© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 1 Chapter 17 Workplace Letters Technical Communication, 12 th Edition John M. Lannon Laura Gurak

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 2 When a Letter is Better than a Memo or Use a letter when you need to  Personalize your message  Convey a dignified, professional impression  Act as a representative of your company or organization  Present a carefully constructed case  Respond to clients, customers, or anyone outside your organization  Provide an official notice or record

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 3 Parts of a Letter Heading / company name Date and inside address Salutation Body of letter Closing and signature Any notations

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 4 Optional Parts of a Letter  Attention line  Subject line  Typist’s initials  Enclosure notation  Distribution notation  Postscript

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 5 Design Features  Availability of pre-designed templates  can be provided by your company or word- processing software  Quality stationary  Uniform margins and spacing  Headers for subsequent pages  The envelope

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 6 Interpersonal Considerations  Focus on the recipient’s interests.  Be polite and tactful. Anticipate the recipient’s reaction.  Use plain English.  Focus on the human connection.  Decide on a direct or indirect organizing pattern.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 7 Conveying Bad News  Don’t procrastinate  Never just blurt it out  Give a clear and honest explanation  When you need to apologize, do so immediately  Use passive voice to avoid accusations but not to dodge responsibility  Keep it personal  Consider the format and medium

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 8 Types of Letters  Inquiry letters  Claim letters  Routine  Arguable  Sales letters  Adjustment letters

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 9 Inquiry Letters  Sent to request information or services  Can be solicited or unsolicited  If questions are too numerous or complex, you may want to request an interview  Unsolicited letters are less intrusive than unsolicited phone calls

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 10 Claim Letters Claim letters are used to request adjustments for defective goods or poor services.  Routine Claims  Straightforward because they are backed by a contract, guarantee, or company reputation  Arguable Claim  Used when you must persuade the recipient to grant a debatable claim

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 11 Sales Letters Sales letters are written to persuade a current or potential customer to buy a company’s product or try its services.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 12 Adjustment Letters  Companies generally grant any adjustments that seem reasonable to gain goodwill.  Granting Adjustments  Begin with good news  Explain what went wrong and how the problem will be solved  Never use employees as scapegoats  Do not make any promises that can’t be kept  End on a positive note

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 13 Adjustment Letters  Companies must write refusals when customers have misused the product or are mistaken about policy.  Refusing Adjustments  Use an indirect organizational plan  Be ambiguous  Avoid a patronizing or accusing tone  Close the letter courteously and positively

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 14 Any questions? For additional help reviewing this chapter, please visit the Companion Website for your text at