The Art Of The Strongly Worded Letter

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

I do love writing a good, strongly worded letter… like napalm in the morning. It’s one-sided, cathartic, and oftentimes pays off.

We’ve all had our fair share of frustrating situations when we felt a business or employee treated us unfairly. It could be that you received terrible service, an unjust outcome, or maybe a non-paying client.

Whatever the situation, there’s an art to writing a good, strongly-worded letter that will not only be read but could produce desirable results. Whether it’s a Cease and Desist Letter, a Demand Letter, or a letter pointing to an egregious infraction by a company or customer service representative, when you make your grievance known in writing, you are creating a paper trail, which could only support any claims of unethical or dishonest business practices. Companies typically prefer to address that quickly and avoid a costly legal battle.

And, you don’t have to be an attorney or proficient in legalese to write an effective letter that will have them quaking in their boots. There are tons of templates and examples on the Google web.

I’ve written letters to companies that have pissed me off and reaped such rewards as a full refund for (crappy) services, gift cards, 10 free meals (Hello Fresh), full payment from a nonpaying client (demand letter), rental car, and hotel…