How can you use emotional intelligence to write more effective emails?

Often, it's not just the content of our words, but the tone in which they're delivered that resonates. This holds true for emails as well. Emotions can permeate through our written words, affecting the recipient deeply. So, when composing an email, it's crucial to reflect: What emotions will my message evoke in the reader?

One way to write efficient email is delay. While writing the email, we may have been driven by emotions. 1. It is better to save the draft email. 2. Delay sending it by 1 or 2 Hours, if possible by a day. 3. Re-read, reformat before sending. The delay provides us time to cool off the emotions and consider different factors or consequences around this communication.

When writing emails, our feeling or emotions play a significant role in determining the tone and approach of our email. If we are angry, disappointed or frustrated, it could taint the words that we use in the email. Self Awareness can help us realize our own emotions at that point in time and enable us to choose a more professional, courteous tone and approach. Social Awareness will help us to look the situation from the others' point of view and can enable us to write in collaborative and empathetic manner

Email writing is an essential communication tool as it Shorten the the spaces and time taken to deliver a message. However, email writer should consider some important points when it comes to Emotional intelligence. 1- Be in the audience shoes. If the message is not clearly understood by you, it will not be understood by the recipient as well. 2- Think carefully before writing. What is the main point here. Is it necessary or not? 3- watch carefully the tone of your message. Sometimes, the tone mislead the recipient. 4- The message format should be thought of; font size, color, beginning, body and sign off. 5- Check the grammar and the sentence structure, the auto correct is not helping in this regard. 6- Choose the recipient carefully.

Emotional intelligence helps you strike the right tone in your emails. If you’re addressing a sensitive topic, be empathetic and gentle. In more formal situations, maintain professionalism. Use a conversational tone for casual or friendly emails.

To shape messages that resonate and invoke the desired response, understanding the recipient’s viewpoint, their potential emotional response to the message, and their communication preferences becomes indispensable. Crafting an email with the recipient's perspective in forefront not only ensures that the message will be well-received but also that it will foster a positive communicative relationship.

Take a recipient-centered approach when you write an email. This means that you prioritize the needs, preferences, and perspectives of the email recipient when composing your message. It involves tailoring your email to ensure that it resonates with the recipient and serves their interests, making them more likely to engage positively with your message. For example, craft your email content to address the recipient's specific concerns or questions and avoid sending generic or one-size-fits-all messages. Instead, personalize the email by mentioning the recipient's name and referring to previous interactions or relevant shared experiences.

In my experience it is also important to consider how do you want your recipient to feel when they read your email. It is important to remember that compared to verbal communication, in written form you there is an absence of the rich verbal and non-verbal cues so you have to be mindful of not just what you are communicating in terms of content but how you communicate it with language - words are incredibly powerful and hold different connotations and people perceive their tone differently. Be intentional and deliberate about the words and acronyms you use. The best communication is clear communication and that best way to be clear is to ensure you have a clear purpose - intent and outcome/request outlined with simple language.

I connect with how I feel toward the recipient. If I sense some disconnection, I clear that before I write the email. I examine my judgements of race, sex and nationality to see if I am holding a charge towards them. If I am then I must clear this before I write the email. If I sense a need for something from them, I must clear the emotion of 'not having' or 'wanting'. All the above points allow me to write with clarity and from a space free from blocks.

The key is to know how your audience prefers for you to communicate with them! After a conversation with a few millennial leaders on their preferred ways of office communication, majority report that it is needless to send an email about a matter that could have been communicated through a text message or phone call

Expressing emotions in emails, while crucial, requires a blend of sincerity and tact. It's important to ensure that our sentiments are conveyed without diluting the message or steering the tone off course. A thoughtful pause, especially when navigating through negative emotions, can be pivotal in ensuring our message remains constructive and solution-oriented. Conversely, when enthusiasm and positivity fill our words, it can genuinely uplift and engage the reader, provided it aligns with the context and maintains professionalism. Hence, judicious emotional expression not only substantiates our message but also connects us humanely with the reader, facilitating a supportive and collaborative communication environment.

