Office circular - CSEET

What is Circular Letter or, Meaning of Circular Letter or, definition of circular letter -A letter that circulates or announces the some information or message to a large number of people at a time is called a circular letter or a circular.

when it is used for external communication for conveying messages to customers and suppliers, it is called a circular letter or a trade circular and when it is used for internal communication or within the organization, it is called an office circular letter.

Generally, the letter that is used to circulate any special message to a huge member of audiences at the some time is known as circular letter. it is one of the cost effective means of circulating information or introducing new products to mass people. however, circular letters are not only used in business but also in social, political and personal affairs.

From the above discussion it can be said that when a message is sent to large number of readers at a time in written way, it is called a circular letter or simply a circular. circular letter must be furnished in an attractive way in order to arrest the attention of the readers.

Features of Circular Letter in Business Communication

A letter that circulates or announces the same information or message to a large number of people at a time is called a circular letter or a circular. Launching new business, changing business premises, changing the name of business, admission or retirement of any partner or director, trademark notice etc. are communicated with people through circular letter. An effective circular letter has some unique characteristics which are discussed bellow-

• Wide Circulation: The most important feature of circular letter is that it circulates the message to a large number of audiences at a time. It is in fact a mass communication method. No other communication method enjoys this advantage. • • Drafting Method: Drafting a circular letter follows certain method and style. the art of writing circular letter varies depending on the situations. it is written in simple language so that most of the people understand the information it contains. • Attractiveness: Another important feature of circular letter is that it is always furnished in an attractive way to that it can easily gain the attention of people information is arranged here in distinct manner. • Conciseness: A circular letter is always concise but complete. It expresses the message briefly and precisely. There is no scope of including any unnecessary information in a circular letter. • Reader’s Interest: Another feature of circular letter is that it always focuses on readers interests. It explains how the readers will be benefited from the message. • Authenticity and Reliability: Offering authentic and reliable information is another characteristic of circular letter. It never pushes fake or irresponsible information to the public. authenticity of information increases the reliability of the message. • Courtesy: Courtesy is an essential principle of every business letter and circular letter is not an exception. The information is put here in courteous way so that people feel good to read it. • Universality: Circular letter is open to the people of all age groups. So, the message, language and format of circular letter should be acceptable and comprehensive to all. • Relevancy: A circular letter includes only relevant information and excludes all irrelevant or unnecessary information. • Asking for Action: Every circular letter calls for certain action from the readers. After reading the message in the circular letter the readers should be intended to do specific job like purchasing the product or telling the news to others and so on. • Specific Purpose: A circular letter is written for a specific purpose. It is not written to attain several objectives at a time. • Persuasiveness: Persuasiveness is also a feature of circular letter. since circular letter is written for specific objective, persuasive and convincing language should be used to motivate the readers to go for certain action. • Special Structure: Circular letter has special structure. It takes the form of letter but contains something more than a letter. From the above discussion we see that a circular letter has some salient features that give it a special position in the family of letters. Everybody should be aware of these characteristics of circular while drafting it.