Five Tips for Writing an Effective Business Letter

Before writing a business letter, get to know the audience. If you are writing to a parent, put yourself in their shoes and imagine the impact of your words on them if you are writing about their child. If you are addressing yourself to a politician as a concerned citizen over a legal issue, be convincing about your points and try to hit their soft spots.

Do not appear too authoritative if you are a person of power and you want to influence your audience to carry out your will in your business letter. Soft words turn away hostility and are more effective at times.

The power of persuasion is in your hands and a fire and brimstone message may not be in your best interest. If you are an employer seeking to pay tribute to your employee, writing an employee appreciation letter is appropriate.

Since you are writing a business letter and not a descriptive essay, you don't have to be generous with your words. Instead, you have to be focused, clear and to the point. You can be succinct by writing with an active voice instead of a passive voice. You can be blunt but courteous at the same time.

Have in mind that your reader is busy and may not have the attention span to absorb a lengthy document. You can always provide an addendum with more information that your main letter will reference. If you can, restrict your communication to one page with attachments that would be helpful and instructive.

To promote goodwill between two parties in communication, it is desirable to be diplomatic. It helps to be humble when one is in the wrong, but always better to be courteous than to be right. Learning to be diplomatic means one has to carefully choose the right words to use in a business letter that would not offend the audience.

Using the right tone of voice applies not only to speaking but also to express oneself in a business letter. One should not come across as demanding, accusatory, obnoxious or loud. Use polite phrases such as please, kindly, thank you, sorry and the like. Instead of using a negative word directly such as "bad," rephrase it with "not good."

Always give the benefit of the doubt when addressing a negative situation and don't finger point. Show appreciation to your letter reader and end with a phrase of gratitude.

When your business letter is a plea for something, try to be as convincing as possible without demanding. Produce a list of strong points that would defend your case and address each one with respect, keeping the honor of the addressee in mind. Pretend you are a defendant of a cause before a judge and express yourself with confidence as well as humility.

With all the above steps in mind, you can produce an effective business letter that is concise, persuasive and targeted to your audience. Lastly, don't forget to have someone else proofread your letter before sending it off. An extra pair of eyes will be able to catch not only typing errors but provide additional feedback to the tone and mood of the writing.