Isabela P - Saving time and business with efficient emails

Writing effective emails is a necessity of today's business. The online communication became so broad and global that everybody tries to reduce the amount of "spam" email messages that they receive. An effective email can help in a job search process, in informing employees, in managing and persuading people.

Here are a couple of points that you should keep in mind when writing professional emails:

1) Subject lines are one of the most important points on writing effective emails. Recipients scan the subject line in order to decide whether to open, forward or trash a message. Subject lines are responsible for grabbing your attention and telling you what the email is about, so they should be specific.

2) People in the business field are constantly busy and receive many emails a day. Write a concise message. No paragraph within an email message should be longer than a single screen.

3) Include any call to action you want, such as phone call or follow-up appointment.

4)Make sure you are using right spelling and grammar, especially if you are sending a message that will be read by someone higher up on the chain of command.

References:

Dorbin, Sidney I., Christopher J. Keller and Christian R. Weisser. Technical Communication: In the Twenty-First Century. Upper Sadle, NJ. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.

"Writing Effective Email - Communication Skills Training from MindTools.com." Mind Tools- Management Training, Leadership Training and Career Training- Right Here, Right Now. Web, 02 Apr. 2010. http://www.mindtools.com/CommnSkll/EmailCommunication.htm.