Need to Say No in Writing? Here's How--and Why

Do you know how to say no? Are you comfortable writing a message that says no to someone's request? Or do you ignore requests hoping they will go away? Read this post to learn the easy way to say no--and why to say it. 

Background: In the past year I have joined the board of a wonderful nonprofit organization, New Dawn Guatemala, which provides scholarships for Guatemalan youth in a town called Nuevo Amanecer. The scholarships help the youth stay in Guatemala and find reasonable (not backbreaking) jobs. 

I have emailed a couple of friends asking whether their church might want to offer an educational program on New Dawn Guatemala. No response. I have emailed a couple of friends inviting them personally (not in a group email) to attend a New Dawn fundraiser. No response. 

Not getting any response made me wonder whether my friends received my messages or were simply too busy to respond. I wrote to them again. Still, no response. 

Here's my guess about what's going on: My friends don't want to say no. 

I will follow up when I see them, but for now that's my theory: They don't want to tell me no. 

Sure, I would like it if they said yes. But receiving a no would be a gift to me. It would:

• Reassure me that my friends received my message. 
• Let me know how they feel about my request.
• Inform me about whether some circumstance--perhaps in the future--would encourage them to say yes.
• Maintain our happy relationship. 

My book Business Writing With Heart: How to Build Great Work Relationships One Message at a Time has a chapter titled "Say No Clearly and Courageously." The ideas below come from that chapter. As you read them and the examples, think about a personal or professional situation in which you may have to say no. 

 

The Required Parts of a No Message

• A neutral or positive opening
• A clearly stated or strongly implied no
• A positive or professional close

Sometimes all you need is the three parts above, as in this brief email from a pianist to a young violinist:

Hi Eva [neutral or positive opening],

I regret that I won't be able to accompany you on April 11 [clearly stated no]. 

Hope all is well with you and that you are enjoying your senior year [positive close]. 

Best wishes, 

Valerie 

 

Depending on the situation, you may want to expand the message by adding one or more of these optional parts: 

• An explanation for the no 
• An offer of an alternative
• A brief apology 

 

Here's a no message to a potential customer who has asked for a free sample:

Dear Ms. Powell:

Thank you for writing to us and requesting a sample from our catalog. We were happy to hear from you [positive opening].

We do not provide free samples. However, if you order a sample product and are not satisfied with it, we will refund the cost of the item, along with the shipping costs you paid. You will not pay anything unless you choose to keep the item [clearly stated no with an offer of an alternative].

Please call or email us if you have questions. We look forward to receiving your order by phone, by email, or online [positive, professional close].

Best wishes, 

Todd _____, Customer Service Representative
[Contact information] 

 

Here's a no in a stickier situation, when a coworker makes an inappropriate request to use another person's security badge:

Hi Larry [positive or neutral opening], 

I got your message about my key card. Sorry, I can't lend it out [clearly stated no with a brief apology].

If you need to get into the Preston Building on the weekend, ask Eleanor for advice. I know she has arranged with Security for other people to enter on weekends [an offer of an alternative].

Best [professional close],

Dell 

 

It's essential to state the no clearly, or the recipient of the message may be confused. Here's an unclear no:

Hi Cheri,

I received your message about taking PTO [paid time off] on Friday. Cassy and Fleur are scheduled to take that day off. 

Tyler

 

This version removes the doubt:

Hi Cheri, 

I received your message about taking PTO on Friday. Because Cassy and Fleur are scheduled to take that day off, I cannot approve your request. I am sorry it did not work out this time. 

Tyler

 

Here's another example that includes an apology. In fact, it includes all six parts of a no message. 

Hi Dave,

I am glad you are getting web traffic and conversions on your site. That's great [positive opening]!

I am sorry I cannot do updates on your site until I receive payment for the work I have done so far [clearly stated no with a brief apology]. Our contract stipulates payment within 30 days, yet my invoice for $390 is more than one month past due [brief explanation for the no]. 

As soon as I receive your check or credit card information for the payment, I will be glad to implement the updates you requested [offer of an alternative].

