Letter Writing Skills: 5 things to Remember

If you are one of the many people for whom writing has never been a major concern, you should know that a lack of writing skills is a greater handicap with every passing year. Spending some time to improve your writing can result in a marked improvement in your hire-ability and promotional prospects. There’s no substitute for practice, but here are a few pointers to put you on the right track.

1.      Less is More

It may sound peculiar, but as written conversations are becoming more and more important part of industry, it is very vital to be to-the-point and precise. These days no one has time to read stories and elongated sentences. You should be accurate and to the point. That way it is easier for you to get another person’s attention and be clear with your intentions.

2.      Remember the 5 W’s (and the H)

Whenever you are addressing someone, always remember to attend to all the points.  Consider the when, where, who, why, what and how steps. Once you know you have covered all these six points, you can be certain.

3.    Be professional, not necessarily formal

People tend to go out of their way to be formal in their business communication that after a while becomes unnecessary and annoying. Be formal and crisp in your writings. The chair tends to ignore the pointless jargon and the standard of your letter falls. So the best thing is using a plain language and avoiding unnecessary comments as it becomes obvious to a trained-eye that the wrier has nothing to say.

4.      Let the Subject be clear

Your subject should be short, clear and provide all the information needed. Writing stories for your subject will not be a good idea. Writing just a word won’t be a good idea either. The heading is a swift way of informing the reader of what the letter is all about. At one glance, the reader knows what the formal letter is about. It can either be centered or justified left, depending on what works best for you.

5.      Write once, check twice

Yes, this is as straight forward as it seems. Any letter that has to be sent should always be proofread at-least twice. You don’t want to get embarrassed and make a fool of yourself because of some minor errors and typos. Be clear. Don’t use high ‘fundo’ words. The brain is tricky and will ignore errors that it’s just made; always give yourself time to set your writing aside and come back to it later.

Happy writing!!