Communication in the Workplace - Tips for Clarity in Emails

One of the things that we all struggle with at work is finding a way to communicate better. Communication can be difficult at times, especially when we take into consideration sometimes language barriers, and depending on whether we are emailing someone, or sending them a chat/text message or if we are speaking with them via phone or face to face.

Face to face communication is the easiest, because it allows for quick clarification of any misunderstanding, however when we communicate at work, many times we are not speaking face to face, and when we need to send emails or messages via ManageGo or Wrike or any other form of written communication, then we need to make sure we are being very clear, in order to make it be more effective.

I took some tips from the Article from Alexis Reale, Staff Writer for Flexjobs on How to Write Effective Professional Emails, I am pointing out the ones that I find to be most relevant and most important for us here at Bushburg because they are things that I see that are not done consistently and they prevent effective communication.

How to Write a Professional Email

Once you’ve got the who, the why, and the how down, you’re ready to compose your professional email. But don’t just slap down a few sentences and hit send without considering all of the elements that help create an effective email.

Use the Subject Line Wisely

Make sure that the subject line of your email is filled in and makes the purpose of your email clear. It doesn’t have to go into great detail, but should be something more specific than “Hello.” The subject line should give the recipient a clue about what the email contains before they ever open it. This can help them prioritize your email as important and relevant, and also put them in the right headspace by setting expectations. - This is something that is very important and will help on getting your message handled accordingly.

Start With an Explanation

Generally, you should explain why you are sending the email in the first few sentences, just after the opener. For example, if you’re thanking someone, start with that. “Thanks so much for the tip on the opening last week.” Or use something like, “I’m following up on our interview.” It helps frame the email’s purpose and gives the recipient more insight into why you’re sending it. - This is also something that it is rarely done in Bushburg and I strongly believe that it will improve communication greatly if we all started doing this.

The Long and Short of It

As a rule, an email should be short but not too short. You want to provide the context that the reader needs without being too vague.

At the same time, though, you shouldn’t create a long email. If you’re going beyond four paragraphs, reconsider sending and see if you can trim anything and request a phone call to iron out the details–especially in a work setting.

Cover the crucial details (why you’re writing, what you hope to accomplish) as briefly and concisely as possible. Alternatively, you may want to create a longer document that you attach to the email that can be read later, or even printed.

Avoid Walls of Text

Sometimes, though, a professional email has to be longer than a few paragraphs. In those cases, consider breaking up your thoughts into bullet points or numbered sections.

Part of modern work life (pandemic or not) means people are staring at their screens for a majority of the day. Make it easier on your recipient by using white space in your email. Using white space simply means you’re breaking up large portions of your text into smaller ones. This makes it easier for the recipient to read your email.

For example, if you’ve got a paragraph that’s six sentences long, consider breaking it up into two three-sentence paragraphs. Or, format your thoughts into bullet points, so they’re easier to read.

Give Them Everything They Need

Before you hit send, make sure you include any additional information the recipient might find useful. While you may think it saves time to include the information within the email, consider instead including relevant links or attachments instead. This cuts back on the size of the email (making it easier to send) and allows the recipient to review everything else on multiple tabs, instead of scrolling up and down in your email.

Do More Than End Your Email

For many emails, though not all, you should include a call to action (CTA) at the bottom of your email. A CTA invites the reader to do something and can help drive home your message or let the recipient know that you’ll be taking action (like following up with them) in the near future.

For example, you could say you’re looking forward to speaking with them, and you’ll follow up in a few days. Or, you could invite them to click a link to check out your website. If you’re emailing coworkers, you could ask them to send you a document or to provide details on a project update. Regardless of your motive, you should make the desired action for the recipient clear so that they know how to appropriately move forward.

Add Some Context

Sometimes you are the recipient of an email, but you need to forward that email on. When that’s the case, don’t simply add “See below,” then hit send.

While you don’t necessarily have to follow all of the above email writing tips when you’re forwarding a message, you should provide some context as to why you are forwarding the specific email (or email chain) to the recipient. You don’t need to summarize everything, but you should add some explanation to help the recipient out.

Replying to All

Reply all is, well, sometimes a recipe for disaster. But there are times when it’s necessary to reply to everyone on the string. Other times, though, it’s important to only reply to some of the recipients.

When possible, drop unnecessary people off the email chain. The customer service rep who sent the email up the chain for review likely doesn’t need to be involved in the conversation when the head of finance gets involved.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

These may seem like a lot of tips for writing a professional email. But with attention to detail, they’ll become second nature.

The original article has a few more tips, but in general I believe these are the ones that are the most useful for us here at Bushburg, and these tips can be tweaked to apply to other forms of communication, like messages in ManageGo or Wrike.

I hope you find this article useful and feel free to let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions for future articles.

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Sources:

• How to Write Effective Professional Emails