1. Business Writing:
How to Write E-mails that
“Work it Like You Mean It”

2.  E-mail stands for electronic mail
 Most common form of written communication in
business
Some jargons you should know…
Cc: Carbon Copy
Bcc: Blind Carbon Copy
What is an E-mail?

3. 6 Steps in Writing
Effective E-mails

4.  Do you require back and forth communication?
 Try IM, a phone call, or better yet, face to face
communication.
 Do you require people to give their opinion on a topic?
 Set a meeting or discuss via teleconference.
 If you have ruled out both options, then e-mail is your
option.
E-mails are convenient and quick, but not all
e-mails are read quickly!
1. Don’t Overcommunicate.

5. Good Better
Subject: Meeting
Subject: New Policy
Subject: Christmas Party
Subject: Meeting – Visit to
European Headquarters
Subject: New Policy on Dress Code
and Office Attire
Subject: 2014 Christmas
Celebrations – You’re the VIP!
2. Make Good Subject Lines.

6. 3. Keep Messages Clear & Brief.
Subject: Revisions For Sales Report
Hi Jackie,
Thanks for sending that report last week. I read it yesterday, and I feel that
Chapter 2 needs more specific information about our sales figures. I also
felt that the tone could be more formal.
Also, I wanted to let you know that I've scheduled a meeting with the PR
department for this Friday regarding the new ad campaign. It's at 11:00
a.m. and will be in the small conference room.
Please let me know if you can make that time.
Thanks!
Monica

7. 3. Keep Messages Clear & Brief.
Subject: Revisions For Sales Report
Hi Jackie,
Thanks for sending that report last week. I read it yesterday, and I feel that
Chapter 2 needs more specific information about our sales figures.
I also felt that the tone could be more formal.
Could you amend it with these comments in mind?
Thanks for your hard work on this!
Monica
(Monica then follows this up with a separate email about the PR
department meeting.)

8.  Identify your audience. The higher the person is in the
ranks, the more formal your e-mails should be.
 Reports that are sent to a lot of people should always be
treated with care.
 If you are already on good terms with someone, you can
inject a bit of your personal touch, but that means you
have interacted with them for quite sometime.
Never put something on e-mail stuff that you
would be embarrassed with when it is forwarded
to someone!
4. Be Polite.

9.  NEVER E-MAIL BASED ON EMOTION.
 Be direct, but always, always be nice.
5. Check your tone.
Bad Example Good Example
Emma,
I need your report by 5 p.m. today or I'll
miss my deadline.
Harry
Hi Emma,
Thanks for all your hard work on that
report. Could you please get your
version over to me by 5 p.m., so I don't
miss my deadline?
Thanks so much!
Harry

10. 15 Tips in Writing
Effective E-mails

11.  Someone who gets hundreds of
e-mails
 Receives compliments
 Regularly gets e-mails that require
action and attention
 Does not have a lot of time
 Could help you if it won’t require too
much time
E-mail Psychology - RECEIVER

12.  Spends a long time in writing and
editing a long e-mail
 Thinks that their e-mail needs to
get into the receiver’s priority
 Believes that they are the first one
to ask for favors
 Wants to explain the whole story –
with details and attachments!
E-mail Psychology - SENDER

13.  E-mail to Inform
 Inquiries
 Open Dialogue
 Action E-mails
You need to know your intention before sending your
e-mail. The more focused your e-mail is, the better
the result!
Determine Your Desired Outcome

14.  Your e-mail should answer the question, “What’s
the point?”
 State your purpose clearly.
 If you need an action from the recipient, you need to
put that in the e-mail as well.
 If no action is needed, you can be clear and place –
No reply is necessary.
What’s the Point?

15.  If you are asking people to actually accept new
office policies, procedures, and CHANGES to the
way they do things… your e-mail should explain the
benefits of the CHANGE.
 If you can provide a ‘Before’ and ‘After’ summary,
then it would help convince them about the need to
comply.
What are the Benefits?

16.  Make the e-mail short and easy to
answer.
 Use numbering and bullet points if
needed.
 Add personality to your e-mail with
“creative” wording, but keep it brief.
KISS.

17.  When providing e-mails that include reports, you
can provide a summary of the report in the e-mail
body and attach the word document or the excel
worksheet with your graphs.
 Your opinion is not always welcome. If you must
put your opinion in your e-mail, you can use “If I
may suggest”, or “Based on the facts, I would
suggest that…”
Stick to the FACTS.

18. E-mail = Face to Face Intro
A face to face
introduction
allows for pauses
and awaits
responses.
Your e-mail
should be just like
that.

19. Your response to
e-mails should
be as quick to
read as sending
two or three text
messages.
Text Message Trick.

20.  Be genuine.
 Don’t compliment (for
the sake of
complimenting).
Avoid Excessive Compliments

21. Make it Personal
 Personalize e-mail about things that you know
about the receiver:
 If you know that they have been on a holiday due to
their Out of Office e-mail, say something like “I hope
your holidays were great.”
 If they have been married recently, you could put in a
line that says “Congratulations and Best Wishes”.
 If they are going on holidays, you could say “Enjoy
your weekend!”

22. Kind regards,
FLORENCE
Anna Florence N. Sontillano
Support Account Manager
E-mail: florence.sontillano@gmail.com
Mobile: 63 949 8889258
Skype: live:florence.sontillano
Brand it!

23.  The less technical-sounding it could be, the better.
 If you are explaining technical concepts, assume
that your reader does not know anything. List down
processes with short and simple sentences.
 Write how you would talk – use conversational
English!
Be smart, but not overpowering.
Be professional, but sound approachable.
Use Simple English

24. Kind regards,
Gary Sanford
Operations Engineer
Road Safety Architects,
Inc.
Best regards,
Vanessa C. Cruz
General Manager
Fonts.
Kind regards,
Gary Sanford
Operations Engineer
Road Safety Architects, Inc.
Best regards,
Vanessa C. Cruz
General Manager

25.  If you need to emphasize on some items, you can
have them in bold, or italics or bold italic.
 If you require urgency, choose a different color for
action e-mails, but try not to choose red.
 Avoid ALL CAPS. You sound like you are
screaming. And most importantly, do not do this:
PLEASE RESPOND, THIS IS AN
URGENT REQUEST.
Formatting

26. Dear Jane,
We will be having visitors in the
office today. Please advise our staff to
wear business casual.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Joe
Minimize Questions
 Who
 What
 When
 Where
 Why
 How

27.  Once you are done composing your e-mail… take
time to EDIT it.
 Check for spelling and grammar.
 Review your e-mail structure. Make sure that one
point is coherent to the next point.
 Organize thoughts that could be bundled into one
topic.
 Review and revise as needed.
 Repeat the review after editing.
Edit, Edit, Edit.

28. * Final Note *
Clear E-mails = Time Saved!
 Take time to proof read your e-mails to spot
possible errors for spelling and grammar.
 If you can put all of your message in one e-mail
with bullets or short paragraphs, the better.
 Be professional – ALWAYS!
Keep It Short and Simple