Love it or hate it, email is at the core of every company’s day-to-day communications. Still, how often does it happen when you get an email the purpose of which isn’t clear, there is no call to action, the body copy is too long — you name it.
To restore some sanity in our workplace, we rely on the following guide:
Write well-structured emails
Keep emails short, concise, and polite. Greet using the recipient's name and use a signature, keeping the body as short and impactful as possible.
Use short, descriptive subjects
This helps with clarity and sets the tone for the email. It also helps you and the recipient find the email if you need it again in the future.
Use a spellchecker
Embarrassing spelling errors can easily be avoided!
Read your email before sending it
It seems intuitive, but many people don't read their emails before sending them. Proofread it to ensure you're saying exactly what you mean to say.
Avoid using CAPITALS
Capitals come across as aggressive and are unnecessary.
Keep it professional
Do not use abbreviations like omg or lol. They sound juvenile and are not appropriate for business communications.
Only flag emails as important if they really are
Recipients will ignore your emails if they're repeatedly marked as high importance.
Be careful when using the Reply All option
This option is very useful in a group email discussion, but can result in embarrassing publicity if used by accident!
Send a complete response
If someone has asked multiple questions, make sure to address them all in your reply.
So easy! Following these simple rules will put you ahead of 99% of business emails out there. And looking at my inbox right now, we desperately need that.