How to Write Less Awful Emails When Writing Is Hard for You
Since much of our modern day work communication depends on our inboxes, everyone must learn to communicate effectively using e-mail. This is true even if you are a chemical engineer who does not know the excuse on the doorknob.
If you find that your emails are somehow untrue – perhaps your coworkers are more confused than they were before the thread – there is little cause for concern: there are ways to make sure your emails communicate fluently and you don’t you need to be a literary genius to get your job done.
How to structure email
Think of it as a simple storybook that you can read to your child: there should be a beginning, a middle, and an end. No invaders or knots untied if you can help.
If, for example, you are informing a team about a project you are leading, first explain what the project is and what you hope to achieve with it. Then describe what you have achieved and in what direction the project might be moving. Finally, wrap it up with some thoughts or questions, and then bow gracefully and subscribe formally.
Another way to think about it is to boil it down to four steps. As Growth Consultancy Partners writes, you can follow this plan :
- Greetings
- Ask or requested action
- Brief description of context and impact
- Closing
It might sound overly simple, but it’s easy for people to get bogged down with a verbose that strays from the general idea of an email. The last thing you need to do is confuse the receiving people, so try to keep your message concise and clear in simple language.
Always use subject line in emails
There is nothing more hateful about email etiquette (at least to me) than a letter that does not specify a subject. If you’re just trying to get the attention of one person as a last resort, for example, write “can you call me?” in the body of the letter – then maybe everything is in order. In general, however, emails without a subject line are crazy, such as when the accountant I used was unable to add it despite sending me over 50 emails in one thread.
So, if you are emailing people about something important, add the subject of your conversation to the subject line. Keep it short and readable – no need to go into yogic chatter . Your peers, who may be skimming through a mountain of unread messages, will appreciate your emphasis on clarity.
Keep email relevant
If you work in a corporate environment with a lot of people you only know from work, don’t assume that everyone will understand your sense of humor. If you’re unsure about a joke, don’t include it in your email. Some jokes are best told in person, especially if you know your audience. Things said in the real world don’t always translate easily into digital, which means you always have to hold back your need for banter, especially when you might just leave silly conversations for happy hour.
These are just the basic rules, but clarity is usually the predominant rule of etiquette, aside from using common sense when it comes to subject lines and saving your humor for later.