When sending letters and other documents to businesspeople, make sure you adapt your writing style and tone appropriately. The following suggestions can help you prepare successful written messages for intercultural audiences.
1. Adopt local formats: Learn how documents are formatted in the intended reader's country.
2. Observe titles and rank: Use last names, titles, and other signals of rank and status.
3. Use short sentences and short paragraphs: Make your sentences readable with fewer than 15 words and paragraphs with fewer than 7 lines.
4. Avoid ambiguous expressions: Include relative pronouns for clarity. Stay away from contractions. Avoid slang, abbreviations and acronyms.
5. Strive for clarity: Clarify words that may be confusing and avoid words that have many meanings (the word light has 18 different meanings) and that may result in confusion of the reader.
6. Use correct grammar.
7. Cite numbers carefully: Avoid using figures to express the month of the year.
8. Accomodate the reader in organization, tone, and style: Organize your message to appeal to the reader.
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