Letters of Accommodation

From time to time most everyone is asked to compose a letter of accommodation on behalf of another person. Such a communique can be to help someone get a job, gain acceptance into a university or congratulate one on an important milestone in their life. These letters are important as they represent a permanent testament of another's character, professional abilities and overall qualities as a person. It is one thing to provide a verbal view of another - "Yeah, Charlie is a good guy and deserves a promotion" but another to actually articulate those feelings in-writing where the expectation is for you to explain and actually defend your rationale.

A key difference between verbalizing and writing something is that the focus with verbalization is on what one says while for writing is it more on both what and how one expresses their view. Writing an opinion takes more time and, generally, requires more thought. Often the expectations a reader has when reviewing a written document are higher than what they have when listening to another share their views. We expect written documents to be grammatically correct, for instance. When it comes to speaking, generally, we tend to give each other latitude in how well we craft our thoughts and put forth our main points.

The best letters of accommodation tend to provide insight into a subject's personal and professional character. These communiques provide readers with greater understanding of what kind of worker a person is as well an in-depth appreciation of  their strengths and qualities are as a fellow person. Generally, of course, these letters focus only on what is positive about a person. (After all, this is why you were asked to write on in the first place.) But this does not necessarily mean one should compose something that is flowery and unrealistic. As an author of such communiques, one needs to be honest. This is the essence of any communication effort. Honesty translates into credibility. Credibility leads to effectiveness. Such effort will be of great service to the subject of these communiques.