HOW TO WRITE A SUCCESSFUL LETTER THE first and most important step in the writing of a successful " form," or circular, letter is to think. Sit down quietly and consider the matter froni every point of view. Try to appreciate how the man you are writing to will look at the matter ; try to discover what are the advantages your proposition offers him and what are the objections Ile will raise. Then endeavour to put your argument on paper in the same kind of words as those you would use if you were sitting face to face with him in your own private room.
In doing this you will find there are eight " Dont's," or rules, you should try to observe. These are : 1. Don't use the first person when you can possibly use the second.
2. Don't be familiar, but avoid being formal.
3. Don't use hackneyed forms of wording.
4. Don't use bad grammar if it can be avoided without seeming pedantic.
5. Don't use any but modern English and short words.
6. Don't be " freakish," but try to be original as far as good taste and dignity allow.
7. Don't use slang or technical or trade terms.
8. Don't be too long to be read or too short to tell your story properly.
Sometimes, of course, these rules will have to be broken, but do it as seldom as possible.
Naturally, the first thing to consider in connection with any letter is the method of' address employed. Fortunately it is not very easy to go wrong in this matter if only one remembers that one is in England, and writing to English people. General usage has sanctioned " Dear Sir," " Sir," " Dear Madam," and " Madam," as the recognised forms of address for business communications of' any sort, except where the correspondents are on a more persorial footing than characterises the ordinary relationship of the shop keeper and his customers. It is safe, therefore, to say that all circular letters should begin with one of these four forms. In America a certain class of letter-writer is fond of employing the horrible form of address which reads " Dear Friend," and even in England certain mail-order houses are rather inclined to address their customers as" Dear Mr. So-and-So," and " Dear Mrs.
So-and-So," when that familiar style is not really justified. Such a policy is very liable to give offence, and the advantages to be derived from it are so slight as to be entirely outweighed by its liability to do harm.
The question as to whether the prefix " Dear" should be used or not, must be decided according to the individual circumstances of each case, the plain " Sir" and " Madam " being used as a general rule only where the persons addressed are of a somewhat higher standing than of the ordinary middle class. At the same time, although it is usually wise to err on the side of conservatism, care must be taken not to use the plain " Sir " needlessly, as it is rather formal and inclined to sound curt.
We now come to what is probably the most important part of the whole circular—the first sentence. For upon the opening sentence depends the important question of whether the letter is read or not. It must always be remembered that the recipient of a letter is in no way bound to read it, and although certain people will read any letter that is sent to them, no matter how bad it may be, there are many more who will not read a letter unless it possesses sufficient intrinsic interest to induce them to do so. It is for this reason, and to meet this difficulty, that it is necessary to avoid a hackneyed or stereotyped iotroduction. It is worth mentioning at this stage that certain classes of people are more inclined to read letters than others ; roughly speaking, those persons who are not in the habit of receiving many letters, will be most inclined to read circulars, and, vice versa, the more letters a person receives, the less attention will a circular receive. It is obvious, therefore, that for this reason a circular addressed to a member of the lower middle class need not possess so striking an opening sentence as one addressed to an important business man whose daily personal mail runs into three figures. The rich man of independent means, or the member of the aristocracy, represents another class which requires a striking opening.