EMAIL COMMUNICATION

Email or Electronic Mail is a computer-based messaging system that transports electronic messages from one computer to another through a communication network. Email allows a message to be communicated to the recipient/s at once. Data transmission through email is both instantaneous and cost effective.

The advantages of using email:

Email communication is swift, in fact instantaneous.

Email communication is extremely economical.

Email communication has a large global reach and access.

Email communication is largely reliable, the sender can know if the message has reached the addressee or not.

Email communication can be readily acknowledged by the receiver. The sender can also seek an acknowledgement from the receiver.

The sender can send copies of the message to many others instantaneously.

Email communication can be stored and retrieved as and when required by both the sender and receiver.

 

Email Etiquette

Don’t overcommunicate by email – Keep your emails to the point. Avoid sharing bad news via email.

Make good use of subject lines – The subject lines help you grab attention, and the reader decides whether to read the message or not depending on the subject line. A blank subject line can get overlooked or rejected as ‘spam’. This is why you must use some well-chosen words to tell the recipient what the email is about.

You may also include a call to action – ‘Please reply be Feb 15^th 2022’ – if the email requires a response.

A well written subject line delivers the most important information to the recipient without having to open the email. It also serves as a prompt that reminds the recipient about an upcoming meeting or event.

Keep messages clear and brief – Emails need to be clear and concise. Keep your sentences short and to the point.  The body of the email should be direct and informative and should carry all the relevant information.

Be polite – Messages you send via email are a reflection of your professionalism. Avoid informal language, jargon, inappropriate abbreviations. Recipients may decide to print emails or share them with others, so be polite.

Check the tone – When we meet people face to face, we use the other person’s body language and facial expressions to assess how they feel. In the case of an email, we are unable to see the other person and we can’t tell when people have misunderstood our messages. It is therefore important to choose our words carefully, check the sentence length and punctuation as well as capitalization before sending an email.

Proofread your emails – Before you hit ‘send’, take a moment to review your email for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. Pay careful attention to the length of your email and once you have checked it thoroughly, hit ‘send’,

 

The seven qualities of a successful email are

Concise

Intention focused

Summarize

Well organized

Visually scannable

Polite and tone appropriate

Clear on action

 

How can we solve the email communication problem?  There isn’t a single correct answer, but here are 4 bullet points to help you out:

Be clear. Be brief. – Write short email messages with a crystal-clear point.  Do not write long winded confusing paragraphs that leave room for misinterpretation.

Proofread. – Proofread your message multiple times.  If the email deals with touchy subject matter, have a third-party read it over as well.  This can give you added perspective on how well it will be received by the intended recipient.

Wait. – Write the email, proofread it, and then sit on it for a little while.  Knock off a couple other tasks before you have second look at it.  If your emotions were flaring when you wrote the email, a little time can allow these emotions to settle, allowing you to evaluate the message in a different light.

Pick up the phone! – While email can be a convenient communication channel, certain discussions need to be handled over the phone, or if possible, in person.  If you notice that the situation is starting to deteriorate, don’t send another email, it’s time to pick up the phone or arrange a face to face meeting.