Wording Better E-mails
Saves Time And Effort

A good part of our work day is spent on going through our e-mails, deleting the irrelevant and replying to the necessary. If anything, streamlining this routine is very important and this begins with wording better e-mails. Probably as this is being written, what comes foremost to the mind is the primary rule - Answer your mail!

This article is in the least offending vein and is just trying to pass off some helpful tips on good writing skills. It seems to come out at an opportune time, given the loads of e-mails that reach our desks everyday. At this given rate, the bulk could end up being more than one can handle. Perhaps the writer needs to always bear in mind, the matter as is being read at the receiving end.

An example would amply elucidate the point. A busy person as Susan could be having much e-mail descending on her. If she were to get e-mail about a board meeting it could leave her perplexed as to which meeting is being referred to here. So also some emails leave one far more than confused with their laconic id's such as rob293@aol.com. Sometimes the messages may be so short and terse that they give no hint as to what is being said( "What a great idea. let's celebrate!"). In such a situation how is one to reply leave alone correspond. Being more organised may help in some cases but the fact remains that there may be a bit of Susan in all of us. So let us see how best we can tackle the conjuncture.

Meaningful subject lines
A subject line is to an email what a title is to a book. However short your line may be keep it pithy and to the point. Give the reader a glimpse of what is to follow. If the date is relevant put the date on it; it may just ring a bell. If the situation warrants add the location. Give your subject line the needed precision and urgency it requires.
One of the common mistakes that people tend to make is to write "message for Susan". Obviously it must be for her otherwise why is it in her inbox? So also vague lines such as "Request important" give no inkling as to what is important. In these situations it is more advisable to use lines as "Urgent sign required on documents" which are more specific and meaningful.

Let your reader know what you want
Now that you have given the mail a subject line tell the reader what you want him\her to do. Do you want the reader to confirm a date that you have given or is it that you want a reading of the investment papers that you sent? Make this clear. Specificity of approach leaves no space for vagueness or confusion. There is every chance for a vague message to remain unread for a very long time.

Keep the history
When the reader reads your mail he\she may have long forgotten the mail you sent her before the latest one. This could happen the other way round too. Incidentally most mail tools, except a few, do save and include the text that you are answering. Mails that go back and forth get unwieldy after a time. So in most cases acting judiciously should do the trick- avoid the frills just keep the context that is relevant to what is being said here.

Avoid attachments where ever possible
No doubt attachments have a large utility value where large formatted documents are concerned, they should never be used as substitutes to emails. Opening attachments may take time, which the reader may use to open his other mails. The attachments are very often left unopened for a later time, whenever that may be. Therefore keep in mind to clarify what is being sent as an attachment. Is it a resume, a press release or a business plan?

These days viruses come in the form of attachments. So the reader may be cautious not to open any attachment that he\she may know nothing of..EXE files may never be opened without a confirmation from the sender. As many people tend to get wiser with every virus, attachments from known senders may also be treated with the same distrust and caution that is associated with attachments from strangers.

Use a sig file
Your email address may be augmented with a good sig file that goes out with every mail that you send. Most mail packages do have instructions on how to create sig files. It is nothing but a small block of text that goes with each mail you send giving details on you - full name, phone number, even a slogan if you want. In effect it is your veritable business card that lets others know who's writing to them.

Check your spelling
It may be worthwhile to appear intelligible as well as legible. If the reader happens to read you for the first time surely you shouldn't seem to be fumbling with your spelling. Impressions may be wrongly formed with the information at hand. So be as legible as you can.