Writing Effective Emails

Email is a widely used tool for business communications, but a 2013 survey by Sendmail, Inc., found that it has caused tension, confusion, or other negative consequences for 64 percent of working professionals.
So, how can you avoid your emails doing this? And how can you write emails that get the results you want?
This article looks at strategies you can use to ensure that your use of email is clear, effective, and successful.

Writing Effective Emails

The average office worker receives around 80 emails each day. With that volume of mail, individual messages can easily get overlooked. Follow these simple rules to get your emails noticed and acted upon.

1. Don't overcommunicate by email.
2. Make good use of subject lines.
3. Keep messages clear and brief.
4. Be polite.
5. Check your tone.
6. Proofread.

1. Don't Overcommunicate by Email

One of the biggest sources of stress at work is the sheer volume of emails that people receive. So, before you begin writing an email, ask yourself: "Is this really necessary?"
As part of this, you should use the phone or IM to deal with questions that are likely to need some back-and-forth discussion. Use our Communications Planning Tool   to identify the channels that are best for different types of message.
Also, email is not as secure as you might want it to be, particularly as people may forward emails without thinking to delete the conversation history. So avoid sharing sensitive or personal information in an email, and don't write about anything that you, or the subject of your email, wouldn't like to see plastered on a billboard by your office.
Whenever possible, deliver bad news   in person. This helps you to communicate with empathy, compassion, and understanding, and to make amends   if your message has been taken the wrong way.

2. Make Good Use of Subject Lines

A newspaper headline has two functions: it grabs your attention, and it summarizes the article, so that you can decide whether to read it or not. The subject line of your email message should do the same thing.
A blank subject line is more likely to be overlooked or rejected as "spam," so always use a few well-chosen words to tell the recipient what the email is about.
You may want to include the date in the subject line if your message is one of a regular series of emails, such as a weekly project report. For a message that needs a response, you might also want to include a call to action, such as "Please reply by November 7."
A well-written subject line like the one below delivers the most important information, without the recipient even having to open the email. This serves as a prompt that reminds recipients about your meeting every time they glance at their inbox.

Bad Example	Good Example
Subject: Meeting	Subject: PASS Process Meeting - 10 a.m. February 25, 2014

If you have a very short message to convey, and you can fit the whole thing into the subject line, use "EOM" (End of Message) to let recipients know that they don't need to open the email to get all the information that they need.

Example
Subject: Could you please send the February sales report? Thanks! EOM

(Of course, this is only useful if recipients know what "EOM" means.)

3. Keep Messages Clear and Brief

Emails, like traditional business letters, need to be clear and concise. Keep your sentences short and to the point. The body of the email should be direct and informative, and it should contain all pertinent information. See our article on writing skills   for guidance on communicating clearly in writing.
Unlike traditional letters, however, it costs no more to send several emails than it does to send just one. So, if you need to communicate with someone about a number of different topics, consider writing a separate email for each one. This makes your message clearer, and it allows your correspondent to reply to one topic at a time.

Bad Example

Good Example

Subject: Revisions For Sales Report Hi Jackie, Thanks for sending that report last week. I read it yesterday, and I feel that Chapter 2 needs more specific information about our sales figures. I also felt that the tone could be more formal. Also, I wanted to let you know that I've scheduled a meeting with the PR department for this Friday regarding the new ad campaign. It's at 11:00 a.m. and will be in the small conference room. Please let me know if you can make that time. Thanks! Monica

Subject: Revisions For Sales Report Hi Jackie, Thanks for sending that report last week. I read it yesterday, and I feel that Chapter 2 needs more specific information about our sales figures. I also felt that the tone could be more formal. Could you amend it with these comments in mind? Thanks for your hard work on this! Monica (Monica then follows this up with a separate email about the PR department meeting.)

It's important to find balance here. You don't want to bombard someone with emails, and it makes sense to combine several, related, points into one email. When this happens, keep things simple   with numbered paragraphs or bullet points, and consider "chunking"   information into small, well-organized units to make it easier to digest.
Notice, too, that in the good example above, Monica specified what she wanted Jackie to do (in this case, amend the report). If you make it easy for people to see what you want, there's a better chance that they will give you this.

4. Be Polite

People often think that emails can be less formal than traditional letters. But the messages you send are a reflection of your own professionalism  , values, and attention to detail, so a certain level of formality is needed.
Unless you're on good terms with someone, avoid informal language, slang, jargon  , and inappropriate abbreviations. Emoticons can be useful for clarifying your intent, but it's best to use them only with people you know well.
Close your message with "Regards," "Yours sincerely," or "All the best," depending on the situation.
Recipients may decide to print emails and share them with others, so always be polite.

