5 Ultimate

Tips to Sound
POLITE
and
PROFESSIONAL
In your E-Mails

Ruchika Gulati
English Communication Coach
A DM or a mail or a comment -
every piece of written
communication forms an
impression of 'You'. You MUST get
it right.
Each of us has our own style of
communication. Some of us like to keep
things simple, plain, short and direct as it
saves time. Whereas many of us would
love to make things seem interesting as we
care too much about what others might
think or feel. Which one are you? I am the
second one. Especially when we are in the
professional world, we might have to give
instructions and make requests quite often
- we NEED to not sound authoritative and
direct always as being humans, we also
wish to get liked by others. So, how do we
do that?

If you wish to have a combination of both

styles, here are my personal strategies for
you. Keep reading. :)
Step 1

Giving Instructions/Asking
Questions
Often when we give instructions, we are direct and clear. We
also manage to not sound rude if it's verbal communication by
keeping a smile on our face. But how do we do that in e-mails
or written communication?

Here are a few examples. Read them and see how they sound
in terms of politeness and asking for action in return.

"Prepare the report and send it by EOD."

"Kindly prepare the report and send it by EOD."
"Can you prepare the report and send it by EOD?"
"Do you think you can prepare the report today and send it by
EOD?"
"I would like to confirm if you can prepare the report and send it
by EOD."
"It would be really helpful if you prepare the report and send it
by EOD."

People often say 'No' when they feel they are given orders.
Replacing direct instructions with questions helps to some
extent as we often say 'yes' when asked and 'no' when given
direct instructions.
Step 2

Replace informal English words

with Formal English words
They key to sound professional is to not sound personal. The
simple way to not sound personal is to replace the words you
might use with your friends/family in messages.
Let's see a few examples:

"I want a copy of invoice." (Informal)

"I would like to get a copy of invoice" (Formal)

"Got it. Thanks!" (Informal)

"I've Received it. Thanks!" (Formal)

"Get ready for tomorrow's meeting" (Informal)

"Reminding you to prepare for tomorrow's meeting" (Formal)

"Please give the details." (Informal)

"Please provide the details required for ......." (Formal)

"Can you tell me what happened in the meeting?" (Informal)

"Could you share the points discussed in the meeting? (Formal)

"Let me handle it myself." (Informal)

"Allow me to manage it on my own." (Formal)

Depending on the relationship you share with the person to

whom you wish to send the mail/messages, you decide to use
these phrases. It can be informal, formal or a combination of
both.
Step 3

Asking for Help/Making Requests

Juniors, seniors, or team members - We need to ask quite often.
Give reasons to the people - Why they should say 'yes' ? Why
they should spare a few extra minutes to help you while they
are occupied already. This is how I do this:

"Please guide me. I can't understand the process." - This is

how we talk generally. Let's give a reason and see if it
sounds important. - "It would be really helpful if you could
guide me as I am unable to understand the process, which
can lead to delay in the submission."

"Kindly send the quotation fast. The client is asking for it." -
It doesn't sound significant enough for me to take action
immediately. Change the words a bit. - "Kindly send the
quotation as the client is in urgent need of the same"

"I need a leave for 3 days for a family function. Please allow
me." -I am asking permission but did I add anything that
will push my boss to say yes? Let's show them we trust
them. - "I am in need of a 3-day leave as March has been
really hectic work-wise. Though I am glad we could deliver
everything required, I really look forward to taking a break
and joining back to work on the ongoing project."

Be polite. Show how your work/request is important. Let them

feel you trust them, so they help to keep that impression.
Step 4

Pointing Errors & Giving Feedback

Who likes to get corrected and pointed for errors? No one. Easy
to do with a smile, tricky if you wish to do it in mails, especially
when you care about people.

3 Steps To Get It Sorted:

1. Begin with a positive feedback - something you liked.

2. Move towards something, which was incorrect with details
and not vague pointers.
3. Suggest how to improve and leave the conversation open
so the confusion can be removed from the other side, if
any.

"The designs created are not up to the mark. Please work on

them again and send by tomorrow."

Let's change this to:

"The designs look great. However, the color scheme used

doesn't seem to match with the one selected by the client. Also,
I feel a few changes can be done in the third design to make it
more attractive. Please see to it. Feel free to ask anything."

Again, YOU decide. Be direct and leave to the person OR make

an effort and time to help while giving feedback.
Step 5

Proofreading is Essential
No matter how well you know the English language, you will
make some errors related to grammar, spellings or
punctuation. I do. I understand the language really well. But my
eyes skip those smaller ones sometimes - like "it's" or "its".

So Here's what I do:

1. Write the mail in one go.

2. Check if I have included all the points.
3. Polish and Proofread the words and tone.

On an immediate basis, use tools like Grammarly (I'm sure you

use that already). But proofread, even after using such tools.

In the longer run, you don't wish to be dependent on such tools

forever, you will have to notice spellings, grammar, full stop or
commas, through emails you get. You will have to expand your
knowledge of language if you wish to be accurate at all times.
Spending a few minutes noticing the perfect mails and writings
around you can definitely help.

3 Things to check before pressing the 'send' button:

1. Spellings
2. Grammar
3. Tone
NOTE THIS

You might have to spend a few extra minutes polishing

your mail initially as you are experimenting with your
current style.

There is no fixed and perfect template for any mail.

Being extremely polite can have its own disadvantages if

not taken seriously.

Decide your own communication style. Every

communication style has its own advantages and
disadvantages. So, you learn through the experience
depending on the response you get to your mails.

Words, Tone and Structure - These are the three most

important elements in written communication.
By Ruchika Gulati

I am assuming
you read it
completely and
you didn't skim
through the
headings.

DM TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS. :)

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