Chapter 5

E-Mails and Memos

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.

Ch. 5-1
5-1
 Importance of Internal
Communication

Well-written documents bring important

benefits:

 Achievement of goals
 Improvement of your image in the
company

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.

Ch. 5-2
5-2
 The Writing Process

 Phase 1: Analyze, Anticipate, and Adapt

• Do I really need to write this memo or e-mail?

• Do I write a hard-copy memo or send an e-
mail?
• Why am I writing?
• How will the reader react?

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.

Ch. 5-3
5-3
 The Writing Process

 Phase 2: Research, Organize, and Compose

 Phase 3: Revise, Proofread, and Evaluate

• Revise for clarity

• Proofread for correctness
• Plan for feedback

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.

Ch. 5-4
5-4
 Writing plan for E-Mails and
Memos
 Writing the Subject Line

• Summarize the central idea in the subject line

• Subject lines should be specific, eye-
catching, and contain a verb form.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.

Ch. 5-5
5-5
 Writing plan for E-Mails and
Memos
 Opening with the Main Idea
Begin by giving the main idea immediately in
the first sentence.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.

Ch. 5-6
5-6
 Writing plan for E-Mails and
Memos

 Body
• Explains the main idea.
• Uses a separate paragraph for each topic.
• Uses bulleted lists, headings and tables for
easy comprehension.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.

Ch. 5-7
5-7
 Writing plan for E-Mails and
Memos
 Closing
• End your message with:
i) action information, dates, or
deadlines
ii) message summary
iii) a closing thought
• Include an end date in the closing
paragraph

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.

Ch. 5-8
5-8
 Formatting E-Mails

 Formatting suggestions
• All messages contain To, From, Date, and
Subject lines.
• Salutations are included in most messages
except to close colleagues.
• Generally, closing lines or a signature block
should name the writer.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.

Ch. 5-9
5-9
 Sample E-Mail Message

Date: September 3, 2006 9:05:12 AM EST

To: Matt Ferranto <mferranto@comtec.com>
From: Brooke Johnson <bjohnson@comtec.com>
Subject: SUPERVISING TWO WORK PLACEMENT STUDENTS
Matt:

You will be assigned two work placement students to work in your

department from September 20 through November 30. As part of
their supervision, you will be expected to do the following:

* Develop a work plan describing their duties.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-10

Ch. 5-10
 Sample E-Mail Message
(continued)

* Supervise their work to ensure positive results.

* Assess their professionalism in completing all assigned work.
Please examine the packet being sent to you. It contains forms
and additional information about the two students assigned to your
department. Please call me by September 15 at Ext. 248 if you
have questions.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-11

Ch. 5-11
 Smart E-Mail Practices

 Getting started
• Compose offline.
• Get the address right.
• Avoid misleading subject lines.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-12

Ch. 5-12
 Smart E-Mail Practices

 Content, Tone, Correctness

• Be concise.
• Don’t send anything you wouldn’t want
published.
• Don’t use e-mail to avoid contact.
• Never respond when you’re angry.
• Care about correctness.
• Resist humour.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-13

Ch. 5-13
 Smart E-Mail Practices
 Netiquette
• Don’t automatically forward junk e-mail.
• Consider using identifying labels.
• Use capital letters only for emphasis or for
titles.
• Announce attachments.
• Consider asking for permission before
forwarding.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-14

Ch. 5-14
 Smart E-Mail Practices

 Replying to E-mail
• Scan all messages in your inbox before
replying to each individually.
• Don’t automatically return the sender’s
message.
• Revise the subject line if the topic changes.
• Respond to messages quickly and efficiently.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-15

Ch. 5-15
 Smart E-Mail Practices

 Personal Use
• Don’t use company computers for personal
matters.
• Assume that all e-mail is monitored.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-16

Ch. 5-16
 Smart E-Mail Practices

 Other Smart E-Mail Practices

• Use graphic highlighting to improve
readability of longer messages.
• Consider cultural differences.
• Double-check before hitting the Send
button.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-17

Ch. 5-17
 Improving E-Mail and Memo
Readability With Listing
Techniques
 Parallelism
Instead of this: Try this:
She likes sleeping, She likes sleeping,
eating, and to work. eating, and working.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-18

Ch. 5-18
 Improving E-Mail and Memo
Readability With Listing
Techniques
 Instructions
Instead of this: Try this:
To clean the printer, you To clean the printer:
should first disconnect 1. Disconnect the power cord
the power cord. Then you 2. Open the front cover
open the front cover, and 3. Clean the printer area with
the printer area should be a soft, dry cloth
cleaned with a soft, dry
cloth.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-19

Ch. 5-19
 Improving E-Mail and Memo
Readability With Listing
Techniques
 Headings
Instead of this: Try this:
On April 3 we will be in Date City
Toronto, and the speaker Speaker
is Troy Lee. On May 20 April 3 Toronto Troy Lee
we will be in Calgary, and May 20 Calgary Erin Win
the speaker is Erin Win.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-20

Ch. 5-20
 Improving E-Mail and Memo
Readability With Listing
Techniques
 Emphasis Within
Sentences
Instead of this: Try this:
Our team always tries to Our team always tries to (a)
achieve our goals, customer achieve our goals, (b)
service must be improved, and improve customer service,
our production targets must and (c) meet our production
be met. targets.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-21

Ch. 5-21
 Improving E-Mail and Memo
Readability With Listing
Techniques
 Bulleted Items
Instead of this: Try this:
At the AutoSelect Web At the AutoSelect Web
site, we let you compare site, you can
car prices, you can • Compare car prices
research the best • Research best
financing, and you can financing
learn about leasing. • Learn about leasing

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-22

Ch. 5-22
 Try Your Skill

 Arrange the following in a bulleted list.

In the next session, the trainer will
demonstrate how to use video conferencing,
how to share multiple programs, and how to
maintain a directory.

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-23

Ch. 5-23
 Try Your Skill

Improved Version:
The next training session will demonstrate
• Video conferencing
• Sharing multiple programs
• Maintaining an Internet Directory

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-24

Ch. 5-24
E-Mails and Memos That Inform

E-mails and memos that inform generally explain

organization policies, procedures, and guidelines.

• Must be particularly clear and concise

• First paragraph: begin directly
• Next paragraph: explain why (consider using
bulleted lists)
• Final paragraph: restate main purpose

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-25

Ch. 5-25
 E-Mails and Memos That
Request
• Use the direct approach
• Be courteous and respectful
• Write clearly to avoid misunderstanding
• Consider asking a co-worker to read it before
sending it out
• provide an end-date so reader can plan a
response

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-26

Ch. 5-26
 E-Mails and Memos That
Respond
• Prepare by: collecting, organizing, outlining

• First paragraph: describe the request

• Next paragraph: provide the information requested

(consider using headings and lists)

• Final paragraph: close with a summary

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-27

Ch. 5-27
 End

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd. Ch.5-28

Ch. 5-28