1.1.

E-mail @ Work

Email
Introduction: An e-mail is basically a letter sent electronically.

1.1. A. Why do we use e-mails instead of postal letters?

High speed
Efficient and cost effective
Quick distribution
Flexible
Easy attachments
Easy upward communication

1.1. B. What is an effective e-mail?

Do you remember the 7 Cs of effective communication!

1. Completeness
2. Conciseness
3. Consideration
4. Clarity
5. Concreteness
6. Courtesy
7. Correctness
 Any form of effective communication must take care of the seven attributes
mentioned above. The same goes for an effective e-mail, which is a form of
written communication. Two other important areas that need to be looked into
while framing an effective e-mail are:
1. Conversational tone
2. Central theme
1.1 C. Format of E-mail
A perfect e-mail includes the following fields -
• Heading:
• Date (set by default)
• From
• To
• Subject
• CC
• Bcc
• Salutation
• Body
• Closing
• Signature
1.1 D. Some Weak Links in an E-mail
1. Inappropriate subject line

You must have a proper subject in the email. It is unlikely that readers with
huge inboxes will open mails marked as ‘Urgent’ or ‘Enquiry’. Compose a
SMART subject line:
Specific
Meaningful
Appropriate
Relevant
Thoughtful
2. Writing incorrect greeting and Complimentary close.

Many people dislike receiving messages without these courtesies. There are two
main reasons for a greeting (Hello Rahul, Dear Rahul, and Dear Mr. Sahai).
  It is just plain courtesy.
 It’s a confirmation that it is for them and not just a cc or bcc.
Two good reasons for a sign off are
 It is courteous.
 It is confirmation that the message is finished. Simple!

3. Poor formatting

Readers get confused when a message is very long and there are no paragraphs.
Help your readers and help yourself by formatting your messages attractively and
putting a blank space between paragraphs.
You may use bullet points or create table, wherever necessary.
4. Vague messages

People often complain that many of the messages that they receive are vague and
land up in confusion. So take some time to compose your messages carefully, and
then check through to make sure it is reader-friendly. Check it again before you
hit ‘Send’.
5. Ambiguous expression
6. Tone of the message
Emotions are hard to convey in e-mails, and some people type out exactly what
they would say without thinking the tone of voice that would be used to signal
their emotions. With e-mails, we have only words. Without the right tone, it could
easily lead to misunderstanding, or you could offend and perhaps lose an
important business contact, a client, a case, -or even a friend!
Good writers learn to choose their words carefully and get the tone just right.
7. CC to the whole world
It becomes too easy to cc anyone and everyone, so that is what many people do.
This results in overflowing inboxes and a lot of time wasted. So send a cc only to
people who need to know, not to everyone you know.
8. Bad grammar and punctuation
The abundant use of e-mail makes the work sloppy and annoying at times. Poorly
formatted messages in one continuous paragraph, poorly structured messages
that are not specific in the response required, messages written in all capitals
(equivalent to SHOUTING in netiquette) and of course messages with poor
grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Common e-mail habits that waste time and cause problems
1. Using vague or nonexistent subject line
2. Changing the topic without changing the subject
3. Including multiple subjects in one note
4. Sending before thinking
5. Replying to all
6. Omitting the context of a reply
7. Shooting the messenger
8. Sending misaddressed recipients
9. Displaying addresses of recipients who are strangers to each other
10. Replying vs. forwarding
While framing an e-mail, you need to take care of :
 Addressing
 Subject Line
 Message Text
 Signature Line
 Attachments
 Style
 Confidentiality and Security
 Managing Email
 References
 Discussion

