OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE LECTURE 15. Office Note: Date: Subject:...

OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE

LECTURE 15

Office Note: Date: Subject: ---------------------------------------------------------- 1:------------------------------------------- 2:---------------------------------------------- 3:---------------------------------------------- (Signature) John Smith (Designation) cc: Incharge Management Sciences Incharge Administration Office CIIT

(Letter head) Fax Transmittal Attention: Mr. Smith (Designation) Holiday-Inn, Hotel Islamabad From: Mr. Peterson (Designation) CIIT, Islamabad Date: --------------------- Subject: Request for Dinner Reservation and Discount The Department of Management Sciences, CIIT, Islamabad intends to host a dinner for their senior

Faculty members at roof top of your hotel. You are requested to reserve (tables for ----------people, time/day/date)

It is further requested to please give a generous/substantial discount as we are frequent customers of this hotel.

Payment will be made in cash after the dinner. Regards (Signature) Contact numbers (office/mobile) -----------------------------

Writing Plan for Good News Letters

An Inquiry: Identify the inquiry in the subject line. Open with the inquiry and a short background. Confirm what the customer has inquired. Provide appropriate information. (complete/concise) Indicate how the receiver is to respond.

(requirements to be fulfilled/in points ) Close courteously.

A Request:

Identify the request in the subject line. Give a brief reason /background for it. Provide details. Ask for a specific response to your request. Close courteously to maintain good will.

An Acknowledgment:

Start with the acknowledgment. Say yes clearly when relevant.(time/date) If there is a delay, state in a reasonable

manner. Provide a tentative date/time. Supply any necessary details/information. Close courteously to maintain good will.

A letter of Introduction: Product/Service (AIDA)

Use the subject line to catch the reader’s attention. Open by explaining your reason for the introduction

and aim to catch the reader’s interest. Supply details and information in the middle

paragraph to create a desire to read further. Close by saying what you can do for the reader and

what you want the reader to do. action)

Writing Plan for Bad News Letters

An Order Refusal/ A Credit Refusal/ An Adjustment Refusal/ Refusing An Invitation:

(These are reply letters and must have an official letter number/Date) Acknowledge the order in the Subject Line. Thank and revise the details for the order. Explain the policy (if required) of the company. Mention the criteria according to which the order has been judged. Give reasons for the refusal. Provide authentic solutions/ suggestions/time lines etc. Close with a courteous expression of interest in continuing your

relationship with the customer/client. Provide any necessary details (contact number/e-mail etc)

Letter head(Example)

Sender’s Address Phone Fax Date-------------- Name of the receiver Designation, Apple computers Address of the office Subject: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. John, We saw your advertisement in the times about one of your important

products. The advertisement caught our attention because we are interested in this product. In fact, we want to equip our corporate office with modern facilities and we would like to buy this product.

However, we cannot send the purchase order unless we know more about this product. Send us more information about the product as soon as possible. We want to know many things, which include product specification and special features of this model of the product, details of discount for bulk purchase, an estimate of the cost of the product and details regarding terms of business and delivery dates.

Respond to this letter as early as possible. Yours Sincerely, (signature) Name Designation

Letter head(Example)

Sender’s Address Phone Fax Date-------------- Name of the receiver Designation, Apple computers Address of the office Subject: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. John Reeve, Please refer to your advertisement in the April 22 issue of “The Times” about the HP Scan jet 3200C scanner. Our company is interested in buying 60 (sixty) scanners for our corporate office.

We would be glad if you could send us more information about the product.

Specifically, we need the following information: Product specification and special features of HP Scan jet

3200C model Details of discount for bulk purchase Estimate for the cost of 60 (sixty) units Terms of business and delivery date We look forward to hearing from you. Yours Sincerely, (signature) Name Designation

Organizing Sales Letters

A- Attention I- Interest D- Desire A- Action

OPENING

Special offers Product features Stimulating Questions Startling Statements Facts Special Appeal Prizes Promises Persuasive suggestions

BODY

Statistics Testimonials Guarantees Customer lists Free Trials Free Samples

CLOSING

Incentives for Early Birds Limited Offer Deadline Special Bargain Offers

Deciding when to use E-Mails

Avoid E-Mails when: Your message is extremely important You need to deliver unpleasant news There is a chance your written message will be misunderstood You need an immediate response You want to negotiate or hold a give-and-take conversation You need to conduct a lengthy interview You want to involve several people in your decision You run the risk of intimidating or turning off the reader with a

written message

Use E-mails when: You want to deliver a message quickly You want to communicate directly with the decision maker You want to avoid the expenses of long-distance phone calls You are dealing with a different time zone You need to deliver the message to multiple readers You need to maintain a record of your conversation You are on a tight dead line You need to stay in touch with your office when you are on the

road

Collecting your thoughts Who is your reader? What is the purpose? When does the action take place? Where does the action take place? Why should the reader care about your e-

mail?

Some useful tips Make sure your spellings are correct Avoid contractions Avoid all caps Use active voice Keep your e-mail gender neutral Jokes have no place in e-mails Use of technical language when appropriate No negative comments Do not hire or fire through e-mails Do not use e-mail to let off steam

Respect others’ time Do not mail to the world Ask permission to forward material Keep your editorial comments to yourself Treat others as you would have them treat you Respect the organization’s policy on e-mails Avoid e-mail if there is any chance your message will

be misunderstood Do not rely on e-mails to the exclusion of personal

contact

Choose the right font: Times New Roman-10 point Ariel -12 point Courier-11 point Select appropriate colors (avoid red or green) Avoid underlining Keep each line short Start each sentence with a capital letter

Controlling your In-Box clutter: Do not feel obliged to respond to every message The electronic gate keeper Whittle down your mail Subject line scan Delete all messages from strangers or senders with odd

addresses Manage your time wisely Scan the first three sentences for the meat of the message Rank your e-mail

File and archive saved e-mails Limit e-mails to four sentences Do not send e-mail to colleagues who are

working next door Do not use e-mails to schedule lunch or

internal meetings Maintain your privacy and perspective Never reply to spam

Security is, I would say, our top priority because for all the exciting things you will be able to do with computers, organize your lives, stay in touch with people, become creative. If we don't solve security problems, then people will hold back. Businesses will be afraid to put their critical information on it because it will be exposed.Bill Gates