email writing skills

1 . T Y P E S O F E M A I L S

2 . P A R T S O F A N E M A I L

3 . C O N F I D E N T I A L I T Y

4 . T H E S U B J E C T L I N E

5 . T H E G R E E T I N G

6 . T H E O P E N I N G

7 . T H E B O D Y

8 . T H E C L O S I N G

9 . T H E S I G N A T U R E

1 0 . S A M P L E E M A I L S

1 1 . R E F E R E N C E S

Professional Emails

A Practical Guide

Compiled by Jaime Cabrera for the scholars of Albukhary International University

Reply promptly to serious messages.

Reply promptly to serious messages. If you need more than 24 hours to collect information or make a decision, send a brief response explaining the delay.

10/4/2012 SHL1013 Professional English

Four Types of Email


1. No-Reply Email You want to tell the receiver something, either a compliment or information. No reply is necessary.

2. Inquiry Email - You need something from the receiver in a reply. Example: advice, or questions answered. The reply is your desired outcome.

3. Open-Ended Email to keep communication lines open, for the purpose of some future result or benefit.

4. Action Email The goal is not the reply, but some action on the part of the receiver. Examples: a sales pitch, or asking for a website link exchange.

Parts of an Email

Parts of an email


Parts of an Email

Co

nfi

den

tia

lity


Confidentiality


Your e-mails are not private. Avoid sending confidential, proprietary, sensitive, personal, potentially embarrassing, or classified information via e-mail.

When sending the same email to several people, via CCs or BCCs, remember that their addresses are visible in the CC box.

Use the blind copy (BCC) or mail merge function to protect the privacy of your contacts.

Parts of an Email Su

bje

ct L

ine


The Subject Line


The subject line is the first thing the target receivers see when sorting through their in-boxes.

Always write a subject line that is informative, direct, and states the main issue in the email.

Keep it short; long subjects lines dont show well in the browser windows, or are ignored.

Use sentence case, not all caps. When replying, change the subject line when

the topic changes.

Parts of an Email

Gre

etin

g

(Sa

luta

tio

n)


The Greeting (Salutation)


Always open your email with a greeting. For formal or business e-mails, use the surname, not the first name: Dear Mrs. Cowabunga,

Dear Sir,

If youre contacting a company, not an individual, you may write To Whom It May Concern:

Gentlemen:

Parts of an Email

Op

enin

g

Sen

ten

ce


The Opening


Begin with a line of thanks. Find any way to thank target receivers. This will put them at ease, and it will make you appear more courteous.

For example, if someone asked a question, you can begin with: Thank you for contacting Tanza Company.

If someone replied to your email, you can begin with: Thank you for your prompt reply.

State your purpose


State your purpose in the opening sentence.

I am writing to enquire about

I am writing in reference to

Dont write a long introduction, dont tell a story. Skip the niceties.

People just want to know what you want, so state that, in the first sentence.

Parts of an Email

Info

rma

tio

n i

n

Det

ail


The Body


Be brief but polite. Tell them exactly what you want, in as short an email as possible.

If your message runs longer than two or three short paragraphs, reduce the message or provide an attachment.

Remember to say "please" and "thank you." And mean it.

Write about one thing


If possible, dont overwhelm the target receiver.

If you write about multiple things, with multiple requests, it is likely that:

your email wont be read or acted on

the receiver will only do one of those things

Stick to one subject, with one request. Once thats done, you can send a second one.

Use If then statements


To avoid back-and-forth exchange, and save time, anticipate the possible responses.

Give a desired action for each possible response.

For example, instead of asking if theyve received a response, waiting for a reply, and then replying to that reply, try and do it all in one email: Did you receive a response from Mr. Xena? If so,

please email the report to me by Tuesday. If not, please follow up and let me know the response today.

Keep it professional


Dont use jokes, emotions, or emoticons. Do not send inflammatory or emotionally charged

comments via e-mail. Don't use abbreviations or acronyms such as PLZ,

ROFLOL (rolling on the floor laughing out loud), or WUWT (what's up with that).

Avoid exclamation points, ellipses, question marks, bold, italics, underlines, or multi-colored font.

It is considered very rude to use CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT YOU ARE SHOUTING.

Parts of an Email

Clo

sin

g S

ente

nce


Professional Closing


How do you properly end an email? A simple question, yet so many people are not sure about what is proper email etiquette.

In the business world, ending an email professionally is just as important as perfecting the rest of the message.

If you do it sloppily, you might lose some precious business opportunities.

Avoid this by following a few basic rules of professional email conduct.

The Closing Remarks


Courtesy is always important, no matter how short the email is. Before you end your email: Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Thank you for your consideration.

Include an accurate follow-up statement: I will send you additional information.

I look forward to receiving your input.

If you have questions or concerns, do let me know.

I look forward to hearing from you.

If a response is required, specify what, when.

The Closing


Use a professional closing: Best regards,

Sincerely,

Thank you,

For more casual emails: Best wishes,

Cheers,

For more formal emails: Yours Sincerely,

Yours Faithfully,

Parts of an Email

Em

ail

Sig

na

ture


The Email Signature


A professional signature makes it easy to contact you. Your email account can automatically add these data to

the bottom of the email: full professional name

job title

business phone/fax numbers

business street address

business website, if any

a legal disclaimer if required by your company.

Depending on policy, you may also want to include a link to the company's website or social media pages.