Best [professional close],

Susan 

 

Notice that in all the examples above, the writer never shames or embarrasses the reader. Even in Susan's message directly above, she does not criticize Dave for non-payment. She merely states the fact. 

 

Back to my friends and New Dawn Guatemala. Here are a few ways they could respond and communicate a no:

Hi Lynn, 

Thanks for the invitation to the New Dawn fundraiser. It sounds like a very worthwhile organization!

Unfortunately, Dana and I are maxed out on fundraisers right now. But please keep us on your list for future opportunities. We always enjoy knowing what you are up to. 

Warm wishes, 

 

Hi Lynn, 

Thanks for thinking of me. My schedule is too full to attend this event, but I would be happy to make a contribution to such an important cause. I will go online later on today and contribute. 

Best,

 

Hi Lynn, 

New Dawn Guatemala sounds like an interesting organization. That said, I don't think it's a good fit for my church's current programming. We are all about celebrating our 100th anniversary. If I become aware of a change, I will let you know.  

I look forward to seeing you soon!

 

When you say no to your friends, coworkers, customers, employees, and others, it may feel uncomfortable. But the discomfort is short-lived. Both you and the other person can move on once you communicate the no. However, not saying no can lead to confusion, doubt, and misunderstandings. 

Do you wish someone would give you a clear no? Please share your experience.

Do you have difficulty saying no? You may want to get Business Writing With Heart. It contains another dozen examples, along with a true story about an employee who would not say no, with disastrous results. 

Instructors: You can get a free, detailed curriculum for Business Writing That Builds Relationships. The PDF is available on this page. 

Lynn
Syntax Training

"I Hope You're Well" as an Email Opener

On Saturday The New York Times ran a humorous column "I Hope You're Well," by Kerry Elson. In case you are unable to access The New York Times online, here are two opening exchanges from the piece:

*********************

Hi, Robin,

I hope you’re well. I can’t seem to find the attachment. Please re-send.

All the best,

Laura

 

Dear Laura,

I hope you’re well, too. Thank you for checking on my wellness — wellness has been on my mind. What are the chances that two associates at Sullivan & Partners are thinking about wellness at the same time? Lately I’ve been pondering my spiritual wellness. Sometimes I wonder, “What is my purpose?” The thought is overwhelming. Here’s the attachment.

Cheers,

Robin

***************

 

Hey, Matt,

I hope you’re doing well. Please let me know if the PowerPoint is ready.

Regards,

Sasha

 

Hi, Sasha,

I am well, thanks to my homemade spirulina snack balls. I didn’t realize you also were into alternative medicine! I thought I was the only one at Cromwell Consulting who was seeking a more proactive approach to health. I feel that the medical establishment is so focused on disease. Here is the PowerPoint.

In solidarity,

Matt

*********

The piece contains three more clever email exchanges, ending with one in which the writer does not ask about the other person's wellness. You can guess what the outcome is.  

Other than a teaser after the title ("Is it possible to send an email anymore without this phrase?"), there's no other content in Kerry Elson's column--just those funny exchanges. But the point is clear. Do we need to address the other person's wellness if all we want is something simple, like access to an attachment? 

I almost never address "wellness" in my work emails, but I decided to see how I communicate the right degree of friendliness. I just checked my last few work emails and have included the openings and closings below. You will recognize my brief efforts to communicate warmth.

 

Message 1 beginning:

    Hi Sherri, (a potential client)

    Thank you for the question. 

Message 1 ending:

    If you have any other questions, just let me know.

 

Message 2 beginning:

    Hi Kim, (a client) 

    You have an interesting situation. 

Message 2 closing:

    Best wishes, 

 

Message 3 beginning:

    Hi Heather, (our webmaster) 

    We are having trouble with our table weight shipping. 

Message 3 close:

    Thank you! 

 

Message 4 beginning:

    Hi Samantha, (a fellow association member)

    As part of the XXXXX survey, I would like to schedule a short phone call with you. 

Message 4 close:

    Thanks! I look forward to your input.

 

Message 5 beginning:

    Hi Elizabeth, 

    Thank you for ordering Business Writing With Heart.

