Writing Effective E-mail

March 21, 2012

E-mail In Context Section 1

Virtual World

70:30 Online communication: Face to face interaction E-mail Effective communication & management tool

E-mail has become mainstream. It is now a

common form of communication, probably exceeding telephone and maybe even face-to-face meetings in terms of information transferred and number of interactions.

March 21, 2012

Virtual Impressions
The biggest cue about Who you are .. is your competence with the language.

If you have lots of misspellings, your subjects do not agree with your verbs, or you use the wrong word, people may assume that you are uneducated. From that, they may infer that you are not very clever. It doesn't matter that the correlation between language ability and intelligence is weak (especially among non-native speakers); lots of people will make that inference anyway.

Besides, some people feel that it is disrespectful to

send email with blatant errors.

March 21, 2012

Virtual Stereotyping
Your e-mails reflect you, your professionalism & competence Any stereotype that is held about you will rub off on your organization, or vice versa (based on your email connection).

Unfortunately, the client received unprofessional emails, and now is thinking, "Why didnt I see this before? My own 5th grader can write better than my consultants. Theyre incompetent and my loss is their fault!" Again, unprofessional behavior leads to the client questioning our competence.

March 21, 2012

Sample Email Determine the content

You are the Project Leader of a project that involves development of Financial Applications. You would like to attend a Training Program on Oracle Financials conducted by Oracle Corp., Bangalore. Write an email to the Training Coordinator (TC) of your centre, requesting for approval to attend this program.

What is the name of the course? Who is organizing it? Why do you want to attend it? Where is it being conducted? When does it start and end?

What will be the cost?

How will TCS benefit?

March 21, 2012

Deductive Structure: From the general to the particular

To: Regional L&D@tcs.com Cc:AM/GL@tcs.com Bcc: Subject: Request for Approval of Oracle Financials Training Program I have been working in the ABC project since December 2010 which involves development of financial applications. A training on Oracle Financials will conducted by Oracle Corp., Bangalore from 6th July- 8th July 2011. The cost of the training is INR 10,000 for each trainee. As I am involved in the development of financial applications, I wish to attend this training to enhance my skill set. The cost of the external training will be charged on the project WON 2154xxx. I have already obtained my GLs approval for the training. Request you to approve my participation in the training.

Thank you, Abc xyz Project Lead, ABC Project Tata Consultancy Services Phone: +91-120-665xxxx Buzz: 412xxxx Cell: +919891xxxxxx Mailto: abc.xyz@tcs.com Website: http://www.tcs.com

March 21, 2012

Inductive Structure: From the particular to the general

To: Regional L&D@tcs.com Cc:AM/GL@tcs.com Bcc: Subject: Request for Approval of Oracle Financials Training Program Request you to approve my participation in the training on Oracle Financials to be conducted by Oracle Corp., Bangalore from 6th July- 8th July 2011. The cost of the training is INR 10,000 for each trainee. As I have been working in the ABC project since December 2010 which involves development of financial applications, I wish to attend this training to enhance my skill set. The cost of the external training will be charged on the project WON 2154xxx. I have already obtained my GLs approval for the training. Thank you, Abc xyz Project Lead, ABC Project Tata Consultancy Services Phone: +91-120-665xxxx Buzz: 412xxxx Cell: +919891xxxxxx Mailto: abc.xyz@tcs.com Website: http://www.tcs.com

March 21, 2012

Email Writing Section 2

Important Tips to remember Limit email use in the workplace to business-specific information and topics. Review email for legal implications, because any and all written documents in a business environment can and will be used in court. Use professional language and tone. Pay attention to your audience and consider their background when writing.

March 21, 2012

DOs

Organize your mail box

Check out the companys email policy- Email is never private Provide a timely response Keep humor to the minimum Check your mail for accuracy, particularly the spellings of your recipients names Be precise Answer all questions and preempt further questions Check the attachments to your e-mail
March 21, 2012

DONTs

Do not discuss confidential information

Do not overuse the High Priority option Do not Flame never send an e-mail in anger Do not send junk mail <<jokes/ bulk mails on office IDs>> Dont sms em! Do not mix languages while writing

