1 . T Y P E S O F E M A I L S
2 . P A R T S O F A N E M A I L
3 . C O N F I D E N T I A L I T Y
4 . T H E S U B J E C T L I N E
5 . T H E G R E E T I N G
6 . T H E O P E N I N G
7 . T H E B O D Y
8 . T H E C L O S I N G
9 . T H E S I G N A T U R E
1 0 . S A M P L E E M A I L S
1 1 . R E F E R E N C E S
Professional Emails
A Practical Guide
Compiled by Jaime Cabrera for the scholars of Albukhary International University
Reply promptly to serious messages.
Reply promptly to serious messages. If you need more than 24 hours to collect information or make a decision, send a brief response explaining the delay.
10/4/2012 SHL1013 Professional English
Four Types of Email
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1. No-Reply Email –You want to tell the receiver something, either a compliment or information. No reply is necessary.
2. Inquiry Email - You need something from the receiver in a reply. Example: advice, or questions answered. The reply is your desired outcome.
3. Open-Ended Email – to keep communication lines open, for the purpose of some future result or benefit.
4. Action Email – The goal is not the reply, but some action on the part of the receiver. Examples: a sales pitch, or asking for a website link exchange.
Parts of an Email
Parts of an email
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Parts of an Email
Co
nfi
den
tia
lity
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Confidentiality
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Your e-mails are not private. Avoid sending confidential, proprietary, sensitive, personal, potentially embarrassing, or classified information via e-mail.
When sending the same email to several people, via CCs or BCCs, remember that their addresses are visible in the CC box.
Use the blind copy (BCC) or mail merge function to protect the privacy of your contacts.
Parts of an Email Su
bje
ct L
ine
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The Subject Line
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The subject line is the first thing the target receivers see when sorting through their in-boxes.
Always write a subject line that is informative, direct, and states the main issue in the email.
Keep it short; long subjects lines don’t show well in the browser windows, or are ignored.
Use sentence case, not all caps. When replying, change the subject line when
the topic changes.
Parts of an Email
Gre
etin
g
(Sa
luta
tio
n)
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The Greeting (Salutation)
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Always open your email with a greeting. For formal or business e-mails, use the surname, not the first name: Dear Mrs. Cowabunga,
Dear Sir,
If you’re contacting a company, not an individual, you may write To Whom It May Concern:
Gentlemen:
Parts of an Email
Op
enin
g
Sen
ten
ce
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The Opening
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Begin with a line of thanks. Find any way to thank target receivers. This will put them at ease, and it will make you appear more courteous.
For example, if someone asked a question, you can begin with: Thank you for contacting Tanza Company.
If someone replied to your email, you can begin with: Thank you for your prompt reply.
State your purpose
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State your purpose in the opening sentence.
I am writing to enquire about …
I am writing in reference to …
Don’t write a long introduction, don’t tell a story. Skip the niceties.
People just want to know what you want, so state that, in the first sentence.
Parts of an Email
Info
rma
tio
n i
n
Det
ail
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The Body
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Be brief but polite. Tell them exactly what you want, in as short an email as possible.
If your message runs longer than two or three short paragraphs, reduce the message or provide an attachment.
Remember to say "please" and "thank you." And mean it.
Write about one thing
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If possible, don’t overwhelm the target receiver.
If you write about multiple things, with multiple requests, it is likely that:
your email won’t be read or acted on
the receiver will only do one of those things
Stick to one subject, with one request. Once that’s done, you can send a second one.
Use “If … then” statements
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To avoid back-and-forth exchange, and save time, anticipate the possible responses.
Give a desired action for each possible response.
For example, instead of asking if they’ve received a response, waiting for a reply, and then replying to that reply, try and do it all in one email: Did you receive a response from Mr. Xena? If so,
please email the report to me by Tuesday. If not, please follow up and let me know the response today.
Keep it professional
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Don’t use jokes, emotions, or emoticons. Do not send inflammatory or emotionally charged
comments via e-mail. Don't use abbreviations or acronyms such as PLZ,
ROFLOL (rolling on the floor laughing out loud), or WUWT (what's up with that).
Avoid exclamation points, ellipses, question marks, bold, italics, underlines, or multi-colored font.
It is considered very rude to use CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT YOU ARE SHOUTING.
Parts of an Email
Clo
sin
g S
ente
nce
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Professional Closing
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How do you properly end an email? A simple question, yet so many people are not sure about what is proper email etiquette.
In the business world, ending an email professionally is just as important as perfecting the rest of the message.
