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Writing Effective Emails CITE HR
Writing Effective Emails CITE HR
- Some Tips
If your reply is not relevant at all to the subject line, start a new thread with a fresh subject line which more accurately reflects the e-mails actual contents.
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Tip 4: Formatting
Put all important details at the top of the email body (or even better, in
the Subject line). Don't bury a key piece of information in a large paragraph and expect a busy person to extract it upon first reading. The larger the paragraph (and the more paragraphs there are), the more likely are the chances of the reader missing a particular point you are trying to make.
Keep the rest of the email short (8 sentences max.). After you've made your main point, the rest of the sentences in your email should provide additional supporting information.
Your goal is to have the person read your email and hopefully respond to it within a short time period, so keep your e-mail as short as possible to make it easier for your reader to comprehend.
These linguistic shortcuts are generally signs of friendly intimacy so are not considered appropriate for business e-mails.
2. All-caps means shouting. Regardless of your intentions, people will interpret this as your being aggressive.
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Use active instead of passive. Try to use the active voice of a verb wherever possible. For instance, 'We will take care of your request today', sounds better than 'Your request will be taken care of today'.
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Tip 7: Proof-read
If you are sending a message that will be read by a client, or someone higher up on the chain of command (a superior or a manager, for instance), or if you're about to mass-mail dozens or thousands of people, take an extra minute or two before you hit "send". Poor spelling and grammar show a lack of attention to detail and sends the wrong message about yourself and how you do business. By reading your e-mail over before you send it you can catch and correct all sorts of mistakes before they get to the recipient and possibly create a bad impression or put you and/or your company in hot water. Spell checker won't catch every mistake, at the very least it will catch a few typos.
If you are asking someone else to do work for you, take the time to make your message look professional.
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Be courteous.
Put the key point of your message up front. Be brief. Make it easy for the reader to reply yes or no or give a short answer. End well with an appropriate next step. Wait and check before pressing 'send' Proof-read. Make yourself look good online because your email can be forwarded to anyone or everyone else in the company or anywhere. Respond promptly.
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Dont assume that people have time to read your entire message.
Dont think that an e-mail is good for everything. Dont write an e-mail when you are rushed.
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THANK YOU