Embedded Files
Email
Email
Email is familiar to most students and workers. In business, it has largely replaced print hard copy letters for external (outside the company) correspondence, and in many cases, it has taken the place of memos for internal (within the company) communication (Guffey, 2008).
Email can be very useful for messages that have slightly more content than a text message, but it is still best used for fairly brief messages. Many businesses use automated emails to acknowledge communications from the public, or to remind associates that periodic reports or payments are due. You may also be assigned to “populate” a form email in which standard paragraphs are used but you choose from a menu of sentences to make the wording suitable for a particular transaction.
Emails may be informal in personal contexts, but business communication requires attention to detail, awareness that your email reflects you and your company, and a professional tone so that it may be forwarded to any third party if needed. Email often serves to exchange information within organizations. Although email may have an informal feel, remember that when used for business, it needs to convey professionalism and respect. Never write or send anything that you wouldn’t want read in public or in front of your company president.
As with all writing, professional communications require attention to the specific writing context, and it may surprise you that even elements of form can indicate a writer’s strong understanding of audience and purpose. The principles explained here apply to the educational context as well; use them when communicating with your instructors and classroom peers.
Guidelines for Effective Business Emails
Guidelines for Effective Business Emails
Open with a proper salutation: Proper salutations demonstrate respect and avoid mix-ups in case a message is accidentally sent to the wrong recipient. For example, use a salutation like “Dear Ms. X” (external) or “Hi Barry” (internal).
Include a clear, brief, and specific subject line: This helps the recipient understand the essence of the message. For example, “Proposal attached” or “Electrical specs for project Y.”
Use a good format: Divide your message into brief paragraphs for ease of reading. A good email should get to the point and conclude in three small paragraphs or fewer.
Be brief: Omit unnecessary words.
Avoid abbreviations: An email is not a text message, and the audience may not understand ROTFLOL (roll on the floor laughing out loud).
Avoid using all caps: Capital letters are used on the Internet to communicate emphatic emotion or “yelling” and can be considered rude.
Closing: Include an action-oriented or pleasant closing.
Close with a signature: Identify yourself by creating a signature block that automatically contains your name and business contact information.
*Reread, revise, and review: Catch and correct spelling and grammar mistakes before you press “send.” It will take more time and effort to undo the problems caused by a hasty, poorly-written email than to take the time to get it right the first time.
Image 11.3 This sample email demonstrates the guidelines provided.
Additional Tips for Emailing
Additional Tips for Emailing
Reply promptly: Watch out for an emotional response—never reply in anger—but make a habit of replying to all emails within twenty-four hours, even if only to say that you will provide the requested information in forty-eight or seventy-two hours.
Use “Reply All” sparingly: Do not send your reply to everyone who received the initial email unless your message absolutely needs to be read by the entire group.
Test links: If you include a link, test it to make sure it works.
Email ahead of time if you are going to attach large files: Audio and visual files are often quite large; be careful to avoid exceeding the recipient’s mailbox limit or triggering the spam filter.
Give feedback or follow up: If you don’t get a response in twenty-four hours, email or call. Spam filters may have intercepted your message, so your recipient may never have received it.
Avoid Mishaps: Add the address of the recipient last (after you have written and proofread your message) to avoid sending prematurely. This will give you time to do a last review of what you’ve written, make sure links work, make sure you’ve added the attachment, etc., before adding the sender’s address and hitting send.
Attributions:
Information for this section was modified from
Technical Writing Essentials Copyright © 2019 by Suzan Last is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
References:
Guffey, M. (2008) Essentials of Business Communication (7th ed.). Thomson/Wadsworth.
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