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for writing

Tips

great e-mail
Technical English 2013

By the end of today you will know:

What makes a good email Different email writing styles Email Basics and Key Phrases Tricks for making you emails crystal clear

Activity : Complete Quiz in Pairs

Why do we email?
Persuade Give information Plan and Design Problem Solve Give Technical Instructions Ask People to do Things. Take action. Write 2 need to knows.

1. Did you send any emails before you came here today? How many? 2. How many email do you send and receive every day? 3. Do you ever check your work email at home? 4. Does you know about any guidelines / rules about email? 5. Do you write sentences that are short and to the point? 6. How do you usually begin and end emails in English? 7. Do you ever use smileys? 8. How often do you use a spell checker? 9. Do you include a signature with your email. If yes, what info? 10. DO you ever use exclamation marks after a persons name at the beginning of an email e.g. Hi Kelly! 1. Do you use cc: or bcc: fields and if so, does the recipient know what action, if any, to take. 2. Do you always answer emails within 24 hours? How soon do you answer priority emails?

Guidelines .. company culture?

1. 2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Corporate email style (formal/informal).

Salutation and ending of messages Signatures should be used, i.e. should signatures include company name, job function, tel & fax number, address, website and / or a corporate slogan.

Basic rules on how to write email messages

Answering email. How soon? How to determine which email should receive priority. Policy on bcc and cc. How and when to forward messages.

Why an Email Policy?

Commercial objective: in teaching employees how to send effective emails and stating target answering times, you can professionalize your email replies and therefore gain competitive advantage. Productivity objective: by setting out rules for the personal use of email you can improve productivity and avoid misunderstandings. Legal objective: in clearly stating what is considered as inappropriate email content you can minimize the risk of law suits and minimize employer's liability by showing that the company warned employees of inappropriate email use.

PASS
P What is the purpose of the message, and does the purpose relate to an objective? State both clearly in the first two sentences. You can include background information later in the message.

A What action is needed, who is responsible, and when must it be done? This information should immediately follow the purpose. If more than one person is receiving the message, indicate their names in bold with the relevant information for each person.

S What supporting documentation does the recipient need? Provide all the information required to take the action you request (provide this information either as an attachment or in the body of the e-mail message).

S Does the subject line effectively summarize the message? A reader should be able to anticipate what your e-mail message says before opening it. Write the subject line last so that it accurately reflects the content of your message.

Tip #1: Keep it short

Hi DI2013, Ive just heard that we need to get the ball rolling and start writing shorter emails, so I thought Id send some guidelines to help you out. First, its a good idea if sentences are kept short. As a matter of fact, you should try to keep email to a maximum of one to two paragraphs. Also, try to Cut out irrelevant information or unnecessary words. As well as this, it would be good to get rid of unclear, long phrases and cliches. Its better to use verbs instead of heavy noun phrases: i.e. "decide" rather than "take a decision", "meet" instead of "hold a meeting. If you can, use white space as it makes it much easier for the reader to skim and if you use bullets and lists its even better. Finally, use double spacing between paragraphs and salutation. Thats it for now, BR Kelly

Dear Ninbos11, The company has decided that we need to write shorter emails. Could you please use the following guidelines in your future emails:

1. Write in short sentences, max 15-20 words and limit email to 1-2 short paragraphs. 2. Cut out irrelevant information or unnecessary words. 3. Delete unclear, long phrases and cliches 4. Use verbs instead of heavy noun phrases: i.e. "decide" rather than "take a decision", "meet" instead of "hold a meeting. 5. Use white space so skimming is easy. 6. Use double spacing between paragraphs and salutation.
Best regards Kelly Raita

Tip #2: Have a Killer Subject

Subject should tell reader exactly what is coming. Should make it easy to locate email later Should use nouns Tell if Information, Action, Help
Meeting 10 Dec. Check and Return Minutes Complaint About Request for Delivery of + use name of product Invoice number

Tip #3: Be precise

Whats wrong with these?

Well need to know asap. Can you send the specifications as soon as you can?

 Could you please inform of your decision by Friday 3 February at the latest? We would appreciate your reply by Friday 3rd February. This is really important so can you get back to us by/before 2 Feb? Cheers. Please confirm this date by 6pm. Could you find out more about the production delay? I need an answer for the client before our meeting tomorrow at 10 am.

Tip # 4: Get to the Point

Know Your Audience

Style: Formal

versus

Informal

Formal and Informal Exercises

Run a Spell Check

ARE YOU LISTENING %%###