March 21, 2012

Structure of an e-mail

The Address Fields The Subject Line

The Body Area

March 21, 2012

Address To: CC: Optional BCC: Optional

If you want to mail a large number of people (for instance, on a mailing list) don't paste all the email addresses into the CC field of your email program. If you do that, each person you are writing to will be able to see the email addresses of all the other people you're writing to! This can be very annoying as people usually don't like to disclose their email address in public. Always use the BCC (blind carbon copy) function instead. That way, each person will only see their own email address on your message.- Use care in distributing multiple copies to colleagues. However, do not assume that blind copying will always keep recipients from knowing who else was copiedsomeone who is blind copied may hit "reply all" and send a reply to everyone, revealing that he/she was included in the original message. For example, you find out that one of your co-workers could be involved in potentially illegal activities, so you send an email to your co-worker confronting them about the activity, and you send a blind carbon copy to your boss, so that he or she becomes aware of the current situation and potential future consequences.
March 21, 2012

Subject

Must be brief (not more than 6 words) Must reflect the nature and topic of the email should be meaningful Must not include CAPITALS Appropriate subject line increases the chances of your email being read

March 21, 2012

Subject
From: Suraj Kumar To: Sumanth Krishnan Cc: Bcc: Subject: Inputs I have worked on your inputs and closed all comments for the Offers module. Suraj Tata Consultancy Services Limited Mailto: suraj.k@tcs.com Website: http://www.tcs.com

March 21, 2012

Is this ok?
From: Rakesh Roshan To: Karan Johar Cc: Bcc: Subject: Will meet u at 2 to discuss audit

Regards Rakesh

March 21, 2012

Recommended Sample
From: Rakesh Roshan To: Karan Johar Cc: Bcc: Subject: Audit Discussion at 2 p.m. Dear Karan, Can we meet today at 2 p.m. to discuss the audit action items? Please let me know if this is convenient. Thanks Rakesh Roshan Business Analyst Tata Consultancy Services Limited Mailto: rakesh.roshan@tcs.com Website: http://www.tcs.com

March 21, 2012

Salutation

The salutation sets the tone of the communication.

Formal
Dear Ms.<Name> A somewhat formal opening, highly reminiscent of letter writing. Hello Mr.<Name>A more causal, friendly greeting, with a hint of politeness and
respect. A very handy, all-purpose opener.

March 21, 2012

Salutation (contd)
Informal
Hi <Name> <Name> A very matter-of-fact, "let's get to the point" opening. <Hi/Hello> Whereas the Hi is a bit more casual than the Hello, both of these
greetings lack the intimate touch of including the recipients name. A slightly more casual, friendlier greeting than "Hello." It's probably not appropriate for the first e-mail exchange with a stranger, unless you immediately want to set the tone of "friendliness among peers."

In an ongoing, back-and-forth dialogue, there may be no greetings at all

throughout a string of exchanged e-mails. In the face-to-face world, you don't say "hello" in the midst of an energetic discussion. In cyberspace, the same principle holds. Although each e-mail message looks like a letter that traditionally starts off with a greeting, it actually isn't. In many cases it is a segment of an ongoing conversation.

March 21, 2012

Salutation
Start with a Greeting:

Dear Mr. Brook/Dear Ms. Hewitt Hello Douglas Hi Vineet Suman

Ensure that you end your greeting with a comma.

Americans use a comma or colon (:).

Address everyone in a multiple recipient e-mail. Ensure the gender. Spell the recipients name(s) correctly.

March 21, 2012

Salutation
Know how to address American, European and Japanese clients.

Use the first name to address American clients. Use the second name to address Europeans. With German clients in particular, ensure that the language is formal (say, Hello Mr. Miller). Add a suffix san to address Japanese clients. For example, say Hello Kimura-san.

March 21, 2012

Body
Write in a style that is both engaging and readily understood Keep the reader in mind <<Avoid long
sentences>>

Visually construct the message so that it is easy and pleasing to read <<Proper structure and layout>> Pay attention to the time demands of users
<<Be concise and to the point>>

March 21, 2012

Body (contd)
Respond inline or snip relevant points and reply Use the active voice Do not write in CAPITALS <<e-mail equivalent to shouting>>

It takes more time and effort to quote segments rather than the whole message, but there are several advantages. People may appreciate the fact that you put that time and effort into your response. It makes your message clearer, more to the point, easier to read. It may convey to your partner a kind of empathic attentiveness because you are responding to specific things that she said. You are letting the person know exactly what from his message stood out in your mind

>> I know what you mean. He said the same thing to me. > What was your reaction?

March 21, 2012

Body(contd) Body (contd.)

Zip/compress when they are sent as attachments Use bullets/lists for stating issues/concerns OR while responding to questions Write short, simple sentences and paragraphs

March 21, 2012

Body (Contd.)
Know whom you are writing to. The recipient and purpose of writing will decide the tone you have to adopt. Introduce yourself when writing to someone for the first time. Say what you do, not what you are. Im working in the XYZ project, and not, I am the Project Leader. If applicable, thank the recipient before going on to the actual message. - Thank you for your mail, Thanks for the information etc. Quote previous message, if necessary, to set out the context. However, include only relevant information.

