WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAILS

A. TALAPATRA

10 COMMON
E-MAIL HABITS THAT WASTE TIME AND CAUSE PROBLEMS
1. 2.

3.
4. 5.

6.
7. 8.

9.
10.

Vague or nonexistent subject line Changing the topic without changing the subject Including multiple subjects in one note Sending before thinking Inadvertent replying to all. Omitting the context of a reply. Shooting the messenger. Misaddressed recipients. Displaying addresses of recipients who are strangers to each other. Replying vs. forwarding

TOPICS
1.

2.
3. 4.

5.
6. 7.

8.
9.

Addressing Subject Line Message Text Signature Line Attachments Style Confidentiality and Security Managing Email Dos and don'ts

ADDRESSING
Limit

to who really needs to know Make it clear in text who has action and who is info addressee Use BCC to protect Email addresses unless everyone knows each other Watch Reply All Use address book with mail groups & validate often.
Avoid typing addresses free hand; many addresses are similar; watch auto fill. Send same message to multiple recipients by editing message as new or cutting and pasting

 Make

sure forward does not embarrass sender

Get permission if in doubt

Fill

in addresses last to avoid sending an incomplete Email by mistake

SUBJECT LINE
When

someone scans through a new email, the only thing he/she initially reads is the subject line. This helps the recipient to decide whether to open, forward, file, or trash a message The subject clearly summarizes your intentions for sending the mail Keep it short - long subject lines will get truncated. Don't ever send an email with an empty subject line. Don't have the subject as "Hi" or "Hello there" unless the purpose of your email is to simply say hello.

If your reply is not relevant at all to the subject line, start a new thread with a fresh subject line which more accurately reflects the e-mails actual contents.

SUBJECT LINE
Headline

(think newspaper) Grab Attention Summarize message Make it easy for recipients to triage your Email and find it later Dont Reply All to a message to grab addressees without changing subject

RATE THESE SUBJECT LINES

1.

2.
3. 4.

5.

Subject: Important! Read Immediately!! Subject: Meeting Subject: Follow-up About Meeting Subject: Announcement Subject: Do we need a larger room for Social meeting on May 14?

SALUTATION
The

first line of your email should be a greeting, followed by an empty line and then your message body. If it is the first time you are emailing somebody, "Hi (name)," should be preferred. Using "Dear (name)," is too stuffy and awkward. Salutations are tricky, especially if you are crossing cultures Frequently, titles are different for men and women, and you may not be able to tell which you are addressing\ The family name is first in some cultures and last in others Honorifics may vary based on status or age Make sure you have got all this right before you proceed with the email. E.g.: It is safer to use "Ms." instead of "Miss" or "Mrs." unless you know the preference of the woman in question.

MESSAGE TEXT
Keep

the message focused and readable Keep the most important details at the top. Dont bury them in the middle of a paragraph Keep it short Keep everything on one page (screen) Break into paragraphs Leave blank lines between paragraphs Use short sentences (12-15 words) and active voice Use plain text editor, not MS Word Avoid fancy typefaces

MESSAGE TEXT (CONTD.)

Often

readers press reply as soon as they read a sentence where they have something to say, and forget reading the rest of the mail If there are more than one items, number the points, to ensure they are read Final sentence should provide a concrete action for the receiver

MESSAGE TEXT (CONTD.)

Write

in standard professional English with Capitalization and correct spelling.

Dont try to impress. Avoid chat speak, e.g., CUL8R & emoticons, .

Dont

use abbreviations in business emails Dont type in All Caps like yelling. Avoid !!! Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT. Use * * to highlight text if you must. Proofread & spell check.

MESSAGE TEXT (CONTD.)

Quote

back selectively when replying to long messages

Yes, I agree. is useless without context Top quote vs. bottom quote no consensus Avoid Fisking, replying line by line in an argumentative manner

Identify

yourself clearly to cold contacts

Promptly

Hello, I amThe reason I am writing Hello, so-in-so suggested I contact you

Respond

Apologize if you dont Interim reply when too busy

Dont

shoot the messenger

ATTACHMENTS
Use

sparingly. Cut and paste relevant parts of attachment into text of Email. Use URL links instead.

Upload attachments to website and cite URL.

Recipients

who do not know you may be reluctant to open attachments or click URLs Post attachment first to avoid Oops, heres the attachment. Trend is posting large attachments into blogs followed by Email announcement.

Gives people a chance to comment on attachment without a series of Reply All messages. Those interested can check comments or use RSS feed to be notified.

 Include (if you want people to contact you) Your name Title Organization Email address (especially on listservs) Website Phones Can be shortened for frequent correspondents

SIGNATURE LINE

placed in header of Email stationery If you must include a quote in signature keep it short. This message is intended for

or

Clutters up Email. Often longer than message. Omit unless your company requires it.

