Writing Effective Emails
These are my tips on writing effective emails.
It is easier to fire off a quick email than hold a face-to-face meeting or pick up the phone. But this simple solution can end up taking more time, particularly if your email is unclear. Following basic rules of email etiquette will ensure your messages are professional and make the right impression.
First, be aware of tone. Make sure your email reads in a way that is appropriate for your message and speech. The speaker's tone and body language let you know how to interpret their statements. For example, a sarcastic tone can reverse the usual meaning of a phrase like, oh great. Tone is hard to convey in text. If the intentions or emotions in your message could be misunderstood, find a less ambiguous way to phrase it.
Consider a message like this. Get the report to me by 5pm or I will miss my deadline. It is a little abrupt is it not? The sender seems angry. Adding a few words and using a question, rather than a command, can transform the tone from threatening to appreciative. Consider who you are communicating with. How well do you know the other person? Use language that is appropriate for your message and the sender.
Many of the conventions of business letter writing have been lost in the move to email. But it still makes sense to use a formal, respectful tone when you are communicating with someone for the first time. You can suggest more subtle nuances of tone using emoticons and emojis. These are icons you create using either keyboard characters or selecting from a menu. A smiling or frowning face, for example, to communicate mood. Consider how emoticons can transform the meaning of an email message.
Adding a happy face shows the writer was sincerely impressed or pleased by the remarks. A frowning face implies a sarcastic tone. Emoticons may be appropriate in an informal message to a friend or peer, but they should not be a regular feature of business correspondence.
Another basic email rule is to avoid using inappropriate formatting. You might feel that writing text in all uppercase characters gives your email an urgent tone, but the reader will get the impression that you are shouting. Similarly, underlining or bold text can read as aggressive emphasis. Use plain sentence-case text in business emails. This approach maintains a neutral and professional tone and lets the readers focus on the message.
The final rule is to use proper composition to ensure your emails are clearly understood and professional. It is hard to follow a message when the points do not flow logically and the text is fairly dense. Grammatical errors, such as incorrectly used punctuation or misspellings, do not help. Make your emails easy to follow. Restructure your message to group logically related points. Space out separate ideas or topics appropriately. Use numbers or bullets to present list items. Keeping these rules in mind will help ensure the message received will be the same one you meant to send.
Understanding tone, formatting, and composition helps you convey your intended message. But that is not all there is to email etiquette. Maybe you have received an email reminding you to respond to an earlier email, or your failure to respond to an email quickly delayed solving a problem. Perhaps you created new problems by responding too quickly without proofreading what you said. Let us look at ways to avoid these situations.
First, answer emails within a reasonable time. Aim to respond to emails within 24 hours, if not by the end of the working day. Failing to respond promptly is not just discourteous, it also risks creating a costly delay if your input is needed to solve a problem. Remember, the longer you leave your reply, the less useful it is likely to be.
Say you have received an email from a client requesting proof. If you take several days to respond, the client may become frustrated and annoyed and end up contacting a competitor. Answer all questions posed to you in emails. Sending a timely reply will not really help the recipient if your response is not complete. Try to anticipate follow-up questions the recipient will have, and answer these up front to avoid a lot of back and forth emailing.
Suppose Paul emails you asking if a basic website should be created to promote a new product, and how long this would be likely to take. Your reply addresses only the first issue. Now Paul has to email you again to get the missing answer. If you had really looked at what he was asking, you would have answered both questions. And you might have even anticipated another likely question, and added more information about how long a more complex site might take to develop.
Another bit of email etiquette you should make a habit, is adding a signature to your business emails. A signature includes your contact information and is appended automatically after the body of any email message you send. Adding a signature lends a professional touch, and makes it easier for recipients to contact you. Your signature should contain your name, position, the name or logo of your company, and your full contact details. This allows the recipient to choose their form of response, a reply, a phone call, or even a fax.
The last step before sending an email message is to proofread your message. This will help you catch and correct any errors before you hit send. Always proofread your message with the recipient in mind. Taking one more minute to correct the errors in your mail before sending it results in a far more professional message. Adopting these techniques will help prevent some of the most common problems of email correspondence.
Every email you write should contain certain elements. A clear subject line, for one thing, and a professional looking address in the form field. Using these and other elements correctly, as well as following the basic rules of email etiquette, will help you create email messages that people will open and read.
Let us start with the "from" field. When you send a message, most email applications automatically display your email address in the form field. In some applications, you can also specify exactly what the "from" field displays. The name in the "from" field is what will be seen by recipients, and it can be an important influencer in their decision to open the email. That is why it is worth giving some thought to the name you use for your email account.
For example, if you use a nickname in the from field, your recipient may not recognize the email as coming from you. It is best to include your full first and last name. This is more professional than including only a first name or nickname, and helps ensure recipients will recognize who the email is from. If you are thinking about using just your company name, remember that the "from" field of an email should make it clear to the recipients exactly who sent the message. Using a company name does not do this. The email could originate from anyone who works for your company. And do not enter your contact details. Remember, if you use a signature, all that information will be included there.
Another key element of every email is the subject line. A good subject line can mean the difference between your email being opened. Treat the subject liner as an opportunity to make it clear what your message is about. Do not leave the recipient in any doubt about its relevance. Keep the subject line short, so it is easy to read and does not get cut off in the recipient's inbox.
