How Do You Really Sound in Your Emails?
For most organizations, email is the most popular form of communication. We send and receive tens, sometimes hundreds, per day. In most cases, the more we write, the less thought we give to what we are writing.
We might be great communicators, but it’s possible that we don’t always come across the way we expect in our emails. If we wrote emails in the same way that we communicate verbally, we risk writing emails that are too long and detailed. To be productive, it’s best to keep emails concise. But there is a fine line between an email that is concise and an email that is just plain rude.
Example A
Sara,
It’s important that you get that report on my desk by Monday.
Ron
Example B
Dear Sara,
Would you mind prioritizing the report so we can send it out on Monday?
Thank you and apologies for the short notice!
Ron
There is little difference between examples A and B, but it’s easy to see which can be considered as rude and which isn’t.
Having said that, we are all guilty of reading an email from a colleague and asking ourselves ‘what do they mean by that?’ In some circumstances, it can be hard to read someone’s mood without seeing a face or hearing a voice, meaning a lot of emails are misinterpreted.
For this reason, it’s important that written communication reflects our true tone of voice. We don’t need to spend hours composing the perfect email. We just need to remember to use manners as we would in face-to-face conversation, i.e. using please and thank you where possible.
An important rule in email communication is to remember to ask, rather than tell. For example, ‘would you…’ as opposed saying ‘I need this from you…’ And it goes without saying that you need to get the name of the person you are addressing right – that goes for spelling too!
It is important to test how you really sound in your emails. Realize how your emails might affect others and avoid those inevitable harsh-sounding emails. For more help check out our website or book one of our email etiquette in-house workshops.
By Emma Gibbins