The Evolution of Email

Businesses today operate in a highly competitive market in which high speed

communication and information transfer is essential. Most of the activities in today’s offices
are electronic, using computer-based technology. Electronic mail, or email as it is commonly
known, has evolved as an effective, low cost and instant method of communication with
friends and colleagues all over the world. With email, messages are keys into computer
workstation and then it is transmitted to the recipients. A single message may be sent
simultaneously to many recipients.

BEFORE WRITING THE EMAIL

 Make a plan!
 Think about the purpose of the person who will read the and how you want him or
her to react.
 Make an outline or list of the main points and details you want to include in the
email.
 Double check any facts, dates, times, or other specific details that will be included in
the email.

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN DOING BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

Who are you writing to and what is your relationship with the person?

If the person you are writing to is in a higher position than you, you should use more formal
language than if the person is someone in the same level position than you. If you have
never met the person receiving your before, you should use formal language in the first to
him or her. Once you have sent the first and received a reply, you can choose to continue
using formal language or choose to use less formal language in future s.
What is the situation?

Think about the reason you are sending the and decide if formal or informal language is
better. If you are requesting a service or asking a favor, you should use formal language. If
you are making a complaint, you should use strong words to express your dissatisfaction or
problem but you must be polite. If you are introducing yourself, you should use formal
language but you can use words or phrases that let your personality show through as well. If
you are writing a customer relation letter, you should use formal language.

What do you want to accomplish?

Think about the reason for writing the and what you want the person who receives the to
do with it. If you want the receiver to do something for you, make it clear. Tell the receiver
exactly what action you want done. Tell the receiver if no action needs to be taken. If you
want the receiver to respond by a certain date, write the response date. If you are
negotiating or rearranging a meeting, write your demands or available times clearly.

Some things to remember when writing business emails 

 Get right to the point.

 Don’t use unnecessary words and phrases that distract from the main idea of the or
may confuse the reader.
 The person reading your does not have a lot of time to read your so you must make
it as direct as possible.
 Make the reason for writing the clear at the beginning and only add details that are
directly related to the topic of the.
 Use simple sentences.
 Avoid difficult or complex sentence structures will help you avoid grammar mistakes.
  Simple sentences will make the easier for your reader to understand, especially if the
person reading the is not a native English speaker.

Pay attention to word choice

Remember that writing, is a form of indirect communication. Unlike having a conversation

with someone, you do not have a chance to clarify yourself by restating your ideas or use
nonverbal cues to make your meaning clear. You have to make sure your reader
understands what you want to say and gets the right “message” the first time.

The subject of the email

Always write the subject of the on the subject line. Remember that business people often
receive hundreds of s every day. If you don’t write the subject in the subject line the person
receiving, they might think it is SPAM or junk and delete the message. If the subject isn’t
clear they might delete the as well, so make sure the subject is direct-don’t use too many
words.

The four Parts of a business email

 The Opening Tells the reader why you are writing

 The Focus Tells the details about the topic
 The Action Tells what you want to happen and gives a time frame
 The Closing Thank the reader and mention future communication