Transcript Letters

Emails
14 tips on
content and
etiquette
Paul Mundy
www.mamud.com
1 Write a meaningful subject line
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Use the subject line to convey the message
People scan the subject line to decide if they should
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Open the message immediately
Open it later
Forward it
File it
Delete it (Is it spam? Is it phishing?)
Before you hit
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Take a moment to write a subject line that accurately
describes the content
What would you do to this message?
What would you do to these messages?
Subject:
Subject:
Important! Read immediately!!
Subject:
Subject:
Quick question
Follow-up about Friday
Subject:
Subject:
That file you requested
10 participants for Friday… will we need a bigger room?
How about this message?
Subject:
Meeting
Hi Anna,
I just wanted to remind you about the
meeting we have scheduled next
week. Do let me know if you have any
questions!
Best wishes,
Armin
Subject:
Reminder of 10 am meeting
on 7 Nov on writing course
Hi Anna,
I just wanted to remind you about the
meeting we have scheduled for
Monday 7 Nov at 10:00 am. It's in
conference room A, and we'll be
discussing the writing course planned
for 21-28 Nov.
If you have any questions, feel free to
get in touch (+39 06 570 12345,
[email protected]).
Best wishes,
Armin Bloggs
2 Use threads
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If you respond to a
message, hit
Keeps the original
subject with "Re:" in
front
In your email
program, you can
group messages by
threads
3 Keep it focused
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People often don’t read to the end
Use boldface to emphasize points
Keep the message short and concise
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Short sentences, short paragraphs
Give all necessary information
Don’t give too much information
In a long conversation, delete the
unnecessary text at the bottom
3 Keep it focused
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Make one point per email
If you have more than one point
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Number each point
or
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Split them into separate messages
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Recipient can respond or file separately
One topic may need only short reply – recipient can
send immediately
Another topic may need thought – recipient can reply
later
Subject:
Revision of climate report
Subject:
Revision of climate report
Hi Anna,
Hi Anna,
Thanks for sending the draft climate
report last week. It reads well, but
we need to avoid jargon: it’s aimed
at policymakers. Thanks for your
hard work on this!
Thanks for sending the draft climate report
last week. It reads well, but we need to
avoid jargon: it’s aimed at policymakers.
Thanks for your hard work on this!
Best wishes, Armin
I’ve also scheduled a meeting on
funding the land tenure initiative at
10:00 on Friday 25 Nov in Room
D323. Please let me know if you
can make it.
Best wishes,
Armin
Subject:
Meeting on land tenure
initiative, 10:00, Fri 25 Nov
Hi Anna,
I’ve scheduled a meeting on funding the
land tenure initiative at 10:00 on Friday 25
Nov in Room D323. Please let me know if
you can make it.
Best wishes, Armin
4 Keep it readable
I HOPE YOU ARE ABLE TO ATTEND
THIS MEETING!!!
DO NOT USE ALL CAPS
Don’t overuse punctuation
marks!!!!!!!!!!!!
It looks as if you are
SHOUTING!!!!
4 Keep it readable
thx 4 ur help 2day ur gr8
u want ur boss 2 think u
cant spl? LOL ;-)
“My teacher doesn’t know how to spell!
She spells U ‘y-o-u’.
She spells BRB ‘r-e-t-u-r-n’.
She spells BFN ‘g-o-o-d-b-y-e’…”
Do not use txt abbrvs
Use standard spelling
4 Keep it readable
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Add an extra line between paragraphs
Avoid fancy typefaces and strange colours
Use bold type or asterisks to show
*emphasis*
5 Avoid attachments
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Make life easy for the recipient
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The recipient has download and open
attachments… that means extra work
People are afraid that attachments may contain
viruses
5 Avoid attachments
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Copy the most important part of the
document into your message
If you do send an attachment, say what it is in
the message
Please see the detailed
timetable attached
6 Say who you are
Best wishes
Armin
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Don't assume the
recipient knows who
you are
Give your real name
Use a signature line
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Name, position, email
address, contact
details
Armin Bloggs
Programme assistant
FAO Land Tenure Division
[email protected]
Skype: arminbloggs
Armin Bloggs
Programme assistant
Land Tenure Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
Rome, Italy
Tel. +39 06 570 12345
[email protected]
Skype: arminbloggs
6 Say who you are
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When contacting
someone for the first
time
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Give your name, position
and other identification
info in the first few
sentences
Dear Dr Abdullah:
I am a programme assistant with FAO’s
land tenure unit, working with Dr Nguyen
Van Hang.
When following up
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Don’t assume they
remember you
Jog their memory
“I enjoyed talking with you about tenure
issues in the elevator the other day.”