Message 5 close:

    Again, thank you very much for your order!

    Best wishes,

 

Check your emails. How do you communicate warmth, friendliness, respect, or a hint of your humanity? Please share what you find, along with any relevant rules you have for email etiquette. 

Back in 2012 I wrote a blog post on openings for international emails, "Opening Sentences for Global Email." You will see that I do recommend warm openings (including about "wellness") when communicating around the globe. 

Lynn 
Syntax Training

Does "Ladies" Belong in a Salutation?

Rob wrote: 

I thought you might be a helpful sounding board from something I'm experiencing at work. 

Recently, one of our female executive leaders has been using the word Ladies as a salutation in her emails that include men in the To and/or the Cc of the email. 

I'm indifferent to people using ladies, women, men, gentlemen, etc., in emails, but I feel that care should be given when the email contains mixed-gender recipients. As an example, there have been instances where there was just one female in the To section and mixed genders were cc'd, but the executive used Ladies. Had the email included more than one female in the To section, I believe this would have been a suitable use of the salutation Ladies. 

Would you care to share your thoughts on this?

 

How would you respond to Rob? Do you and your executive team members use gender-based greetings such as Ladies in emails? Think about this issue before scrolling down to my thoughts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rob's issue perplexed me. Why would anyone use Ladies as a greeting for a message going to a mixed-gender audience? It makes no sense. I can only guess that the writer sometimes unthinkingly types a greeting that she often uses when writing to a group of women--despite her current audience. 

But beyond that, mentioning gender in the greeting of company emails is not appropriate. That's because gender-based language leaves out and hurts gender-fluid (non-binary) people in the workplace. Ladies does not fit them, and neither does Gentlemen. For more background on using appropriate, sensitive language, read my blog post "A Guide to Gender-Neutral Language."

If you have been using gender-based language such as Ladies or Ladies and Gentlemen, don't worry. You have many gender-neutral ways of greeting readers:

Dear Residents,

Hi!

Hi everyone! 

Team, 

Board members,

Hello,

Hello everyone! 

Hello to all, 

Hello Commission Members, 

Good morning, 

Good afternoon, 

Greetings, 

Greetings, Finance! [or another team name] 

Folks, [if your organization uses that word]

Friends, [for a friendly group of recipients] 

 

You can also skip the greeting and simply start with a positive or warm opening sentence. Examples:

I am pleased to introduce our new executive editor. 

I am happy to provide the attached customer feedback. 

Welcome back from the holiday weekend! 

Thank you for your support of the XYZ program. 

 

I recommend that Rob's company create a communication policy to guide people toward gender-neutral language. I'd also suggest that someone get a copy of A Quick & Easy Guide to They-Them Pronouns and review it for the company blog or newsletter. Rob's executive and others in the company will not change their behavior without information and encouragement. 

What would you tell Rob? How does your organization deal with gender issues in communication? Please share. 

By the way, I have been writing about Ladies for many years. Read my 2007 blog post "Women, Ladies, and Girls at Work," which inspired Rob to write to me. 

Lynn
Syntax Training 

 

How to Write the Interview Thank-You Note

My daughter's friends in college are interviewing for internships and permanent positions. Days after their interviews some of them ask, "Should I have sent a thank-you?" 

To them I say, Yes! And this blog post will help them--and you--write it. 

The purpose of the all-important interview thank-you is to thank the interviewer for his or her time, express your enthusiasm about the position, remind the interviewer of your strengths, and show (by writing the note) that you have social skills. 

These ideas are not mine alone. In a survey of 686 working adults in the United States, 78 percent of respondents who have hired or participated in hiring decisions agreed. They indicated that a thank-you note has had a definite positive influence on their hiring decisions. So write it. 

The interview thank-you note typically has five parts: 

1. The greeting. 
2. The opening thank-you sentence. 
3. One or more sentences stating what you admire about the company, the team, etc. 
4. One or more sentences touching on your qualifications for the position. 
5. A positive close. 

Here are two fictitious examples:

Dear Marla, 

Thank you for the pleasure of meeting with you to talk about the member marketing position. I am very impressed with the systems and programs you have in place to attract and retain members. I believe the club is doing all the right things to grow and thrive. 

