The Art of Personal Letter Writing: 7 Basic Elements

When was the last time you received a personal letter that was not sent by email, but regular snail mail? What type of attitude did it put you in when you received a nice handwritten letter or note outside of the stack of bills that sometimes become daily accessory items for your mailbox? After retrieving a huge box filled with an array of high school and college items from my mother’s house, I found at the very bottom, a smaller box containing letters previously written to me from some of my old friends. There must have been about fifty letters in this box before I discarded them. I couldn’t resist this last opportunity to read every one of them again. After about an hour of non-stop reading, I made a cup of hot tea and sat down to continue my journey “back down memory lane.” I remember rewriting most of my letters, especially if I made a spelling mistake or if my sentence structure wasn’t as I intended it to be. Judging from the amount of paper I wasted on editing, you would think that I was mailing them to a major book publisher instead of a friend!

Letter writing created a manifestation of memories bridging the distance between the sender and recipient. People were as meticulous about picking out decorative stationary to write their letters on, as much as the letter itself. This connection through written communication promoted the exchange of conversation, creativity and artistic expression.

The standard format that I followed practically every time I wrote a letter to my friends, immediate family who lived out of town, old sweethearts or occasionally some of my favorite teachers, was composed of the following basic elements:

1. The Heading (Name and Address)

2. Date

3. The Greeting (Dear So and So)

4. The Body (The message you are writing to the recipient)

5. The Closing (Sincerely, Yours Truly)

6. Your Signature

7. Post Script (There is the occasional comment that was not mentioned in the Body of your letter, but made after the signature, called the P.S. or P.S.S. The P.S.S. was an additional post script).

Sometimes on the back flap of the envelope, the writer would put a smiley face or an acronym like S.W.A.K. (Sealed With A Kiss) which indicated that a love letter was enclosed.

Penmanship in elementary school was extremely important years ago. It came as a surprise to me and some of my friends who are parents that cursive writing is not taught in most schools anymore. Therefore, the meticulousness and pride taken in one’s penmanship is not as evident today as it was when I was growing up. But a personalized letter or note makes you stop, sit down, read and appreciate the thoughtfulness behind the folded message. Personalized letters displayed a unique voice, taste and style. It showed that a lot of thought, even if it wasn’t especially pleasant, went into the written expression.

So why not do something out of the ordinary and make someone smile today by writing a personalized letter to them instead of an electronic one. The memories will be worth the effort, especially if the person is miles away. You will get a great deal of satisfaction from simply taking a few minutes to write an endearing personal message whether on some nice stationary or not. That would be a special gift and welcomed relief for someone to receive in the mailbox amid the endless bills.

Internal Communication: 12 Essential Elements

There are 12 essential elements of a successful internal communications strategy:

1. Effective employee-directed communications must be led from the top

Effective communications require the active commitment and endorsement of senior managers. It is not enough simply to develop a ‘vision statement’ or formulate in general terms the values by which the company lives. Behaviour is what counts. Managers must be seen to behave in a manner that is consistent with the ethos they are promoting.

2. The essence of good communications is consistency

At all costs, avoid following fashion and tinkering. If you try to improve communications and then fail–because your messages are inconsistent or are ‘good news only’–things will not quietly settle back into the way they used to be. You will inevitably have created expectations, and may have to live with the consequences of having disappointed those expectations.

3. Successful employee communications owe as much to consistency, careful planning and attention to detail as they do to charisma or natural gifts

We might not all be another Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins or Bill Clinton. But even such communication ‘giants’ slip up if they fail to plan, fail to pay attention to detail and fail to project a consistent message.

4. Communication via the line manager is most effective

‘ Line Manager to employee’ communication is an opportunity for people to ask questions and check that they have understood the issues correctly. However, be aware that business urgency and reality may dictate the need, on many occasions, to inform employees directly rather than relying entirely on the cascade process. (Though managers will still need to answer people’s questions and listen to their views.)

5. Employee communications are not optional extras, they are part of business as usual and should be planned and budgeted for as such

An employee communications plan–key themes, targets, objectives and resources–provides a context in which to deliver initiatives that arise at short notice.

6. There must be integration between internal and external communications

There must be a fit between what you are telling your people and what you are telling your customers, shareholders and public. (By the same token, there must be a fit between what you are telling your people, and what the external media are telling them.)

7. Timing is critical

However clearly expressed and well-presented your message may be, if it arrives at the wrong time you might as well not have bothered. Old news is often worse than no news. Consequently, it is important to ensure that the channels you use can really deliver at the time you need them to.

8. Tone is important

Expressing overly-gushing enthusiasm about a technical change of little real significance to your staff or public at large is scarcely calculated to make people take your message to heart. If they don’t take that message to heart, why would they take the rest of what you say to their bosoms?

9. Never lose sight of the ‘what’s in it for me?’ factor

We are self-interested creatures. I may have invented the most amazing gadget ever, but unless I get you emotionally involved you are never likely to listen to my message about it. But if I can show you how my gadget will revolutionise your life, add dollars to your wallet, free up your time, fix your smelly feet, wash your car for you, stop your kids arguing with you, bring peace with your spouse, bring world peace…

10. Communication is a two-way process

Employee communications are NOT a one-way information dump. Capturing feedback is of critical importance, and if you are not seen to be listening and acting on what you are told, why should people bother telling you?

11. A single key theme or a couple of key themes is a means of giving coherence to a range of diverse employee communications initiatives

In recent years, the overriding theme of many corporate employee communications has been the impact on the business of competition, regulation and economic forces. Many messages and initiatives can therefore be evaluated according to the light they shed on one or more of these key themes.

12. Set your standards and stick to them

Determine which channels should be mandatory and which should be optional; establish quality standards for all channels and review these at least annually.

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