Sending an email is something many of us do multiple times a day, every day. In fact, it has become so ubiquitous that many of us wouldn’t even think about it. It’s as automatic and natural as WhatsApping or updating your Facebook status. But, we need to think about whether we are sending the best email we possibly can. If you’re emailing your friends about the upcoming weekend shenanigans, you don’t need to worry too much; if you’re emailing at work, that’s a different story.
Work emails need to be more professional and responsible than the sort we send to our friends. And, it’s important to make sure we work on making our emails as good as we can possibly make them. Consider what you can do to improve the tone and content of the emails you’re sending. There are a lot of mistakes we make when we draft emails, and here are 5 things you’ve got to look out for in the future.
Open it properly
The first thing to consider is how you want to open your email – and by this, we mean the introduction. Sure, when emailing friends you might choose to start with “Alright guys,” or something similar, but in the workplace, you need to be more formal. Opening your email with something friendly but professional is key for maintaining focus and professionalism. If it’s an email to someone new, make sure you introduce yourself; keep it formal and inviting as much as you can.
Be professional
We can’t stress enough how important it is to be professional when you are sending and writing work emails. You never know who might be present to read the email you’ve sent, so be sure it’s as professional as possible at all times. This means avoiding the private jokes you may have with the person next to you, and no ‘banter’ with Lee from Accounts. Sure, you can have banter, but keep it off the email chain. Try to be as professional and responsible as possible in order to project a good image, and get some great feedback.
Avoid negativity
It’s really easy to get drawn into a culture of negativity in the workplace and to vent your frustrations in the form of emails. This is not good because the negativity brings the whole tone down, and it also breeds more negativity – and, before you know it, you have everyone weighing in with negative comments. If you need to be negative or critical about something, try to do it in a constructive way as much as you can.
Proofread
It really helps to read what you’ve written before you click the send button. You need to make sure the content is all appropriate for the people you’re emailing, and that it’s as professional as possible. But, that also means you need to ensure that you have written it well, and there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors (at least as much as possible). Proofreading is so important when you’re writing anything in or for the workplace, so make sure you get it sorted.
Don’t always reply to everyone
There will be the Reply All function as well as the Reply button. Make sure, when responding to individual people, that you don’t hit Reply All by mistake. This can cause all sorts of chaos and controversy, especially if you’re talking about somebody else, or being slightly negative. Also, it’s not efficient; why send 10 people something meant for one person? They will only be deleting it.
These are just some of the tips and techniques that we suggest you use to help you craft the perfect email. Emailing in the workplace is really important, and you want to make sure that your emails are as professional, informative, and appropriate. These are five of the most important things to pay attention to when it comes time to write an email.
