Business letter
The commercial letter serves as a means of communication between two commercial companies or a company with an individual, or vice versa. Its content is usually formal, official and / or confidential.
The commercial activity is very varied, therefore there are several types of business letters. The most important are: sales, claims, offers, requests for information and advertising.
Unlike personal letters, business letters have a more rigid outline and a more objective tone, and must always be typed.
Structure
A business letter is made up of three parts: the heading, the body of the letter, and the closing.
The heading
The heading covers the top of the letter. It always contains letterhead, place and date, recipient's address, and greeting. In general, the subject of the letter is also indicated, so that the recipient knows directly what it is about.
The body
The body of the letter is the most important part. It consists of three parts: an introduction, a nucleus, and a conclusion.
- The introduction usually refers to previous correspondence, thanking the recipient and / or indicating the reason for the writing. In the nucleus the main idea of the letter is developed. It is important to write the nucleus objectively and clearly, especially when it comes to a claim. It ends with a conclusion that serves as a summary of the letter and / or an encouragement.
The closure
The closing of the letter constitutes the end of it. Contains always farewell, signature, name and position.
In the case of annexes, the number of these is indicated. It is also possible to add postscript or indicate if copies are sent to other people.
In the letter, all elements start on the left of the page. This "block style" is the general way to compose a letter.
Given the objectives of business letters, the recipient is usually treated with courtesy. The respect treatments for the greeting are 'distinguished sir (s)' or 'distinguished lady (s)'. Another slightly more personal form is 'Dear Sir' and the corresponding varieties. In the body of the letter the author always addresses the addressee with 'you' or 'you'.
To indicate if photocopies are sent to other people, the expression 'Cc' is used, followed by the name of the other recipient.
If the letter is signed on behalf of the sender, the signature is preceded by the abbreviation 'PO' (by order) or 'PA' (by authorization), indicating that the person signing the letter has the authorization of the person responsible.
Example:
|
Santiago, June 14, 2003
Manuel Montt 367
For the attention of Mr. H. Riveros
SANTIAGO DE CHILE
Subject: Invitation to talk
Distinguished Client:
I contact you to announce the talk that will take place on June 21, 2003, at 3 pm. in our auditorium, which will be provided by the renowned author of several books on managment, Mr. Tom Peters.
The talk will consist of the following topics: "knowing how to listen", "listening is not hearing", "what does listening consist of?" and "knowing how to listen = more productivity".
This invitation is only for our most exclusive clients, that is why, we hope to count on your presence.
I greet you sincerely
Pamela A. Ritchie
General Manager.
The report
The report serves to respond to a request, which generally requires some investigation and data collection to inform someone of the results of the request.
To write such a document, you can answer the following scheme of questions:
- What exactly is being investigated? Why? By what method? What are the results? What are the conclusions?
These result in a fixed basic structure for a research report:
- Introduction (among others the delimitation of the research object) Description of the problem Way of working Results Results Conclusion
The reports, generally and especially in companies, are confidential. They are formal, objective and clear, so that the reader can understand them, especially if they are technical reports.
If you also include attachments, they should go to the end of the report, except when they should illustrate what is being said, such as a statistics table.
Introduction:
This report tries to verify that listening is not the same as hearing, since the first is a biological phenomenon and the second belongs to the domain of language, interpretation being a preponderant factor.
Description of the problem:
If we examine communication carefully, we will realize that it rests, mainly, not on speaking but on listening, this is the fundamental factor of language. Effective speaking is only accomplished when followed by effective listening. Therefore, listening is what directs the entire communication process. When we listen, we create an interpretive world, listening is hearing more interpreting.
Working way:
Hearing is a biological phenomenon, it is associated with the ability to distinguish sounds in our interactions with a medium (which may be someone else). Hearing is the biological capacity that some living species possess to be triggered by environmental disturbances in such a way that they generate the sensory domain called sound.
Certain environmental disturbances generate, in some organisms, what we call the phenomenon of hearing. Organisms that belong to the same species share the same biological structure are normally triggered in a similar way by the same disturbance.
