ESSENTIALS OF
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
7th Canadian Edition Mary Ellen Guffey
Richard Almonte
Chapter 4
E-Mails, Instant Messages, and Memos
Copyright © 2013 by Nelson Education Ltd
Learning Objectives
1. Understand how organizations exchange paper-based and electronic
messages.
2. Know when to send and how to organize e-mails and memos.
3. Describe appropriate formats of e-mails and memos.
4. Analyze the writing process and explain how it helps you produce effective
internal messages.
5. Identify smart e-mail practices, including getting started; content, tone, and
correctness; netiquette; reading and replying to e-mail; personal use; and other
practices.
6. Explain the pros and cons of instant messaging and how it use it professionally.
7. Write information and procedure e-mails and memos.
8. Write request and reply e-mails and memos.
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Paper-Based Messages
Business Letters
Permanent record is necessary
Confidentiality is important
Interoffice Memos
Organizational procedures or policies
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Electronic Messages
E-Mail
Short, routine messages
Instant/Text Messaging
Conversation between two or more users
Wikis
Collaboration to create and edit Web pages
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Knowing When to Send an E-Mail or a
Memo
Consider reader’s preference
E-Mail:
Short, informal messages that request
information
Cover document when sending
attachments
Memo:
Method of delivering confidential data
Formatting for a lengthy report
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Components of E-Mails and
Memos
1. Write a subject line.
Summarize central idea.
Avoid meaningless words (a, the).
Avoid dangerous words (issue, problem).
2. Open with the main idea.
State purpose in introduction.
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Components of E-Mails and
Memos
3. Explain in the body.
Provide details.
Ensure it is easy to comprehend (bulleted
lists).
4. Close with a purpose.
Include action information, dates, or
deadlines.
Summarize the message.
Close with a goodwill thought.
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Formatting E-Mails and
Memos
Guide words (Date, To, From, Subject)
Salutation (Dear Leslie,)
Body (intro, body, and concluding
paragraphs)
Single space; double space between
paragraphs
No indentation
Closing (Sincerely,)
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Formatting E-Mails and
Memos
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Formatting Interoffice
Memos
Check if your company has memo
templates.
Include guide words (Date, To, From,
Subject).
Handwrite initials after your typed name.
Omit closing.
Single space; double space between
paragraphs.
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Formatting Interoffice
Memos
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Analyzing, Anticipating,
Adapting
Do I really need to write this e-mail or
memo?
Why am I writing?
How will the reader react?
How can I save my reader’s time?
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Smart E-Mail Practices
Avoid misleading subject lines.
Be concise.
Care about correctness (proofread, even
with spell check).
Acknowledge receipt.
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Smart E-Mail Practices
Use graphic highlighting to improve
readability of longer messages
(headings).
Consider cultural differences.
Double-check before hitting the Send
button (grammar, style, addresses).
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Improving Readability With Listing
Techniques
Make listed items parallel (balanced
grammatically).
Use bullets, numbers, and letters
appropriately.
Use generally accepted punctuation.
Use a colon to introduce the list.
Use end punctuation only after complete
sentences.
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Employing Parallelism
Instead of this:
She likes sleeping, eating, and to work.
Try this:
She likes sleeping, eating, and working.
Instead of this:
We are hiring the following: sales clerks,
managers who will function as supervisors, and
people to work in offices.
Try this:
We are hiring the following: sales clerks,
supervising managers, and office personnel.
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Writing Information and Procedure
E-Mails and Memos
Writing plan:
Subject line
Opening
Body
Closing
Use “you” view wherever possible.
Use positive tone.
Use verbs to list instructions.
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Writing Information and Procedure
E-Mails and Memos
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Writing Request and Reply E-Mails and
Memos
Writing Plan:
Subject line
Opening (begin with request or brief
statement introducing it)
Body
Closing (include request for action and
express appreciation)
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Writing Request and Reply E-Mails and
Memos
When asking questions, you can:
ask the most important question first,
followed by an explanation and then the
other questions.
use a polite command (“Please answer the
following questions regarding…”).
introduce the questions with a brief
statement (“Your answers to the following
questions will help us…”).
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Writing Request and Reply E-Mails and
Memos
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Replying to E-Mail and Memo Requests
Begin by responding to the request.
Provide additional information in the
body paragraph.
Add concluding remark or offer further
assistance.
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Summary
Follow writing process.
Organize information into guide words,
salutation, intro, body, conclusion, and
closing lines.
Use “you” view.
Improve readability with lists, headings,
and parallelism.
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