Effective Business Email Communication Fundamentals

Email communication has become increasingly popular in business contexts, often replacing other forms of communication such as letters and phone calls.

According to research published in the Harvard Business Review (2013), 76% of users exploit email technology to exchange documents, 69% to share information with teams and other groups and 61% to communicate more effectively with people working in other time zones. Email is also used by 59% of business people to store and search for past messages and the information they contain.

Exchanging information and dealing with simple, routine matters via email while travelling or working remotely is highly effective and allows you to keep a record of your communications for future reference.

Emails represent an effective yet unobtrusive way to communicate with individuals and large groups, but are often overused. Many business people report spending a great deal of time each day going through a large number of emails, only half of which are relevant. This reduces the user’s productivity and the time they are able to spend reading the messages which count.

In order to avoid overloading recipients, and thus increase the effectiveness of your emails, make sure you only send essential messages. Complex and sensitive matters are better dealt with in person, and discussions involving groups of five or more people – as well as negotiations likely to generate conflict – can be more effectively conducted in online collaborative environments or meetings.

Emails should not be used to deliver messages that require an immediate answer as there is no guarantee that the receiver will read the message and respond immediately. Depending on the context, a phone call might ensure a message is received and understood.

Keeping your audience in mind

As in other forms of communication, before engaging in email correspondence, it is important to think of your audience.

When writing emails, remember that they will be read by a real person. Consider the reader’s point of view and their possible reactions to what you have written. In responding to emails, demonstrate that you understand the recipient’s situation and, if necessary, show empathy using phrases such as ‘I am sorry to hear … ’.

Make sure your emails are positive and constructive. This will help you to build a stronger working relationship with the people reading your messages.

If you feel upset and emotional, wait until you are calmer and able to write a more professional message. Similarly, avoid forwarding threads containing negative comments expressed by other people. Remember that the content of your emails can be shared (sometimes accidentally) with other people. Think before you press ‘Send’.

Responding to emails

Ensure that you meet the recipients’ needs and expectations. Respond to all emails and provide the information required. This is particularly important when the sender has asked you a question or expects your feedback.

Additionally, try to respond as soon as possible so that your reply remains relevant to the recipient. If you cannot give an immediate answer to a query, send a quick response providing an explanation and promising a full reply at a later time. In responding to emails, be aware that the recipient may be reading the email at a later date, and that the resulting action may take place even later.

Recipients

Take your relationship with the recipient into consideration. Think about the assumptions they have formed about you and your work, and how you wish to be perceived.

Select the recipients of your emails carefully. In particular, when selecting secondary recipients (the people you ‘cc’ or carbon copy) ask yourself if the email is relevant to them.

Think carefully before using ‘bcc’ (blind carbon copy), which is the option to hide the names of one or more recipients of your message.

The use of ‘bcc’ leads the recipient of your email to believe that they are engaging in an exchange with those visibly copied, or just you, the sender, when your message is in fact being accessed by others. There is also the risk that a person who was blind carbon copied may reveal that they received the email by responding to the message or show that they know the content of your message in other communications.

Being clear and professional

Clarity and professionalism are two essential principles you need to observe as they allow you to:

Be clear

• Have a clear subject and make sure you deal with only one topic per email.
• Include clear time frames for actions and, ideally, elicit confirmation that the actions will take place. Use phrases such as ‘Please can you supply this information by 13 March’.
• Limit the use of passive language such as ‘the terms of the contract will be revised’ and clearly indicate who will be responsible for taking the actions mentioned in your messages: ‘our legal department will revise the terms of the contract’.
• Avoid sarcasm and jokes as they may not be understood. Remember that the recipient of your email cannot use other information, such as tone of voice and body language, to gauge your message.
• Avoid using emails if you need to make subtle points that could be misunderstood. These points are better discussed in person.

Be concise

• A clear email is brief and to the point. Your addressees may have to read several emails and may not have time to read long and complex emails. According to the Harvard Business Review (2013), recipients only spend two minutes on average reading each email. Clear and concise emails ensure that your message is read and understood within this time.
• Read your message and remove repetitions, wordiness, complex explanations and long examples. Aim to make each point as simply as possible.
• Long emails are difficult to read on screen. If you need to convey a large amount of detailed information, consider using bullet points, grouping information about the same topic under headings or adding an attachment that can be printed out easily.

Be professional

• Make sure your emails are grammatically correct. As emails are often written quickly, typos are not unusual. While some typos are tolerated, grammatical errors can reduce the clarity of your message and may reflect negatively on you. Read your emails before pressing ‘Send’.
• Present your emails in a professional way. Avoid emoticons, multiple colours, SMS abbreviations and text-speak. Check your use of capital letters. Remember that sentences should start with a capital letter, as well as names of places, people and things.
• Use a professional email address. If you use your company’s email system, you will be given a professional email address. This usually includes your name and the name of the company. If you run your own business, you may want to follow a similar style.
• Make sure you include a professional signature. You can include links to your blog or twitter feed here.

When you write a workplace email, select the style that is most appropriate to the relationship between you and the recipients. When writing to your clients and business partners, you will probably be more formal than when you write to a colleague.

Using SCRAP to discuss problems in an email 

In order to make sure your message is clear and easily understood by your readers, you need to pay particular attention to its structure.

In general, a good way to increase clarity is to spend a minute or two thinking about the purpose of your email and how best to achieve it. Decide which information you will need to include and how this should be presented. Start with the main piece of information and place secondary information in the following sentences or paragraphs.

Your organisation may have developed templates to follow when dealing with routine issues, particularly when it comes to responding to customer enquiries, requests and complaints.

When the main purpose of your email is to communicate a problem and your proposed way to resolve it, you can follow the SCRAP structure. This is an effective way to help your readers follow your line of thinking by including the following five key themes and sequencing them in a logical manner:

Situation: Start positively, explain the situation and your purpose for the email

Complication: explain clearly the problem

Resolution: explain your proposed solution to the problem

Action: clearly state what you would like to happen next, the actions for the recipient and for you

Politeness: includes thanking or praising the recipient, showing solidarity and apologising.

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