| Business communications are becoming | | | | Reference: |
| increasingly informal as electronic media and the | | | | With reference toyour advertisement,your letter |
| Internet permeate every level of business | | | | of 20th June,your phone call,your enquiry,etc. |
| contacts. It is no longer unusual to receive a | | | | Thank you for yourletter of 5th |
| business message from someone you have | | | | May,enquiry,proposal,etc. |
| never met addressing you by your first name. | | | | Reason for writing: |
| Nonetheless, first contacts in the business world | | | | I am writing toenquire about,confirm,apologise |
| are still usually by letter, which is a far more | | | | for,etc. |
| formal medium. It is therefore useful to know the | | | | Making a request: |
| basic rules for business letter writing. | | | | I would be grateful if you could...... |
| The tone of the letter depends on how you | | | | Giving bad news, formulating a refusal: |
| address your correspondent. | | | | Unfortunately, |
| While it is better to err on the side of formality if | | | | I'm afraid that, |
| you have never had any dealings with the person | | | | I regret |
| in question, French speakers should be careful to | | | | Enclosing documents: |
| avoid starting a letter with simply Sir or Madam | | | | I enclose ..., |
| unless they wish to be extremely cold or to | | | | Please find enclosed |
| formulate a complaint of some kind. The usual | | | | Closing remarks: |
| form of address is either Dear Sir, Dear Mr Smith | | | | Thanking you in advance, |
| or Dear Jim - never: Dear Mr Jim Smith. | | | | Thank you for your help, |
| Unlike in French, the addressee's job title is not | | | | Please contact us again ifwe can help in any |
| mentioned in either the opening of the letter or its | | | | way,you have any questions,you require additional |
| closing remarks. Although you can address the | | | | information,etc. |
| Chairman of a company as Dear Chairman, no | | | | Reference to future contacts: |
| other job title can be used in this way. It is | | | | I look forward tohearing from you soon,meeting |
| therefore important to include the addressee's job | | | | you next Tuesday,etc. |
| title under his/her name in the company's address. | | | | Ending the letter: |
| Starting the letter: | | | | - For letters beginning Dear Sir, Dear Sir or |
| Dear Sirs, | | | | Madam |
| If you are addressing the company rather than a | | | | Yours faithfully, |
| person within the company. | | | | - For letters beginning Dear Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms. |
| Dear Sir or Madam, | | | | Your sincerely, |
| If you do not know the name of the person who | | | | - For letters beginning Dear Jim, |
| will receive the letter. | | | | Best wishes, |
| Dear Sir, Dear Madam, | | | | Kind regards, |
| If you know the name of the person but wish to | | | | Warmest regards |
| remain extremely formal. | | | | If the letter is written on headed notepaper, the |
| Dear Mr, Mrs, Ms, or Miss Smith | | | | lay out should be as given in the example below: |
| If you know the name of the person or have a | | | | Date |
| formal relationship with him/her. Use Ms if you are | | | | Our ref: sb/132/SD |
| writing to a woman and do not know her marital | | | | Your ref: js/vo |
| status. Although Ms is used increasingly when | | | | Mr. Jim Smith, |
| writing to a woman whether or not you know | | | | Managing Director, |
| her marital status, not all women like to be | | | | Smith & Sons, |
| addressed as Ms. | | | | 12 Temple Lane, |
| Dear Jim, | | | | London WC5 4SN. |
| If the person is a close business contact, with | | | | Dear Mr Smith, |
| whom you are already on first name terms, or | | | | Text |
| friend. | | | | Yours sincerely, |
| Sir, Madam, | | | | Sam Jones |
| Used only for legal communications, formal | | | | Sales Director |
| complaints, letters to the editor, to express | | | | In the case of a personal business letter, the |
| anger, etc. | | | | sender's address should figure above the date. |