Introduction to Business Writing: Effective Business Emails

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Introduction to Business Writing Effective
Business Emails

• Wendy M. Gough
• St. Mary College/Nunoike Gaigo Senmon Gakko
  Nagoya, Japan

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Before writing the email
Make a plan!
Think about the purpose of the email
Think about the person who will read the email
and how you want him or her to react
Make an outline or list of the main points and
details you want to include in the email
Double check any facts, dates, times, or other
specific details that will be included in the
email
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Things to consider when doing business
correspondence
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Who are you writing to and what is your
relationship with the person?
If the person you are writing to is in a higher
position than you, your email should use more
formal language than if the person is someone in
the same level position than you.
If you have never met the person receiving your
email before, you should use formal language in
the first email to him or her.
Once you have sent the first email and received a
reply, you can choose to continue using formal
language or choose to use less formal language in
future emails.
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What is the situation?
Think about the reason you are sending the email
and decide if formal or informal language is
better.
If you are requesting a service or asking a
favor, you should use formal language.
If you are making a complaint, you should use
strong words to express your dissatisfaction or
problem but you must be polite.
If you are introducing yourself, you should use
formal language but you can use words or phrases
that let your personality show through as well.
If you are writing a customer relation letter,
you should use formal language.
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What do you want to accomplish?
Think about the reason for writing the email and
what you want the person who receives the email
to do with it.
If you want the receiver to do something for you,
make it clear. Tell the receiver exactly what
action you want done.
Tell the receiver if no action needs to be taken.
If you want the receiver to respond by a certain
date, write the response date.
If you are negotiating or rearranging a meeting,
write your demands or available times clearly.
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Some things to remember when writing business
emails
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Get right to the point
Dont use unnecessary words and phrases that
distract from the main idea of the email or may
confuse the reader
The person reading your email does not have a lot
of time to read your email so you must make it as
direct as possible.
Make the reason for writing the email clear at
the beginning and only add details that are
directly related to the topic of the email.
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Use simple sentences
Avoiding difficult or complex sentence structures
will help you avoid grammar mistakes.
Simple sentences will make the email easier for
your reader to understand, especially if the
person reading the email is not a native English
speaker.
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Pay attention to word choice
Remember that writing, is a form of indirect
communication. Unlike having a conversation with
someone, you do not have a chance to clarify
yourself by restating your ideas or use nonverbal
cues to make your meaning clear. You have to make
sure your reader understands what you want to say
and gets the right message the first time.
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Think about how the email might be perceived by
the reader. Are there any words or phrases that
may make the tone seem angry, flippant, or
disrespectful?
Avoid trying to make a joke or say something
funny in an email. Sometimes what you think is
funny might be misunderstood by the reader and
create a bad relationship.
Use words that are specifically related to the
topic but define any words or phrases that you
think the reader might not be familiar with,
especially words that are specific to a certain
type of job, field of study, or product.
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The subject of the email
Always write the subject of the email on the
subject line
Remember that business people often receive
hundreds of emails every day. If you dont write
the subject in the subject line the person
receiving the email might think it is SPAM or
junk email and delete the message. If the subject
isnt clear they might delete the email as well,
so make sure the subject is direct-dont use too
many words.
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The four Parts of a business email
The Opening
Tells the reader why you are writing
The Focus
Tells the details about the topic
The Action
Tells what you want to happen and gives a time
frame
The Closing
Thank the reader and mention future communication
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Basic Email Format
Templates from Learnthenet
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The receivers email address
Carbon copy
Blind carbon copy
Email subject
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wednesdaysensei_at_hotmail.com
joeshmou_at_youknow.net
July 5 meeting time change
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Type your email message in the text box, then
click send and it will be sent to the receivers
you have indicated in the to, Cc, and Bcc areas.
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References
http//www.learnthenet.com/ENGLISH/html/92email.ht
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