The typical office worker receives about 80 emails per day. With that amount of mail, individual messages can easily be missed. Follow these basic rules to note and act on your emails.
- Don’t overcommunicate via email.
- Make fair use of the lines of the subject.
- Keep your messages straightforward and short.
- Be kind of polite.
- Check the sound.
- Proofreading.
1. Do not overcommunicate via email
One of the most significant sources of stress at work is the sheer number of emails people get. So before you start writing an email, ask yourself, “Is this necessary?”
As part of this, you can use your phone or IM to fix problems that are likely to need some back-and-forth conversation. Use our Engagement Preparation Tool
Identify the platforms that are ideally suited for various types of communications.
Also, email is not as safe as you would like it to be, especially as people can send emails without worrying about deleting conversation history. Avoid exchanging confidential or personal details in an email, and don’t write about something that you or the topic of your email, don’t want your office to see on a billboard.
Whenever possible, send out bad news
In-person, guy. This helps you to connect with sympathy, compassion, and empathy, and to make amends.
If your post is taken the wrong way.
2. Allow fair use of the lines of the subject
The newspaper headline has two functions: it catches your attention and summarizes the article so that you can determine whether to read it or not. The subject line of your email is expected to do the same thing.
A blank subject line is more likely to be ignored or rejected as spam, so always use a few well-chosen terms to inform the recipient what the email is about.
You may want to add a date on the subject line if your message is one of a daily series of emails, such as a weekly project update. For a message that needs to be answered, you might also want to add a call for action, such as “Please reply by November 7.”
The most valuable information is provided by a well-written subject line like the one below, without the recipient even needing to open an email. This acts as a reminder that reminds recipients of your meeting every time they look at their inbox.
3. Keep your messages transparent and brief
Emails, like conventional business letters, must be straightforward and concise. Keep your sentences a little brief and to the point. The body of the email should be direct and descriptive and should include all relevant information. Please see our post on writing skills.
Unlike conventional letters, however, it does not cost more than just one to send a few emails. So if you need to talk with someone on a variety of different subjects, consider writing a separate email for each of them. This makes your message simpler and helps your correspondent to reply to one topic at a time.
It’s essential to find the balance right here. You don’t want to bomb anyone with letters, and it makes sense to combine a variety of similar points in one text. When this happens, keep it easy with numbered paragraphs or bullet points, and consider “chunking.”
Details on small, well-organized units to make digesting easier.
Remember, too, that Monica stated 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 they will give you this.
4. Be Political
People also assume that emails should be less formal than conventional ones. But the messages you send are a result of your professionalism.
Principles and attention to detail, such that a certain degree of formality is required.
If you don’t have a decent friendship with others, avoid casual language, slang, jargon, and incorrect abbreviations. Emoticons can be useful to explain your meaning, but it’s best to use them only for people you know well.
Close your message with the words “Regards,” “Yours sincerely,” or All the best,” depending on the situation.
Recipients can decide to print and exchange emails with others, so always be respectful.
5. Check your tone
When we meet people face-to-face, we use the body language of the other person.
, vocal tone, and facial expressions to determine how they feel. Email robs us of this knowledge, which means we can’t say when people have misunderstood our messages.
Your vocabulary choice, length of sentence, punctuation, and capitalization can easily be misinterpreted without visual and audible cues. In the first example below, Emma may assume that Harry is upset or angry, but in fact, he feels fine.