American studies have shown that people spend more than 3 hours each day checking work emails and another 2 hours looking at personal messages. With so many messages bombarding us daily, it is clear how important it is not only to maintain a friendly atmosphere in work chats and emails, but also to make this correspondence as useful as possible for both you and your interlocutor.
The Essay Tigers team has found some tips that will help you when drafting both daily business emails to colleagues and emails to potential employers or clients.
When communicating with management, make your arguments at the end of the conversation
If your boss or bosswoman asks you a question, first answer it directly and then back up your answer with arguments. You should do this for several reasons:
- Managers are busy people and often prefer to know the solution to a problem rather than go into details, and a long discussion of the topic can only cause irritation.
- Perhaps the boss already has a solution in mind, and it’s the same as yours, then there’s simply no need to go into detail.
- When you answer directly, it is clear that you are sure of your decision and are not evasive. And your words sound more convincing.
Follow the pyramid rule when drafting long emails
Whether you’re sending a resume, an assignment to a subordinate, or the specs on a new air conditioner for your office, try to follow the pyramid rule outlined in Barbara Minto’s book, “The Pyramid Principle:Logic in Writing and Thinking”. What you should do:
- At the very top – the heading – is where the most important information is located.
- Each paragraph should contain a different idea.
- The most important words are the first words of each sentence, and the most important thoughts should be in the first sentences of each paragraph. A person will see these if they want to take a glimpse of your email.
- The rest of each paragraph’s sentences should complement and clarify the idea, not contain a new thesis.
Value the time of the person you’re talking to
If you need time to think, it is better to write to the person you are talking to immediately. Tell them exactly what you need to think about, and give them at least an approximate timeframe when you can respond. Even by email, it is better to respond within a day, including if you’ll need to tell them you won’t be able to provide the information or documents they need for a few days.
Set up an automatic response
Of course, you can and should post information that you are on vacation, have taken time off, or are sick in your profile, and also inform your superiors. But to avoid unnecessary calls from work asking, “Where did you disappear to?”, it is better to set up an automatic reply in the work chat. Then, the person who sent you a message will immediately see that you are not there and will not disturb you with calls and SMS.
In the auto-reply, it is important to indicate when you will be in touch and to offer options to address urgent issues: email, contact the support service, or contact your colleague at the specified contacts. If the message is intended for potential clients, try to make it sound friendly and free of clericalism. You can add a cute GIF or picture to the subject line to increase the likelihood that the person will come back to you. According to statistics, on Facebook, of the total number of posts from brands that people responded to, 87% contained images.
Avoid ambiguous phrases and excessive emotionality
A nervous, throwaway “finally” and an abundance of exclamation points in the first correspondence create a sense that a dire need for toilet paper requires immediate resolution. It is better to try to avoid excessive emotionality and humor, which can be interpreted in two ways. Tips:
- Try not to use words written in capital letters and exclamation marks; otherwise, your interlocutor may feel that you are pressuring them.
- Avoid ambiguity and innuendo: they can spoil the relationship. Even a phrase like “Such an expert like you still needs to look for” can make an insecure person feel insulted.
- Try not to write anything that you cannot repeat to the company director, even in ordinary work correspondence. The innocent-looking phrase “What kind of office do we have?!” can not only offend other employees but also cause dissatisfaction with the boss.
Don’t annoy the person by reminding them of your message
Remember the famous rule about dating, which states that it is better not to remind yourself of the person you like for 3 days after the meeting? In the business sphere, it is really worth adopting it.
If you want to remind a potential employer about yourself or agree on the date of the meeting, it is recommended to wait 2-3 days after the last message. If it is important to you to know whether the recipient received the email, it is better to ask for a direct confirmation in the email rather than sending an extra reminder.
Compose the email in reverse order
Add the names or email addresses of the intended recipients last – this avoids the embarrassing situation of accidentally sending an incomplete message. Better yet, compose the email in reverse order:
- First, add all the necessary attachments
- The,n write the email itself
- Indicate the subject (if it is an email message)
- Check that the links work and that there are no errors
For critical outreach, you should also test your email deliverability to ensure your carefully crafted message doesn’t bypass the inbox and head straight to spam. Only then will you add the contacts of the recipients.
Don’t overuse thank you notes
Do not clog your email or chat with unnecessary “thank you”. The exception is a message expressing gratitude for receiving an important email (“Thank you, the contract was received”) and sincere words of appreciation in response to help or service. If there is no urgent need to thank you right now, you can write “thank you” and a couple of warm phrases in the next business correspondence.
Avoid duty phrases and responses
Try not to ask general questions like “How was your vacation?” especially if you’re not interested in it and are asking purely out of politeness. But avoid duty answers if your bosses or important clients are interested in such things.
Conclusion
Let’s get a little creative together. Write your unconventional answer to the banal question “How are you?” from your boss, colleague, or friend or girlfriend. Both humorous and quite serious answers are awesome!