Listening is a totally different phenomenon. There is no listening if an interpretive activity is not involved, even when there are no sounds. For example, we “listen” to gestures, body postures to the extent that we are able to attribute meaning to them. We can also listen to silent movies when there are no sounds.
Outcome:
Effective listening has become a top priority, from our personal lives to business, for example, Tom Peters emphasizes that one of the main reasons for the poor performance of the North American management is the fact that the manager does not listen to his employees., neither to its clients, nor what is happening in the market.
The act of listening is based on open mind, on accepting that others are different from us. Mutual respect is essential to be able to listen.
Conclusion:
Listening has become a matter of vital importance to ensure not only effective communication and personal success, but coexistence itself.
3. Minutes
A minutes is a document in which the agreements made at a meeting are set down and, in summary form, the deliberations that took place in it. They are normally written directly in a book called the "Minutes Book." The requirements that are required to take minutes are regulated by the Commercial Code and also by the statutes of the company or association.
An act consists of:
* heading or title, and name of the company or association
* place, date, start and end time
* list of attendees
* ordered summary of the discussions held
* approval and signature of the president
* signature of the secretary
Example:
Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors of the Debate Club:
Assistants:
Mrs. D. Pamela Ritchie, President
Mr. D. Carlos Diez
Mr. D. Pedro Benítez
Mr. D. Enrique Parra
Mr. D. Julio Aguirre
Mr. D. Daniel Echeverría
Mr. D. Roberto Castro, secretary
Date: June 15, 2003
Start time: 4 pm.
End time: 5.30 pm.
Place: Providencia Commune, Santiago de Chile
Development of the meeting:
The session opens with the following agenda:
- Discussion on the difference between listening and hearing Discussion on listening and its relationship with business The discussion on the first point opens:
Mr. Pedro Benítez explains the biological difference between listening and hearing.
Mr. Enrique Parra agrees with Mr. Benítez.
Put to a vote, it was decided:
- Entrust the publication of what was discussed to Mr. Echeverría
Mr. Mr. Carlos Diez requests that his vote against the discussion be recorded in the minutes, based on the following reason: Listening and hearing are synonyms, therefore he does not see the reason for such discussion.
- The discussion of the second point opens, and it was unanimously decided to postpone the treatment of this point until the next meeting, which will be on June 22, 2003.
The President The Secretary
approved and signs signature
Memorandum
It is that document that is used to exchange information between different departments of a company, in order to make known any recommendation, indication, instruction, provision, etc. Generally, this type of document contains the following parts: the name of the person to whom it is addressed, the name of the sender, the date, the subject, the text and the signature of the sender. Its writing must be brief, clear and precise; Although in this type of communication it is not customary to use the farewell, there are times when it should be used to give a personal and polite touch to the message.
There are companies that send to print their memorandum formats according to their needs, with a special heading generally organized as follows:
| Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: DATE SUBJECT: |
Example:
Ritchie SRL
Memorandum
To: Head of RR. H H. Enrique González
From: GG Pamela Ritchie
Date: June 15, 2003
Subject: Listen to employees
Well-known managment guru Tom Peters emphasized that one of the main reasons for the poor performance of the North American managment is the fact that the manager does not listen to his employees.
Therefore I recommend to you. listen to all the suggestions and proposals of our employees for a better operation of our company.
Greetings to you. Sincerely
Pamela Ritchie
General Manager
Test
It is the genre that develops a theme or a thesis prepared by the author from a purely personal perspective and that requires the participation of the reader, encouraging him to think on his own.
Any topic can be the subject of an essay: the author's knowledge and experiences, his or her own reasoning or that of others, direct observation of reality, provided that the development is original and subjective.
According to each author, the essay can be short or long, but generally all present a scheme like the following:
Introduction: what the essay is about and why the topic is important.
Development: the central theme of the essay is explained.
Conclusion: Summarizes what was said previously.
Example:
Essay on listening: the active dimension of communication.
