5 Email Writing Practices for Better Business Communication
Virtual everything is the way of life now and do you know what that means?
MORE EMAILS.
Nooooooooooooooooo! No No No No!
But the truth is undeniable: As humans, we need to learn how to communicate effectively with each other if we are going to continue to co-exist together.
Since so much of our communication is going online, and new programs are launching daily to encourage this phenomena, my question for you is: Do you know how to communicate effectively via email?
If not, don’t worry, this is where I come in. It’s 2021 and I think it’s time we embrace emails through making them an effective, efficient, and convenient way to communicate.
What if we all had proper email etiquette? It would create a happier, less stressful work environment and increase receptivity, motivation, and action in the workplace. So here are five tips for writing emails that will allow you to communicate better with your team, your executive(s), and your organization, and will help us all be better leaders in the digital arena.
1 - Don’t defer to email!
Email and texting were created to enhance our biological ability to speak, not to replace it. A good rule of thumb is to use your words twice as much as your fingers. Don’t defer to email as your go-to communication method. Instead, defer to a phone call before anything else; (Text last if it’s professional). Here is when you should pick up the phone instead:
When your email is ¾ of a page or longer;
If your reply is more than two major points that need explanation; and
If what you have to say is of sensitive nature, emotionally focused, or highly important.
We all know what it’s like to receive an overwhelmingly long or highly “urgent” email. It’s not fun to receive, so don’t send them either!
The goal is to communicate effectively, not to avoid speaking to each other at all costs. Connection is at the core of humanity and communication is at the core of the most successful businesses. If we can master the art and practice of communication, especially via email, we will be unstoppable.
2 - Be aware of your emotions
The energy behind your email matters! Even though we might not think it, others can feel any emotional turbulence behind your email. Never send anything emotionally charged in an email! This includes compliments, criticisms, feedback, intimate questions, or proof statements.
Think about when you’ve received an emotional email. Maybe it was from a client, boss, or team member, maybe it was done on purpose…or maybe it was sent by accident. Eek. It’s that email that makes you step back and say “woah!” (or sometimes, “Grrrr.”)
Let’s be honest, we don’t want to send these types of emails and, as receivers, we don’t want to have to respond to these types of emails. So, bluntly, check yourself before hitting the send button.
When we are email-receivers, we are constantly picking up on signals, verbal and non-verbal. It’s SO EASY to take an email the wrong way, especially if we don’t have full context behind it.
When we are email-senders, make sure you’re coming from a healthy and professional place, and if you can’t do that, give context to the reader to help them understand where you are coming from. Let them know the gist of what is happening in your world and why you are the way you are. Edit your use of All CAPS, exclamation points!!, and emotionally charged words before hitting send. Read over it to make sure it is going to come across in an appropriate way and be easily received by the recipient.
If we are aware of how our emails sound, we will do a much better job at cleaning them up and making emails a non-stressful occasion.
3 - Be concise, clear, and thoughtful
“Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools speak because they have to say something.”
Speaking when you have nothing of value to say is detrimental to your career and can erode trust with your team or co-workers. One powerful sentence is more impactful than 10 trivial ones. So next time you’re about to write an email, ask yourself: is what I have to say going to actually contribute to the outcome or is it extraneous?
The point here is…get to the point! Email communication should be clear and concise, topic and information driven, and provide answers to who, what, when, where, why. A few good communication practices for writing emails:
Deliver the most important part of your email within the first few sentences. Don’t make us read through four paragraphs before understanding what the purpose of the email is.
Make it easy for us to understand what you want. Don’t hide your needs with vague terms and flowery language. Say what you want!
Make sure your subject line is super CLEAR
If the topic changes after a few emails, be thoughtful, and get rid of the “Re: Re: Re:” and start a new thread. The recipient should know exactly what the email is about before opening it and get all the information quickly and easily.
Forbes says, “If you really must write, then observe the following guidelines: write a substantive subject line, keep it short, be polite but direct, and proofread several times.” Let’s all be more thoughtful humans and send emails we’d want to receive.
4 - Know when not to email
Having good email etiquette is not only about HOW you write the email, but WHEN. As Victoria Turk says in her Ted Talk, “It's on the sender to set a reasonable norm and exhibit good email etiquette.” So, that means, “if it's a work email, stick to work hours - no 2 a.m. emailing in your pajamas.”
Yeah, I said it.
Let’s be realistic, it’s almost impossible to ignore important emails as we move throughout our day. We’ve set it up so that all our devices buzz and beep to let us know that someone reached out this second and that it it needs an answer, now now. Because emails can be both for work and personal use, we are intimately (and unfortunately) connected to our inbox. So respect that for others, if you know they are sleeping, on vacation, or out of the office, wait to send your email during appropriate hours.
I know, I know…”But Monique, I just need to get it out of my head. Just because I send it doesn’t mean he/she/they have to respond.”
Really? Really? There are 10 different ways around this, but to put it simply, save the email in your drafts until it’s the right time to send.
This will raise the “new normal” standards and keep us all a little more sane as we transition into an even more digital world.
5 - Build relationships in person
I understand that emailing is convenient, time saving, and requires less energy than a meeting. And it can be (too) easy to send a quick email instead of taking the time to connect and communicate in a more effective and beneficial way: in person.
What is important to remember, though, is that when it comes to connecting and building trust with your team, co-workers, or boss, email is information sharing NOT relationship building. And guess which one has to happen first?
Building relationships within your organization is essential to a successful business. Communication is the first step to that and all communication happens best face to face.
Use emails for the details and meet in person for developing relationships.
As we become a more digital world, it’s important to preserve and honor the valuable connection we have with each other. Let us not take for granted the in-person time we do have and use it as often as we can.
And when it comes to emails specifically, Get Happy (an HR and employee engagement community) says, “Remember that you are emailing a real person with feelings and their own worries and workload. Bear this in mind and always be calm, kind, and polite in your emails.”
Email it Forward
Now that you know how you can write better emails, it’s your responsibility to pay it forward in your own emailing. It all starts with you.
Be the first to implement these email writing best practices in your organization and watch the change that happens in your culture. Effective email communication is a sign of an organization that communicates well together as a whole.
If we can stop deferring to email, be more aware of our emotions, be clear, concise, and thoughtful, take into account the receiver of the email, and still prioritize in-person relationships, we will be well on our way to evolving humanity together.
If you’d like me to speak more on some of the best communication practices for email or another other topic (either virtually or live in-person) connect with me and we’ll explore the possibilities together.