According to a survey in 2019, email is the most frequently used communication tool in the workplace, with 77.8 % of respondents citing it as their primary form of communication
This is followed by face-to-face conversations (51.2%), instant messaging (47.7%), telephone calls (44%), and text messaging (37%).
Considering this fact it is high time you improve your email writing game, especially if you feel that you sometimes don’t get the results that you would like to see. Below, I put together some of the most effective tips that you can implement right away to get better results.
Put yourself into the shoes of the recipient & fix the things you hate when getting mail
In order for you to get good results you should make it as easy as possible for your counterpart to be helpful. Therefore, the first thing I do when I write emails is to try to put myself in the shoes of the receiving party and adapt the content of my mail accordingly. Aside from that I will also think about what I hate when receiving emails and will avoid those things as they usually make me feel like I do not want to reply.
The questions I ask myself to get better results are:
- What does the person know about the topic? Do I need to add a short summary or explanation?
- What do I want from the person? How can I make it as easy as possible for the recipient to answer me in a beneficial way?
- Examples: Add documents that might be relevant for the discussion / Add proposals of how to proceed / Create a draft (depending on the topic) that could be picked up by the recipient
- The general rule of thumb is, the busier your counterpart the better it is for you to prepare as much as possible
- Is the topic too complex for an email and would I get a better result by having a short meeting?
- Should the answer be yes, then avoid emails. It will simply lead to back and forth and writing huge emails is not the most effective way to get such topics resolved.
My trigger points that I will avoid:
- Forwarding long email threads without putting in a summary for my next recipient and formulating a clear ask. Nothing triggers me more than receiving a huge email thread with no summary and simply a sentence like “Could you please support here?”.
This just shows disrespect to my time or anyone’s time that receives such an email…
Basically, I need to spend now several minutes just to figure out what is going on and what the sender wants me to do…- What to do instead: Put a short summary of the problem or ongoing discussion on top of the email. Then formulate clearly the ask. With this, you will get better results as you make it easy for your counterpart to support you.
- simply using my name as a starter for a conversation… meaning something like this:
”Jonathan, as you can see from the below conversation… “.
Now, don’t get me wrong I know that especially in the US this is quite a common style and I won’t get really offended here but it still annoys me, especially if the email comes with an ask or demand. Not using a greeting just feels lazy to me… and saying a short hello or good morning or other forms will not kill your efficiency. In case it is an active ongoing discussion I do not mind at all if the greeting is left out as it does not make sense to say “hello” every 5 minutes…- What to do instead: Use a greeting, especially if it is a first contact or there have been several hours between exchanges.
- Being impolite or overly demanding without having established first contact. Especially in my line of work, there will be escalations. Those escalations of course also come with emails that are then quite demanding or express frustration. This is completely fine, but I can tell you from experience if there was never a first contact before such an exchange it is better to still be polite as it will increase the willingness of your counterpart to support you.
- What to do instead: Be assertive, but polite and formulate realistic asks.
Most common best practices
Writing good emails is not really that difficult, just use the below best practices and you will be good.
- Use a clear and concise subject line. Make sure the subject line accurately reflects the content of the email.
- Start with a greeting. Use a professional salutation such as “Dear [Name],” or “Hello [Name],”.
- Introduce yourself. If you are emailing someone you don’t know, include a brief introduction of who you are and why you are emailing them.
- Provide all relevant information in the body of the email
- Get to the point. Be clear and concise in your message. Avoid long, rambling sentences and get straight to the point.
- Use a polite and professional tone. If in doubt, formulate it more politely. I observed so many conflicts in the workplace simply due to misunderstandings caused by how different people interpret the sentiment of an email incorrectly. As we do not see the body language or hear the tone it can be difficult to judge it correctly.
- Avoid using slang, abbreviations, and in general emoticons.
- Regarding emoticons, I see a caveat here… I sometimes use them to indicate a friendly sentiment or highlight a “joke” or a statement that is not supposed to be serious.. so if I use emoticons, they are used sparingly and just the simple ones: 🙂 or 😉
- Proofread. Before sending your email, make sure to proofread it for any spelling or grammar errors.
- Include a call to action. If you are asking the recipient to do something, make sure to include a clear call to action.
- Sign off. End your email with a polite sign-off such as “Sincerely,” or “Best regards,” followed by your name.
For completeness’ sake here is a template for writing about a problem you need support with:
Subject: [Problem Description]
Dear [Name],
I am writing to explain a problem I am having. [Briefly describe the problem].
I have tried [list steps taken to resolve the problem], but the problem persists.
I would appreciate your help in resolving this issue.
Thank you for your time and assistance.
Sincerely, [Your Name]
Do you have some tips on how to write good emails that I missed mentioning? Let me know about them in the comments!
Have a great day and stay awesome!
