From the category archives:
Client Question: What is a “White Paper?”
The term “white paper” was originally used to designate government reports, but the term and format are now commonly used in many industries. The term is an offshoot from “white book,” which is an official government publication. Since it has its base in government publications, white papers should reflect [...]
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This is one of the very best customer complaint letters I’ve ever seen. It is so funny. It was written to Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Airlines, by an unhappy customer in a long-winded rant, after a dreadful flight from Mumbai to London.
Dear Mr Branson
REF: Mumbai to Heathrow 7th December 2008
I love the Virgin brand, [...]
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Reader Question:
What would be the proper salutation for someone with a II, Jr., Sr., etc. following their last name? (i.e. John Adams, II or John Adams, Jr.)
Answer:
A salutation does not include a suffix, even if you are using a last name and title. So, suffix considerations only apply to the address, not the salutation in [...]
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Reader Question:
If you are writing a business letter going to John Doe in care of Jane Doe, would you use Dear John or Dear Jane for your salutation?
Answer:
“In care of” indicates the person to whom you are sending the letter (in this case, Jane Doe) does not live at this address, but is receiving mail [...]
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Question:
Could you please let me know if there is a salutation to use such as “Dear Valued Clients” to notify our clients about the new tax code? We would like it to sound a little personal, but also businesslike.
Answer:
You don’t mention if you plan to send a letter or an email, but in either case [...]
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Dear Reader: Dear Reader, Hi Reader, Good afternoon, Reader: Hey Reader!
Are you confused about shaping salutations in business letters and business email?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions in business writing courses. To begin, let’s clarify which documents use a salutation:
* A business letter communicates information outside the organization and requires a salutation.
* [...]
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Two readers questioned why using “Good Evening” was not best practice for an email salutation, as I illustrated in my last post “The Art of the Apology.”
We always want to engage our reader, and shape any document, including email, from our reader’s perspective, not our perspective. With email, when the recipient is likely to read [...]
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Dear readers: be absolutely certain never to fail to stop at a railroad track in this town! The apology she received – a small correction buried in a later edition – was woefully inadequate.
Recently, my husband, son and I stayed at a hotel (and I will restrain myself from naming this hotel) where we had [...]
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After a lengthy search process, two candidates qualified for the final interview with two vice-presidents for a lucrative sales position with an excellent company.
After the interview, the vice-presidents were equally impressed with both candidates and unsure who to hire. Then, they received the candidate’s thank you email messages, [...]
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