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Email has changed
business communication.
The traditional letter, memo, and
telephone call have all been
replaced by email.
The first thing to consider is who the email is for. In general,
emails can be either formal, or informal. An informal email
includes internal memos, requests, and announcements. A
formal email is anything directed to a client, or supervisor.
Email Format
To:
The email should be sent to the person who needs to take
action or the person who directly needs to know the
information.
CC:
Copy in people who need to be aware of what is happening in
the email. This often includes supervisors. People who are
copied in are not required to take action on the email.
From:
Most companies provide work email addresses, which make it
clear who the email is from. If you are not using a work email,
be sure your email name is appropriate. This is especially true
when applying for a job.
Subject Line:
The subject line is the first impression of your letter.
Therefore, it must be catchy, clear and precise. Considering
the large amount of spam people receive, it is important to
differentiate your email from the others that people will send
to the trash. The subject line should
Before You Write
Before you write an email, consider the following questions:
• Who are you writing to?
• Why are you writing?
• What reaction do you want?
• Is this email necessary?
After answering these questions, you will be able to write the
content of your email more effectively.
The content of the email depends on who the receiver is.
Internal memos are much different than a letter to a client.
Opening
Start with the reason you are writing. In an internal email, this
may include the action you want from the receiver.
In a formal letter, the opening may look like this:
Body
The body paragraph or paragraphs, should contain the details
of the email. This may include things like further information,
statistics, explanations, or details.
Conclusion
Emails should end with an action. This should be either what
you are going to do or what you need done. This can also be
the place for deadlines.
Writing Strategies for Effective Emails
Effective emails:
Contain one Action
Announce Attachments
Use Lists and Bullets
Use I instead of We
Are Visually Pleasing
Passive Voice
Using the passive voice is a good way to avoid making your
emails sound demanding, accusatory, and other negative
feelings.
Look at the following example of two sentences, one in active
and the other in passive voice.
You need to pay the invoice.
The invoice needs to be paid.
The first sentence sounds more demanding than the second,
which uses passive voice. It is obvious to the reader that
he/she is the person who needs to pay the invoice. Using
"you" only makes the email sound more negative and
demanding.
However, passive voice can alos make emails hard to
understand. Look at this example:
The documents need to be edited.
Imagine if this were in an email to more than one co-worker.
No one would know who needs to eit the documents.
Therefore, be sure to use active voice and make it clear who is
responsible for all actions that need to be done.
For example:
Tom, please edit the documents this week.
Email Etiquette
Etiquette is important when using the Internet and email.
There are certain behaviours that are different on the Internet
than in traditional written communication. To be polite,
consider these ideas:
Internal Memos
The main focus of an internal email should be conciseness.
Your co-workers do not have a lot of time to read detailed
emails. Write concisely and be clearly about what you need
done. Writing short emails means:
Formal Emails
Emails written to clients, customers, suppliers, or supervisors
should follow the same process as a traditional letter. The
writing should be well-structured and follow all grammar and
spelling rules.
business communication.
The traditional letter, memo, and
telephone call have all been
replaced by email.
The first thing to consider is who the email is for. In general,
emails can be either formal, or informal. An informal email
includes internal memos, requests, and announcements. A
formal email is anything directed to a client, or supervisor.
Email Format
To:
The email should be sent to the person who needs to take
action or the person who directly needs to know the
information.
CC:
Copy in people who need to be aware of what is happening in
the email. This often includes supervisors. People who are
copied in are not required to take action on the email.
From:
Most companies provide work email addresses, which make it
clear who the email is from. If you are not using a work email,
be sure your email name is appropriate. This is especially true
when applying for a job.
Subject Line:
The subject line is the first impression of your letter.
Therefore, it must be catchy, clear and precise. Considering
the large amount of spam people receive, it is important to
differentiate your email from the others that people will send
to the trash. The subject line should
- be clear,
- be concise,
- be directly related to the body of the email, and
- contain action verbs.
Before You Write
Before you write an email, consider the following questions:
• Who are you writing to?
• Why are you writing?
• What reaction do you want?
• Is this email necessary?
After answering these questions, you will be able to write the
content of your email more effectively.
The content of the email depends on who the receiver is.
Internal memos are much different than a letter to a client.
Opening
Start with the reason you are writing. In an internal email, this
may include the action you want from the receiver.
In a formal letter, the opening may look like this:
- “I am writing to inquire about….”
- “I am writing to request….”
Body
The body paragraph or paragraphs, should contain the details
of the email. This may include things like further information,
statistics, explanations, or details.
Conclusion
Emails should end with an action. This should be either what
you are going to do or what you need done. This can also be
the place for deadlines.
Writing Strategies for Effective Emails
Effective emails:
Contain one Action
- One action is more likely to be completed than several
Announce Attachments
- Attachments are easy to miss. Make sure your receiver
knows they are included.
Use Lists and Bullets
- Bullets and numbered lists make things easier to read and
understand
Use I instead of We
- Using the pronoun "I" shows you are personally taking
responsibility.
Are Visually Pleasing
- Make effective use of bold, italics, and underline features.
- Use short paragraphs and include more white space.
- Use proper punctuation and spacing of words.
Passive Voice
Using the passive voice is a good way to avoid making your
emails sound demanding, accusatory, and other negative
feelings.
Look at the following example of two sentences, one in active
and the other in passive voice.
You need to pay the invoice.
The invoice needs to be paid.
The first sentence sounds more demanding than the second,
which uses passive voice. It is obvious to the reader that
he/she is the person who needs to pay the invoice. Using
"you" only makes the email sound more negative and
demanding.
However, passive voice can alos make emails hard to
understand. Look at this example:
The documents need to be edited.
Imagine if this were in an email to more than one co-worker.
No one would know who needs to eit the documents.
Therefore, be sure to use active voice and make it clear who is
responsible for all actions that need to be done.
For example:
Tom, please edit the documents this week.
Email Etiquette
Etiquette is important when using the Internet and email.
There are certain behaviours that are different on the Internet
than in traditional written communication. To be polite,
consider these ideas:
- Only send emails that are important.
- Try to send individual emails. Mass emails are
impersonal. - DON’T USE ALL CAPITALS, which on the Internet is the
equivalent of yelling. - Make your attachments important. Many people are
suspicious of attachments as they are known to carry
viruses. They also take more time to access, so don’t
waste people’s time with useless attachments. - Be careful with humour in emails. A letter lacks body
language, and tone of voice and can often be
misinterpreted. This is true for many emotions, which
although they can be shown through exclamations and
emoticons, can often be misinterpreted.
Internal Memos
The main focus of an internal email should be conciseness.
Your co-workers do not have a lot of time to read detailed
emails. Write concisely and be clearly about what you need
done. Writing short emails means:
- Limit the email to two paragraphs
- Use contractions to minimize space
- Make the email about only one subject
- Be clear about what you need done or what you will do
Formal Emails
Emails written to clients, customers, suppliers, or supervisors
should follow the same process as a traditional letter. The
writing should be well-structured and follow all grammar and
spelling rules.
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Email
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