How to write a letter that communicates
From ArticleWorld
To write a letter that communicates more than just perfunctory news to the receiver, is an art that has been lost to us for a long time now. In this age of sending e-mails and messaging on the telephone, the pleasure of writing and receiving long letters has been relegated to some dark corner of the previous century. But some people still feel the need to have something confirmed in writing and a letter can add the all important personal touch. The following are some steps to avoid pitfalls in letter writing.
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A few helpful points
- Begin the letter in a friendly manner by greeting the person to whom the letter is addressed. Then you could go on in a standard manner by asking them how they are or talking about the weather. One way which immediately grabs the attention of the reader is to begin the letter (after the greeting) as if you are continuing a conversation that you started the last time you spoke to them or wrote them a letter. You could arbitrarily begin by saying something like, ‘Well, I have decided that I do not need to go on a diet because I am….’
- Continue with the conversational style and write about what you have been doing and enquire about their doings in a similar vein (conversational).
- You could also talk of the last time you had met and tell them how much you had enjoyed their company. Talk of one particular incident that you both thought was either funny or silly.
- Talk about your family and ask about theirs and relate some funny incident (give it a funny turn of phrase) when telling about some particular family member.
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Do’s
- Make the letter interesting and use good language so that the other person feels like going through it again and again.
- Keep the vein of the letter light and fun, heavy language and heavy emotions take away the pleasure of letter reading. Have fun writing the letter and it will reflect in the letter itself.
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Don’ts
- Don’t write negative things in a letter. A letter is proof that can be produced in court as evidence even years later.