E-mail

Lesson 1: Importance of E-mail Writing

Nowadays e-mail is not just another tool for communication. E-mail writing is now also a part of business writing and not just as a supplemental professional activity but as a primary medium for almost all business communications. A testament to e-mail writing’s primacy can be attested to the fact that the majority of the managers routinely view the e-mails sent by newly hired employees before they are sent to the clients. 

A badly written e-mail is consequential not only in wasting precious times; it has other disastrous effects as well. For instance, it can create chances of costly misunderstandings, delay in deliveries, and miscommunicate deadlines, impact how people view you, and most importantly it could sabotage a career. A sloppy e-mail can communicate negatively to the person you are trying to interact with. It could be seen as a reflection of your lack of respect for the customer, client, or colleague’s time. A bad e-mail reflects badly not only on the person who writes it, but also the organization they are representing. In contrast, a well-written and well-thought out e-mail tends to stand out. It shows your clear thinking and respect for the reader’s time. Both these qualities further lend you professional respect.

E-mail writing is a skill that needs to be learnt. It does not come naturally with your social standing. In fact, even highly educated business-school graduates could write e-mails that are poorly planned and confusing. Good e-mail writing skill is required at every level. For individual business people, it is helpful in lending an asset that sets them apart from the other employees. For managerial posts, efficiency in e-mail writing can help in boosting the image of the entire organization. 

Signs of a bad e-mail are that they are unnecessarily long, leading the receiver to re-read it in order to find some comprehension, or even worse, when the receiver is simply unable to understand the sender’s point or reason for sharing the e-mail. Moreover, in today’s busy world people do not have the time to go through every single e-mail word to word. To be efficient you would need a formatting technique that can allow the receiver to easily read your e-mail. 

In the upcoming lessons we shall discuss ways that can be used to improve your e-mail writing. This in turn will lead to your readers paying attention to your messages and looking at you as someone who has something worthwhile to say. 

Lesson 2: Planning an E-mail: Part 1

Most people tend to view e-mails as quick messages in response to questions, or sharing information,