Aim for a maximum of five to seven words. If the correspondence develops, remember that you may need to update the subject line in your response to reflect a change in focus. First impressions are important. And with email, this first impression will likely come from the from field and the subject line. These two seemingly small parts of an email can mean the difference between getting a quick reply and having to write another message, prodding the recipient for a response.
Once you have come up with a subject line that makes clear what your email is about, you can open your message with a greeting that acknowledges the intended recipient. Depending on the level of formality required, your greeting can be formal, such as Dear Ms. Smith, or more informal, as in Hi Jane. If you are not sure how to interact with someone, try to avoid being too informal. Take your cue from the way the person chooses to sign off her own e-message and address her in that way.
The final component of an email, the closing, is where you wrap up the points you have made, and conclude in a manner that is consistent with the tone of your message. Use phrases like "Best Wishes", "Warm Regards", "Thank you for your time", or "I look forward to hearing from you" to make your message appear less abrupt and insistent. If your message is slightly more formal, you may use "Best Regards" or "Sincerely". The right closing marks the end of your message and demonstrates consideration for your email's recipient.
Leaving out a closing can make the message seem abrupt and even complete. Adding something like "Best Wishes" softens the tone and confirms the message is complete. And finally, think about setting your email application to add a signature with your full contact details. This will make it easy for the recipient to choose their form of response. From the opening to the sign off, each part of your email contributes to the overall interpretation of your message. So pay attention to each element and choose the most appropriate words for your message and recipient.
There are lots of reasons to keep your emails concise. For one, research shows that the longer the email message, the less likely it is to receive a response. It is tempting to add detail when you are writing an email, but it is always better to be brief and to the point. A concise message saves time for both the sender and recipient. It avoids information overload, making it more likely the recipient will reply. Consider some guidelines you can apply to help keep your email messages concise.
In your emails, try to convey a single core point. Decide what it is you want to communicate, and maintain a tight focus on that one issue. This will make your messages easier to write and read. If you have to communicate several points, consider making each point in a separate email message.
Above all, get to the point quickly. Remember that when people are busy, they want to know what you are trying to communicate as fast as possible. So do not give them irrelevant information. Use a simple greeting too. By overloading it with pleasantries and small talk, you risk losing the reader's attention. Messages are more focused and easier to read when your sentences are short and simple. Try to keep each sentence to no more than 15 or 20 words. If this is difficult6, try refining or breaking down your ideas before expressing them. Use bulleted lists to group related points. This is a good way to make your remarks stand out, and it encourages the reader to respond to each one.
If you really want to be concise, you will have to consider the dreaded thank you email. How many of the emails you send and receive are an unnecessary thank you for an unexceptional task? Thank you messages waste the time of the sender and the recipient. If you really feel someone has made an effort, send a handwritten card or make a phone call.
Whatever the subject of your message, one way to control length is to make sure that the message fits completely within the preview pane in your email application. If a full message fits in the preview pane and you can see where it ends, you are more likely to take the time to read the entire message.
Another tip, do not attach unnecessary files to your emails. Attachments are a regular source of computer viruses, and large attachments can be slow to download and time consuming to read. If you must include attachments, make sure your virus scanner is up to date, so that you are also not sending viruses. Compress the files, and generally try to restrict the total size of the email to less than 10 megabytes. Keeping these guidelines in mind will result in you writing fewer, shorter, and more effective emails.
Instant messaging, often called IM or just chat, is firmly established alongside email as a key communication tool in the modern office environment. Instant messaging gives you the ability to communicate in real time through text conversations. Some instant messaging applications also offer web cam support, which allows you to see and be seen by the other party. As useful as instant messaging is, however, there are pitfalls too. Used incorrectly, it can be a constant, nagging presence that disrupts your own or other's focus. Or it can sometimes become a tangled dialog that confuses rather than clarifies an important topic.
IM conversations are usually brief and on a single topic. Avoid problems by applying most of the rules of email etiquette. For instance, compose your instant message logically and clearly to make it easy for readers to follow. Instant messaging also has its own rules and conventions. One basic rule is that you respect contacts' status indicators and only send messages when people are available. Your instant messaging software will let you know if a contact is available to receive your instant messages.
If contacts are offline or have a busy status indicator, do not try to contact them. Instant messages may feel disposable, but they can be saved and kept or even passed on to others. They can also be viewed by anyone near the computer where the messages are received. So, make sure whatever you are writing is appropriate for a business environment. Treat an instant messaging session like any face-to-face interaction, and always start with a greeting. Your greeting lets the recipient know that you are beginning a conversation. It is less abrupt than charging right into a message. When you have something to say in an instant message, take the time to write it in full. Splitting what you want to communicate across several shorter messages could be confusing.
The recipient may try to reply to each message before getting the next one. If there will be a delay while you compose a message, however, inform the person on the other end. You do not want him thinking you are simply not responding. And if you are not at your computer, do not stay logged in. If you do not log off, you will keep receiving messages from contacts. Your lack of response may come off as rude. You also run the risk of others reading your messages while you are out. Follow these guidelines, along with the accepted rules of email etiquette, and you will make the most effective use of instant messaging.