We now reach the body of the letter, and it is, of course, very hard to lay down any rules about this, as so much depends upon the actual subject upon which the letter is being written. One of the broad rules which always apply in connection with business letters is that they should, whenever possible, be written from the point of view of' the recipient, and not of the corre spondent. In other words, the word "you " should be used rather than the word "I." A letter should not say, " We should think that this book on Business Correspondence will appeal to all business men," so much as " You ought to buy this book on Business Correspondence, because it will save you money, and because it will increase tenfold the efficiency of your organisation." This is a crude example, but it illustrates the point.
FEom its very nature a circular-letter is sent out to suit the purposes of the firm who send it, and for that reason it is not desirable to emphasise that idea by continually using the words " I" or " We." The body of the letter should make its recipients think how it affects them, and not how it affects the sender. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, and special offers of special prices sometimes require a personal explanation as to why they are made. In such cases the first person must be used if the letter is to carry weight. The same point applies very often to a guarantee of quality, but even in these exceptions the matter should be put from the point of view of the addressed rather than from that of the sender if it is at all possible.
As regards the actual length of a letter. this must obviously be governed by the circumstances, but broadly speaking the shorter a letter is the better, provided always that it is not so short as to be lacking in selling power. At the same time, there are certain classes of people who will read long letters, and in addressing them it may be unwise to neglect the opportunity of doing so at some length. Such classes include the lower middle class, who do not receive m.ny letters, women of most classes, residents in the country, such as farmers and others who lead fairly leisured lives, and all persons, custopers, or others who have asked for particulars of anything, or in some manner expressed a keen interest in the matter, even if' it is only to utter a strong compla. int about it. In the last case a short letter may even seem a slight. The most important people to whom short letters should be sent are business men who receive many letters a day, and inquirers who have vvritten on a point of but little importance. A very short letter in the middle of a follow-11p system consisting of long letters is often an effective change that will lead to direct action, where a long letter, although it might increase conviction, would not lead to the taking of such an immediate action as the actual placing of an order.
The only other points to be considered in the body of the letter are, firstly, that the matter should be placed in its logical sequence, and be presented point by point instead of all in one paragraph, which might lead to confusion and a muddle.
We now come to the consideration of the actual words employed, and the necessity of seeing that the sentences are grammatical. On the latter question many letter writers are apt to underestimate the need of correct grammar, and to pass errdrs that could be corrected without any loss of strength. After all, there is no advantage in loadagrammar qua bad grammar ;
and although no one is likely intentionally to use bad grammar, the matter is well worth the exercise of a little care. If a letter is sent out to a large number of people there are bound to be some who will notice the bad grammar, and be offended by it, even if the bulk of its readers may not recog nise the mistakes at all. The safest plan is always to use the best English, and certainly such favourite errors as split infinitives have no excuse whatever. Such a phrase as " I wish to particularly explain " is no stronger than, if as strong as, " I wish particularly to explain," or " I wish to explain particularly " ; and as there is always a chance of the error giving offence it is folly to let it go through. At the same time it is not wise to word a letter in a pedantic fashion that will sound old fashioned or needlessly " superior." Certain errors in really correct English have been used so commonly that they have now practically become part of the language, and are almost more correct than the original forms ; in such cases the true form is quite likely to be thought an error. The word " an," for instance, should really by rights be used before even an aspirated " h," as in " hat," but a letter to the effect " That you will never regret purchasing an hat from us" is quite likely to be thought wrong.
Finally, it should always be remembered that a short word is better than a long one, and an Anglo-Saxon word than a Latin word. " I wish to tell you " is better than " I wish to inform you " ; " You will like to have" is better than " You will desire to possess." This leads us to the final closing sentence of the letter. It is a pretty safe rule to say that the final sentence in a form-letter should always contain some incentive to action, even if it is merely a request to call. It must always suggest that something be done, and that done quickly. Such a suggestion made in everyday words is much better than a long-winded peroration such as " Favoured with your highly esteemed order, I am con vinced that the results will leave us both the utmost cause f..)r mutual congratulation." Here again the use of a question will often be found successful, and the effect should not be spoilt by the needless words that compose a stereotyped finish such as, " Awaiting the favour of your kind instructions, when the matter will have our prompt attention." Once a letter has been finished it should be finished, and " Yours faithfully," or " Yours truly," is better than " We are, dear sir, yours truly." There is surely no need to point out the error of finishing a business letter, in another horrible Ainerican style, with the words " Yours sincerely." " Yours sincerely" is in England confined entirely to correspondence between people 'who know one another intimately, and should not be used by a inan who has never seen you in his life, and does not even know of your existence.
One last word on the signature—for even the signature requires some attention. Whenever possible it should contain some suggestion of an actual .personality. It should not merely be signed by an intangible " The Secre tary," or " The Manager." It should be signed in the name of some actual person, even if it cannot be some one in a responsible position.