How to create a signature

10/4/2012 From: http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=8395

Click the gear icon in the upper right, then select Settings.

Enter your new signature text in the box at the bottom of the page next to the Signature option.

Click Save Changes. Signatures are separated from the rest of your

message by two dashes. To see a signature in Gmail, click the Show

trimmed content button at the bottom of the message.

Your Signature

10/4/2012 From: http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=8395

Different signatures for different addresses If you send mail "from" multiple addresses in Gmail, you can set a

different signature for each address in the General tab of your settings.

Choose the second radio button in the "Signature:" section. Use the drop-down menu to choose the appropriate address and set

the signature you want.

Editing your signature If you're editing your signature and only have an option to create a

plain text signature, this is due to the settings. Click Compose to create a new message, then click the Rich

formatting option in the message. Once this change is made, you'll be able to create a rich text

signature.

Parts of an Email Att

ach

men

ts


Attachments


If there are any attachments, mention them in the email so that the receiver knows to look for and open the files.

Appropriately name the attachments so that the receiver knows what each document is just by reading the file name.

Review


CLARITY: Once youve written an email, take a few seconds to read over it before pressing the Send button. Read it as if you were an outsider how clear is it?

AMBIGUITY: Are there any ambiguous statements that could be interpreted the wrong way? If so, clarify.

LENGTH: As you review, see if you can shorten the email, remove words or sentences or even paragraphs.

Parts of an Email

Rev

ise,

Ch

eck

, R

evie

w


Check, and then check again


Before you hit the send button

Edit and proofread. You may think you're too

busy to do the small stuff, but your reader may

think you're careless, unqualified, or

unprofessional.

Review and spell-check your email one more

time to make sure it's truly perfect.

Finally


Reply promptly to serious messages.

If you need more than 24 hours to collect information or make a decision, send a brief note to explain the delay.

Some replies are delayed by electronic transmission. Explain the delay.

Some messages arrive at the end of the last working day of the week. Check emails just before you leave.

J O B I N T E R V I E W - T H A N K Y O U

J O B A P P L I C A T I O N - C O V E R L E T T E R

R E Q U E S T F O R A N U P D A T E

SHL1013 Professional English 10/4/2012

Sample Emails

Sample 1

Job Interview - Thank you

Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name:

It was very nice to speak with you today about the sales position at the ABC Organization. The job seems to be an excellent match for my skills and interests. The self-confident and aggressive characteristic requirements you described needed for this position confirmed my desire to work with you.

In addition to my experience, I will bring to the position assertiveness and the skills to motivate others to work cooperatively as a team.

I appreciate the time you took to interview me. I am very interested in working for you and look forward to hearing from you regarding this position. Sincerely, Your Complete Name Your company address Your work phone / fax numbers


Sample 2

Job Application - Cover Letter

Dear Hiring Manager,

I saw your job posting for a graphic designer in the ABC site. I believe

I can be an ideal match for the position advertised.

I have extensive experience in the planning and design of all graphic-

related projects. In my position as ___ for ___ Company, I was part of

several projects for website design, the company intranet portal,

product brochure design, print and media advertisement as well as

newsletters for our customer subscribers.

Attached is my resume; these are some sample websites that I

designed:

URL

URL

If you require further information, please let me know.

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your consideration.

Best Regards,

Your complete name

Your company address

Your work phone number


Sample 3

Request for Update

Hi Jane,

Can you lease update me on the status of the project timelines?

Last week you mentioned that you were waiting for Sam to send you the development timeline and that you were working on communication and planning documents (including timelines) for the project.

I am planning for the project in Asia Pacific and need these dates to initiate discussion with the countries. The pilot will be a topic of discussion on our weekly status calls next week.

Your assistance in getting this information as soon as possible is appreciated.

Thanks, Robert

10/4/2012 From: www.qgroupplc.com/category/writingemails

Know more at

Basic Explanations http:\\www.englishtown.com/community/channels/article.aspx?articleName=184-email or www.ehow.com/how_4995393_end-email-professionally.html

Good Explanations http:\\grammar.about.com/od/developingessays/a/profemails.htm; home.comcast.net/~leparcell/email.html

Practical Explanations http:\\www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/do-your-emails-suck-how-to-write-emails-that-get-results.html

Excellent Explanations (Detailed) http:\\thinksimplenow.com/productivity/15-tips-for-writing-effective-email/

Excellent Explanations (With Examples) http:\\jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/email/

Concise Explanations 1 http:\\www.ehow.com/how_4679819_write-professional-email.html

Concise Explanations 2 http:\\www.ehow.com/how_2159648_write-professional-emails.html

Practical Explanations http:\\rarepattern.com/nodes/2008/01/email-etiquette-best-practices-things-avoid

Not Required But Helpful http:\\www.techrepublic.com/article/10-e-mail-best-practices-to-share-with-your-users/6161848


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Why Emails Should be Short Instead of Nice http:\\gigaom.com/collaboration/why-emails-should-be-short-instead-of-nice/

7 Rules for Communicating Clearly and Concisely http:\\gigaom.com/collaboration/7-rules-for-communicating-clearly-and-concisely-in-email/

Five Things I Learned From 20 Years of Email http:\\gigaom.com/2012/08/19/five-things-ive-learned-from-20-years-of-email/

Two More Killer Tips for Effective E-mail http:\\blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=4686

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T H A N K Y O U

End of Presentation


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