This can be a matter of concern when commencing a business letter. Do you put ‘Dear John’? Or should it be Dear Mr Debrett’? It is becoming increasingly acceptable to put ‘Dear John Debrett’ instead, if you are writing to someone you have not met. To use the first name and family name is less formal and less impersonal than using ‘Mr’ or ‘Ms’ and the surname, but isn’t crudely over-friendly. It also deals with the difficult question of whether to address a female recipient as ‘Ms’, ‘Miss’ (old-fashioned, but preferred by some individuals), or ‘Mrs’.
Once you have met the addressee, or once you have already exchanged letters, or if the correspondence has been initiated by ‘John’ addressing you by first name, then you can drop the family name.
If you don’t know to whom you should address the letter (e.g. if it is of a speculative nature or if it’s a letter of complaint), then the best thing to do is telephone the company concerned and find out. It is still acceptable to head letters ‘Dear Sir/Madam’, but it suggests that you haven’t taken the trouble to find out whom you are writing to, and are forced to take resource to a very old fashioned salutation.
The way you begin the letter will dictate how you sign off. The old conventions still apply here. If you have started the letter with ‘Dear Sir’ or ‘Dear Madam’, then you should end with ‘yours faithfully’. If you have started with ‘Dear Sarah’ or ‘Dear Ms Vaughan’, then you should end with ‘yours sincerely’. If you opened with ‘Dear John’ or ‘Dear Caroline’, then you should use ‘yours sincerely’ and sign the letter with just your first name, though it is essential to type both your forename and surname below the signature.
Often PAs or secretaries sign letters for their bosses, inserting the letters ‘pp ‘before their own signature, but retaining the name of the boss (and nominated letter-writer) below the signature. The letters ‘pp’ stand for the Latin words per procurationem, which simply means ‘on behalf of”. There is nothing wrong with this practice. It is usually understood to mean that the boss was out of the office when the time came to sign the letter, that the office is a busy place, and that the PA or secretary has the total trust of his or her boss. Care should be exercised in some cases, however. The more awesome, the more dignified, the more powerful the addressee, the more it behoves the boss to sign the letter personally.
Junk mail needs no response. Unsolicited mail in general may have to wait its turn for an answer, but it is still considered bad manners by most people if you do not reply to your mail. If you wish to make a phone call or send an email instead of writing a letter, that is perfectly acceptable in most cases. Where you need particularly to acknowledge an order, contract, or complaint, then a letter should be sent. In general terms, the sooner the letter is written and sent, the better. There are many who judge a company and its staff by the speed and efficiency with which they deal with their mail
This can be ranged left for a clean, modern look, although in some companies the preference is to range the address right. The address will contain the following information: the recipient’s title (Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr, Professor, Lord, Sir etc), the recipient’s business title, eg Sales Director, Training Manager etc, the recipient’s company name in full, the address and postcode.
The date goes underneath the recipient’s name and address. Leave a minimum of one line space before the date. The recommended British style is ‘15 July 2014’, but house styles may vary. Consistency is important.
In general, a letter should be addressed ‘Dear’ followed by the recipient’s title (Mr, Ms, Lord, Dr) and surname. To add a personal touch, this may be handwritten. It is also appropriate, and less formal, to use both the forename and surname and not title (‘Dear John Debrett’). If the sender is familiar with the recipient, then the letter can be addressed using their first name only, eg ‘Dear John’. If the sender does not know the name of the recipient, then ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ can be used.
This should be a brief informative line that will help with filing and clarity. It might mention a reference number in response to an earlier letter. It is placed (centred or ranged left) under the salutation. Leave one line space above and below the subject line, before the body of the letter.
Letters are typed with two spaces after a full stop, one space after a comma. This style does not apply to longer text documents, such as company reports. It is advisable to keep business letters concise, to the point and preferably on one side of a sheet of A4 paper.
