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Effective Email

How to communicate powerfully by email

When you're trying to locate some information in an e-mail someone sent you a few weeks back, what helps you find it quickly? If the sender included the information you want in a long message covering lots of points, the chances are that it will take you time to find it. Worse, if the sender is someone you communicate with regularly, and he or she just pressed Reply to a previous message about a different point, the heading of the mail you need won't actually be related to the information you want.

There are a few simple rules to ensure that your emails are read in the first place and stay useful to the recipient.

Subject Lines are Headlines

The headline in a newspaper does two things: It grabs your attention and informs you what the article is about so you can decide whether you want to read further. Email subject lines need to do the same thing. Use the subject line to inform the receiver of EXACTLY what the email is about in a few well-chosen words. You might include a call to action such as "Please respond by 7 November", and if your message is one of a regular series of mails, such as a weekly project report, include the date in the subject line too.

Because everyone gets emails they do not want (spam), appropriate use of the subject line increases the chances your email will be read and not deleted without so much as a glance.

Of course, just as it would be ridiculous to publish a newspaper without headlines, never leave the subject line blank.

Make One Point per Email

The beauty of email, compared with letters, is that it doesn't cost any more to send several mails than it does to send one. So, if you need to communicate with someone about several matters, write a separate email on each subject. That way your correspondent can reply to each one in the appropriate time-frame. One topic might only require a short reply that he or she can make straight away. Another topic might require more research. By writing separate emails, you get clearer answers.

However, as with traditional business letters, the email should be clear and concise, with the purpose of the email detailed in the very first paragraph. Sentences should be kept short and to the point.

The body of the email should contain all pertinent information (see our articles on Writing Skills and on The Rhetorical Triangle) and should be direct and informative.

Specify the Response You Want

Make sure to include any call to action you desire, such as a phone call or follow-up appointment. Then, make sure you include your contact information, including your name, title, and phone numbers. Do this even with internal messages: The easier you make it for someone else to respond, the more likely they are to do so.

Be a Good Correspondent

If you regularly correspond using email, make sure to clean out your email inbox at least once each day. This is a simple act of courtesy and will also serve to encourage senders to return your emails in a timely manner.

If a lengthy response is required to an email, but you don't have the time to pull together the information required now, send a holding reply saying that you have received the message, and indicating when you will respond fully.

Always set your Out of Office agent when you are going to be away from your email for a day or more, whether on leave or because you're at meetings.

Internal Email

Internal email should be checked regularly throughout the working day and returned in a much quicker manner as it often involves timely projects, immediate updates, meeting notes, and so on. Nonetheless, internal emails, just like other emails, should not be informal. Remember, these are written forms of communication that can be printed out and viewed by others than those originally intended for. Always use your spell checker, and avoid slang.

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In the next article in this section, we look at Active Listening - a technique for understanding what people are really saying. To read this, click 'Next article' below. Other relevant destinations are shown in the "Where to go from here" list underneath.

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New Articles (Not included in the Mind Tools E-book.)
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Empathic Listening - Going beyond active listening*
Assertiveness - Working WITH people not against them*
Delivering Great Presentations - Communicating effectively*
Giving and Receiving Feedback - Keeping team member performance high*
360 Degree Feedback - Encourage teamwork and improve performance*
AIDA: Attention-Interest-Desire-Action - Inspiring action with your writing
Questioning Techniques - Asking questions effectively
Keep It Simple - Avoiding confusion and complexity*
Creating a Value Proposition - Clearly communicating benefits*
Charts and Graphs - Choosing the right format
Chunking - Grouping information so it's more easily understood
The Rhetorical Triangle - Making your writing credible, appealing and logical*
Communications Planning - Getting the right message over, in the right way*
Concept Attainment - Reaching a shared understanding of important ideas*
Jargon Busting - Communicating without creating barriers* 

A full list of Mind Tools articles is available here.

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