How to write Mail

By
Subroto Ghosh
Why Email Etiquette is important

 Professionalism

 Efficiency

 Protection from liability

 FOCUS ON 8 C’S
 Clarity
 Conciseness
 Correctness
 Completeness
 Consideration
 Courtesy
 Construction
 Common Tips
Clarity - Enhances Readability

horten Sentences by creating one idea

per

sentence

horten Sentences by turning nouns

 CLARITY
The Fog Factor
This factor tells you whether your writing is
‘communicating’ or is it ‘foggy’ i.e. confusing.
How to calculate Fog Factor
Take a typical sample of about 100 to 200 words of
your
writing. Count the number of sentences. Count all
the
long words with 3 or more syllables, excluding
proper
nouns.
Then apply the fog factor:
• Divide the number of long words by the number
of sentences.
• Clear writing has a factor of less than 3.
 Conciseness – Get to the
Point

• The KISS rule

• Avoid repetition
• Remove redundancies
 A Leave Application

Dear Sir,
My mother-in-law has expired and I
m responsible
for it. Please grant me ten days
leave.

Regards,
 Correctness
• The Magic of Spells
• Write Right
• Without Punctuation, its difficult to
read
• Plz Don’t Abbrvt
• Do not write in CAPITALS
• Font Size & Font Colour

• Verb Usage
 Completeness

• Answer all questions asked

• Check for the Five W’s - Who,
What, When, Why, Where
• Use Facts & figures
 Consideration

• Use the YOU attitude

• Don’t use that TONE with me
• Be Gender - Neutral
 Courtesy
• Mind your P’s & Q’s
• Do not be over Courteous and Lame
• Omit expressions that irritate, or
belittle
• Apologize only when necessary
• Like an arrow shot from a bow
Poor Usage Examples

No subject line
 Construction

• Use a Descriptive & Catchy

Subject Line
• Greet Right
• Keep a Pyramid Structure
• Always Use your Signature
 Construction
The Hot Potato Closing
The hot potato or action item closing
technique is a means of ending a letter
with a clear understanding of what the
next step is.

While concluding your email;

• Mention clearly of your availability
• Give the reader a clear Dead Line
 A Candidate’s Application

Dear Sir,
This has reference to your advertisement calling
for a typist and an accountant – Male or
Female…
As I m both for the past several years and I can
handle both; I m applying for the post.

Thanks & Regards,

DingDong Patel
 Common Tips
Be very specific with the use of bold,
italic or underline font style
Paragraph and line spacing should be
legitimate and visually appealing
Read the email thrice before you send it
Reply with original message only
Use proper structure & layout. If multiple
questions are asked in a mail, reply just
beneath the right question and try to
distinguish with font color
Don’t just forward a message, mention
the course of action
 Common Tips
• Request delivery and Read Receipts
• Use Follow Up Flags.
• Use CC: field sparingly
• Use the Bcc: field while you do not
want all addressee to know who all are
being mailed the same matter
• When in Bcc, do not reply. They are
sensitive mails
• Zip all Attachments. Large files use
shared server or websites
 Common Tips
• Don't reply to an email message when
angry, as you may regret it later. Once
the message has been sent, you will
not be able to recover it
• Avoid religious, libelous, defamatory,
offensive, racist, communal or obscene
remarks
• Do not use email to discuss confidential
information
• Do not use Jargons unless you know its
meaning
• If an email discussion doesn’t end in 1-2
 Poor Usage Examples

Discussion that could have been done on

the phone
 Towards A Helpful Positive
Image
Positive language will more likely elicit cooperation
rather than argument or confrontation

Negative: “We regret to inform you that we cannot

process your application, since you have neglected
to
provide sufficient information. Please complete ALL
sections of the attached form and return it to us.

Positive: “Congratulations on your decision to start

a new business. To process your application we need
some
additional information. If you return the attached
form,
with highlighted areas, filled in, we will be able to
 Remember
• DON’T ALWAYS USE OUTLOOK –
Just because email is easier, pick
up the phone or meet in person.
Don’t hide behind your computer
monitor!

• Constructive confrontation or
disagreements do NOT get
resolved in email