More often than not, communication with upper management or executives involves multiple emails. Time is limited and if the point isn’t made concisely it will be buried with the other 100 emails that never get read. If you’ve got ideas for improvements or critical situations it’s easy to have your boss hear you out. Dealing with the “big dogs” you need to know the difference between the right way and the wrong way to send an email. If you’re successful, you’ll get your point across fairly quickly. Let’s digest the structure of an email to properly communicate a message within the corporate hierarchy.
Subject Line: Since this is the first part anyone will read it needs to be engaging. Dull, boring, and non-descriptive subject lines lead people to think that your message is not important. Call attention to your email by making it relevant to the job description of the person. This way when they read it, they’ll see the value and open the email to respond.
Introduction: There are couple ways people write introductions. Sometimes they go off on tangents explaining a complete back story, other times they just don’t get to the meat of the point and end up diluting the subject line. The most effective introduction starts by stating the problem or situation that follows the subject line. Be consistent and quick to the point otherwise the rest of the email will not be read.
Purpose: The purpose should follow the introduction sentence. Once you get the problem stated you need to inform the reader why this is happening. If the purpose is buried at the bottom then the whole email won’t make sense till the end. The purpose should end your first paragraph and transition into the supporting facts.
Support: Refrain from giving your opinion at this point. The person could careless why you think this is an issue or problem, rather use the context of business to state your support. It’s best to use bullet statements for supporting your stance. Too many paragraphs and words will signal overload. Provide your valid points to show you did your homework and weren’t just sending a complaint email.
Close: If you want action or a response to your well constructed email you need to close it properly. First, anticipate and/or answer any possible questions that may arise. Cover all grounds so that the person you sent it to doesn’t have to respond with a lengthy email. A simple “Ok” will suffice since you did the due diligence and presented the results clearly. If you close it as an action item or leave the ball in their court, expect to be waiting for a response. At the least, lay the groundwork for a follow up phone call or meeting.
Signature: If the message is to someone very important you need to make it personal. Ignore the static signature that’s sent with all the other mundane emails you produce. End it with a nice close and show that you signed off on the email rather than your stored signature.
These tips will help you write more effective emails. Body language and non-verbal communication is important for developing your interpersonal skills. Written communication is important for developing your personality and character within a corporate environment. So next time you need to get to the top, start at the bottom with the proper email etiquette. I welcome your comments below and any additional tips I may have missed. Let’s all contribute to what a “Killer” email should be.
6 comments ↓
Keep it short. You are trying to start a discussion or maybe get a sit down meeting. The email is an appetizer the sit down is the entre.
Yes, good point. Also, having the correct spacing helps readability.
It may sound basic, but please do, not only a spell check, but also a grammar check!
This is an important and often overlooked aspect of writing Emails. Thanks Omer for mentioning it.
This was a great topic as emails compliment calls and other business activities. People tend to overlook the importance of writing an email in the corporate world as they don’t differentiate writing an email to the “big dogs” or to a colleague. These pointers on writing an email will help entry level professionals tremendously.
@Yousuf
Thanks for engaging in the discussion. You make make a good point that emails compliment the other activities in the workplace. It’s important to come full circle from calls to emails.
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