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    Effective Email

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    Ruhul Amin
    The document discusses best practices for writing emails, memos, and minutes. It covers topics like email structure, formality, subject lines, signatures, and professionalism. Guidelines are provided for casual, informal and formal writing styles as well as closing emails and writing meeting minutes.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Effective Email

    Uploaded by

    Ruhul Amin
    8 views25 pages
    The document discusses best practices for writing emails, memos, and minutes. It covers topics like email structure, formality, subject lines, signatures, and professionalism. Guidelines are provided for casual, informal and formal writing styles as well as closing emails and writing meeting minutes.

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    effective email

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    The document discusses best practices for writing emails, memos, and minutes. It covers topics like email structure, formality, subject lines, signatures, and professionalism. Guidelines are provided for casual, informal and formal writing styles as well as closing emails and writing meeting minutes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    8 views25 pages

    Effective Email

    Uploaded by

    Ruhul Amin
    The document discusses best practices for writing emails, memos, and minutes. It covers topics like email structure, formality, subject lines, signatures, and professionalism. Guidelines are provided for casual, informal and formal writing styles as well as closing emails and writing meeting minutes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 25

    Writing Email, Memo and Minutes

    Rezwanul Huque Khan, PhD


    Associate Professor
    IBA, University of Dhaka
    Email

     Explosive recent growth


     And the growth to continue

    5-2
    Difference: No nonverbal cues

     No nonverbal cues, which account for


    ___________ percent of message
    Nonverbal cues

     No nonverbal cues, which account for 65


    - 93 percent of message

     Only words and :-)


    “It is how you looked when you said it,
    not what you actually said.”

     The impact of a message comes from:


     About 7 percent verbal (words only)
     38 percent vocal (including tone of voice, inflection, and
    other sounds), and
     55 percent nonverbal

     In face-to-face situations, we make our final decisions


    more on what we see than what we hear.

     “The most important thing in communication is hearing


    what isn’t said.”-- Peter Drucker
    Difference: Tone
     No nonverbal cues
     Writing Tone becomes crucial
     In Germany and Britain, 23 percent and 14 percent
    respectively [of respondents to aDaily Mail survey]
    admitted confrontations with colleagues because of e-mail
    misunderstandings.
    Structure of Email (1 of 3)
     Standardized elements
     To
     Cc
     Bcc
     Subject
     Message
     Attachments

    5-7
    Write An Effective Subject Line

     To catch reader‘s attention


     Brief and specific
     Avoid UPPERCASE
    Ineffective Subject Lines

    Subject: Date:

    Hi 9:17 am

    questions 10:11 am

    Meeting 12:44 pm

    One more thing........... 3:02 pm

    Some thoughts 4:21pm


    Effective Subject Lines

    Subject: Date:

    Party planning meeting rescheduled for 3pm 9:17 am

    Help: I can’t find the draft for the Smith Paper 10:11 am

    Reminder: peer-review articles due tomorrow (3/30) 12:44 pm

    Questions about Sociology 210 project 3:02 pm

    Congratulations to Jennifer for winning Nobel Prize 4:21pm


    Structure of Email

     The beginning
     Depending on the formality of the relationship
     Name of recipient (first name if acquainted)
     Generic greeting sometimes used (“Greetings”)
     Letter salutations rarely used!!! (Dear Mr. Fox)
     Hello Monica, Hi, Ms. …..
     To Whom It May Concern

    5-11
    Formality of Email Writing

     Range is from highly formal to highly


    informal.

     Three general writing styles:


     Casual
     Informal
     Formal

    5-12
    Casual Writing

     Acceptable between acquaintances

     Highly informal
    Example:“Hi ole buddy! Read your super
    proposal. IMHO, it’s in the bank.”

    5-13
    Informal Writing

     Retains some casual qualities (personal


    pronouns, contractions)

     Corresponds to proper conversation


    Example:“I’ve read your excellent proposal. I
    predict the administrators will approve it.”

    5-14
    Formal Writing

     Maintain distance between writer and reader.


     Avoid personal references.

    Example:“The proposal is excellent. The


    executives are likely to approve it.”

    5-15
    Thank the recipient
     Replying to client‘s inquiry
    Thank you for contacting ABC company

     Find anything to thank for


    Thank you for your prompt reply
    Structure of Email (Body)

     General rules:
     Always follow KISS principle (keep it short and simple)
     One topic per email
     Present information in descending order of importance
     Use paragraphs (not more than 5-8!! sentences each)
     Minimize references from previous communications, use quote
    if required. >………. < / >>> ….. <<<
     Limit the content to one screen, if possible.
     Use subheadings, numbers and bullets, if relevant, to make your
    content easy to understand.
     Do not write in AllCAPS as this is perceived as shouting!!

    5-17
    Closing the Email Message

     If possible, thank again


     Refer to future contact
     Usually just the writer's name is sufficient.
     In more formal messages, closing statement may be
    appropriate (“Thanks ,” Regards
    “ ”).
    Thank you and Regards’ does nothing for me. It just tells me
    writer has given no thought to putting his personality into the
    message and just wants to be like all his colleagues and not
    stand out at all.
     Traditional letter closes (“Sincerely ”) sometimes used
    in formal messages.
    5-18
    Automatic Signature

     Use an appropriate signature


     Brief (4-5 lines)
     Informative
    provide all contact information
     Professional
    do not include pictures, quotes, animations
    Automatic Signature

    Steve Edwards, Marketing Manager

    ABCD Inc.
    Tel. +555-7654321
    Fax +555-7654378
    [email protected]
    www.abcd.com
    Remember!!
     Before you hit ‘send’, ask yourself these important questions:
    1. Could I say this to the reader’s face?
    2. Am I violating any policies or laws?
    3. Would I want this message forwarded to someone else?
    4. Is the information in a logical order and easy to read?
    5. Am I writing this while angry or upset?
    6. Will the reader know clearly what to do in response?
    7. Will my message give a good impression of me?
    8. Is email the best way to deliver this information?
    9. Is email more appropriate than phone or face-to-face communication?
    10. Will my message get the right results?
    If your answers are ‘yes’, you can now hit ‘send’!
    Professionalism

     Complete the “TO:” line last


     Set your email program to delay
    sending
    SAMPLE MEMO

     Internal
     Half to full page
     One to three paragraphs
     Conversational tone
     Example?
    SAMPLE MINUTES

     Internal/External
     Follows Meeting agenda
     Example for components
    Happy emailing!

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