The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing by Canavor Natalie & Meirowitz Claire

Author:Canavor, Natalie & Meirowitz, Claire [Canavor, Natalie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Pearson Education (US)
Published: 2009-12-15T16:00:00+00:00

Truth 27. Letters build relationships

Writing a letter of introduction—One of us recently got a snail-mail letter from a doctor who’d taken over a retired doctor’s practice and wanted to keep his predecessor’s patients. He began:

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am a board certified dermatologist practicing in this area since 2002. I trained at…

And on with more than a page of credentials and a list of dermatology diseases he’s treated that, well, made our skin crawl. The writing is technically fine but fails utterly. It’s the message that doesn’t work—why not?

The doctor appears to have been writing to impress his peers, not prospective patients. Had he considered his audience’s concerns, he might have come up with a content map that includes: I’m a warm, comfortable guy who cares about his patients…my office will be run efficiently and respectfully…and I’m a very good doctor. The writer doesn’t actually need to say he’s a warm person, but he needs to demonstrate it in his writing tone. For example:

Dear Ms. White:

As you know, Dr. Andrew Grant retired in June, and I am taking over his practice. I don’t know you yet personally but want to introduce myself. In addition to bringing strong experience and credentials to Hartley Street Medical, I plan to provide a comfortable, responsive environment…

Notice that once we take the trouble to produce a good lead, the rest readily falls into place. The basic information can be categorized (for example, training, experience, local connections). It is perfectly okay to use subheads or bold lead-ins in a letter, and/or bullets. A good business letter does not necessarily require a narrative flow all the way through.

Of course, a personal salutation and real signature help personalize a letter.

A resignation letter—Suppose you’ve got a new job and it’s time to resign from your old one. Do yourself a favor—don’t use e-mail for this! Usually it’s best to tell your immediate superior in a private meeting and follow up with a formal letter. It will circulate through company channels and be filed forever, remember. So formal business style is the way to go.

What’s your goal? Don’t make it revenge: It’s human to think about getting even for all the small snubs, resentments, and relationship issues that develop over time. But that’s the fantasy—you’re the grownup and have to do what’s best for you in the long run.

Your goals in 90 percent of leave-taking situations should be…

• To ensure you get good references every time you consider a new opportunity.

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