Professional Documents
Culture Documents
WRITING
EMAILS
THAT
PEOPLE
READ
SWEETEN YOUR EMAILS
WITH SUGAR
WRITING EMAILS THAT PEOPLE READ - 2
Since 1994, our multinational and NGO clients across Europe have
been relying on us to develop their ability to do business
internationally.
BUSINESS ENGLISH
SOFT SKILLS
INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
HYBRID SOLUTIONS
Despite its prevalence, or perhaps because of it, we are still struggling. We’re
simply expected to know how to be effective with email – after all it’s part of
everyday business, right? Wrong. We struggle to manage our time due to per-
petually-filling inboxes, we receive emails that are confusing or irrelevant, and
worst of all we send them too!
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I didn’t have my first email account until I was 23 years old. I expect that in future
years my son will be stunned that things actually worked without email (they did).
Email has changed our professional and personal lives. For better and for worse.
Scott Levey
Director of Target Training GmbH
THE RADICATI REPORT
A 60 SECOND SUMMARY
WRITING EMAILS THAT PEOPLE READ - 6
them and their colleagues. updates or making simple requests. However use the phone if something could
be a sensitive or emotional topic, or if you need to deal with questions that are
likely to need some back-and-forth discussion.
RULE 3
These 3 golden rules are an DON’T OVER COMMUNICATE
excellent starting point How many emails do you receive each day? One of the biggest sources of stress
at work is the sheer volume of emails that people receive. So, before you even
for minimizing this. begin writing an email, always take a few seconds and ask yourself: Is this really
necessary? Then ask yourself the same question again before you hit “send”.
TO SUMMARIZE
As the sender your goal is to write an email that will be read, will be easily
understood, will not annoy the receiver, and won’t take up too much of the
reader’s time.
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SUGAR
WHAT MAKES A GOOD BUSINESS EMAIL?
WRITING EMAILS THAT PEOPLE READ - 12
S
The five areas clearly overlap,
and support each other.
Obviously, if your message is IMPLE
U
simple it will be easier
to understand. And, if
your message is goal-oriented NDERSTANDABLE
it will have a higher chance of
being relevant and appropriate
to your reader’s needs.
You’ll notice these key points GOAL-ORIENTED
A
being repeated throughout
this ebook.
PPROPRIATE
R ELEVANT
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S
WRITING EMAILS THAT PEOPLE READ - 13
KISS model: Keep it short Sounds simple, but too many people send blocks of text – especially when
sending from mobile devices.
and simple!
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S
WRITING EMAILS THAT PEOPLE READ - 14
AND
ensure your message is clear, that each email is
simple to understand, and it helps your reader
to reply to one topic at a time.
SIMPLE
ASK YOURSELF
Do you prefer more emails with a few main points in each email? Or would you
rather have fewer but longer, more complex emails? Obviously it’s important to
find balance here. Just as you don’t want to send somebody a complex email with
too many items, you also don’t want to overload someone with too many emails.
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U
WRITING EMAILS THAT PEOPLE READ - 15
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U
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taking this into account when and bullets to help your reader understand your message.
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U
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TWO KEY
BEHAVIORS WHICH SLOW DOWN
EMAIL IS A FORM OF COMMUNICATION – NOT A TASK TO BE
WILL MAKE SURE YOUR TICKED OFF
If you are sure that email is the best way of communicating (see rule 2) and that
EMAILS ARE EASY TO the reader really needs this information (see rule 3), then you need to slow down
and take the time required. You need to collect your thoughts, to decide what
you want to say, and then it takes time to write your email. By taking the time
UNDERSTAND now, you will definitely save time later on.
REREAD
BEFORE YOU HIT “SEND”
Get into the habit of taking a moment to review your email. Pay careful attention
to the length of your email. Make sure that your email is as short as possible,
without excluding necessary information. Use the SUGAR checklist at the back of
this E-book to help you.
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G
WRITING EMAILS THAT PEOPLE READ - 18
know why they are writing. loud in a simple sentence with 14 words or less.
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G
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A
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A
WRITING EMAILS THAT PEOPLE READ - 23
text-based ones. So much so, that also noted whether they thought their partners would correctly interpret each
statement's tone. The participants then listened to or read their partners' state-
the chance of interpreting the ments, guessed the intended tone and indicated how confident they were in their
correct tone in an email is only answers.
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R
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THE SUGAR
CHECKLIST FOR
S
IMPLE
- Is my language simple?
U
THAT PEOPLE WANT NDERSTANDABLE
G
OAL-ORIENTED
- Do I know why I’m writing this email?
- Is my subject line strong and clear enough?
- Am I sharing my reason for writing at the very beginning?
A
PPROPRIATE
- Is my language appropriate to my reader?
- Am I clear how formal and polite I should be?
- Have I checked the tone? Have I double-checked the tone?
- Should I just pick up the phone?
R
ELEVANT
- Do I know why I’m sending this email to this person?
- Will this person understand why they are receiving this email?
- Is the right amount of information included (content and context)?
- Are my attachments useful and relevant?
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FURTHER LEARNING
ON OUR BLOG ENGLISH FOR EMAILS
Our blog, TRAINING BUSINESS, has numerous posts (EXPRESS SERIES)
with tips and tricks on emailing. Rebcecca Chapman (2007) / Oxford University Press
A holistic look at basic email writing for low-intermediate learners, this book can
WRITING SKILLS POCKETBOOK be used for self-study and comes with a CD-ROM. Topics covered include making
Stella Collins and Beth Curl (2012) / Management pocketbooks arrangements, formal vs. informal language and asking for information.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
This E-book was made with contributions
from the following people
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