The presentation provides simple tips for effective communication through emails.

1. Writing Effective E-Mails
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2. Importance of Effective Email
Communication
 List down two or three points why it is important to
have effective email communication:
1.
2.
3.
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3. Importance of Effective Email
Communication
Any questions about the importance? 
It is a way of life!
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4. 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 respond/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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5. The recipient and your relationship
 Whom 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 as 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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6. 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 for a favor, you should
use formal language.
 If you are making a complaint, you must carefully choose the
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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

7. 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.
 If the mail is for recipient's information only and no action
needs to be taken, clearly mention that.
 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
requirements or available times clearly.
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8. Important Elements
 Subject line
 Message body
 Address / salutation
 Purpose
 Details
/ explanation
 Closure
 Signature
 Attachment (optional)
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9. Important Elements (contd.)
 The Opening
 Tells the
reader why you are writing the mail
 The Focus
 Provides details about the topic
 The Action
 Tells what you want to
happen and gives a time frame
 The Closing
 Includes thanking the
if any
reader and mention of future actions,
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10. Subject Line
 Make the subject line clear and concise
 It is
the decision maker about whether to open, forward, file,
or trash the message
 Clearly summarize the intention
 Do not ever send a mail without a subject line
 Do not have the subject as “Hi” or “Hello” unless that IS the
intention
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11. Address / Salutation
 The first line of your email should be a greeting, followed
by an empty line and then your message body.
 Salutations are tricky, especially if you are crossing
cultures.
 If it is the first time you are emailing somebody, be formal
in addressing. For ex. ‘Dear Mr./Ms. Xxx:’ or ‘Dear Sir /
Madam:’
 Do not start the mail with just ‘Hello’ or ‘Hi’.
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12. Message Body - Purpose
 Make the purpose clear in the first line
 The objective could be
Requesting some info
 Sending the status updates
 Asking for clarification
 Conveying good news
 Breaking bad news
 Defending your view point
 Requesting postponement of deadline
 Sending meeting / call minutes
 Sending meeting / call agenda


…
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13. Message Body - Details
 Keep the message focused and readable
 Put all important details at
the top of the email body
 Keep the rest of the email short
 Use short paragraphs; consider breaking up paragraphs to
only a few sentences a piece.
 Don't bury a key piece of information in a large paragraph
 Keep sentences short
 Try to fit the complete message on one screen
 Provide blank lines between paragraphs
 Use a bullet list when listing out items
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14. Message Body – Details (contd.)
 Get right to the point
 Don’t use unnecessary words and phrases that distract from
the main idea of the email or may confuse the reader
 The person reading your email is always pressed for time 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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15. Message Body – Details (contd.)
 Use simple sentences
 Avoiding difficult or complex sentence structures.
This
helps you avoid grammatical 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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16. Message Body – Details (contd.)
 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
to 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.
 Choose words such that there is no ambiguity in the
meaning.
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17. Message Body – Details (contd.)
 Pay attention to word choice
 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.
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18. Message Body - Closure
 The final sentence
 Either provide something concrete to
reply to or make it
clear that a reply is not necessary.
 Ex.: "Please let me know what appointment times work best
for you." or "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 1pm
in my office."
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19. Message Body – Additional Points
 Do not use –
 Smilies
Ex. :-), :-( etc.
 Abbreviations

Ex. IIRC for "if I recall correctly", BTW for “by the way” etc.
 Non-standard punctuation and spellings

Ex. gimme (give me), tht (that), dificlt (difficult), vil (will), etc.
 All-caps means shouting
 Use active instead of passive voice
 Ex. 'We
will take care of your request today', v/s 'Your
request will be taken care of today'.
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20. Signature
 Make sure to use
 ‘With best regards’ or
 ‘With regards’ or
 ‘Thank you and regards’
…
 Do not forget to write your name and contact details,
company name etc.
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21. Attachments
 Most common mistakes
 Mail goes, attachment follows
in next mail!
 Incorrect version is attached!
 When sending attachments, make it a habit to first attach
the file then compose the mail.
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22. Proof-reading
 Poor spelling and grammar show a lack of attention to
details and sends wrong message about the quality
standards.
 Read your mails before hitting ‘Send’ button.
 Set the spell-check option on in your mail client.
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23. To:, CC:, and BCC:
 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.
 If someone is in the "Cc:" field, then the email is merely an
FYI for him/her, and s/he is not expected to reply.
 Make sure you copy the mail to your manager (and
recipient's manager) in all official communication.
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24. Summary – Do’s
 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.
 Check before pressing 'send' – Proof-read.
 Respond promptly.
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25. Summary – Don’ts
 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.
 Don’t assume that people have time to read your entire
message.
 Don’t think that an e-mail is good for everything.
 Don’t write an e-mail when you are rushed.
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26. THANK YOU
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