As I shared in the interview, I believe my customer service experience prepares me well for the position. I like giving tours, and I am used to handling detailed paperwork and contracts. Also, I thrive in an environment where my efforts lead to measurable success. 

Thank you for the interview. I hope you will choose me for the position. In any event, I wish you and the club continued success. 

Best, 

Kaitlin Smith 

 

Dear Ms. Washington, 

Thank you for the initial interview for the position of product management trainee. I appreciated learning more about the opportunity. I am excited about the challenges you described and would be proud to join such a creative group.  

My university projects and extensive volunteer work have helped me develop strong time management, project management, and communication skills. I have enjoyed working in and leading teams to solve challenging, sometimes ambiguous problems. I believe those experiences are good preparation for the position.  

I would be honored to start my professional career at _____________ [company], and I hope you will move my application forward. Thank you for your time and interest. 

Sincerely, 

Greg Nielsen 

 

The first thank-you note above could be an email or a typed or handwritten note. As long as it is mailed quickly, the effort of sending it by post can make a positive impression. 

The second thank-you message is following up on a telephone screening interview. It needs to go out quickly, and emailing it makes sense. 

If you don't have an interviewer's email address, you can ask for it during the interview. On the phone, you can say, "I would like to follow up with a thank-you note. May I have your email address?" Or you may communicate through LinkedIn. In person, just ask for the individual's business card. 

 

Find the language that works best for you, for the interviewer, and for your relationship. Below are more examples for you to build on.

Sample greetings:

• Dear Dr. Kim, 
• Dear Raymond,
• Hi Joanna, [for electronic messages only]
• Hello Mohammed, [electronic only]
• Good morning, Nathan. [electronic only]

 

Sample opening sentences:

• Thank you for the opportunity to talk with you about the project manager position. 
• Thank you very much for talking with me and giving me a tour of the plant. 
• Thank you for the chance to meet with you and the team. 
• I am very grateful for the time you spent talking with me about the sales rep position. 
• Thank you for the enjoyable interview this morning for the customer-service position.  

 

Sample sentences stating what you admire about the company, the team, etc.:

• In my conversation with you and the team members, I recognized how dedicated and focused everyone is on achieving the common goal. 
• After talking with you, I am very excited about the possibility of working with you and the research team. The work is important and urgent, and I would love to contribute my skills. 
• I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to talk with you and your students. They obviously love being in your class and learning how to speak English. 
• It was a pleasure to learn about the challenges you face and to talk about how I might help you meet them. 
• I was very interested to learn about your goals for the team and about the remarkable progress you have already made. 

 

Sample sentences touching on your qualifications for the position:

• The projects are similar to those I completed in grad school, and I know I would have much to contribute and learn. 
• I am used to dealing with nonstop customer requests, and I thrive on solving problems and keeping customers happy. 
• As we discussed, I am proficient in ______________, and I am very familiar with the two programs you are considering. 
• I was thrilled to work as an assistant in the Global Health department. I would be very happy to use my skills and experience to support Dr. Gomez's research.
• I worked on similar projects using _______________ [software] in my design internship. I am enthusiastic about applying what I have learned at _____ [company]. 

 

Sample positive closes:

• Thank you again for interviewing me. It would be an honor to join the team.
• Please let me know if you need any additional information. I very much look forward to hearing from you. 
• I hope to have the opportunity to help you achieve your impressive goals. Thank you for the chance to talk with you about them. 
• I am very excited about the possibility of working with you, and I hope to hear positive news soon. 
• Whatever your decision, I admire your mission and your vision. Thank you for sharing them with me. 

 

Sometimes after an interview, you may want to share an article or some information that came up during the conversation. Here are sample sentences:

• We talked about the NYT article comparing U.S. and Cuban health outcomes. Here is the link. 
• I have attached my final paper, which won the Cybersecurity Award. Thanks for being interested in it. 

 

Do you want to bounce back from an interview question you answered clumsily? Read "Use a Thank-You Note to Fix Interview Blunders."