7 Use the right level of formality
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Emails are quick, convenient, frequent
Tend to be less formal than letters
If in doubt, be formal rather than informal
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Especially with the first exchange of messages
7 Use the right level of formality
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Address the recipient
by name
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If you know them:
If you don’t know
them:
If they reply with the
first name, respond
with first name
Dear Zeinab
Dear Dr Abdullah
Dear Zeinab
7 Use the right level of formality
OK with friends
More formal
Hi Jane
Dear Dr Montgomery
Grateful if you could…
I’d be grateful if you could…
IMHO
I believe that…
Thx
With thanks and best wishes
TTYL
Looking forward to hearing
from you
:-)
LOL
7 Use the right level of formality
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Different languages have different
expectations!
English = informal
German = more formal
Dear Zeinab
Sehr geehrte Frau
Prof Dr Abdullah!
8 Say what you want them to do
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Be specific
Please get back to me by Tuesday 7 Nov
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Include your contact info
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Your name, position, phone numbers
Even with internal messages
Make life easy for the recipient
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They are more likely to respond to you
From:
[email protected]
Subject: Proposal
Zeinab,
Did you get my proposal last
week?
I haven't heard back and
wanted to make sure.
Can you please call me so we
can discuss?
Thanks!
Armin
From:
[email protected]
Subject:
Proposal on land reallocation
project in Cambodia
Dear Zeinab,
I just wanted to check that you have received
the draft proposal I emailed to you last week. I
haven't heard back and wanted to make sure
you got it.
Can you please call me by Thursday so we
can discuss? The submission deadline is on
the following Monday, and we need to
incorporate revisions before then.
The best way to contact me is by phone (see
numbers below).
Thanks!
Armin Bloggs
Programme assistant
FAO land tenure unit
Tel. +39 06 570 12345
[email protected]
9 Be nice
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Angry?
Think before you
hit
If you write in
anger…
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Save a draft
Get a cup of
coffee
Sleep on it
9 Be nice
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Don’t pour petrol on a
fire
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Will you have to work
with this person in the
future?
Do you want your
message to surface
years from now…
when you want a letter
of recommendation or
a promotion?
9 Be nice
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What if tomorrow morning
someone has put your e-mail on
the noticeboard?
Would your friends be shocked
by your language or attitude?
Would they be impressed?
 By how you kept your cool
 How you ignored the personal
attacks
 How you carefully explained
your position
 How you admitted an error, or
asked for a reconsideration?
9 Be nice
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Don’t hit
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Be tolerant of others’
etiquette blunders
If you think you’ve been
insulted
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Reply with a neutral
comment
if you mean
“I’m not sure how to
interpret this… could you
please elaborate?”
10 Respond promptly
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Reply as soon as you
can
No time now?
Say so…
Did not respond
promptly?
Sorry, I’m in meetings all week.
I’ll get back to you on Friday
Sorry for the delay in getting
back to you
10 Respond promptly
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Need to concentrate on a task?
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Don’t interrupt it to respond to emails
Set aside a time in the day to check your emails
Away from work?
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Set an autoreply
I am away from 1 to 15
December. My emails will not
be monitored during this time.
For urgent issues, please
contact [email protected]
11 If they don’t respond…
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Maybe…
 You have the wrong address
 They didn’t get your message
 They are travelling or on
holiday
 They didn’t realize you wanted
a reply
 They replied but the message
got lost
 They don’t like you
Do not keep sending the same
message to the same person
again and again
Send them an email to ask if
they received your first message
12 Who needs to know?
or
?
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Don’t clutter people’s inboxes
Send copies only to those who need to know
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Sensitive information? Sending to a long list?
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Don’t use CC: (carbon copy)
Use BCC: (blind carbon copy)
That way you don’t give out a long list of
addresses
13 Don’t assume privacy
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Praise in public, criticize in private
Don’t email anything you don’t want circulated to
others
Always be professional
E-mail is not secure
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People can forward it (deliberately or by accident)
Others may read it
Hackers can open it
Treat emails as private
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Unless you know you may share with others
If not sure, ask!
14 Proofread
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Before you hit
Use a spellchecker – but don’t rely only on it
Proofread and revise your message
Take time to make your message look
professional
14 Proofread
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Re-read the message carefully, especially…
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If you want someone to do something for you
If it’s to your boss
If it goes to lots of people
Show a draft to a friend
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Does it make sense?
Some useful phrases
Thank you for your message below
Thanks for your kind note about…
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you
I wonder if you received my message below?
I have not yet heard back from you about…
I’d be grateful if you could…
Could you please let me know…?
Here is an update on…
Please see the attachment for details
I look forward to your comments
Looking forward to hearing from you
Sources and more information
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Letter writing guide. Business and
workplace email etiquette.
tinyurl.com/7mj49kf
Jerz’s literacy weblog. Writing effective email: Top 10 tips. tinyurl.com/42jywo4
MindTools. Writing effective emails. Making
sure your messages get read and acted
upon. tinyurl.com/ylen5z6