There is no listening if an interpretive activity is not involved. Herein lies the active aspect of listening.
When we listen, we not only listen to the words that are spoken; we also hear the actions implicit in speaking. Since we are able to hear possibilities of action, we can also attribute meaning, we can also attribute meaning to actions that have not yet been performed. When we do this we speak of "concerns." When we listen, therefore, we listen to people's concerns. We listen to why people perform the actions they perform. This is what allows us to hear that someone wants to get rich when they say they want to do business.
When we listen we are not passive recipients of what is being said. On the contrary, we are active producers of stories. For this we must allow others to speak, but also ask them questions, which will allow us to understand the facts, make well-founded judgments and make coherent stories.
By moving away from the assumption that listening is passive, we can now look at listening as an action to be performed, as an action that can be designed, and as an action that is based on specific skills that we can learn.
Circular
The circular letters are intended to communicate news of current interest, exposing, at the same time, the causes thereof. Circulars are often written in large numbers and in print. With this type of letter the constitution, modification or dissolution of a company, changes of address, the visit of travelers, the modification of prices, etc. can be announced. Normally, circulars are not answered, but you can do it for reasons of courtesy or desire to start a commercial operation.
The format can be in several ways, one of them is as follows:
-Letterhead: above the document, where the name of the company or institution is mentioned.
-Circular N °: it is placed under the letterhead, it indicates the number administratively assigned to that particular circular.
-Subject / Subject: under “Circular N °”, it is a brief reference on what the circular is about.
-Place, date of issue.
-From: Indication of who sends the circular
-A: Indication of who is being sent.
-Body: The content of it
-Farewell phrase
-Name, surname and title
Example:
|
CIRCULAR N °: 15
SUBJECT: Tom Peters talk
SANTIAGO, June 19, 2003
FROM: GENERAL MANAGER
TO: AREA MANAGERS
Due to the visit of the prestigious North American advisor in our company, I wish to invite you to the talk that he will offer us in our auditorium hall on June 21, 2003, on the following topics: "knowing how to listen", "listening is not hearing", "What does listening consist of?" and "knowing how to listen = more productivity".
I greet you sincerely.
Pamela A. Ritchie
General Manager
Request
The request is a written communication that sets out to make an order, in order to achieve it in the immediate or immediate future, aimed at the activities or entities to achieve something that the law grants us.
The introduction: The path that relates the sender to the receiver is sought, through the identification of the person: natural, legal, group or entity that opens communication behind a purpose.
Body: It includes the exposition of a fact, antecedent or explanation, by means of which the issuer contracts the attention of the receiver and invites him to mentally share the veracity of the statements with documents or certificates; depends on the case.
Conclusion: It consists of the closing of the request, with the thanks, typical of the courtesy of the issuer
The thanks should be done with the reality of the possible time of the response; this is with a verb in the future, because the answer will always come in the future. It could include in this aspect, the final expression "CAREFULLY", after which it is signed and initialed, a sign of assuming responsibility for the writing.
Example:
Request
Ref.: REQUEST BOOK "ANTOLOGY OF LANGUAGE"
Santiago June 19, 2003
Pamela Ritchie, student at Universidad Mayor, Rut: 29.558.621-4, single, respectfully states:
Due to my interest in the subject of speaking and listening in human communication, I request the book "Anthology of language" by Rafael Echeverría, from your library, for better information on the subject mentioned.
THEREFORE, I request the inclusion of said book in your catalog.
CAREFULLY, TO THE LADY DIRECTOR OF LIBRARIES.
Pamela A. Ritchie
Bibliography
- monographs.comworldwritting.comgoogle.com.ar
Dolores Comas de Guembe, Matilde Domínguez de Bauzá and others, Literary Introduction III, Ed. Estrada, Buenos Aires, 4 ed. 1984.
To complement what has already been studied in the document, the following video-course is recommended, consisting of 6 lessons (37 minutes), about the importance of commercial communication and the documents that are part of it. You will know which documents are most used in written communication tasks within companies and you will learn how to write them correctly. Recommended.
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