Do you have questions about writing a thank-you note for an interview? Please ask them. 

Do you have pointers for job applicants? Please share them. 

Do you have friends and relatives who are interviewing? Please forward this blog post to them.  

Do you need a gift idea for a graduate? Please consider my wise, practical book, Business Writing With Heart: How to Build Great Work Relationships One Message at a Time. 

Lynn
Syntax Training

An Unimpressive Message From My Dentist

I want the best in dentistry--not business writing--from my dentist. But I'm still disappointed when I receive a pointless, error-filled email like the one below. In it, I have changed the name of the dental practice to "Your Favorite Dentist." Otherwise, it's identical to the email I received. What do you think of it?

 

Subject: Your Favorite Dentist -- Updated Hours 

Starting Monday, November 5th, we'll be making some minor changes to our hours. If this effects your upcoming appointment, we'll give you a call.

Thanks for being a patient at Your Favorite Dentist, we look forward to seeing you soon!

 

What's wrong with the email? Read it again if you haven't found problems yet. Then consider my comments below. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First, the message disappoints me. The subject promises Updated Hours, but there is no information about them. 

Second, I don't have an upcoming appointment. Why did I receive this message? Why not send a clearer message to patients who do have appointments? Or simply call them, as the email states. If my dentist wants the rest of us to know about the new hours, the solution is to send us a message that includes them. 

Third, four errors may distract readers. See whether you can find them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The date should be rendered as Monday, November 5--not Monday, November 5th. Every style manual follows this rule except The New Yorker's. 
2. In the second sentence, the word this is wrong. It doesn't refer to anything in the previous sentence. "These changes" would be correct.
3. In the second sentence, the verb should be affects--not effects. Effects as a verb means "brings about."
4. The last sentence is a run-on, that is, two sentences connected incorrectly. 

 

Beyond those problems, the wording is unclear. "Starting Monday, November 5th, we'll be making some minor changes to our hours" suggests that the changes will be ongoing. This wording is clearer: Starting Monday, November 5, our hours will change slightly. 

 

My dentist's skills in dentistry have earned my confidence and commitment as a patient. Yet I hope the messages I get from the administrative team don't make me grind my teeth. 

 

How did you react to my dentist's email? Did it remind you of any messages you receive? 

Lynn
Syntax Training 

 

 

How Do You Feel About Sloppy Supplier Messages?

A reader named Deborah shared a short email she recently received:

Dear Sirs,
pls let me have by return the supp docs about yr a.m. invoice because we cannot find our shpm.
Thks and rgds

How would you feel if you received this message? Would you care that it's riddled with errors? 

Let's count them:

1. Dear Sirs: Deborah is not a Sir, and neither is half the world. 
2. The sentence doesn't start with a capital letter. 
3. "Let me have by return" isn't wrong, but it's too concise. Return what? 
4. The abbreviations pls, supp, docs, yr, shpm, Thks, and rgds are lazy, and they're not all clear. Does supp mean "supporting," "supplementary," or "supply"? Shpm is probably "shipment," but I don't feel confident of it. I'd like to assume that a.m. means "morning," but with this writer, I'm not so sure. 
5. Thks and rgds is not the way to communicate courtesy and professionalism, and a complimentary close needs a comma after it. (Many Europeans use open punctuation--that is, no marks after the greeting or the close--but this writer used a comma after the greeting and therefore needs one after the close.) 
6. If this is an email, as Deborah said it was, it needs blank lines between the greeting, body of the message, and close. 

I normally don't have to deal with people who write this way. If you do, I'm wondering how you feel about it. Do you brush the errors off as standard for a quick communication? Do you doubt the writer's ability to handle your orders and think about looking for another supplier? 

When people I don't know write to me seeking a business relationship, I always judge them by their emails. If the greeting is "Dear lynng," I know it's a lazy mass mailing. If it has obvious spelling errors, I know their standards do not mesh with mine. Sometimes I respond to let them know I'm not interested; at others, I ignore the email, which doesn't seem worth my time. 

How about you? How do you handle such messages? 

Deborah, thank you for sharing the email.

