Commercial Correspondence Unit 2 Emails

Advantages
Personal Easy to use Fast Convenient Cheap

Disadvantages

Technical problems (non-delivery of messages, unreadable attachments, virus) Large amounts of junk and unnecessary communication Pressure of keeping up with email messages Lack of privacy and security

Email: To send or not to send

Make sure every email you send is necessary. Think twice before sending copies to multiple recipients with the cc function. Be sure to respect the chain of command. Email can be unsuitable for several areas of business communication, e.g. messages of congratulation, condolence, complaint; confidential documents; or documents for legal or insurance purposes.

Email addresses
Typical email addresses look like this: dfranks@intchem.co.no corneyg@kingsway.ac.uk tttt@ftu.edu.vn

First part: name of user - person/ department or its abbreviation. Second part (immediately after the @): name of the ISP or organization (or abbreviation)

Email addresses

Last part: domain name suffixes (type of organization or abbreviation of country name) co: company no: Norway ac: academic uk: United Kingdom edu: education vn: Viet Nam Other examples of domain name suffixes: .biz: business .gov: government .org: non-profit-making organization

Layout

Layout

Header

To: Cc: (carbon copies) Bcc: (blind carbon copies) Subject:

Attachments

Writing Effective Subject Line

An effective subject line: Attracts your readers attention. Provides a specific, meaningful, and precise description of your subject. Examples of Vague Subject Lines
o o o o

Marketing reports Tomorrows meeting Loading Problems Customer Service

Writing Effective Subject Line

Examples of Effective Subject Lines

Marketing reports are due Monday morning Be ready for some tough questions at Fridays meeting Container Loading Problems for Vessel Northern Star Revised Customer Service Procedures

Style
Attention to etiquette is essential. Informal, but following the rules of good business writing, aiming for specific precise business messages professional

TO: ALL SUPERVISORS FROM: JOEL CAIRO __________________________________________________________________

HURRICANE RAOUL IS ABOUT 200 MILES SOUTH OF CHARLESTON, S.C. HE IS STILL A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF 175 MPH... GUSTS TO 220.

HE IS MOVING NORTH BY NORTHWEST VERY SPEEDILY AND WILL ARRIVE HERE BY MIDNIGHT. THE HURRICANE CENTER EXPECTS RAOUL TO MOVE ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA AND THEN UP THE EAST COAST THRU ATLANTIC CITY AND POINTS NORTH TO BOSTON BEFORE TRACKING WESTWARD HO. WE THINK THE TRACK WILL CONTINUE NORTH BUT WHO ARE WE TO QUESTION THE EXPERTS AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER BUREAU. AFTER ALL, THEY HIRED MY BROTHER-IN-LAW SO HOW GOOD CAN THEY REALLY BE? THIS IS INDEED AS STRONG A TROPICAL STORM AS WE CAN EVER HOPE TO SEE IN OUR PART OF THE COUNTRY. THEN AGAIN IT MIGHT PETER OUT AND ALL THIS FUSS WILL HAVE BEEN FOR OTHING. BUT RIGHT NOW WE KNOW THAT WINDS WILL STEADILY INCREASE AND BE STRONGEST AROUND MIDNIGHT. LOTS OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED ALONG WITH THIS STORM. THE STORM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT OF THE REGION BY TOMORROW AFTERNOON BUT IN THE MEANTIME COASTAL AREAS WILL HAVE TO BE CAREFULLY MONITORED AND ALL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS REGARDING PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES MUST BE TAKEN.

TO: All Supervisors FROM: J. Cairo _____________________________________________

Hurricane Raoul is expected to arrive here by midnight. Thunderstorms and rain will accompany this storm until it moves out of the area by late afternoon tomorrow. Please take immediate appropriate precautions regarding personnel, vulnerable outdoor equipment, and facilities.

Style
Include an appropriate greeting and closing section. Less informal: Dear Mr Pinto or Dear Tom and

Yours sincerely More informal: Hi Tom or Tom and Best wishes

or some other informal closing.

Style
Never use ALL CAPITALS for any part of your message. If you want to stress, put asterisks: *urgent* Keep your email messages short and to the point. Limit each message to one subject. Use appropriate tone, do not send messages composed in anger.

Style
Show emotions Ill be pleased to help you sort out this

problem. I appreciate your understanding in trying to resolve this issue. I am happy to offer you an extra discount of 5% in the circumstances.

First Impressions
A bad beginning makes a bad ending.
An attractive format; A strong opening sentence is especially important in e-mail messages to motivate your busy readers to follow the document through to its conclusion. It expresses your main idea and the focus of discussion.

First Impressions
Example of Weak Opening

This is in response to the message I received from you concerning the best time for us to meet in your office to discuss ways to improve safety procedures at our plant. According to my and Evan Douglass schedule the best time to meet would be this Friday at 2. Let me know if this is convenient for you.

First Impressions
Example of Strong Opening

Evan Douglas and I can meet with you at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 5, to discuss plant safety procedures. Please let me know if this date and time are convenient for you.

Organizing Messages
Provide the most important information first. Organize your ideas in short paragraphs (3 5 sentences) Separating paragraphs by one blank space. Format your message clearly and attractively, using numbers, bullets if possible. End your message with a signature file, including your full name, job title, company and contact information.

Ensuring Clarity and Precision

Keep sentences short (25 words max) but complete. Do not write fragment sentences. Edit and check your email message: spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and usage before you send it. When you are ready to click Send, ensure everything is right, and double check the addresses and attachments.

Guidelines to Composing Effective Emails

Understand the principles of email. Create precise attention-getting subject lines. Be aware of first impressions: the format and the opening sentence. Organize email content for easier reading. Use appropriate professional tone. Prefer gender-free language. Edit email for clarity and precision.

Questions
Answer the following questions (10 minutes). 1. Name 3 areas of business communication which can be unsuitable for using email. 2. How should you write your subject line? Why? 3. How should you organize an email message? 4. What must you double check before clicking Send?