LESSON 9: VARIOUS FORMS OF OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE

SECOND SEMESTER | QUARTER 4 | SUBJECT: READING & WRITING

OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE
o communication that takes place in an organization..

CORRESPONDENCE
o defined as ‘communication in writing on subject of mutual interest either within the organization or
with an outsider’.
o Correspondence within the organization gives a definite meaning to corporate policies and practice
and promotes understanding between the members and departments of the organization.
o Correspondences with the outsider promotes image of the organization, clarifies its policies, keeps
its legal entities intact and keeps its operations going.

FORMS OF OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE

1. BUSINESS o business letter is written for various commercial purposes such as a
LETTER business deal, complaint, warning, notice, invitation, declaration,
information, apology, and other corporate matters.
o Business letters are the most popular and the most widely written types
of letters.
o Business letters are also the oldest form of official correspondence.

Features of Business Letter

1. Inquiries & Orders — They are about price, purchase or sale of
goods and other business matters.
2. Acknowledgement — They acknowledge the receipt of letters,
goods, payment etc.
3. Complaints — They are about customers’ complaints related to
business transactions
4. Notification — They are public notices in newspapers related to
business.
5. Circulars — They provide general information to employees,
salespersons, and departments.
6. Relationship — They attract new customers and retain old
customers. They maintain good public relations.
2. BUSINESS MEMO o a short document used to transmit information within an organization.
o Memos are brief, direct, and easy to navigate.
o They are less formal than letters but should maintain a professional,
succinct style.
o Often, the purpose of a business memo is twofold: to identify a
problem and propose a solution.
o Other times, memos may provide or request information.
 o Business memos are designed to accommodate busy readers who want
to find the information they need from the memo quickly and easily.

Features of Business Memo:

1. Audience orientation — consider the audience and their needs
when preparing a memo.
2. Professional, formal tone — Memos are often announcements,
and the person sending the memo speaks for a part or all of the
organization. While it may contain a request for feedback, the
announcement itself is linear, from the organization to the
employees.
3. Subject emphasis — The subject is normally declared in the subject
line and should be clear and concise. If the memo is announcing
the observance of a holiday, for example, the specific holiday
should be named in the subject line—for example, use
“Thanksgiving weekend schedule” rather than “holiday
observance”.
4. Direct format — Some written business communication allows for
a choice between direct and indirect formats, but memorandums
are always direct. The purpose is clearly announced.
5. Objectivity — Memos are a place for just the facts, and should
have an objective tone without personal bias, preference, or interest
on display. Avoid subjectivity.
3. BUSINESS EMAIL o simply the email which you use specifically for your business.
o Normally, your business email address includes your company name
within it such as [email protected] and your colleagues
will have their email address formatted in the same way.
o This professional way of sending business email will also serve as a
form of advertising as your business name will be visible with every
communication.

Features of Business Email:

1. Professional Email address
o Choosing the right email address is essential to building trust
and establishing a professional image.
o Decide on a domain. Generally, for business or professional
emails, you should avoid using domains like Hotmail and
Yahoo.
2. Clear subject line
o Subject lines are a critical element of professional-sounding
emails.
o If a subject line is poorly-written, it can have devastating effects
on your outreach or marketing campaigns.
o In fact, according to Convince & Convert , 35% of email
recipients open an email based solely on the subject line.
o The wrong subject line can leave your email unread – or worse,
routed to the spam folder.
3. Professional greeting
o Greetings for cold outreach and business should be more
formal and respectful.
4. Clear and concise email copy
o With professional emails, it’s important to get right to the
point, but it’s also important to find a balance between being
too blunt and too wordy.
o Keep your paragraphs to 2-3 sentences max, and leave
sufficient space around each paragraph.
5. End a professional email
o Your conclusion shouldn’t waste space with a summary of the
email. Instead, wrap things up with action steps
6. Professional email signatures
o The email signature block is another area for brevity.
o There’s no need to include every web address, social media
link, and phone number you have at your disposal. Ideally, you
should stick to 3-4 lines
7. Flawless grammar and spelling
o Your email is your chance to make a strong impression, and
your writing abilities give the recipient clues about your skills,
education level, and quality of work.
o If your email contains misspellings or grammar issues, it will
impact the recipient’s opinion of you.
8. Consistent formatting
o In a professional email, simple is best. Use an easy-to-read font
and font size, and stick to it throughout the email copy. Your
recipient will be more likely to focus on what’s important when
he/she is not distracted with fonts, colors, and formatting.
9. Simple language
o Keep it simple. Your primary goal isn’t to impress the recipient
with your written communications, but rather to elicit a specific
response or action.