Leadership Roundtable: Writing More Effective Emails
As a new leader, you’re probably sending a lot more emails than you used to. Chances are these emails are about tasks you’re delegating, projects you’re checking up on or questions you need answered by others. Emailing effectively is a skill like any other, and you’ll need to develop it as a new leader. We talked to some experienced business writers to get some insight into how to craft emails that get results.
Tracy Gold is the co-founder of Sounding Sea Writers' Workshop and has taught writing at MarketingProfsU, the Content Marketing Institute, and The University of Baltimore.
Think about what the person you are writing to already knows about a task and any additional context they would need to be successful. It's tempting to simply forward along vague directives such as "Can you take care of the below?" followed by a long conversation chain. Being vague, however, will cost you time because your team will need to ask follow-up questions to figure out what you want.Include a target deadline, if possible, to give the recipient a sense of the task’s priority.Subject lines can do a lot of work for you. If an email is urgent, include a timeline in the subject, such as "URGENT for today: [Something about the email]." Of course, a phone call can also be better for urgent tasks, if the person isn't physically in your office.Use numbered lists when you are writing a long email with a lot of tasks or questions. That way, people can simply refer to the numbers when they are writing back with follow up questions. It saves a lot of time!You can also keep up morale by simply taking the time to thank people for their work in an email. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in what needs to happen next without recognizing the good work a team member has already done.
Gloria West is project manager at Success Labs
When you’re sending emails, share the purpose upfront. Make it clear what you’re trying to accomplish, such as “I’m writing to confirm” or “I am requesting.”If you receive an email, don’t feel like you need to wait until you have all the information before you respond. People like acknowledgement that you are working on the issue. If you need more time, let them know.Finally, don’t be sloppy. The formatting should be appropriate and consistent. Include your contact information in the email. Don’t use all caps, and don’t put anything in writing you wouldn’t say to someone’s face. Some common mistakes include writing an email that’s too long or writing one long paragraph that’s hard to read.Think carefully before using “reply all.” If you ask several people for their input, “reply all” makes sense to foster one conversation, but use it judiciously.At the same time, give other people the benefit of the doubt when they break these “rules.” Just because someone is using all caps doesn’t mean they’re yelling - perhaps they don’t know any better. Focus on the substance of the message and work to understand what they’re trying to communicate.
Alex Steele is president of Gotham Writers Workshop, which offers business writing classes.
Keep it concise. On a busy day, which of these two emails would you read more carefully?This:There have been some problems with the boiler in the basement, which is about 9 years old and seems to be working less and less reliably. It has been decided that the best course of action is to replace the boiler. This will necessitate the water in the building being shut off for a period of time—specifically this Thursday from 7-10 am.Or this:The water will be turned off in the building this Thursday from 7-10 am. A new boiler is being installed.Adjust your tone so it works for the audience and situation. Tone is the attitude behind the words, whether intended or not. And the tone makes the audience feel a certain way about the message.Let’s say you’re a supervisor and you asked your staff to work over the weekend to finish a special project with a tight deadline. They do it and do it well. Send them an email that says:Thanks for the hard work this weekend.Not bad, but this is better, with just one word changed:Thanks for the splendid work this weekend.But this situation might benefit more from something more like this:I realize it’s a pain to come in on the weekend, but this was an important project, and I truly appreciate that you came through for us so winningly.Now, they won’t hate you as much for sacrificing their weekend. And they might even feel appreciated enough that they’ll do it the next time you need it.Looking for ways to improve your communication skills? Contact us to learn about our leadership development and coaching offerings.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.