P.S. A couple of days after this post, Deborah wrote to tell me that the writer was not a supplier, but a customer. You can read her helpful comment in the Comments section.

Lynn
Syntax Training  

Proofreading Checklist to Avoid "Oops!" Messages

I just received an "Oops!" email from our beloved, prestigious public television station. When I read the subject line, "Oops! Correction for Rick Steves Preview Screening and Q+A!" I instantly knew what the oops must be: a date error. 

Indeed, the email opened "Apologies, there was a date typo in our last email! The Rick Steves event will be taking place on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16."

The previous email had contained the wrong day of the week. 

Day/date errors like this one are the reason for many oops messages. But other avoidable errors regularly get in the way of effective emails: names spelled wrong, unattached attachments, and dead or vague links, to name a few. (A link is vague when it links to a home page rather than to the specific web page the reader needs.)

Below is my email proofreading checklist. Use it as a tool whenever your email contains details that must be correct. 

EMAIL PROOFREADING CHECKLIST

Check to ensure:

	1. The subject line is precise and up to date.
	2. Email addresses of recipients, including any Cc recipients, are correct.
	3. Names of the recipients and of other persons and entities are correct and consistent throughout.
	4. Pronouns (him, his, her, hers, their, theirs) match their associated names. [Errors creep in when you reuse emails for new recipients.]
	5. Dates and day-date combinations are accurate.
	6. Numbers (cases, phone num­bers, addresses, dol­lar amounts, etc.) are correct.
	7. Attachments are cited cor­rectly in the message, and current versions are attached.
	8. References to documents, page numbers, articles, etc., are cor­rect.
	9. Links are live and correct.
	10. The message makes sense and is complete.
	11. No typos or errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation exist.

If you'd like systematic practice using this checklist, as well as a document checklist for other kinds of content, take my self-study course Proofread Like a Pro. The free trial gives you a taste of the course content and its value. 

What kinds of oops errors do you encounter? Another oops message I sometimes receive is "Oops--sorry I didn't read your message carefully. Never mind." I guess a Number 12 in the checklist above might be "If replying, I've read the original email first."

I welcome your comments. 

Lynn
Syntax Training

I Should Have Known Better

As a business writing expert, I should have known that I'd get the wrong response. I had written the email in a way that was easy for me but misleading for my reader, a woman named Lea. 

Requesting a tour of a retirement home for my elderly friend, I wrote:

Please let me know if you have any time this week. The only impossible day for us is Wednesday.

Do you see what's wrong with my request? 

 

If you don't see it yet, you will recognize it when you read Lea's reply:

I can do Wednesday. We can have lunch also. Can you both be here by 11:30 a.m.?

And before I even had a chance to respond and clarify, I received another email from Lea:

Sorry, I read it to be the only possible day. How about Thursday at 10:00 a.m.?

With the way I had written the message, Lea had seen Wednesday and chosen that day.

The truth is, I did know better. I knew I should tell Lea when we were available--not when we weren't. I just didn't feel like taking the time to type all the days we were free. But I should have written this:

We are available on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday.

Here's a best practice: Tell them when you are available--not when you aren't. Tell them what you want--not what you don't want. Although it may take a moment longer, it will save time for everyone when your clear message gets the right response.

I wrote about this best practice almost 12 years ago here in Make No Exceptions.

Do you have any writing rules you sometimes ignore even though you know better? I welcome your confession.

Lynn
Syntax Training

Do You Give Readers the "Why" They Need?

The other night I was traveling from Boston to my home, Seattle. When I arrived at my connection city, Denver, at 7:15 p.m. I received this text message:

Your Flight ___ on August 6 from DEN now departs at 11:55 p.m. We're sorry for the delay. Please visit [website]. 

The website gave only the new departure time, no additional information. 

But I wanted more information. Why was the plane going to take off 90 minutes late? 

No one was available at the gate to tell me the reason for the delay. I learned much later from a gate attendant, whom I approached, that the reason for the delay was severe weather in a connecting city. 

