The Target Audience

When writing an international letter, the targeted audience is one of the most important element that needs to be paid attention to.

Countries have their own customs and traditions, hence the people in different countries are raised differently. They were raised with different rituals and norms from the people of different countries. For instance, people from Iraq were raised differently than people from France. Hence, something that is already custom in one country may not be custom in another country. The example would be the issue of gender/sex equality is one of the factors that varies in many countries. Hence, the targeted audience must be carefully selected.

The content

The content of international letters must vary depending on the addressed country. The beliefs and rituals of the receiver country must be examined before the drafting of the letter. Based on the thorough research of the rituals and the beliefs of the country, the content of the letter must be carefully inspected to avoid any misleading ambiguity in the purpose of the letter. The content needs to polite and detailed so the letter can deliver its message.

The worlds that are ambiguous can create confusion and misunderstanding and that is one of the things that the writer of the letter needs to look out for.  The thoughts and ideas that are expressed in the letter must be clear, concise and complete. These are the main guide line to follow when writing a letter. This guide line needs to be followed when writing an international letter. Hence, the content of the letter needs to altered according to the beliefs and traditions of the receiver country. For instance, a letter that was sent to United states cannot fulfill the same purpose and deliver the same message without alteration it it was to be sent to China. The content needs to be altered so it can to clear, concise and complete when delivering the message to both countries.

Mailing address

Every country has its tradition and principals that they follow when conducting a certain business meeting or negotiation. However, these traditions and principals are all differentiates from each other, some in many ways, some in small ways.  For instance, the format for mailing address is varies in every countries. Also, many countries are heavily dependent on first and last name of the receiver, but they are also certain countries where they do not use family or surname name because it is not custom in the country.

The examples of this would be Mongolia where every member of the family has different surname except the children of the household who gets they fathers first name instead of last name. Hence, single Mr or Mrs. Smith would create confusion, because it does not state the first name properly and it only addresses the husband because the wife has a different family name from her husband. if a letter was to be written to Mongolia from Canada, the format for mailing address would be very different and there would be a possibility to confuse the receiver if the right name was not used. 

Norms and Formats

It is important to have different styles of letters.  This is because every country has its own culture and norms. Canadian consumers are already familiar and custom to the norms and the formats of Canadian letters, but these norms and formats may be in-ordinary and unacceptable to be displayed on letters.

It can be seen offensive in some way if these norms and formats are not followed and when conducting a business meeting, people must avoid offending the other party in order to make the meeting proceed smoothly.

Letters are used to convey a message from one party to another,  hence it is not recommended that it would present any fracture or passage that can imply obscene matter. Thus, it is important to study the norms and the formats of the country that would receive the letter.

The necessary elements to pay attention

One of the most important element of sending an international letter is to make sure that the letter reaches the right destination with no conflict. One of the high risks of international letters is the fact it can meet many obstacles during the delivery process.

Another element is to pay attention is the message and the details of the letter. The writer needs to make sure that they are using the correct letter format and structure of the receiver country so it does not create any misleading situation.

Different Styles of Letters

In every country, they have their own ways in writing their letter.

For example, In Chinese letters, they aim to be very respectful as they get their message across; while in North America tend to be more straightforward.

Chinese Letters

Respect is a huge way to build relationship in Chinese culture. They have very calm way to persuade. By adding, “wishing you good health” or “I hope you will take a moment to…” they show a high level of respect.

Germany Letters

Business letters in Germany tend to be informal. Honorifics are also used to approach each other in their letters even though they have known each other for many years.

French Letters

In French, respect in writings is also a big deal. It is considered rude to start the letter with the request right away before the explanation. Having your request right upfront, unlike in North America is very rude in French culture. Furthermore, their letters have phrase in the end somewhat similar to Chinese Letters.

Main Purpose

The main purpose of these letters is to avoid misinterpretation of the messages. By learning these different styles of letters, we would have the confidence of persuading of whom we’re sending the letter to.

Introduction to International Messages

Culture is a huge part of one's identity. It is something we believe in and have to adapt wherever place we go; something we should all have respect for. In order to understand other cultures, we must first understand their beliefs, and how they come together as a group.

How can we accommodate other cultures in the business world? 

Writing International Messages is all about accommodating other cultures. Learning different styles of letters and how to format them according to the countries they are being address to. Different countries, different ways of communicating because of the language and culture/belief differences.

We will explore more about the Writing International Messages later on in this blog, and we will go in depth in discussion on how and why International Business Letters are created.