Emotions are data - and it is important to pay attention to your own emotions, and to the emotions of others. Often our emotions are messengers, trying to communicate to us; and the same goes for others. When communicating, it is important to check in on your own emotions and be curious about the root cause of the emotion, and do the same for others. Oftentimes our emotional responses come from a desire to be seen, heard and understood. If you are communicating with someone who is emotional, rather than take offense or respond with an emotive response, try asking questions to explore the situation as opposed to constructing a narrative based on the meaning you are assigning to the situation/dialogue.

If you are emotionally charged, your ability to communicate with understanding and empathy will be limited. You have to let these emotions go. By all means, communicate your frustration and anger but after you have let these go, not before. Often our words are misunderstood because the recipient is reading our email not from where we are but from where they reside emotionally.

You don't have to answer emails as soon as you get them. Take time to think and come up with a complete and thoughtful response. Speed breeds mistakes. Also.. Keep it cool. Never write emails when emotions run high and you're angry. That's guaranteed to cause unnecessary drama.

In the matter of “, if you are feeling angry or frustrated, you might want to wait until you calm down before writing or sending an email, or use a neutral or positive language to avoid escalating the situation” I would add that the key is to know that your emotions can be felt by your audience miles away from you, thus, aspire to be happy, relaxed and calm when writing a new or responding to an email.

In my experience when people truly know you as a person they pick up on your tone, intentions and feeling. Even the flow of words and the message it conveys can be a reflection of the sender. The human touch even to oversee the context is still required. I see AI as a welcome friend and a future copilot.

You should try and anticipate the recipient's potential questions or objections and proactively address them in your email. This demonstrates that you've thought about their perspective and are willing to provide relevant information or reassurance.

Empathy can also guide the writer to determine if an email needs to be sent or not! For example, if you receive a harsh toned email, empathy can help you realize that a response to such an email will only escalate matters!

True empathy can only come when we have let go of our judgements. If we are stuck in this place then it is almost impossible to empathise.

Asking questions to understand better is needed, especially if we are emotionally charged. Curiosity is the state of being we must be in when we ask questions. It's about depth and seeing the truth. Deep, penetrating questions allow us to do just that.

Limit the number of questions you ask. The easier you make it for them to respond, think it through or take action, the more effective your email will be. In this way you are being considerate of their emotional state, level of workload and their time.

Is your email clear to the other side? Make sure they have all the information they need to reply to you so you won’t have to ping-pong for more details. But also, edit your email to declutter unnecessary information.

We're all busy, so recognize that your recipient may have a busy schedule too. Keep your email concise and to the point, ensuring that the main message is clear in the first few sentences. If your email is lengthy, consider providing a brief summary at the beginning.

First of all decide, use your emotional intelligence if an email is the best way to communicate a particular message to a particular person or whether a conversation in person, online or by phone might be more productive. If you are responding to an angry email, your emotional intelligence can guide in deciding whether it needs an immediate reply, a delayed reply or no reply. People want to be heard. They may or may not want action taken. Also use your emotional intelligence in deciding if anyone needs to be copied in on your reply or if an email needs to be forwarded. Consider how you would feel if it were your email.

Consider whether email is the best way to communicate your point. If there is a need for empathy then maybe a phone call is more appropriate. If your email has more than 3 instructions possibly an attachment so they don't lose the important information. Email isn't the best way to convey emotion, so keep it short, friendly and concise. Then read it to yourself as though you have just received it and consider how it will be viewed. Finally remember, if you are angry or upset don't press send.

Assume every email you write has the potential to be forwarded to the entire organization. Some things are better discussed face to face (or not at all).

It is very important to consider the audience's perspective before jumping in to a reply, we often misinterpret the message based on our current emotional condition, for example if you just had a tough conversation with someone in your team and then you get an email from that person asking you to complete a task you might get it completely wrong....use an important tool in emotional intelligence which is self awareness that can help you navigate your feelings from negative to positive view before responding and responding to an email in a positive state is always a win win.