Effective email communication is important for professional relationships. When writing emails, it is essential to plan purpose and content, use an appropriate tone for the recipient, and include a clear subject line, greeting, main points, closure, and signature. Details should be concise and to the point. Proper grammar, spelling, and tone help ensure the message is understood as intended. Proofreading before sending helps avoid errors that could damage relationships or understanding.

1. Writing Effective E-Mails
1

2. Importance of Effective Email
Communication
 List down two or three points why it is important to
have effective email communication:
1.
2.
3.
2

3. Importance of Effective Email
Communication
Any questions about the importance? 
It is a way of life!
3

4. Before writing the email
 Make a plan
 Think about the purpose of the email
 Think about the person who will read the email and how
you want him or her to respond/react
 Make an outline or list of the main points and details
you want to include in the email
 Double check any facts, dates, times, or other specific
details that will be included in the email
4

5. The recipient and your relationship
 Whom are you writing to and what is your relationship with
the person?
If the person you are writing to is in a higher position than you,
your email should use more formal language than if the person is
someone in the same level / position as you.
 If you have never met the person receiving your email before,
you should use formal language in the first email to him or her.
 Once you have sent the first email and received a reply, you can
choose to continue using formal language or choose to use less
formal language in future emails.

5

6. What is the situation?
 Think about the reason you are sending the email and
decide if formal or informal language is better.
If you are requesting a service or asking for a favor, you should
use formal language.
 If you are making a complaint, you must carefully choose the
words to express your dissatisfaction or problem but you must
be polite.
 If you are introducing yourself, you should use formal language
but you can use words or phrases that let your personality show
through as well.
 If you are writing a customer relation letter, you should use
formal language.
6


7. What do you want to accomplish?
 Think about the reason for writing the email and what you
want the person who receives the email to do with it.
 If you want the
receiver to do something for you, make it
clear. Tell the receiver exactly what action you want done.
 If the mail is for recipient's information only and no action
needs to be taken, clearly mention that.
 If you want the receiver to respond by a certain date, write
the response date.
 If you are negotiating or rearranging a meeting, write your
requirements or available times clearly.
7

8. Important Elements
 Subject line
 Message body
 Address / salutation
 Purpose
 Details
/ explanation
 Closure
 Signature
 Attachment (optional)
8

9. Important Elements (contd.)
 The Opening
 Tells the
reader why you are writing the mail
 The Focus
 Provides details about the topic
 The Action
 Tells what you want to
happen and gives a time frame
 The Closing
 Includes thanking the
if any
reader and mention of future actions,
9

10. Subject Line
 Make the subject line clear and concise
 It is
the decision maker about whether to open, forward, file,
or trash the message
 Clearly summarize the intention
 Do not ever send a mail without a subject line
 Do not have the subject as “Hi” or “Hello” unless that IS the
intention
10

11. Address / Salutation
 The first line of your email should be a greeting, followed
by an empty line and then your message body.
 Salutations are tricky, especially if you are crossing
cultures.
 If it is the first time you are emailing somebody, be formal
in addressing. For ex. ‘Dear Mr./Ms. Xxx:’ or ‘Dear Sir /
Madam:’
 Do not start the mail with just ‘Hello’ or ‘Hi’.
11

12. Message Body - Purpose
 Make the purpose clear in the first line
 The objective could be
Requesting some info
 Sending the status updates
 Asking for clarification
 Conveying good news
 Breaking bad news
 Defending your view point
 Requesting postponement of deadline
 Sending meeting / call minutes
 Sending meeting / call agenda


…
12

13. Message Body - Details
 Keep the message focused and readable
 Put all important details at
the top of the email body
 Keep the rest of the email short
 Use short paragraphs; consider breaking up paragraphs to
only a few sentences a piece.
 Don't bury a key piece of information in a large paragraph
 Keep sentences short
 Try to fit the complete message on one screen
 Provide blank lines between paragraphs
 Use a bullet list when listing out items
13

14. Message Body – Details (contd.)
 Get right to the point
 Don’t use unnecessary words and phrases that distract from
the main idea of the email or may confuse the reader
 The person reading your email is always pressed for time so
you must make it as direct as possible.
 Make the reason for writing the email clear at the beginning
and only add details that are directly related to the topic of
the email.
14

15. Message Body – Details (contd.)
 Use simple sentences
 Avoiding difficult or complex sentence structures.
This
helps you avoid grammatical mistakes.
 Simple sentences will make the email easier for your reader
to understand, especially if the person reading the email is
not a native English speaker.
15

16. Message Body – Details (contd.)
 Pay attention to word choice
 Remember that writing is
a form of indirect communication.
 Unlike having a conversation with someone, you do not
have a chance to clarify yourself by restating your ideas or
to use nonverbal cues to make your meaning clear.
 You have to make sure your reader understands what you
want to say and gets the right “message” the first time.
 Choose words such that there is no ambiguity in the
meaning.
16

17. Message Body – Details (contd.)
 Pay attention to word choice
 Think about how the
email might be perceived by the reader.
Are there any words or phrases that may make the tone
seem angry, flippant, or disrespectful?
 Avoid trying to make a joke or say something funny in an
email. Sometimes what you think is funny might be
misunderstood by the reader and create a bad relationship.
17

18. Message Body - Closure
 The final sentence
 Either provide something concrete to
reply to or make it
clear that a reply is not necessary.
 Ex.: "Please let me know what appointment times work best
for you." or "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 1pm
in my office."
18

19. Message Body – Additional Points
 Do not use –
 Smilies
Ex. :-), :-( etc.
 Abbreviations

Ex. IIRC for "if I recall correctly", BTW for “by the way” etc.
 Non-standard punctuation and spellings

Ex. gimme (give me), tht (that), dificlt (difficult), vil (will), etc.
 All-caps means shouting
 Use active instead of passive voice
 Ex. 'We
will take care of your request today', v/s 'Your
request will be taken care of today'.
19

20. Signature
 Make sure to use
 ‘With best regards’ or
 ‘With regards’ or
 ‘Thank you and regards’
…
 Do not forget to write your name and contact details,
company name etc.
20

21. Attachments
 Most common mistakes
 Mail goes, attachment follows
in next mail!
 Incorrect version is attached!
 When sending attachments, make it a habit to first attach
the file then compose the mail.
21

22. Proof-reading
 Poor spelling and grammar show a lack of attention to
details and sends wrong message about the quality
standards.
 Read your mails before hitting ‘Send’ button.
 Set the spell-check option on in your mail client.
22

23. To:, CC:, and BCC:
 Usually it is implied that if you have included someone in
the "To:" field, then s/he is an intended recipient and
should reply if required.
 If someone is in the "Cc:" field, then the email is merely an
FYI for him/her, and s/he is not expected to reply.
 Make sure you copy the mail to your manager (and
recipient's manager) in all official communication.
23

24. Summary – Do’s
 Write an informative subject line.
 Be courteous.
 Put the key point of your message up front.
 Be brief.
 Make it easy for the reader to reply yes or no or give a
short answer.
 End well with an appropriate next step.
 Check before pressing 'send' – Proof-read.
 Respond promptly.
24

25. Summary – Don’ts
 Don't leave the Subject Line blank.
 Don't use all capital letters.
 Don't use emoticons or abbreviations.
 Don't send without checking for mistakes.
 Don’t assume that people have time to read your entire
message.
 Don’t think that an e-mail is good for everything.
 Don’t write an e-mail when you are rushed.
25

26. THANK YOU
26