold the
rank of Manager Sales, and would be entitled to all the
emoluments and benefits of this post.

To Ashish Sinha Sd/-

CC: Accounts Officer Amit Sood
CC: Personal file Human Resource Manager
 MEMORANDUM

• Memorandum(Memo) is a short piece of writing used by officers of

an organization to communicate within the organization
-It is the most common form of written communication between
people or departments/branch offices
• Some organizations insists small events
/requests/telephone/conversations on official matters /recorded in
the form of memos
• Memos have their utility
-It does not leave any scope for ambiguity & confusion /it can be
used for giving instruction clearly
Since it is record of facts & decisions it can be used in future to
establish accountability
It gives time to the receiver of communication to deliberate
upon it & react
Printed memo forms are used

From____________ Subject________________
To ______________ Date________________

Or it can also be
To ___________________Date___________________
From_____________
Subject_________________
No Dear Sir, or so on
No Yours Sincerely, and so on
To : Lab Personnel
From : Sushil Kumar
Subject : Final test report requirements

Beginning Monday ,December 19,all our final test reports

must indicate –
1. Test results
2. Dimension in proper order
3. The distribution list
4. Write the report immediately after the test
5. Be sure all terms are spelled correctly
6. Complete formulas
 OFFICE CIRCULAR

• The circular is in the form of a letter addressed to all

office to all branches/departments
• Is drafted in such a way that the information is useful and
understandable
• Purpose is to circulate information to the entire
organization/department
• Inviting office staff to a party/installation of card
punching machine in the office
 ABC Limited
New Delhi

Circular number HR/09/2008/5 Date 06-09-2008

To all the employees

A four –hour computer –training program is arranged for all the employees on 25-09-
2008,Sunday,in the office premises. The program will start at 10 A.M . All the employees
are required to attend the program .

Sd/-
Rajesh Sethi
Human Resource manager
 MEETINGS

• Meetings provides a group decision making forum

• Agenda is a list of topics in a meeting
• A well prepared agenda will assist the chairperson in
directing the business of the meeting
• Ensuring that decisions are reached in an efficient
manner
 AGENDA

 To keep the discussion on track

 Remind members if discussion drifts from the agenda
 Time the agenda
 Do not try to prematurely end the discussion(why?)
 If need is there to discuss an item in detail /hold another meeting

 Close
-Close the meeting at the appropriate time
-Is the meeting over?( Is this right)
-Ask for final comments
-Offer a summary
-Thank the group
 AGENDA

Is a list of topics covered in a meeting

A well prepared agenda will assist the chairperson in directing the
business of the meeting
Ensuring that decisions are reached in an efficient manner
Special features of agenda
 1.It forms a part of the notice convening the meeting
 2.It is fixed beforehand/meant for orderly discussion & deliberation
It lists all items/for discussion & deliberation/accompany notes/data
Contains name of org/venue/date/time/nature of meeting
The last item” any other matter/business with the permission of
chair’
 MINUTES OF THE MEETING

During the course of meeting items /topics listed in the agenda

are discussed serially one by one
All participants express their views/opinions
Discuss amongst themselves the pros and cons of each item of
agenda
Finally arrive at some conclusions/decisions
Kept on official record
Call them as minutes of a meeting
 MINUTES OF THE MEETING

Minutes are the formal records of proceedings of a meeting

The purpose of writing minutes is
1. To serve as the formal record of discussion
2. To serve as a background for future discussion
The minutes of a meeting must contain
1.Date & number of meeting
2. A list of the names of those who attend the meeting
3. A list of those members who did not attend & from whom apologies received
4.Record of confirmation of the previous minutes/any amendments agreed by
the committee
 MINUTES OF THE MEETING

5. The essential /relevant/background to the topic under discussion

6.A succinct summary of the discussion
7. A clear 7 unambiguous record of the discussion
reached/resolution/bodies responsible for taking subsequent actions
8.Where discussion of a specific case leads to a policy issue/important
that a separate minute be written on the policy issue( even if this did
not appear in the agenda)
Remember –use the term chairperson not chairman/chairwoman
Non gender –specific language must be used in the minutes
 MINUTES

Before setting out to write a minute following principles

should be borne in mind
1. BREVITY -A minute is a selective/not verbatim record
2. CLARITY -Those not present should be able to
understand/references –specific/relevant/accurate
3.SELF –Containment: It should stand by it self /no additional
information required/if background required /check references
4.DECISIVENESS -Decision /resolutions should be conveyed
clearly/the language of it should be reproduced
5.Immediate recording/write up the minutes as soon as possible after
the meeting
 QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE
BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE
1. COMPLETENESS: When a message is transmitted the audience (reader/listener) desires complete information
to be presented. A muddled message or half message creates confusion in the mind of the audience. A chain of
who-what-when-where-why questions must be addressed in the process of information presentation. When these
questions are addressed the scope of confusion in the mind of the audience becomes minimal. These questions
also help the writer/speaker deal with other business activities of letter writing.
• For example: If a customer enquires about a particular product is the responsibility of the person-in-charge to give detailed
information in a short span of time along with some additional information that the customer is not aware of. This process
helps in building good business relation.
2. CONCISENESS: Conciseness refers to ‘conveying complete message with the help of minimum words
possible’. It is a pre-requisite of business correspondence as it is said in the field of business that ‘time saved is
money saved’. Hence, a concise letter saves time and expense of both the parties.
• How to achieve conciseness is a big question! Consider the following:
• No wordy expressions: instead of ‘at this time’ one can use ‘now’.
• Only relevant details: Instead of providing a complete list of products along with their features and the product use
manual only a comprehensive list of products with their salient features can be provided when a customer asks for the list of
products.
• Avoiding repetition: A repeated word can make the whole information boring. Sometimes repetition is necessary in case
to lay focus on particular information but this should not be practiced without more than one reason. Again this should also
not be practiced more often
 QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE
BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

3. CONSIDERATION: It refers to the receiver’s intention/interest. While transmitting information one

must keep the interest of the target audience in mind. This is important because we communicate to
make the audience understand our information. If they do not understand our information it is the failure
of the whole communication.
• For example: if the Business Communication teacher uses figurative metaphorical language the students
might find it difficult to understand.
4. CONCRETENESS: It refers to the characteristics of the information. In order to inform a specific
audience about specific information, one must not use general sense. A specific message must be
convey in a specific way with specific information rather than in a generic way with general message.
Choosing a general way for specific information may lead to the problems of misunderstanding. When
we talk to our clients we must use facts and figures in the place of generic and irrelevant information.
5. CLARITY: The purpose of Clarity is achieving Accuracy. For the audience to understand the
information easily, the information must be very clear. In effective business correspondence, familiar
and easy words and short and effective sentences and paragraph construction help the audience in
understanding the information. Use of jargons and complex sentences leads to misunderstandings. If
there is a choice between jargons and familiar words or a simple sentence and a complex sentence one
must choose familiar words and simple words.
 QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE
BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

6. COURTESY: The knowledge of the audience is very important while communicating. It allows
the sender to use statement of courtesy. Not only the perspective of the audience but also their
feelings eases the situation and the sender can be courteous in true sense. Courtesy leads to
stronger business relationships. One must make the audience feel important and concerned
therefore using socially accepted forms of politeness adds positives to the sender. The sender
must be tactful in using the words and tone.
7. CORRECTNESS: Correct use of grammar, punctuation and spellings are a must for business
correspondence. Incorrect grammar, punctuation and spelling leads to highest level of
misunderstandings. There are three characteristics of correctness:
• Use of correct level of language and paralanguage
• Use of correct facts, figures and words
• Use of correct mechanics of writing (formats)