1. Letters, Memoranda, Email, and Other Media for Engineers

2. As a professional engineer, you need to get familiar with the style, format, and organization of business communications

3. WHICH TO USE?
If you have a question for someone in your building, run down the hall and ask in person.
If it’s to someone within your organization but at a different location, send or write a memo.
If it’s to someone external to your organization, send an or text message or write a business letter.
If it’s urgent or informal, make a telephone call or send an or text message

4. Phone, Text Message, or Paper?

5. In telephone or face-to-face communication, these are the issues:
Permanent record: There is no record of what transpires in your phone conversation
Availability of the recipient: Mobile phones have reduced the problem known as ‘‘telephone tag.’’ Still, recipients of a communication may not be in their offices or able to answer their mobile phone.
Attitude of recipients. Recipients may not take the phone, text-message, or in-person communication as seriously as they would if it were in writing.
Purpose, length, and complexity of the topic. Some topics are just too much for a conversation. For example, you can’t present details of product specifications or a proposal over the phone.

6. Email, Instant Messages, or Paper?

7. Email, Instant Messages, or Paper?
and instant messages eliminate the bother of stamps, envelopes, and mailboxes—not to mention the delay in delivery and response. Unlike telephone communication, doesn’t require its recipients to be in the right place at the right time—they can read it when they are ready.

8. Here are the issues to consider:
Recipients. Obviously, if recipients don’t have , can’t readily access , or just do not like it, printed letters or memos are necessary.
Need for reply or forwarding. If the letter or memo contains pages that the recipient must fill out and send, hardcopy may be preferable.
Security issues. As Ed Krol pointed out in The Whole Internet User’s Guide and Catalog in the early days of the Internet, you can assume that any you send has a chance of being seen by anyone in the world. Think twice about sending confidential information (new product specifications, confidential data about a project, or sensitive information about a colleague) by .

9. In-person discussion of the memo
In-person discussion of the memo. If the message must be used in a face-to-face situation, print may be preferable. If everybody must print the memo for the meeting, you might as well send it in print and thus eliminate a potential snag.
Importance or length of the information. For some, even now deep into the age of the Internet, lacks the feeling of settled, established information. It seems light, ephemeral—not a medium for serious business. Some people are less likely to take an electronic message seriously than they are a hardcopy memorandum or letter.
In-your-face factor. For some, a printed memo sitting on their desk just cannot be avoided. Of course, that depends—for some professionals, hardcopy mail is more inconvenient than . Ultimately, you have to base your decision on which medium your colleagues are most in the habit of using.

10. Letters and Memos Memo (memorandum) Business letter
Written communication within an organization such as a business company, university, and government agency.
Business letter
Written communication among members who are not in the same organization

11. Business Letters
Note that not all of the components are necessary to be included in each letter
Face–to-face, telephone, and communications are just not right for certain kinds of correspondence
Use a hardcopy letter
1. If you want to make sure that the recipient receives it and takes it seriously
2. If you want the recipient to study it at length
3. If the communication is long and packed with information
4. If you want a permanent record of communication

12. Business Letters – Standard Components
Company or personal logo
Usually on the first page only. If you use sheet with logo, start your letter about 2.5cm below it
Heading
Sender’s address and date. If you are using letterhead stationary, only the date is needed
Inside address
Name, title, company, and address of the recipient
Subject line
announce topic or purpose of the letter

13. Salutation
“Dear Sir/Madam:” or “To Whom It May Concern:” or “Dear Department members:”, or… Where no obvious recipient exists or where the recipient does not matter, omit the salutation. It is better if you know exactly whom you are writing to, call the recipient’s organization (ask also for the title and the department name). “Dear Recruitment officers:”
Note that the salutation for business letters is punctuated with a colon. A comma implies a friendly nonbusiness communication
Body of the letter
Single space text inside the paragraph, and double space between paragraphs

14. Signature block End notations Complementary close
“Sincerely yours”, or “Best Regards”, or …etc.
Signature block
This is a blank area for the signature, followed by your typed name, title, and organization. In professional correspondence, don’t forget to include these letters that identify the degree or title that you worked hard to earn
End notations
Such as “Cc:” and “Encl.:” abbreviations come below the signature block. The first set is the initials of the sender and typist, respectively, “JMC”. Labels such as “Encl.:” “Enclosure:” or “Attachments: "indicate that other documents have been attached:
“Encl.: specifications.”

15. “Cc:” followed by one or more names indicates to whom a copy of the letter was sent
“Bcc:” identifies “blind” recipients
If you receive a letter with “Bcc:” at the bottom, the people whose names follow “Bcc:” do not know that you received the letter, nor do they know that you know that they received the letter
Following pages
If you use letterhead stationary, use the matching stationary (the same quality and style of paper but without the letter head)

17. Common Business Letter Formats Standard Block Letter
This is the easiest and most commonly used letter format
All elements are flush left
All serious communications use this format

18. Common Business Letter Formats Standard Semi-Block Letter
Similar to the block format except that the heading, complimentary close, and signature block are on the right margin

19. The same as the semi-block format except that it adds a subject line and omits the complimentary close

20. Business Memoranda
For internal communication in an organization, use memorandum format
A call for employees to attend a general meeting
A reminder that status reports are due
A request to an employee to provide information
The actual contents of a memo can be very much like those of a business letter or like those of a short report

21. Business Memoranda – Standard
Heading
Date, To:, From:, and Subject
Body of memo
single spaced paragraph, and double space between paragraphs
Complementary close
some times not included
Signature block

23. Writing
Make the brief. No one like to read long pages on the screen
Make the subject line specific to make sure the will be read
Important information at the beginning
Short paragraphs, and make spaces between them

24. Email Writing (Important Email Functions)
 Save into files or folders: Organize your sent and received into meaningful folders. For example: ”clients,” “staff,” “projects.” “friends & family”  Keep copies of you send: You may need it later either because the was lost or because you need to remember what you wrote in it  Use templates: if you have standard contents set up a template  Attach files for s

25.  Search folders: Know how to search folders for topics or names of recipients and senders.  Create and use aliases and distribution lists: Increase your efficiency by creating aliases (short abbreviations for addresses) and distribution lists ( groups of related addresses, such as those for staff or customers).  Use a signature: If you need to include your full name, title, organization, phone and fax numbers, …etc. In your , set up a “signature”. It automatically pops that information into every mail you send or reply to.

26. Email Writing – Format and Style
 Informality: Adjust the tone of your according to the recipients and situation. Think twice about using humor, sarcasm, and informality with business clients and higher level management- especially those whose native language is not English  Brevity: messages are normally rather short, under a dozen lines  Specific subject line: To ensure s get read and has the desired impact, make the subject line specific and compelling  Important information first  Short paragraphs and space between paragraphs

28. Recommendations for Business Writings (for letters, memos, and emails)
Indicate the topic in the first sentence
Be brief and go to the point
Indicate any situation or preceding communication “based on last phone call” or “based on our meeting in the company” or “referring to your letter dated June 1st , 2005”
Keep paragraphs short. Divide the communication to paragraphs when the topic changes
Use lists and paragraphs if necessary
Be clear if you expect any response form the readers