Hello, and welcome back to English for
Management and Leadership. In this video we'll discuss
how to write effective emails. Now you're probably thinking,
I know how to write emails. Of course you do,
they're not really that hard. But I'm sure if I asked you whether you
receive emails that aren't so good, you'd probably be able to identify a few. And communicating to people
in other languages and other cultures can be tricky. So when you think about how many
emails show up in people's inboxes, do you wanna make sure that
your e-mail gets read? Do you want to make sure that your
email gets actionable responses? In other words, people take
action as a result of your email. Do you want to make sure
that the tone of your email is appropriate to the cultural
audience you're writing to? To do that, you'll need to make
sure that your email is quickly and easily understood. By spending a little time here talking
about how to write effective emails, I think you can accomplish
all of those things. Back in module two we talked
about making meetings effective. Do you remember what was the first
thing I suggested you do? I suggested you ask yourself this
question, is this meeting necessary? Well here I suggest you ask yourself
the same question about email. Is this email necessary? Because just as we all have too many
meetings in our professional lives, we also have way too
many emails in our inbox. Okay, once you've decided that yes, email
is the best form of communication for this message, you'll need to start. Where do you usually start? At the top, with the To line? I do too, if it's a quick, easy email. But here's a tip,
if it's an email that will take some time to write because it's a difficult topic,
because the content is complex or because you have to get the tone
of the message just right. I go straight to the body of the email and
leave the To line empty. Why? Because accidentally hitting the Send
button before an already-tricky email is ready is terribly embarrassing. If there's no name in the To line,
it can't get accidentally sent. Only when it's absolutely ready to go, do I put the names of the people
I want to send it to. So who do you send it to? Just like with meetings, send an email only to those
people who really need to see it. Use the cc line carefully. It's for those people who are not
directly affected by the email but who need to be aware of the contents. Similarly, use the Reply All
option sparingly. Not everyone needs to see
your individual response. Next up is the Subject line. I sometimes write this only after
writing the body of the email, to make sure that it exactly
conveys the core message. Whenever you write it, make sure
it's clear, concise and detailed. For example, if it's a regular communication such as a
weekly emailed status report add the date. BioDent Launch Status- September 4. Sometimes an email thread, that's what we call a long email
conversation that goes back and forth. An email thread's topic starts to change. When that happens, be sure to
change the subject line as well so it's clear in the inbox
what the email is about. Now we're looking at
the body of the email. Here I will focus specifically on the
writing style of native English speakers, since this is a course
about business English. However, we recognize that you'll be
using English as the common language to communicate with people of a wide variety
of language and cultural backgrounds. Keep an open mind about
communication styles and try to adjust to the style
of your audience. Start by offering a salutation such as, Hi Jake, Hello Catherine,
Good morning, Elizabeth. If it's someone you don't know well,
use dear, like Dear John. Your first paragraph,
if your message is not negative, should indicate the purpose of the email. What is it you want or need me to do? Having a clear idea of your purpose for
writing will make this easier. Are you writing to convey information and
need no response? Are you writing for
a reply such as advice or a question? Are you seeking an action? Or is this an open-ended,
on-going dialogue? Once you've expressed the purpose of
the email, use the rest to communicate any details that are necessary for
the reader to learn or understand. When doing so, be clear and be brief. Here's why. Imagine you open up two different emails. One has four very short paragraphs. The other has three
really long paragraphs. Which will you want to read first? Right, the short one. Why is that? It's because our brain can tell, at first
glance, which one will be easier and faster to read, simply because of
what designers call white space. White space is the area of
the page where there is no text. In 2005, Jacob Nielsen conducted
a usability study comparing two webpages. One with more dense text, the other
with less text and more white space. They discovered that readers spent
more time on the dense text. Ah-ha you say, I want my reader to
spend more time focused on my email. Maybe, but readers understood 34% more
of the text with lots of white space. So less text, more white space, means your
reader will understand more in less time. I think we can all agree
to the benefits of that. So how do you create less text? First of all, use concise language. Jenny will discuss that in
much more depth in her video, coming up in the language lesson. Secondly, use short paragraphs or
bullet points. If you have to write a long email,
like a status report, use headings and subheadings to break up the text for
your reader. Finally, if your email is getting long, think about breaking it up
into more than one email. Of course, this does create more emails
but several short emails about slightly different topics are easier to manage
than one long email with many purposes. Now we're at the end of your message. Close your email with a call for
action, if necessary. Be sure to be specific when you do. For example, in order to include your
contribution to the newsletter in this month's edition,
please send it to me by September 27th. Notice that I offered a reason. Remember that people love reasons. Work to personalize the closing. Avoid standard phrases like,
I look forward to your response. Instead, incorporate
details from your message. I look forward to discussing
this proposal with you further. I will contact you next week to
determine a good time for us to do so. End with a closing phrase like Sincerely,
or Regards, if it's more formal,
or Thanks, if it's less formal. Finally, proofread your email for
spelling or grammar errors. Then take one more opportunity to
edit your email for length, and take a look at whether you
need more white space. We've covered a lot of information, and this was on a topic we all
think we already know. Let's sum up the takeaways. Consider whether email is the best method
of communication for your message. Be careful with who you need to include. Make your subject line clear,
concise and detailed. Use up-front communication to make
your message clear from the beginning. Most messages can use up-front
communication unless it's negative news, then use the indirect approach. Use effective white space
by keeping sentences and paragraphs short, using bullets
to simplify your message, and headings to divide up
longer chunks of text. Close with a clear call for
action, if action is needed. Offer a time frame and
a reason to express urgency. Proofread for spelling and edit for length one more time before
hitting the send button. I hope you've enjoyed this review
of a tool we use everyday. By using these techniques, your emails
will be the ones everyone wants to read. Thanks for watching English for
Management and Leadership.