1. Addressing
• Limit to those who really need to know.
• Make it clear in text who has action and who is info addressee.
• Use BCC to protect Email addresses unless everyone knows each other.
• Watch Reply All.
• Use address book with mail groups and validate often.
 – Avoid typing addresses free hand; many addresses are similar; watch auto
fill.
– Send same message to multiple recipients by editing message as new or
cutting and pasting.
– Make sure that forwarding a mail does not embarrass the sender.
– Get permission, if in doubt.
• Fill in addresses last to avoid sending an incomplete Email by mistake.
2. Message Text
• Keep the message focused and readable.
• Keep it short and simple (KISS).
• Use inverted pyramid (as followed in a newspaper).
• Break into paragraphs; skip lines between.
• Use short sentences and active voice.
• Use plain text editor, not MS Word.
• Avoid HTML.
• Avoid fancy typefaces.
• Write in standard professional English with Capitalization and correct spelling.
– Don’t try to impress.
– Avoid chat speak, e.g., Le8r, gr8, & emoticons, .
• Don’t type in All Caps – like yelling.
• Avoid “!!!”
• Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT.
• Use * * to highlight text, if you must.
• Proofread and run spell check.
3. Quote back selectively when replying to long messages.
– “Yes, I agree.” is useless without context.
– Top quote vs. bottom quote – no consensus.
– Avoid fisking ( replying line by line in an argumentative manner)
4. Identify yourself clearly to the cold contacts.
– Hello, I am…The reason I am writing…
 – Hello, so in so suggested I contact you…
5. Respond Promptly.
– Apologize if you do not.
– Interim reply when too busy.
6. Do not shoot the messenger.
7. Attachments
• Use sparingly.
• Cut and paste relevant parts of attachment into text of Email.
• Use URL links instead.
– Upload attachments to website and cite the (Uniform Resource Locator)
– http://www.scribd.com/ is a free service.
• Recipients who do not know you may be reluctant to open attachments or click
URLs.
• Post attachment first to avoid “Oops, here’s the attachment.”
• Trend is posting large attachments into blogs followed by Email announcement.
– Gives people a chance to comment on attachment without a series of “Reply
All” messages.
– Those interested can check comments or use RSS feed to be notified.
8. Signature Line
• Include the following if you want people to contact you
– Your name
– Title
– Organization
– Email address
– Website
– Phones
• Signature line can be shortened for frequent correspondences or placed in header
of Email
9. Forwarding ( chain letters)
– Avoid such letters. It annoys most people.
 – Check address list before forwarding a “Did you see this?” - They may have
received it.
– Use http://www.snopes.com/ to check urban legends.
– If you must forward, strip out addresses and use BCC to hide your address
list.
– Do not overuse high priority option.
– Avoid delivery and read receipts.
– Do not ask to recall a message.
– Just apologize and correct.
– Do not copy a message or attachment without permission.
– Do not scoop someone else’s message.
10. Confidentiality and Security
• Do not assume privacy.
– Unencrypted Email is not secure and may be monitored.
– Do not include in an unencrypted Email anything you would not want a
third party to read.
– Details of encrypting and digitally signing Email is beyond the scope of this
presentation.
• Protecting attorney-client privilege
– E-mail must be
• A communication between attorney and client (person or
corporation).
 The purpose of which is to seek or obtain legal advice.
 The communication is made to a lawyer acting in his/her capacity as
a lawyer.
 The communication must be made and kept in confidence.
 Provide the employee, training and awareness.
 Segregate legal advice from business advice Emails.
 Mark the Emails containing such communication.
 Limit the distribution.
 Any disclosure, even accidental, may waive privilege.
  Have document retention and legal hold policy.

Protecting yourself
 Have a separate free E-mail account for newsletters, white paper registration, etc.
 Delete browser history, cache, cookies, user ids and passwords after using a public
Internet connection.
 Logout and close all Apps after using a public Internet connection. (Restart if
possible.)
 Do not conduct company business on non-secure personal computer.
 Back up your Email.
 Beware of spam.
o If it sounds too good, it is a spam.
o Report it.
 Beware of Phishing attacks.
 Forward them to customer service.
 Never include personal or financial info in an Email.
 Do not unsubscribe anything you did not subscribe to.
 Beware of friend’s Emails.
 Install a good security suite on your personal computer.
 Many ISPs, e.g., COMCAST, provide them free.
 Never share account info, even with family.
 Use strong passwords.
 Encrypt them on a password protected thumb drive.
 Encrypt wireless connections.
 Use encryption and digital signatures for important Email.
 Classic Indianisms in Email Writing