5. Check the Tone

When we meet people face-to-face, we use the other person's body language  , vocal tone, and facial expressions to assess how they feel. Email robs us of this information, and this means that we can't tell when people have misunderstood our messages.
Your choice of words, sentence length, punctuation, and capitalization can easily be misinterpreted without visual and auditory cues. In the first example below, Emma might think that Harry is frustrated or angry, but, in reality, he feels fine.

Bad Example	Good Example
Emma, I need your report by 5 p.m. today or I'll miss my deadline. Harry	Hi Emma, Thanks for all your hard work on that report. Could you please get your version over to me by 5 p.m., so I don't miss my deadline? Thanks so much! Harry

Think about how your email "feels" emotionally. If your intentions or emotions could be misunderstood, find a less ambiguous way to phrase your words.

6. Proofreading

Finally, before you hit "send," take a moment to review your email for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. Your email messages are as much a part of your professional image as the clothes you wear, so it looks bad to send out a message that contains typos.
As you proofread, pay careful attention to the length of your email. People are more likely to read short, concise emails than long, rambling ones, so make sure that your emails are as short as possible, without excluding necessary information.
Our article on writing skills   has tips and strategies that you can use when proofreading your emails.

Key Points

Most of us spend a significant portion of our day reading and composing emails. But the messages we send can be confusing to others.
To write effective emails, first ask yourself if you should be using email at all. Sometimes, it might be better to pick up the phone.
Make your emails concise and to the point. Only send them to the people who really need to see them, and be clear about what you would like the recipient to do next.
Remember that your emails are a reflection of your professionalism, values, and attention to detail. Try to imagine how others might interpret the tone of your message. Be polite, and always proofread what you have written before you click "send."

Source:http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/EmailCommunication.htm

7 Simple Steps to Improve Business Email Writing Skills in English

Most of us in the Business world use emails as the main, and in some cases the only, means of written communication. For many students studying Business English, practising their Business Email Writing Skills is an important part of their course. While most of us are happy to write informal emails to friends that might have grammatical mistakes in them, the same is not true when writing to colleagues and clients with whom we want to make a good impression. Or where we need to be a bit more careful or more diplomatic than usual. If you are looking for formal and informal email phrases, you should check this list!
So, how can you ensure that your email writing skills are up to standard? Here are some general tips I’d like to share with you:

1. Subject Line
Always have a subject line that summarises briefly and clearly the contents of the message. for example, Re: Summary of Our Meeting with ABC Suppliers

2. Short and Simple Sentences
Use short and easy sentences. Long sentences can often be difficult to read and understand. The most common mistake that I see my students making is to translate directly from their own language. This can often lead to confusing sentences. I always tell my students to use the KISS Test – Keep It Short and Simple

3. Think of who your reader is going to be
Is it a colleague, a client or your boss? Should the email be informal or formal? Most Business Emails these days have a neutral tone. Note the difference between Informal and Formal:
Informal – Thanks for the email of 15 February
Formal – Thank you for your email received 15 February
Informal – Sorry, I can’t make it.
Formal – I am afraid I will not be able to attend
Informal – Could you…?
Formal – I was wondering if you could….?

Some emails to colleagues can be informal if they are friends. This is the style that is closest to speech, so there are often everyday words and conversational expressions that can be used. For instance, ‘Don’t forget’, ‘Catch you later’, ‘Cheers’.
The reader will also accept bad grammar in informal emails.
However, if the email is going to a client or senior colleague, bad grammar and an over-friendly style will not be acceptable.

4. Be very careful of capital letters, punctuation, spelling and basic grammar
While these can be tolerated in informal emails, they are very important in business emails as they are an important part of the image you create. Give yourself time to edit what you’ve written before you push that Send button. In today’s busy world, it’s very easy to send out many emails without checking them so make a conscious effort to edit.

5. Think about how direct or indirect you want to be
In some cultures it is common practice to be very direct in email correspondence. However, this can cause a problem if you’re writing to someone in another country and in a language that is not yours. They might find your directness rude and sometimes offensive.
Consider these:
Direct – I need this in half an hour.
Indirect and polite – Would it be possible to have this in half an hour?
Direct – There will be a delay
Indirect – I’m afraid there will be a slight delay.
Direct – It’s a bad idea
Indirect – To be honest, I’m not sure it would be a good idea.
By adjusting your tone, you are more likely to get a more positive response from your reader.

6. Be positive!
Look at these words: helpful, good question, agreed, together, useful, I’d be delighted, mutual, opportunity.
Now look at these: busy, crisis, failure, forget it, I can’t, it’s impossible, waste, hard
The words you use show your attitude to life so choose your words wisely.

7. Get feedback
Try and get some feedback on the emails that you write in real life. This could be from your English Teacher or someone you know whose English is better than yours.
Study the English in the emails you receive. If it is a well-written email, look carefully at some of the language used. Start your own phrase book and build a bank of phrases from the ones you receive and think would be useful in the future.

Source: http://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/7-simple-steps-to-improve-business-email-writing-skills-in-english/