Write It Well

E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide

How to Write and Manage E-Mail in the Workplace

(now available as an e-book on Amazon.com!)

by Janis Fisher Chan

Retail price: $21.99

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Facilitator Kit: Effective E-Mail

Description

In today’s fast-paced, competitive business environment, we all need to communicate clearly and use our time productively. Even seasoned writers will find tips, tools, and ideas in this book that can improve the quality — and reduce the quantity — of e-mail in the workplace.

This book includes questions and exercises to help you learn on your own, with your team, or with others in your organization.

How to use this book

How can you improve your business e-mail?
Here are eight tips for writing better business e-mail:

1. Before writing an e-mail (or a memo, letter, or report), ask yourself, “Why am I writing this — what is the action or deliverable?” When you have the answer, state it clearly and concisely, right at the beginning of your message.
2. Use correct grammar and punctuation, and proofread the e-mail message for typos before you hit “send.
3. Edit your message. Make sure that you have told readers what they need to know to make a decision or take action and have eliminated any unnecessary information.
4. If you need to include supporting information, use easy-to-scan bullet points or short paragraphs.
5. Craft a subject line that will tell the reader exactly what the message is about and allow the reader to file or find the message easily.
6. Check the tone. Read over the message to make sure that the tone is not likely to be too abrupt or otherwise offend the reader.
7. Use active, clear, concise language. Avoid passive language that can weaken your message and confuse readers; pompous language that can get in the way of your message; jargon that readers might not understand; and unnecessary words that clutter up the e-mail.
8. Make sure the subject is appropriate for e-mail.

See also:

Training: Effective E-Mail – Write It Well trainers use this book as the text for a half-day workshop

Facilitator Kit: Effective E-Mail

Testimonials

We live in an era where hundreds of millions of professionals have put down the pen, and now rely on e-mail as a primary form of communications. This book should be required reading for both Internet newbies and new entrants to the workplace, who may be making the transition from paper to computer or from instant messaging and e-mail between friends, to more formal electronic communications.

– David Krane, Director of Corporate Communications, Google, Inc.

The people I work with know how to grab my attention. They get to the point right away and present information in a way that makes sense to me. This book explains how to craft clear, well-organized email that gets results. It sets the standard for how to communicate clearly and efficiently in a busy global workplace.

– Buck McGugan, Vice President, Corporate Sales, FedEx Corporate Services