Writing effective emails
Posted 16 October 2006 at 9:30AM by David Morgan in Email and communications
Email has become a vital part of business communications, but because we all get so much we have become more selective about what we read. So it's increasingly important that your email captures the attention of the recipient and gets your message across.
Write It Well carried out a survey of 125 business email users and their findings confirm that good email writing is important. Key points are;
- poorly written emails reflect badly on the sender
- it's easy for emails to cause offence if poorly worded
- unclear emails may not be opened or read
- many emails contain inappropriate or confidential content
43Folders has sound advice on writing sensible email messages. They suggest assuming the recipient of the email will only read the title and first sentence. By making the subject matter and required response clear up-front the email will be more effective.
TechScribe's 'How to write and email' post has a more detailed take on email composition including technical considerations, judging your audience, language issues and visual design.
If I am writing a difficult or important email I write it all out then save it and go do something else, even if only for 10 minutes. Coming back to it after a break makes it easier to spot mistakes and unclear wording.
Tags: communication, email, tips, writing
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