The sign-off depends on the salutation. Conventionally, ‘Yours faithfully’ is only used for letters beginning ‘Dear Sir’ or ‘Dear Madam’, while ‘Yours sincerely’ is used for all letters beginning with a salutation by name. The sender’s name, in full, is added, with the job title on the line below, underneath the space allocated for the signature. If the letter has opened with the recipient’s forename only (‘Dear John’), sign with just a forename, but ensure that the sender’s full name is included under the signature.
The inclusion of the sender’s title in brackets after the sender’s name – for example ‘Eliza Curzon (Miss)’ – is becoming a less-used tradition. It is, however, helpful as it provides the recipient with the correct form of address for the reply letter.
These are traditional notations, which are disappearing from contemporary correspondence. For example, the initials of the person who typed the letter may be added, or the abbreviation ‘encl.’ to indicate that an enclosure is included with the letter. If the letter is being circulated, the initials ‘cc’ can be added, with an alphabetical list of all the recipients. Notations are separated with a forward slash.
Since envelopes are now no longer individually typed, it is acceptable to use adhesive labels for substantial mail-outs.
It is preferable to handwrite addresses on envelopes when sending out important correspondence. Window envelopes are only really appropriate for mass mail-outs or invoices.
Business letters should always be sent on company notepaper. Company headed paper should not, however, be used for the following:
For every piece of work there is a deadline, and that means pressure to get matters dealt with quickly. There are occasionally those letters or emails that require a little extra thought. Second thoughts are best applied to business letters written in anger. If you have sent a letter, and subsequently wish you hadn’t, then the only thing you can do is to contact the person to whom you sent the letter, explain how you now feel and offer whatever apology you wish to make.
Before sending the letter of complaint, it’s a good idea to sit back and take stock of the situation that has prompted the wish to complain. Ponder the following questions:
If you’re uncertain about any of these points, then it’s time for second thoughts.
A compliments slip contains the same information that would appear on the standard company letterhead, and is pre-printed with the words ‘With compliments’. Usually, these are designed to fit, unfolded, into a standard DL/business envelope. A short handwritten note and signature can be added.
Compliments slips are a convenient shorthand enclosure to attach to, for example, a cheque, or a catalogue or price list that has been requested by a customer. They can be a pleasing addition to a routine mail-out and a way of maintaining good public relations.
They should never be used as a substitute for a handwritten note, and there are many occasions on which a compliments slip is not adequate – for example when you are sending thanks for help or hospitality, or posting a personal package. On these occasions a handwritten note on headed writing paper is always preferable.
Some companies choose to use A5 headed writing paper, or an A5 card, which serves the same function as a compliments slip or can be used for sending out brief, handwritten notes.
Faxes are much less prevalent in the era of email communication, but most companies still have fax machines. It should be noted that a fax is legally seen as a method of serving a notice, so faxes should never be dismissed as unimportant.
The cover sheet should include the following essential information: recipient’s name, company name and fax number; sender’s name, company name, telephone number and fax number. A brief explanation and indication of the number of pages can also be helpful.
These are used primarily for professional or business purposes, but with the decline of the visiting card they have taken on some of its social functions. Social usage should, however, be infrequent. Cards are usually printed, but may be engraved if a smarter impression is thought appropriate.
Business cards are usually about the same size as a credit card and landscape in format (vertical layouts can look striking, but may be inconvenient for recipients’ filing systems or cardholders). They should fit into a card-holder or the card section of a wallet. They should contain the following: the employee’s name, without any prefixes (unless they have professional relevance, eg ‘Professor’); the company’s full postal address and website address; the company’s landline number. The employee’s direct line or mobile telephone number may also be included as well as the employee’s email address.
On a standard business card, the name and professional title should be centred, in large characters, above the name of the firm, or below the company logo. The address, telephone, fax and email information should appear in smaller characters in the bottom left- and right-hand corners, or spread across the bottom.
On a business card that is intended to show the bearer’s qualifications, the appropriate professional letters may be suffixed to the name, for example, FRIBA. First degrees, for example BA (Hons), should not be included.
