As a professional one of the constant source of pleasure, or pain, can be - writing emails. Here are some email pointers (in no particular order) that have worked for me.
* Type recipient email addresses only when you want to send the mail
I am listing this point as the first one as it has the most potential to cause havoc :)
I have made the mistake of starting an email by putting recipient IDs first. And then end up hitting Send key-stroke combination while compiling the email - thereby sending half baked mail to people. You don't want to then get into 'recall message' mess.
* Have an appropriate Subject
When people receive a mail, they tend to use the Subject to understand what the mail is all about. Spare a min to put appropriate subject when writing an email.
* Address the right set of people
Is it necessary that we send an email to an entire DL full of people?
* Be careful about whom do you add as recipients when replying/forwarding a mail.
The original email may be for 'your eyes only'. Does the original email context make sense to be forwarded to new set of people? Does it embarrass the original sender?
* Remember to attach the attachment
More often than not we make a mention to the attachment file in the mail, and then forget to attach. And then follow it up with another 'Oops' mail with attachment :)
* Use the first line to briefly state the purpose of email
This is important for the recipient, especially if you are touching several issues in one email.
* Never write a mail when you are emotionally charged up
You may not mean what you write and vice versa.
* Do not use slang in business emails
Some of them may not go well with business clients. Or, they may not even understand some slangs, such as region specific ones.
* Do not fancy-format an email - no backgrounds.
They increase email size, and may be treated as gaudy.
* If you have to write about an unpleasant news/remark, sandwich it between positive points
If it is providing feedback, for instance, first start with the good points, then the bad ones and end with good ones. This practice gets across the message, while softening the impact.
* Do a spelling and grammar check
Period. WordWeb is a good utility for spell-check (I used it half a dozen times while compiling this post). You can even copy-paste the content into MSWord and check for errors.
* Go through the mail once again before sending
The biggest issue I face is to express my thoughts in the right words. Even when I do, I know that words may mean different to different people. One way that works for me is to put myself in the recipients' shoes and see if the email makes sense.
This is the practice I follow:
1. I first write my thoughts, however they come to my mind.
2. Then refine the sentences to convey right meaning to the recipient.
3. Rearrange the words, sentences, paragraphs to provide proper body to the content.
4. If the email is important, leave a while and come back to the mail. Re read it.
5. Put recipients' email id and send across.
6. If sending to a really important person, say a small prayer just before hitting Send button. =)
* Keep the content concise and focussed
Lengthy emails give an impression that it is laborious to go through and understand. Recipient may be tempted to mark them as Unread, to be read later. Keep the sentenses short and easy to read.
* Do not have too many attachments in your email
They clog email bandwidth. See if you can share files in some other fashion - FTP, file-server, etc.
* Avoid official tone, keep it conversational
An email should never read as a legal document.
* If you have to just reply with 'Thank you' note, reply only to sender, not to the entire Reply-All group.
* Avoid words in double quotes
Words in double quote generally convey overloaded meaning and the recipient may not really understand it.
* Always make it a point to respond to emails
Either acknowledging or indicating when they can expect a response from you. Not doing this is a cardinal sin.
* Always close the loop
If you have originated a mail, which was replied back and forth several times and you still are not sure if other person agrees or disagrees with you - you know the feeling. Close the loop always, stating the final decision - even if you are the originator of the email.
Writing email can be a fun exercise, especially if we can manage to add some humor without altering/diluting the content.