Avoid

visiting cards because some readers treat them as attachments

STYLE
Threads

Multiple replies can get out of hand, but continue them to maintain the tread. When they start to drift start a new thread with explanation.

Be

true to venue.
Flame

Formal vs. informal More common in chats and blogs, but still wrong.

Dont

STYLE (CONTD.)
Forwarding

stuff, e.g., chain letters

Avoid this as it annoys most people. Check address list before forwarding a Did you see this? - They may have received it. If you must forward, strip out addresses and use BCC to hide your address list.

Do

not overuse high priority option. Avoid delivery and read receipts. Do not ask to recall a message.

Just apologize and correct.

Do

not copy a message or attachment without permission. Do not scoop someone elses message.

STYLE (CONTD.)
Chill

out!

Avoid sending a snarky reply to an irritating e-mail. Wait 24 hours. Write, but dont send. Dont reply at all and let them wonder. Offer to speak by phone or in person; Email is not a good tool for clearing the air. Leave no record of sensitive or emotional responses. Never say in Email what you wouldnt say in person or would not like to see in the press or defend in court. Once you hit Send you have lost control of the Email.

You can never be certain that it was erased from all locations. Think of all Email as Permanent.

USE OF TO & CC FIELDS

Usually it is implied that if you have included someone in the "To:" field, then s/he is an intended recipient and should reply if required someone is in the "Cc:" field, then the email is merely an FYI ('for your information') for him/her, and he/she is not expected to reply you want a particular person to reply to a specific part of your email, make that clear (e.g., Arjun, could you forward me last week's budget?"), or if you want everyone to reply, you can say something like "I would appreciate everyone's feedback about my ideas.

If

If

USE OF TO & CC FIELDS

When

an email has more than one recipient, there is the danger of nobody replying because everyone thinks that someone else has already replied. That is why "Reply to All" might be a good idea to show that you have already replied so that somebody else does not later duplicate the information you have just provided.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY

Dont

assume privacy.

Unencrypted Email is not secure and may be monitored Dont include in an unencrypted Email anything you would not want a third party to read Details of encrypting and digitally signing Email is beyond the scope of this presentation

CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY (CONTD.)

Protecting yourself
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Have a separate free Email account for newsletters, white paper registration, etc. Delete browser history, cache, cookies, userids and passwords after using a public Internet connection. Logout and close all Apps after using a public Internet connection. (Restart if possible.) Dont conduct company business on non-secure personal computer. Back up your Email. Beware of spam.

If it sounds too good, it is. Report it.

Forward them to customer service.

7. 8.

Beware of Phishing attacks.

Never include personal or financial info in an Email.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY (CONTD.)

Dont unsubscribe from anything you did not subscribe to. 10. Beware of friends Emails as they may pass malware and viruses unintentionally 11. Install a good security suite on your personal computer.
9.

Many ISPs, e.g., COMCAST, provide them free.

12. 13. 14.

Never share account info, even with family. Use strong passwords.

Encrypt them on a password protected thumb drive.

Encrypt wireless connections. 15. Use encryption and digital signatures for important Email.

MANAGING EMAIL
Organize

Email into folders.

Use company file plan for in-house Email.

Keep

a copy of all sent Email. Review and clean out folders periodically.
Good for rainy day or slow day at work. Comply with company retention schedule.
Dont

print Email unless you need to refer to it remotely. Declare Email bankruptcy

Inbox clogged with overdue responses. Send Email to all correspondents apologizing for not replying and asking them to resend important Email. Delete all old messages in Inbox. Then check your inboxes daily.

MANAGING EMAIL (CONTD.)

Use

separate Email channels for separate communities:

Professional Business In-house Family and friends Hobbies and interests Listservs

MANAGING EMAIL (CONTD.)

Using

web-based Email is the most flexible.

Hotmail, Gmail, AOL, Yahoo But, cant access old mail unless connected. Leave Email on server until you can download it to local storage.

Use

out of office agent when away.

DOS
Write an informative subject line. Be courteous. Put the key point of your message up front. Be brief. Make it easy for the reader to reply yes or no or give a short answer. End well with an appropriate next step. Wait and check before pressing 'send' Proofread. Make yourself look good online because your email can be forwarded to anyone or everyone else in the company or anywhere. Respond promptly.

Don't leave the Subject Line blank Don't use all capital letters Don't use emoticons or abbreviations Don't send without checking for mistakes Dont assume that people have time to read your entire message Dont think that an e-mail is good for everything Dont write an e-mail when you are rushed