Tips on writing business communications well - email

The fundamental thought at the heart of all good business writing, be it emails, tweets, web content, brochures or anything else is …

Who am I talking to?

 (or ... to whom am I talking, but that’s a side issue)
• What is the profile of your audience?
• What are their interests?
• What do they want from you?

Understand your audience, and then give them what they need, in the way they would expect to receive it.
That means leaving out all the stuff that’s about you. This is all about them, because every communication is some sort of sales situation, whether you’re overtly selling to customers or displaying your professional ability to colleagues.

Here are some ideas you can keep in mind as you type. Policies – formal and informal – will vary from company to company, so ask around as well if you’re not sure what’s acceptable or not.

Why can’t I talk as me?

Unless you are self-employed, you are representing your company. Being yourself is something that mostly you need to leave for private emails or for messages to people that you know very well and will accept it.
Your business will have a brand. It will have a way of talking to its customers. Your emails need to reflect that brand. That’s particularly important if you’ve not communicated with your audience before, or you’re writing an autoresponder for example. If you don’t know what your brand is, your corporate communications people will have guidelines.

Why can’t I talk about me?

See above – plus … what value is that information to your reader?
Say you can’t make a meeting, or you’re going to miss a deadline. Is your reader truly interested in why it happened, or do they simply want to know when you can do what you are supposed to do?
 Again with the example of the autoresponder they’ll find it useful to know that you’ll be back in the office on a certain date and that someone else can answer their queries in the meantime. But does it help them to know where you are, especially on your days off?

Why do I need to keep it short?

You need to get to the point fast because the chances are your reader has limited time to expend on you, and might only scan the first few lines. That’s particularly true if they have to scroll down past the bottom of the screen to get to the meaty bit. They might not even realise it’s there.
If it has to be a long email, then note at the beginning what’s in the email, so your reader knows if they haven’t yet seen the good bits.

How much should I grovel?

It is good to be polite, but don’t overdo it. If you’re the bearer of bad news, apologise and then get back to business and explain what’s going to happen to get whatever it is back on track (if you can).
Thank people for their time and effort if you need something from them. Again, don’t go overboard.

Can I say “Hi”?

If you feel it’s right, do so. Bear in mind there are people out there that hate that salutation. You can avoid it by saying “Hello”, “Good morning” or even “Dear” as you would when writing a letter. Some people dispense with the salutation altogether and just write the recipient’s name at the top, but you have to be in pretty regular correspondence with someone before you can do that without seeming rude.

Can I do smileys?

If there’s a chance that what you say might be misinterpreted, then a smiley will diffuse the situation. Better to rewrite so that your meaning is clear though. Smileys are for very occasional use and not for liberal peppering. This is an area where you definitely have to take your lead from office policy though – be it formal or informal.

How do I sign off?

Plenty of options here. “Thanks” and “Many thanks” are always good if you’ve asked someone to do something. “Regards”, “Best wishes”, and their variants are all perfectly polite. “Cheers” starts to cross the line into a little too matey. Just your initial is fine if it’s a long-running conversation. Kisses are to be avoided in business communications that might be read by others.

Why can’t I just type and send?

Have you ever received emails that just don’t make any sense? Especially mails that are giving you instructions? Read through everything you write. You may think of emails as transitory and therefore the grammar doesn’t matter, but there’s several things wrong with that view. First, if your writing doesn’t make sense, there’s no point in sending the mail at all. Second, sending out nonsense does nothing to improve your credibility with colleagues and customers. Third, emails are not transitory – they stay in the system and could be called upon for clarification later, so they need to stand up to scrutiny.

Can I just pick up the phone instead?

Often a very good idea. People are far less likely to misunderstand what you’re saying to them in conversation than what you write to them in a hurried email. And if there’s a lot to discuss, even more reason to call. The benefit of email is that you have a trail of the conversation – invaluable for checking who said they would do what and when, and for sharing with others.