Writing Letters

Many times we need to write letters to people in our contact. And we are very cautious when we are writing to somebody in our business contact and not the informal one.
There are certain very good basic things and habits that we should be used to. Like
-Writing correct spellings and checking for spellings at least twice
-writing grammatically correct sentences
-prefer small sentences so that the reader doesn't find difficult to understand it.
-As per I think we should take at least 1 minute to write one sentence in e-mail 
- Best practice is to write it first, read it, then again delete the complete sentence and then again write it
Some links to get details on this topic:

1. http://www.newbie.org/email_basics/
2.http://www.helium.com/items/755084-the-basics-of-writing-an-email?page=2
3.http://www.captureplanning.com/!hc_sales_letters.cfm
4.https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:P9Vni3-zqyMJ:media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/47/07645252/0764525247.pdf+&hl=en&gl=in&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiylqnp9pGCn6S1TnTsEoBgKBQyYmJeAROl97IyC1v6qxm_gjrzm7YdfbUApW6_JXz5grsZ00xzEFsNIihQ8OqrvsvG0sh6mxsc4cppqPJbp2ltJW9BneoZqQFVh49jRKUmhXvo&sig=AHIEtbS2ioC7PFGcrd-2M01CkQWz2UcL7Q



Here are Guidelines for Inviting  Speaker :

Guidelines : Inviting Speaker

Inviting Speakers to Meetings

Guidelines and Alternate Phrases

• Invite the person to speak, giving the date, time, place, and purpose of the event.
• We think you’re an outstanding teacher, educator, and trainer. Because we look for the best, we are inviting you to speak to our Forum Club on the evening of October 6 at the Hyatt Regency in Wakesville. Our monthly meetings center on ….
• Would you consider giving our group a brief overview of your company’s products and services in an upcoming staff meeting? If so, any of our next three meeting dates are open: March 12, April 9, and May 4.
• We want to extend to you an invitation to speak to our group of sales reps when they convene in Atlanta, August 16, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., for their new-product orientation. Your keynote address will set the tone for ….
• Add appropriate details about the event and the audience to help the speaker tailor his or her comments to the occasion. The more specific you are in your invitation, the more pleased you’ll be with the presentation.
• Most registrants will be first-time attendees.
• Your listeners will have had from five to 10 years’ experience in the industry.
• The audience will be an unusual mix: 70 percent will be males in their mid-to-late twenties, and 30 percent will be females in their retirement years.
• The audience will have heard previous presentations on … and, therefore, will be more interested in the … aspects of the subject.
• We are more interested in how-tos than theories.
• I’ve enclosed programs from the last two years so you can get an idea of the caliber of speaker and the cutting-edge presentations we’ve had in the past.
• Our focus this year will be quite different from previous years in that this year we hope to give attendees help with ….
• Mention any fee or honorarium and explain how the speaker should handle any related expenses such as for travel, audio-visual equipment, or handout reproduction.
• We encourage you to use handouts and will pay up to $200 for the printing of our materials.
• If you want us to print any session materials, we must have your originals by May 9. After that date, we ask you to pay your own reproduction costs.
• We will, of course, reimburse your travel expenses.
• Would it be possible for your company to pick up the cost of your travel?
• We will pay your fee of $4,500 for the keynote address.
• Our honorarium is $1,000 for the day’s briefing.
• We can offer an honorarium of $400 for the presentation.
• We understand your fee will be $7,500 plus expenses.
• Include any expectations about a paper or abstract in the conference proceedings, if the meeting is a formal one associated with a convention.
• We encourage you to submit an abstract of your comments for inclusion in our Conference Proceedings manual.
• As part of your participation in the program, you will be expected to submit a paper outlining your key ideas for those unable to attend your session.
• If you can help us with a written abstract of your speech, the members always appreciate such back-on-the-job reference materials. Of course, such a paper keeps your name and work in front of the audience.
• Ask for a reply by a certain date, keeping in mind you must select another speaker if the response is negative.
• We need your answer by May 4.
• We’re hoping for your positive reply by May 4.
• Would you please let us know by May 4 if you can address our group?
• By May 4, we will have to have all our speakers confirmed. If you find you’re immediately available, it would be most helpful if you could send us your answer even before that date.
• Show eagerness about having the speaker accept your invitation.
• We’ve seen a tremendous interest from the members in your topic.
• Your title and subject have raised quite a few eyebrows; we’re eager to hear the elaboration.
• We’re expecting great things.
• I hope the next phone call will be yours, telling me you’ve decided to accept our invitation.
• All of us are anxiously waiting to get your views on ….
• Your comments are always so succinct yet so provocative; we are eager to hear you.
• We are eager to hear your innovative solutions to the industry’s worsening situation.
• We know your talk will both entertain and inspire us.
• We know your presentation will enlighten as well as motivate us.

