Effective Email Communication
Effective email
communication is often an overlooked business skill, when you think
about the
fact that over 80% of our communication is now done over email; it pays
to be
good at this skill.
Unlike verbal
communication, effective email communication is not hard to learn and
does not
require any exceptional skills or knowledge, keep in mind this guide to
writing
professional emails and you should have no trouble.
1. Personalize your emails
– address the person by
name versus dear recipient.
2. Use the correct construction for
your emails,
they should have:
a. A subject line
b. A greeting
c. A header
d. The body
e. The closing
f. A signature
3. Spell check, Spell check, Spell check.
4. Your subject line should communicate the crux
of
the email in 35 – 50 characters. Many emails are
deleted on account of poor
subject lines.
5. Do not use ‘hi’ as a subject line, this is
often
automatically sent to SPAM by your email provider.
6. Use high importance only when it is indeed
important
]
7. Be careful when using the TO | CC | BCC fields.
8. Remember to attach the files you want to send,
many emails are often resent because the sender forgot to attach the
files.
9. Never write an email in anger, wait till you
are
calmer, else you will always regret it.
10. Backgrounds: Keep backgrounds plain white and
if
necessary with only the company letterhead/logo (the background color
should
not be distracting).
11. Font: Choose from one of the following three
styles, Arial, Times New Roman and Verdana. Size: The best font size
for the
human eye is 10 – 12. As with pens, stick to blue and black for font
colors.
12. Always left align your emails.
13. Sentences should be short and crisp. Try to use
bullets, or numbered lists when describing a process or listing
something.
14. Use adequate spacing between paragraphs to make
it easier to read.
15. The first line of your email should describe
what it is about.
16. The last line of your email should specify any
action you want the reader to take.
17. Remember to include all your important contact
details in your signature.
18. Avoid emoticons as these are viewed as
unprofessional.
19. Do not use Bold, Underline or Italics unless
you
want to highlight something in the body of the email.
20. Avoid all capitals it is the equivalent of
SHOUTING on an email.
Keeping these 20 tips in
mind, you should be on your way to writing crisp, professional and
effective
emails. Effective email communication is an art and like all arts it
takes time and
practice to
become a true master.
Related
Artlicles:
Importance
of Communication
Effective
Business
Communication
Definition
of Bussiness Communication
Good
Listening skills
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