Tips For Effective E-mail

E-mail is one of the most popular forms of communication.  People today e-mail for personal reasons as well as e-mailing for business.  There are a few things to consider if you want to get your point across better with an e-mail?  Here is a little article with a few pointers to help you use e-mail effectively.

Poorly-composed messages reflect negatively upon both you personally and you as the representative of your business. If you run your own business, a poor first impression, even from something as innocent as an e-mail message, can kill your chances of winning a client.

Fortunately, there a few things you can do to ensure that your e-mail message is both professional and effective.

Let It Simmer - Never send a message as soon as you are finished typing it. Do something else for a few minutes -- let it sit overnight, if possible -- then come back to reread and edit the message. Looking at it again with a "fresh eye", you will be more likely to spot errors.

Read It Aloud - Reading your e-mail aloud allows you to catch more subtle errors, such as awkward phrasing and sounds.

Read Slowly, even one word at a time - This will help you catch double-keyed words and habitual misspellings. For example, I frequently leave off the "r" in "your".

Clean Up Your Language - Always assume that every e-mail, no matter how confidential, will be forwarded, and eventually land on your boss's desk! Strike any off-color, sexist, profane, or otherwise objectionable language. Unless you are quoting someone, there is never a good reason for this in any business communication.

Cut fluff - Replace phrases such as "In the event that ..." with "If ...". Remember the purpose of an e-mail is quick communication. If you have detailed information you may want to include an attachment.

Run the Spell checker - but remember that a spell checker will not catch words that are spelled correctly, but used incorrectly, such as the use of "your" instead of "you're". See our page on auto spell check for MS Outlook

Use E-Mail Templates - Using an MS Outlook template or other mail templates can help to eliminate mistakes and you will too constantly check you work.

Follow these tips and you'll consistently produce effective professional emails of a professional nature.

Was this inforation helpful?
Send it to a friend. |

Do have more questions about MS Outlook?
Vist our MS Outlook Support Forum