Courtesy : http://www.bizdocx.com/business-letters/meetings/inviting-speaker/


More important one:

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/how-to-write-a-convincing-email.html

1. Have a specific decision in mind.

The goal of an e-mail is always to get the recipient(s) to make a decision of some kind. Otherwise, why bother writing the it?

Therefore, before you write anything, ask yourself: exactly what decision do I want the recipient to make?

As with all business writing, vagueness is the opposite of useful. The clearer the goal, the more convincing your e-mail will be.

2. Start by writing your conclusion.

Your conclusion is a statement of the decision that you want the recipient to make, based upon the contents of your e-mail.

In school, they probably taught you to start with an introduction and end with an conclusion. Wrong.

Nobody in the business world has time to wander through the development of an idea. If you don't tell them the reason for the e-mail immediately, chances are they'll just move on.

So you start with your conclusion. For example, suppose your goal is get your boss to approve an in-house gym.

WRONG:

Jim,
As you know, employee absenteeism is generally recognized as an ongoing problem with a steep financial impact, both in our company and in other companies in our industries. [yada, yada, yada] Therefore, we should consider allocating money for the installation of a gym at our headquarter facility.

RIGHT:

Jim,
I want you to approve the installation of an in-house gym.

3. Structure your supporting argument into "digestible chunks."

Once you've stated your conclusion, marshall the arguments that support your conclusion (i.e. the decision you want made). To make your arguments "digestible," break them into small "chunks," and present each point with a similar format and sentence structure.

WRONG:

According to a recently published government report, group physical fitness is extremely important even though very few companies actually demonstrate a commitment to it! Many firms identify physical fitness as an undervalued competitive asset, but don't have a plan for improvement in this area, even though physical fitness is strongly linked to corporate and individual economic and personal success. I feel that if we do not address the issue of physical fitness as it enhances workplace productivity, we will be left behind.

RIGHT:

An in-house gym will:
- Reduce absenteeism.
- Increase overall productivity.

4. Bolster each argument with evidence.

It's been said that everyone has two things: a sphincter and an opinion. Unless you provide facts that back up your arguments, your e-mail becomes one giant, opinion and therefore, in the eyes of the recipient, you'll probably seem like one, giant... well..., you get the idea.

WRONG:

An in-house gym will reduce absenteeism because then people will want to come to work rather than stay at home and they won't get sick so much.

RIGHT:

- Reduce absenteeism. According to a National Health Institute survey of 1,000 firms, companies with in-house gyms experience 20% less absenteeism than thosewho lack such facilities.

5. Repeat your conclusion as a "call to action."

At the end of the e-mail, restate the conclusion in a way that provides the recipient with the next step that the recipient must take, assuming the recipient now agrees with your conclusion, based upon the force of your arguments and evidence. Keep it simple and specific.

WRONG:

Your support for this project would be greatly appreciated.

RIGHT:

If you respond to this e-mail with your approval, I'll get the process started.

6. Stick a benefit in the subject line.

Your subject line (aka "title") is the most important part of an e-mail, which is why you write it last, after you've written down both your conclusion and the arguments and evidence that supports that conclusion.

Ideally, a subject line should accomplish two important tasks: 1) interest the recipient enough so that the e-mail gets opened and read, and 2) imply the conclusion that you want to the recipient to accept.

In most cases, the best way to accomplish both tasks is to encapsulate a benefit (or benefits) that will result from the decision that you'd like the recipient to make.

WRONG:

Subject: The Health Impact of In-House Employee Fitness Programs

 RIGHT:

Subject: How we can reduce absenteeism

 To wrap it up, here are the two e-mails:

WRONG:

To: Jim@Acme.com
Subject: The Health Impact of In-House Employee Fitness Programs
Jim,
As you know, employee absenteeism is generally recognized as an ongoing problem with a steep financial impact, both in our company and in other companies in our industries. An in-house gym will reduce absenteeism because then people will want to come to work rather than stay at home and they won't get sick so much. Therefore, we should consider allocating money for the installation of a gym at our headquarters facility. Your support for this project would be greatly appreciated.
Jill

RIGHT:

To: Jim@Acme.com
Subject: How we can reduce absenteeism
Jim,
I want you to approve the installation of an in-house gym. This will:
- Reduce absenteeism. According to a National Health Institute survey of 1,000 firms, companies with in-house gyms experience 20% less absenteeism than thosewho lack such facilities.
- Increase productivity. We have 50% more absenteeism than other firms in our industry, so reducing that number by 20% will automatically increase our productivity by 10%.
If you respond to this e-mail with your approval, I'll get the process started.
Jill