Commercial Correspondence

Unit 2

Emails
Advantages

 Personal
 Easy to use
 Fast
 Convenient
 Cheap
 Disadvantages

 Technical problems (non-delivery of messages,

unreadable attachments, virus…)
 Large amounts of ‘junk’ and unnecessary
communication
 Pressure of keeping up with email messages
 Lack of privacy and security
 Email: To send or not to send

 Make sure every email you send is necessary.

 Think twice before sending copies to multiple
recipients with the cc function.
 Be sure to respect the chain of command.
 Email can be unsuitable for several areas of
business communication, e.g.
• messages of congratulation, condolence, complaint;
• confidential documents; or
• documents for legal or insurance purposes.
 Email addresses

Typical email addresses look like this:

dfranks@intchem.co.no
corneyg@kingsway.ac.uk
tttt@ftu.edu.vn
 First part: name of user - person/ department
or its abbreviation.
 Second part (immediately after the @): name
of the ISP or organization (or abbreviation)
 Email addresses
 Last part: domain name suffixes (type of
organization or abbreviation of country name)
co: company no: Norway
ac: academic uk: United Kingdom
edu: education vn: Viet Nam
Other examples of domain name suffixes:
.biz: business .gov: government
.org: non-profit-making organization
Layout
Layout

Header
To:
Cc: (carbon copies)
Bcc: (blind carbon copies)
Subject:
Attachments
 Writing Effective Subject Line

An effective subject line:

• Attracts your reader’s attention.
• Provides a specific, meaningful, and precise
description of your subject.
Examples of Vague Subject Lines
o Marketing reports
o Tomorrow’s meeting
o Loading Problems
o Customer Service
 Writing Effective Subject Line

Examples of Effective Subject Lines

 Marketing reports are due Monday morning

 Be ready for some tough questions at Friday’s

meeting
 Container Loading Problems for Vessel

“Northern Star”
 Revised Customer Service Procedures
Style

 Attention to etiquette is essential.

 Informal, but following the rules of good
business writing, aiming for
• specific
• precise business messages
• professional
TO: ALL SUPERVISORS
FROM: JOEL CAIRO
__________________________________________________________________
HURRICANE RAOUL IS ABOUT 200 MILES SOUTH OF CHARLESTON, S.C. HE IS STILL A
CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF 175 MPH... GUSTS TO 220.
HE IS MOVING NORTH BY NORTHWEST VERY SPEEDILY AND WILL ARRIVE HERE BY
MIDNIGHT. THE HURRICANE CENTER EXPECTS RAOUL TO MOVE ACROSS SOUTH
CAROLINA AND THEN UP THE EAST COAST THRU ATLANTIC CITY AND POINTS NORTH
TO BOSTON BEFORE TRACKING WESTWARD HO. WE THINK THE TRACK WILL
CONTINUE NORTH BUT WHO ARE WE TO QUESTION THE EXPERTS AT THE NATIONAL
WEATHER BUREAU. AFTER ALL, THEY HIRED MY BROTHER-IN-LAW SO HOW GOOD
CAN THEY REALLY BE? THIS IS INDEED AS STRONG A TROPICAL STORM AS WE CAN
EVER HOPE TO SEE IN OUR PART OF THE COUNTRY. THEN AGAIN IT MIGHT PETER
OUT AND ALL THIS FUSS WILL HAVE BEEN FOR OTHING. BUT RIGHT NOW WE KNOW
THAT WINDS WILL STEADILY INCREASE AND BE STRONGEST AROUND MIDNIGHT.
LOTS OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED ALONG WITH THIS STORM. THE
STORM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT OF THE REGION BY TOMORROW AFTERNOON
BUT IN THE MEANTIME COASTAL AREAS WILL HAVE TO BE CAREFULLY MONITORED
AND ALL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS REGARDING PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT AND
FACILITIES MUST BE TAKEN.
TO: All Supervisors
FROM: J. Cairo
_____________________________________________
Hurricane Raoul is expected to arrive here by midnight.
Thunderstorms and rain will accompany this storm until it
moves out of the area by late afternoon tomorrow.
Please take immediate appropriate precautions regarding
personnel, vulnerable outdoor equipment, and facilities.
 Style

 Include an appropriate greeting and closing

section.
Less informal: Dear Mr Pinto or Dear Tom and
Yours sincerely
More informal: Hi Tom or Tom and Best wishes
or some other informal closing.
 Style

 Never use ALL CAPITALS for any part of your

message. If you want to stress, put asterisks:
*urgent*
 Keep your email messages short and to the point.
 Limit each message to one subject.
 Use appropriate tone, do not send messages
composed in anger.
 Style

 Show emotions
• I’ll be pleased to help you sort out this problem.
• I appreciate your understanding in trying to
resolve this issue.
• I am happy to offer you an extra discount of 5%
in the circumstances.
First Impressions

“A bad beginning makes a bad ending.”

An attractive format;
A strong opening sentence is especially
important in e-mail messages to motivate
your busy readers to follow the document
through to its conclusion.
It expresses your main idea and the focus of
discussion.
 First Impressions

Example of Weak Opening

This is in response to the message I received
from you concerning the best time for us to meet
in your office to discuss ways to improve safety
procedures at our plant. According to my and
Evan Douglas’s schedule the best time to meet
would be this Friday at 2. Let me know if this is
convenient for you.
 First Impressions

Example of Strong Opening

Evan Douglas and I can meet with you at 2
p.m. on Friday, April 5, to discuss plant safety
procedures. Please let me know if this date
and time are convenient for you.
 Organizing Messages

 Provide the most important information first.

 Organize your ideas in short paragraphs (3 – 5
sentences)
 Separating paragraphs by one blank space.
 Format your message clearly and attractively,
using numbers, bullets if possible.
 End your message with a signature file, including
your full name, job title, company and contact
information.
 Ensuring Clarity and Precision

 Keep sentences short (25 words max) but

complete. Do not write fragment sentences.
 Edit and check your email message: spelling,
grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and usage
before you send it.
 When you are ready to click “Send”, ensure
everything is right, and double check the
addresses and attachments.
 Guidelines to Composing
Effective Emails

 Understand the principles of email.

 Create precise attention-getting subject lines.
 Be aware of first impressions: the format and
the opening sentence.
 Organize email content for easier reading.
 Use appropriate professional tone.
 Prefer gender-free language.
 Edit email for clarity and precision.
 Questions

Answer the following questions (10 minutes).

1. Name 3 areas of business communication which
can be unsuitable for using email.
2. How should you write your subject line? Why?
3. How should you organize an email message?
4. What must you double check before clicking
“Send”?