Business Skills
Email Writing
Skills
By
Sikandar Seemab
AA032017
Content
❖ Email is
s
❖ Basic Email 7 rules
❖ Basic Email 5 elements
❖ Concise email
❖ Email addressing
❖ Copying someone's manager
❖ Handling your emails
❖ Delete six types of emails
Email
• is:e-mail or email.
Short for electronic mail,
• The first e-mail was sent by Ray Tomlinson in 1971.
• Information stored on a computer that is exchanged between
two users over telecommunications.
• A message that may contain text, files, images, or other
attachments sent through a network to a specified individual
or group of individuals.
• The main communication tool in business.
• Reflect a professional image.
• Can give a poor impression of you and your company
• Easier to misinterpret than speech.
• Statistic show that today's employees spend as much as 40%
of their work hours just dealing with emails.
Email Basic Rules
1
1. Monitor your tone
• Avoid ambiguity
• You can use emoticons
symbols using
keyboard characters like
:) or :(
2. Avoid inappropriate
formatting
•
Don't use bold,
capital letters, nor
underlining words
• Use plain and
Email Basic Rules
2
3- Use proper composition
• Avoid grammatical errors
• Use structure messages
logically
• Use numbers and
bullets
4 Answer within reasonable time
• Not at the end of the working
day
• Not be late in reply
Email Basic Rules
3
5 Answer all questions
6Create an automatically
added signature including:
• Name
• Position
• Company logo
• All contact details
• Based on your
company policy
7- Proofread your email
Email
elements
1. From filed: your full correct name
[ like: Mike Walliace not M. Walliace
nor Mikoiance (as a nickname)
2. Subject field: short five to seven
words and be focused and related to
the message
3. Greeting: formal [ like: Dear Mr.
John] or informal [ like: Hi
John] according to the receiver
4. Message: cover all 7 basic rules
5. Closing: such as best regards, best
wishes, warm regard, L look forward
to hearing from you, sincerely..
Concise
•
in separate emails ]
email
Convey a single point in one email [ if you have many points, send each point
• Be brief, get to the point and avoid irrelevant information
• Avoid long sentences [ maximum 15:20 words per sentence]
• Use bullets points [ to be concise and easy to read]
• Limit "thank you" in your emails
• Don't attach unnecessary files
• Use priority flags: high priority flag for emails need immediately action, low
priority for emails not urgent to response, and normal priority flag is not
❖
urgent to reply now but reply later
❖
Email addressing
1
1. To filed:
• Write here the direct receipts who are must act on your message or respond directly
• Avoid having too many receipts in this field because the receipts might not
take responsibility for replying or each one might wait to see how someone
else responses before replying
2. CC field:
• Stand for Carbon Copy
• Use this field to copy someone from whom you don't need a direct response
• Use it sparingly
• Use it to keep someone informed to allowing them to track discussions, or to keep
the recipients visibly in the loop regarding discussion.
• Receipts should know why you're copying them
Email addressing
2
3. BCC filed:
• Stand for Blind Carbon Copy
• Use this field to copy people without knowledge of the other receipts
• Use it to protect the address and privacy of the receipts and to prevent recipients from
adjusting their response cause he knows who you're copied
4. Reply All:
• Edit "to and cc fields" before send with consider who are related to the subject and your reply
• Avoid overusing reply all because the bcc receipts will see your reply
• Avoid it when you reply personally, reply him directly like thank you email.
5. Forward:
• Fwd after asking the author to forward his email to others.
• Ask yourself why you forward this email
• Never forward spam or chain-letter emails
•
• Include your personnel comments
Copying a message over someone's
manager
• Avoid using the cc filed to get better results because that's damage the relationships.
• If you have an issue with someone, the golden rule is to speak to him directly rather than
emailing him and copying his manager.
• Wrong reasons for copying a message over someone's head:
• Self promotion: to get promotion or to try to make yourself look better like cc your
manager outside work hours with data he doesn't need just to inform him that you are
working overtime
• Manipulation: manipulate someone into doing what you want by revealing
your intentions to other recipients.
• Humiliation : if you copy others on an email that releases mistakes or disciplinary
issues, to inform his manager about his poor performance
• Exceptions for copying a message over someone's head:
• When you compliment a person rather than criticize
• When you copy with the main recipient's permission
• When it's required by a formalized work process
Handling emails
1
• Delete unnecessary emails immediately
• Move remaining emails into folders
• Keep your inbox as empty as possible
• Handle email as soon as you receive it
• Regularly deleting junk emails
• Eliminate the source of all unnecessary emails like email lists, newsgroups,
product alerts and newsletters subscriptions
• Keeping business and personal email separate
• Work hours aren't for personal communication
• Don't use your business email for personal communication
• Automatic archive after certain period
Handling emails
3
• Delete six types of emails:
1. Don't need storage, response, or follow up
2. Not required emails
3. Not work related emails
4. Spam emails
5. Confused subject lines
6. Unknown senders, suspicious subject lines
