5 Ways to Make Your Emails Stand Out at Work

For many of us, email is the primary method of communication in our job and our inboxes are inundated with messages throughout the day.

It is likely that you send important emails each day but how do you make your message stand out and ensure that it is read, understood, and responded to in a way that allows you to do your job effectively?

Implement the following five practices to put your best email forward.

Personalize your email. Yes, it’s polite to start your email with “Hi Bill” or “Dear Susan”. Plunging straight into a request can come across as rude: “Send over that sales report by the end of the day” might be brief and to the point but it also can appear impersonal and rude.

Avoid the emoji. You might love emoji’s on Facebook or when you text but ignore them when it comes to your professional emails, especially when communicating with your boss, a senior executive, or a customer (unless you work at an emoji factory 😃). 

   

Be brief and specific. Keep your emails to the point and be brief. There is no need to go on about your weekend, or your aunt’s new rash. Stay focused and, if possible, provide a deadline if you are requesting some action: “Dear Susan, I’ve attached a spreadsheet with our sales projections for the 3rd quarter but I’m missing some information about Product XYZ. Can you look over the spreadsheet and fill in the missing information by 3:00 PM, tomorrow?” 

  

Don’t respond when angry or frustrated. If you’re dealing with a particularly stressful situation or a difficult personality, take some time to compose yourself before composing the email. Rattling off a quick, terse, and angry response is a good way to make a difficult situation worse. A good rule is to wait 24 hours, if possible, to respond when angry.

Be grateful and positive. Be sure to thank your colleague or customer when they reply with the information you’ve requested and make every effort to keep your messages positive when possible.

Dear Susan, I’ve attached a spreadsheet with our sales projections for the 3^rd quarter but I’m missing some information about Product XYZ. Can you look over the spreadsheet and fill in the missing information by 3:00 PM, tomorrow?

Thank you for your attention to this.

Have a good day,

Jim

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: The 5 Rules of Email You Need to Know

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career and life development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In the video below from Inc. learn five guidelines for getting a better response to your emails.

5 Tips to Communicate Effectively By Email

If you’re like many of us your email inbox is overloaded with messages you’ve been planning to respond to for days (or maybe weeks?) and sometimes it feels like our lives are run by email or text.

There are definitely some benefits to email (its speed and the ability to communicate with a group, for example) but unless we understand how to email effectively we’re just contributing to an overload of unnecessary communication crowding our inbox.

Here are several tips for communicating more effectively by email.

Write a clear subject line. Ensure that the person you’re communicating with can understand the purpose of your message by looking at the email subject line. It also helps you to organize and archive your emails more effectively. Instead of using “hey” as your subject consider something more specific like “Question about Project XYZ” or “Status of budget on Project ABC”.

To avoid miscommunication write in complete sentences. It’s difficult enough to communicate clearly and effectively in complete sentences but it’s made even more difficult when we write in half sentences with questionable grammar, or utilize slang or emojis. Keep your communication clear and brief and not only will you communicate more effectively with your colleagues, but you’ll likely also have a leaner inbox.  

Only include those who need to see the email. Too often we resort to cc:ing too many people in emails, resulting in frustration for those who don’t really need to see a string of fifty messages on a subject they have no direct involvement with. Limit your emails to those who need to know.

Tag important emails when needed. If your email is important use a tag to indicate its high priority and in your message be sure to let the reader know of the significance of your request or information. Another option is to make a note in the subject line that you require a response. Your subject line might read: “Status update needed for Project XYZ; response needed within 24 hours”.

Handle more complicated discussions in person or by phone. Of course, when necessary and possible, stop by your colleague’s desk or give them a call. It can be frustrating to get an email asking a simple question from the colleague sitting in the cubicle next to you. For more detailed discussions email is not effective. Set up a face-to-face meeting or a conference call, and then follow-up with the key points in an email to ensure clarity on key points.

Finally, take initiative and only email when necessary. In some situations you simply need to act and sometimes we email others out of uncertainty about our level of authority or knowledge on a project. Limit your emails and learn to communicate more clearly and effectively and you’ll make your work life more efficient, while also improving your work environment for your colleagues.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to Get the Life and Career You Really Want

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• How to Get the Life and Career You Really Want: "You summon up all your energy and your creativity. You're not afraid because when you only have today, what are you afraid of? You have nothing to lose. You give it your all."

• 5 Steps to Achieve the Life You've Always Dreamed Of: "It starts by creating a vision of who you want to become. Seeing is believing, so walk by sight and believe that your best days are ahead of you."

• Send This Email When You're Running Late to a Job Interview: "if you’re worried about it working, know that it’s inspired by one of the best messages I received from a candidate who was going to be late for an interview."

• How to Fire Someone Gracefully: "If you need to talk about how you feel, talk about your emotions with your mentor before having the conversation with your employee. This will allow you to keep a cool head and stay collected, especially if the employee becomes emotional."
• 8 Things You Should Never Put On a Resume: "Objectives or statements of purpose take up space that could be put to better use ― and your cover letter is where you should really expand on what you have to offer."

4 Tips for Writing Effective Emails at Work

Communication skills can make or break a career and one of the most basic, and overlooked, forms of communication in the workplace is email.

Many people, unthinkingly, jot out their emails in haste, not realizing that they could be damaging their reputations and careers by ineffectively, or rudely, communicating with colleagues.

Here are four tips to avoid that and ensure that your emails enhance, rather than harm, your career.

1. Delay emails when frustrated or angry. Many of us do just the opposite: we receive an email that appears to criticize us or demean an accomplishment and we angrily dash off a snarky email in response. In fact, many of these situations would be best handled with a face-to-face conversation but, if you must reply by email, take some time to calm down and relax, write a brief email, and perhaps even suggest a meeting in person to discuss the issue in more detail.

2. Send email only to the individuals who really need to receive it. We've all been on the receiving end of email strings that go to large groups and are largely irrelevant to the majority of people who are cc:d. Don't be like this; it only annoys colleagues. Be sure to send your emails only to those most impacted by your email. 

3. Be clear about the focus of your email. Write a clear, brief, and specific message in the subject line of your email. This will help your readers understand the content and priority of your message.

4. Write brief messages. An email should not be a lengthy report. It should, in fact, be brief and to the point. "I am working on A, B, and C", for example, or "Our priorities for the week should be X, Y, and Z." Use short, concise, and clear statements for your readers and use language that appears courteous, rather than curt and rude.

Focusing on these four tips will increase your effectiveness when communicating by email.