March 21, 2012

Body (Contd.)
Cover the main point in the first few lines. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short and simple. Use bulleted and numbered lists, wherever applicable. Provide complete and specific details when answering e-mails. Clarify what you can do. Provide a timeframe for completing the work. Discuss the capability or inability, if any, to complete the work.

March 21, 2012

Body (Contd.)
When you have committed a mistake: Apologize immediately. - Apologize for the delay caused Give a reason. - The data given was incorrect, hence Suggest an action. - We will send you the revised estimates by tomorrow Apologize again. - Sorry about the inconvenience caused.

March 21, 2012

Mail from the Client

To: Mahesh Bhatt From: Katie Knoll Cc: Sue Bright Bcc: Subject: GC file link Hi, Are you still the contact for the GC files? User has forwarded an error saying that downloading goes on for a long time (more than 80 MB). Do you know who uploaded this? Let me know if you can help. Thanks Katie Katie Knoll GC Co-ordinator

March 21, 2012

Is this ok?
From: Mahesh Bhatt To: Katie Knoll Cc: Sue Bright Bcc: Subject: Re: GC file link Hi, I am not sure why!!!! The page is being maintained by me, but the file was uploaded by Bill. I did NOT update any links for the previous release also. Because the size of the file is too big downloading is going on. You can talk to Bill, if you want. That is all for now. Awaiting your reply.

Regards Mahesh

Defensive tone Specific information not given Redundant information Use of Uppercase Use of Active Voice
March 21, 2012

Sample
From: Mahesh Bhatt To: Katie Knoll Cc: Sue Bright, Bill Lemont Bcc: Subject: Re: GC file link Hi, The GC team and I are maintaining the page in question. The .exe file (which the user accesses from the Web Install link) was uploaded by Bill Lemont for this release. As for downloading continuing for a long duration, the size of the file that I downloaded is 109 MB. So downloading would go on for a while. Regards Mahesh

Direct Style Pertinent information given upfront Forthcoming approach

March 21, 2012

Body-Courtesy & Use of Emoticons

Use Emoticons (virtual gestures) to lighten the interaction and ease the conflict. <<but with discretion>>
such as :-) for smiling, or :-( for frowning),only if understood by both parties

Use Emoticons or other forms of Internet shorthand to clarify your communication

such as <grin> <frown> <wink), only if the other person understands them.

March 21, 2012

Closure

The terms used in closing convey relationship and emotional context.

Formal:
Best regards, Thanks and regards, Regards,

Informal
Warm regards

March 21, 2012

Closure
You could end your e-mails saying: Please do contact me if you need any clarification. I hope you find this information useful. Let me know if you need anything else. Sign-off with expressions like: Regards/Best Regards Use your preferred name. Include your designation to have more influence on the recipient. Provide your contact information.

March 21, 2012

Signature

The sign-off indicates who and where you are.

Formal: Mandatory Informal: Optional Many email programs allow you to set up a default signature to be included at the end of every message. Many people use these signatures as an easy way to give their name and alternate ways of reaching them.
March 21, 2012

Email Samples Section 3

E-mail Written In a Hurry!

Hell Ashok, I needs som information abt the transport aaraignment that TCS has made for the propsal picnin at Khandala. Kan you tell me where the bus will strat form? Far your inforimition, I give near Mahakali caves and stayed up on the floor no. ben. I am getting pension about missing the bus. I am very happy to be prat of the picnic gang, and dont vish to miss this gun at any cost. In fact, this will be mine fist ever picnic in TCS. I will also get my camera to get some wonderful photes of all my fiends. I will aapreciate an ery reply so I can get reddy. Tanks, Tina

March 21, 2012

Spell Check Done In a Hurry!!

Hell Shook, I need some information bat the transport arraignment that TCS has made for the proposal picnic at Candela. Kan you tell me where the bus will start form? Far your information, I give near Maharani caves and stayed up on the floor no. been. I am getting pension about missing the bus. I am very happy to be part of the picnic gang, and dont visa to miss this gun at any cost. In fact, this will be mining fist ever picnic in TCS. I will also get my camera to get some wonderful photos of all my fiends. I will appreciate a very reply so I can get ruddy. Tanks, Tina

March 21, 2012

Questions
Queries Questions

March 21, 2012