Writing Professional Emails

Writing Professional Emails

Even with the increased use of chat messaging services like Slack and MS Teams, email remains the key form of communication in the workplace, with the average office worker sending 40 emails a day. So what do you need to consider when writing emails at work?

Greetings

When you send a formal email it is important to start with an appropriate greeting. If you are writing to someone you don’t know for the first time it’s a good idea to start with “Dear” and the Title and surname of the recipient. For example: Dear Mr. Smith or Dear Dr. Khan. After some correspondence with the person and after you have established a relationship, it may now be appropriate to use first names and greetings like “Hi” in further correspondence. If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to you can use “ To whom it may concern”. If you are unsure about how formal or informal to be, it’s better to be formal rather than running the risk of sounding unprofessional.

Purpose

Make sure that you include a short and relevant subject in the subject line of the email. If you are applying for a job or to a school, the advert may indicate what the subject of the email should be. Remember to be specific as this gives the recipient a clearer idea of what your email is about. For example it’s better to say “ Job Application- Senior Analyst” rather than just “ Job Application.” You should also state your purpose at the beginning of the email, you can start with “ I am writing to apply” or “I am writing to enquire about.”

Tone

The tone of your email is incredibly important. Business emails are formal in tone and language. There are however grades of formal language. In highly formal emails, for example job applications you shouldn’t use contractions like “I’m”, it’s better to use “I am”. However, in the normal course of business it is appropriate to use contractions. Formal language makes your message more polite but be careful of being over polite as you may not convey your intended meaning.

Be concise

In formal correspondence keep your messages as short as possible. Of course, you need to write formally and include all the relevant information, but make sure there is a clear reason for every sentence you write. It is better to write short simple sentences. Writing concisely is a skill that people often overlook. When you write long sentences with lots of clauses you may end up confusing yourself and your reader, and that’s the last thing you want to do! In the culture of most English speaking countries, business emails are purely business and there is no need to inquire about personal lives of the recipient. If you really want to include a personal touch, “ I hope this email finds you well”  is sufficient.

Set phrases

Luckily when writing emails there are set phases that you can use to convey what you are asking for or stating. This means that you won’t have to think too hard about some parts of the language. Below is a list of commonly used phrases with its meaning and an example:

Closings

When closing emails you can express thanks with phrases like “ Thank you for your cooperation/ consideration” or “ I look forward to hearing from you”. Lastly you can sign off with “ Best regards” “Best wishes” or simply “ Thank you.”

Edit

Finally remember to read your email a few times before sending. Check for tone, grammar, spelling and that you have included all the relevant information and attachments.

Happy writing!

By Il-Haam Ahmed

Check out Five Tips for Effective Meetings.