Because of the evolution of English language over the centuries, various phrases and
words have been incorporated into it. Every year, the Oxford English Dictionary adds
new words to keep up with the changing times. Several Indian words including the
prickly word – ‘prepone’ have added an Indian flavor to English language. The repeated
use of such words over the years has convinced the users about the authenticity and
correctness of these words. But that does not in any way promote their correctness and
it is time that we stop using them. Some common Indian phrases that we need to stop
using right away are
. 'Passing out'
• When you complete your studies at an educational institution, you graduate from
that institution.
• You do not "pass out" from that institution.
• To "pass out" refers to losing consciousness, like after you get too drunk
. 'Kindly revert
• One common mistake we make is using the word revert to mean reply or
respond.
• Revert means "to return to a former state."
• I can’t help thinking of a sarcastic answer every time this comes up.
• “Please revert at the earliest.”
• “Sure, I’ll set my biological clock to regress evolutionarily to my original primitive
state at 1 p.m. today."
'Doing the needful
• Try to avoid using the phrase "do the needful." It went out of style decades ago,
about the time the British left.
• Using it today indicates you are a dinosaur, a dinosaur with bad grammar.
'Discuss about
• What shall we discuss about today?”
• You do not "discuss about" something; you just discuss things.
• The word "discuss" means to "talk about". There is no reason to insert the word
"about" after "discuss."
• That would be like saying "talk about about."
'Do one thing
• When someone approaches you with a query, and your reply begins with the
phrase "do one thing," you're doing it wrong.
• "Do one thing" is a phrase that does not make sense.
• It is an Indianism. It is only understood in India. It is not correct English. It is
irritating!
• There are better ways to begin a reply. And worst of all, any person who starts a
sentence with "do one thing" invariably ends up giving you at least five things to
do.
• “My computer keeps getting hung.”
• “Do one thing. Clear your history. Delete your cookies. Defrag your hardrive. Run
a virus check. Restart your computer... ”
'Out of station
• Sorry I can’t talk right now, I’m out of station.”
• “What a coincidence, Vijay, I’m in a station right now.”
• Another blast from the past, this one, and extremely outdated.
• What's wrong with "out of town" or "not in Mumbai" or my favorite "I'm not
here"?
Reply Back
Reply is enough
Be rest assured
• Be and assured are both verbs
• Either be assured or
• Rest assured
In one of my email
One of my emails
I need one help
Could you do me a favour.
Didn’t saw your mail
• Didn’t see
 Effective Letter and E-mail Writing

 Categories of letters
 Structure and Format
 Essentials of effective Business Letters
 Types of Letters

Categories of letters
• Informal Letters
• Personal
• Friendly
• Conversational style.
• Formal Letters
• Business letters
Objective
• Help to maintain Good public relations and business relations in and
outside organisations
• Use a formal tone
• Basic Formal Letter
• Letters written for formal purpose in our day-to-day life.
Structure of an Informal Letter
• The address of the sender: top left hand corners
• The date: The date is generally written below the sender’s address.
• Salutation: depends upon the relations between the sender and the receiver.
• Body of the letter: Friendly tone, Simple, descriptive, personal or casual.
• Complimentary close or subscription
• Signature
Essentials of Effective Business Letters
• Use a standard business letter format, the specific fields of which
include:
• Sender’s address
• Date Mm/DD/YY format e.g. February 1 2017 or 1 Feb. 2017
• Inside address (Receiver’s address- Name/ title/designation of the
addressee, Company’s name, Company’s address)
• Salutation : It is used to address the receiver of the letter.It should be placed
two spaces beneath the inside address. One can use formal phrases such as Dear
Sir/Madam. Dear Mr. /Ms. <Last Name> can be used in case you wish to add a
personal touch to the letter. Avoid using the first names in formal letters.

• Body
Since this is the main part of a letter, it must be organized carefully into three
parts-
 The Opening Segment – states the purpose.

 The Middle Segment – Supporting statements reiterating/

restating the purpose.

 The Closing segment: states the action that the writer wants the
receiver to take. The body of the letters should be drafted in a
straight forward, objective and factual style.
• Complimentary close
• Signature Block
• Enclosures
• Courtesy Copy.
To make the communication effective
 Use a professional tone
 Write clearly
 Be Persuasive
 Proofread your letter

Structure and Format

• Full Block Format
 • Semi Block Format
• Modified Block Format
Routine Letters
Make sure that the letter is:
 Brief
 Concise
 Courteous

Make sure that the letter contains all the important fields that a formal letter should
have.
Unpleasant Letter:
A piece of news that is not pleasant to hear must be written in such a way as to mentally
prepare the receiver for it. The best ways include the following:
 You must use a neutral or slightly positive language.
 The first paragraph must aim at building the ground for the unpleasant news.
This is known as buffering.
 The second paragraph must state the reasons for the unpleasant consequence
before actually stating it.
 The closing paragraph must use a slightly positive tone and must aim at building
the goodwill, instead of being a mechanical close.
Effective Approach
Good News:
 The most effective way to write a good news is to break the good news in the
opening sentence, making use of some interesting vocabulary and quite positive
tone.

 It must also project ‘you viewpoint’ i.e. state and restate the receiver’s benefit and
make the receiver feel important.
Persuasive Message: A message used to persuade and convince the receiver
requires some special techniques . One of such techniques usually adopted by the
interested parties is AIDA. The term can be expanded as: Attention – Interest – Desire –
Action.
The opening paragraph of the letter aims at catching the attention of the receiver in the
most interesting manner with the use of impressive words and you viewpoint stating the
purpose.
The second paragraph talks about the receiver’s interest in the deal thus supporting the
purpose.
The third paragraph states some desirable facts that makes the deal more lucrative.
Nothing is achieved if an action is not taken immediately. The fourth or the closing
paragraph therefor aims at eliciting some action from the receiver that conforms that
the receiver has been convinced.