Nancy Ellen Dodd, MPW, MFA
I have been teaching with Frances Grimes in the Management Communications program here at Graziadio this fall and so business communication is on my mind.
Face-to-face business communication is difficult—attempting to read body language, facial expressions, and gestures (although some gestures speak for themselves), can be a challenge. Not to mention cultural differences that can blur the meaning to any one or all of the above.
Even more difficult can be written communication when there are no expressions and gestures to guide us. Add poor grammar, haphazard punctuation, and misspellings… well, we all know where that can lead. Then mix in the language of different cultures and disciplines, and you can really have a problem.
I once wrote an email to someone in another department who was handling our IT. Since we were just starting to develop audio and video, I needed extra help with a particular project. In the email I wrote that I just needed a download of the file in a new format for “audacity.” The recipient of the email responded not quite in the way I expected, offering to do something quite different than I requested.
In a brief conversation in the hallway, I later learned that as a non-native English speaker this person was a little hurt by my accusation “of having the audacity to attempt to make changes.” I had not capitalized the word “audacity” nor explained that Audacity is a software program I was using to edit audio, thus the miscommunication. I learned to consider my audience in writing an email and to always ask, “Is what I’m saying in the correct context for the recipient?”
Here are a few tips to improve your email business communication:
- Briefer is better. Be simple and direct. You are not writing a paper for school or an academic article; you are trying to get information “to someone” or “from someone.” Make sure you state clearly and succinctly what you want and when you need it in as few words as possible, while still giving essential details. Use bullet points for details that you can list.
- Good grammar and punctuation are key. A comma in the wrong place can change the meaning of what you are writing. Not using proper capitalization can confuse the importance of the subject. Poor grammar shows an indifference to the topic and is demeaning to the recipient of the email, but more than that, it diminishes the perceived intelligence of the author.
- Load the important information at the beginning. Too often people only read what they see in the email window and ignore that there might be more. If they scan the email and the important information is at the end, it may not be captured in their quick scan. How often have you heard, “You didn’t say that!” when you did—buried three lengthy paragraphs later.
- Read it over. Change the word choice to precise language and listen for whether the words sound angry or indifferent or silly. The more important the topic, the more attention should be paid to the tone. Does the email sound stern or friendly, insulting or even angry. BY NOW, EVERYONE SHOULD BE AWARE THAT TEXT WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING.
- Which leads to the final tip: Don’t hit send until you’re absolutely ready. Once an email is sent, it is out there somewhere in the ether. Have you ever hit “Send” and immediately regretted it? Although some systems have a “Recall” feature, it does not always recall all the emails. Sometimes therapists suggest writing a letter and letting all your feelings out, but then not sending it. Whatever you do, do not do this in an email. Use a paper and pen so that it is a little harder to send. And when you reply to emails, take a moment to consider whether you mean to hit “Reply All” or “Reply” or even “Forward”—big differences with potentially very embarrassing consequences for clicking the wrong one.
Have your own email writing tips or stories? Share them in the comments!
Related in the Graziadio Business Report
Editor’s Note: A Lexicon of Business and Information Technology (IT) Acronyms by Nancy Dodd, MFA, MPW
Management Skills for the 21st Century by Mark Mallinger, PhD
Language, Culture and Global Business by Jennifer Roney, PhD
Number 3 is key! Action items and important info first.
I’d also add another point: use the Subject line wisely. Tell the reader what you expect them to do with the message and then sum up the contents in a few words.
Examples:
Vote Please: Next Month’s Webinar Topic Choices
FYI: Interesting Internal Comms Trends
Response Requested: Please edit article and send back by Friday
Question: How do I raise a P.O?
So often people hit ‘Reply’ and never change the subject line, even when the actual content has morphed into something very different. I’ve missed action items this way after being CC’d on 5 or 6 emails, all with the same Subject line!
I totally agree with all that has been said, and would like to add one point-avoid using SMS language in your mails! I hate mails which say ‘u’, or worse, ‘c u’, in the middle of otherwise formal mails!
In today’s multi-national, multi-cultural organizations, your emails are a direst reflection of your work :showcase it effectively.
Great comments. Other tips I have found helpful when writing email:
Write it first in Notepad or Word if the email requires careful thought. Also, you may not want to type in recipient’s name on the email until you have completed your message; in some cases one can hit “Send” too quickly or by mistake!
Very relevant in the context of travel restrictions in many businesses around the world. I have dozens of things that can be added to your excellent tips and the other helpful tips from fellow readers-
1. Always include contact details in the mail so that people can call you
2. Restrict the size of the mail to less than 3 paragraphs of 4 lines each when you want to convey important messages
3. As a leader, try and get the opinion of close colleagues for an important message to the employees. You will be surprised at the number of changes you may want to do
4. Avoid attachments for important mails….most CEOs and leaders use smartphones to respond to emails, and these machines do not always open attachments
5. Avoid background graphics and fancy fonts and colors in your mail, as they will not show up properly in some mail clients
Lastly, and this is the most important point, avoid writing when you can call or speak in person!
Well said. However I do have to say that using appropriate visuals & crisp messaging have worked wonders for us. Responses have gone up. Since we work with lotus notes, we had to improvise to come up with a fool proof solution for images to be displayed properly.
Some other tips/best practices
To: vs. CC:
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Send email messages to people that require attention or response. CC’s should only be used for others that don’t require a repsonse or are just being notified of what is going on. This helps people who filter their emails based on the To: field.
Subject line changes
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I agree that if an email stream has morphed into something completely different, then it may be worthwhile to change the subject line, however I would be cautious. When searching or organizing emails, many people use the subject line to find related emails and a change in subject can make it very difficult to find what you are looking for.
To avoid writing too much, making spelling or grammatical errors –or choosing words that can convey meanings different than those you intended — write the message in a Word document first. Unless it’s very brief, if you need to organize your thoughts, do it in a place where you can’t accidentally send a disorganized e-mail or one that can be misinterpreted.
When you write your message in Word, you can save the message as a draft and come back to it later to send. But once you hit, “Send” to the recipient of the e-mail, you’ve put something in writing that could come back to haunt you.
This is the same premise as “sleeping” on an “Dear John” or the like. Unless you’re in a terrible time crunch to reply to someone, cool your heels. Take out every “very” and “extremely” and “much” in your message and you’ll probably be okay.
I, obviously, am not — not at almost midnight. Anything I send at this hour is a risk. Come to think of it, I should have written this comment in Word. I have rambled, haven’t I?
Write in Word, and copy the message into the body of the e-mail. Take no chances.