Introduction

Who Writes Letters Anymore?

Almost all of us put pen to paper—or more likely, fingers to keyboard—all the time. Although we have entered into an era where verbal communication by telephone is very common, there are still many areas where the formalities of recorded words are required.

We need to write or respond to legal notices from employers, government agencies, and other entities. And in many situations we need to put it down in writing when we challenge an order or seek confirmation of an important action.

The fact that the medium may have changed from a handwritten or typed letter to a computer-generated printout or a totally electronic exchange of e-mails does not mean that our business communication should be any less precise or clear.

In this book, we do not make many distinctions between letters and e-mails. Most letters can also be sent as e-mails, following the same rules and styles. When it comes to e-mails, we recommend that writers take great care not to be too informal in their communication; forget about the medium and concentrate instead on the content.

One other thing: when you write an e-mail, a great danger arises from the ease of communication and the speed at which it is delivered. When you write a letter, you can (and should) take the time to read over your work before you print it or sign it, and if you change your mind you can always pull the envelope out of the outgoing tray on your desk.

With an e-mail, you should teach yourself to stop and read your message carefully before pressing the SEND button. As we pointed out in the original book in this series, the biggest danger to letter writers is a process that goes like this: Ready? Fire! Aim.

A minute spent reading and editing a letter—and especially an e-mail—may save you hours of explanation, correction, and apology.

All of the letters in this book can be found on the enclosed CD-ROM. All you need to do is insert the CD-ROM and click through the various folders and subfolders to find the letter that you want to use. Feel free to manipulate the letters to suit your needs.