Email is widely used as a form of inexpensive yet highly effective business communication tool. Emails are rarely taken print-outs of, and are used as soft copies because it is easy to archive and retrieve emails. The reason of its popularity is its ease of access, which everyone in an organization starting from the CEO to the janitor can use.

Emails are an efficient way to communicate information in a well-presented, easy to read and professionally appropriate manner. Many people quote lack of time as a reason to forward substandard emails that range from incomplete to incomprehensible.

Many people mistake emails with text messaging, or at least their approach towards writing emails suggests so. Taking that to be the case, let’s discuss the difference between a text conversation and email writing.

●      Text Message Conversation − In a text message conversation, two people can exchange information, share details, provide corrections, and ask for clarifications in a rapid back-and-forth manner of communication.

●      Email − Compared to this, emails are read by professionals who, depending on their work, may get anything between 20 to 200 emails a day. They neither want to engage in a back-and-forth conversation, nor have the time to ask for details multiple times. They just want to understand the content of the email, read out the instructions, process the information, get the task done, and empty the “unread” section of the inbox.

Keeping this in mind, let’s discuss some tricks to write effective emails −

●      Plan your message.

●      Use the subject line to grab reader’s attention.

●      Keep your message short and clear.

●      Don’t type your entire message in lower case.

●      Proofread your message before sending it and assume accountability.

●      If you are angry, take a few minutes to cool down before sending an email.

●      Don’t type your message in capitals. Capitals are considered to be SHOUTING.

In certain cases, emails may not be suitable. Prefer to call someone when −

●      You have to discuss personal, sensitive or confidential information.

●      You are going to give bad news.

●      Your message is complex and meaning might be lost in the wordings.

●      You need an immediate response.