Weather is something an airline cannot affect, yet not knowing the reason for the delay, and not having a way to find out, made me blame the airline. I felt taken for granted. Instead of getting me to Seattle just after midnight, they'd get me there around 2 a.m.--with no explanation. 

A simple addition to the text message (and one deletion) would have satisfied me:

Your Flight ___ on August 6 from DEN now departs at 11:55 p.m. because of severe weather conditions. We're sorry for the delay. Please visit [website]. [Don't send me to a website unless it has more information.]

That brief explanation--that why--would have made all the difference. 

 

Do you include the why that your readers need? 

• When you cancel or postpone a meeting, do you include why? People who planned to attend will want to know.
• When you inform customers of a price increase, do you explain why? If you don't, they may think you are simply greedy. 
• When you make a change in procedure or policy, do you tell why? Readers may see you as unpredictable or secretive if you don't explain. 
• When you want feedback, do you mention why? For example, do you tell readers what you will do with the feedback? Otherwise, why should they take the time to share it?
• When you hire a new employee, do you tell why you chose him or her? Readers won't know the value of the new hire unless you communicate it. 

Whenever you write, be sure to consider the reader's need to know why. Ask yourself, Have I included enough why to satisfy my readers? 

 

Do you have an example of a missing why and how it affected you or others? If so, please share it. 

Take my Business Writing Tune-Up. Why? To learn ways to take your writing skills to a higher level. 

Lynn
Syntax Training

T-F Test on Formatting Business Letters and Emails

The standards of writing change. What was once correct in business messages now comes across as old-fashioned--or does it? Take this true-false test to check your knowledge of basic formatting standards for business letters and emails.

Note: The questions and answers apply to business writing in Canada and the United States. Standards may be different in other countries.


1. In business letters, paragraphs should be indented. True or false?

2. In business emails, paragraphs should be indented. True or false?

3. In a business letter "Dear" is the standard way to greet the reader. True or false?

4. Business letters should be single-spaced. True or false?

5. Business emails should be single-spaced. True or false?

6. In business emails, dates should be expressed like this: 5/12/18. True or false?

7. In emails and letters, normally one space--not two--should be inserted between sentences. True or false?

8. Emails require a subject line. True or false?

9. Business letters require a subject line. True or false?

10. It is standard in emails to include the writer's name at the end of the message. True or false?

11. If a business letter does not fit on one page, it is acceptable to have only the closing content (complimentary closing, signature block, etc.) on a second page. True or false?

12. If a business letter is short, it is acceptable to widen the margins and increase the space between the date and the inside address. True or false?

 

 

 

Answers
Note: I used The Gregg Reference Manual, 11th Edition (2011), to verify the answers.

1. False. Although it is acceptable to indent paragraphs in the modified-block style of business letters, it is no longer the predominant style. Paragraphs are commonly not indented in business letters.

2. False. Paragraphs are not indented in email.

3. True. "Dear" is the standard salutation in a business letter. In the simplified letter style, no salutation is included.

4. True. Business letters are single-spaced, with a blank line between paragraphs.

5. True. Emails are single-spaced, with a blank line between paragraphs.

6. False. Although formatting the date that way (5/12/18) is acceptable, it is not the standard because it can be interpreted two ways: as May 12, 2018, and December 5, 2018. When readers may misinterpret the date, spell it out.

7. True. One space between sentences has become the standard. I know of no current U.S. or Canadian style guide that recommends two spaces.

8. True. Every email should have a subject typed on the subject line.

9. False. Although a subject line is a good way of indicating what a letter is about, it is not required. Note: In the simplified letter style, a subject line replaces the greeting.

10. True. It is standard in emails to include a first (given) name or a full name, depending on the degree of formality. Some authors type their first name above a signature block that includes their full name. Even in back-and-forth threads between people, closing with one's name helps to identify who's writing (or wrote) each message. 

11. False. It is standard to include at least two lines of the body of the letter on the second page.

12. True. To make a short letter appear more attractive on the page, margins may be widened and space may be added after the date.

If you don't agree with particular answers, please let me know which reference books support your preferred formatting. I would be happy to change the answers based on new style guides. 

 

Lynn 
Syntax Training