Emails are very important in the professional world. Through internet, we have overcome the distance barrier. We can mail to any country or region of the world from any corner of the world. They help us to work properly by providing timely coordination with clients or colleagues to get information. But at the same time, conveying an incorrect message through email can cause unintentional confusion. So, you are required to write a clear email in order to avoid confusion. Remember, people are busy and they get a large number of emails in a day. Not all emails are read. Hence, you need to know how to get people’s attention by communicating well. The importance of drafting a good email cannot be stressed further. Therefore, let’s learn some English writing skills for drafting a good business email.
4 Tips to follow
You need to write a clear yet precise email with a strong subject line and a polite tone.
1. Greeting
When you start to write the email you start with the salutation. The salutation you choose changes according to the audience. It sets your email’s tone. It’s you who have to decide what will be the salutation of a formal email. You would definitely not use “hey”. Instead, you could start with “Dear” and the name of the person you are writing to.
For example:
“Dear Sir or Madam” (if you don’t know the name of the person reading the email)
“Dear Mr. Singh”
“Dear Neha” (more informal)
You can use “Hello,” “Hi” and “Hey” when you write an informal email.
When you write email to a group of people:
“Dear all” (more formal)
“Hi everyone” (more informal)
2. Opening Sentence
Remember your opening sentence is the key to writing a clear email. A good opening sentence will make your reader understand about the email.
For example, if you are writing to follow up on something, you could start with:
“I am just writing…”
“Just a (quick) note…”
“Just a short note to follow up on…”
Most of the times, people tend to write emails to:
Clarify something
Confirm something
Follow up on something
Thank someone for something
Let someone know about something
Answer a question
Ask a question
Update someone
3. File attachments
If you attach a file to your email, make sure you inform the person about the attachment. Try to be precise as it adds to the clarity of the email.
For example:
“I am sending you the minutes of meeting as an attachment.”
Or you can start your sentence with -
“Please find attached…”
“I am attaching…”
“I have attached…”
4. Ending/ closing the email
While ending the email, decide what you want from the reader and write accordingly.
Like if you want the reader to reply to you then:
“I look forward to hearing from you.” (formal)
“I look forward to your reply.” (formal)
If you want the reader to contact you if they need more information then:
“Do not hesitate to contact me if you need any assistance.”
Whereas after ending your email, you can close with
“Sincerely” (formal)
“Kind/Best/Warm regards” (less formal)
Don’t forget to use your English communication skills in professionalism. Learn and use them appropriately. You can also join a Spoken English Course and make your communication skills strong.
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- By Chander Madan
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