If you do it sloppily, you might lose some precious business opportunities.
Avoid this by following a few basic rules of professional email conduct.
The Closing Remarks
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Courtesy is always important, no matter how short the email is. Before you end your email: Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
Thank you for your consideration.
Include an accurate follow-up statement: I will send you additional information.
I look forward to receiving your input.
If you have questions or concerns, do let me know.
I look forward to hearing from you.
If a response is required, specify what, when.
The Closing
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Use a professional closing: Best regards,
Sincerely,
Thank you,
For more casual emails: Best wishes,
Cheers,
For more formal emails: Yours Sincerely,
Yours Faithfully,
Parts of an Email
Em
ail
Sig
na
ture
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The Email Signature
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A professional signature makes it easy to contact you. Your email account can automatically add these data to
the bottom of the email: full professional name
job title
business phone/fax numbers
business street address
business website, if any
a legal disclaimer if required by your company.
Depending on policy, you may also want to include a link to the company's website or social media pages.
How to create a signature
10/4/2012 From: http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=8395
Click the gear icon in the upper right, then select Settings.
Enter your new signature text in the box at the bottom of the page next to the Signature option.
Click Save Changes. Signatures are separated from the rest of your
message by two dashes. To see a signature in Gmail, click the Show
trimmed content button at the bottom of the message.
Your Signature
10/4/2012 From: http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=8395
Different signatures for different addresses If you send mail "from" multiple addresses in Gmail, you can set a
different signature for each address in the General tab of your settings.
Choose the second radio button in the "Signature:" section. Use the drop-down menu to choose the appropriate address and set
the signature you want.
Editing your signature If you're editing your signature and only have an option to create a
plain text signature, this is due to the settings. Click Compose to create a new message, then click the Rich
formatting option in the message. Once this change is made, you'll be able to create a rich text
signature.
Parts of an Email Att
ach
men
ts
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Attachments
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If there are any attachments, mention them in the email so that the receiver knows to look for and open the files.
Appropriately name the attachments so that the receiver knows what each document is just by reading the file name.
Review
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CLARITY: Once you’ve written an email, take a few seconds to read over it before pressing the Send button. Read it as if you were an outsider — how clear is it?
AMBIGUITY: Are there any ambiguous statements that could be interpreted the wrong way? If so, clarify.
LENGTH: As you review, see if you can shorten the email, remove words or sentences or even paragraphs.
Parts of an Email
Rev
ise,
Ch
eck
, R
evie
w
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Check, and then check again
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Before you hit the send button
Edit and proofread. You may think you're too
busy to do the small stuff, but your reader may
think you're careless, unqualified, or
unprofessional.
Review and spell-check your email one more
time to make sure it's truly perfect.
Finally
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Reply promptly to serious messages.
If you need more than 24 hours to collect information or make a decision, send a brief note to explain the delay.
Some replies are delayed by electronic transmission. Explain the delay.
Some messages arrive at the end of the last working day of the week. Check emails just before you leave.
J O B I N T E R V I E W - T H A N K Y O U
J O B A P P L I C A T I O N - C O V E R L E T T E R
R E Q U E S T F O R A N U P D A T E
SHL1013 Professional English 10/4/2012
Sample Emails
Sample 1
Job Interview - Thank you
Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name:
It was very nice to speak with you today about the sales position at the ABC Organization. The job seems to be an excellent match for my skills and interests. The self-confident and aggressive characteristic requirements you described needed for this position confirmed my desire to work with you.
In addition to my experience, I will bring to the position assertiveness and the skills to motivate others to work cooperatively as a team.
I appreciate the time you took to interview me. I am very interested in working for you and look forward to hearing from you regarding this position. Sincerely, Your Complete Name Your company address Your work phone / fax numbers
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Sample 2
Job Application - Cover Letter
Dear Hiring Manager,
I saw your job posting for a graphic designer in the ABC site. I believe
I can be an ideal match for the position advertised.
I have extensive experience in the planning and design of all graphic-
related projects. In my position as ___ for ___ Company, I was part of
several projects for website design, the company intranet portal,
product brochure design, print and media advertisement as well as
newsletters for our customer subscribers.
Attached is my resume; these are some sample websites that I
designed:
URL
URL
If you require further information, please let me know.
I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your consideration.
Best Regards,
Your complete name
Your company address
Your work phone number
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Sample 3
Request for Update
Hi Jane,
Can you lease update me on the status of the project timelines?
Last week you mentioned that you were waiting for Sam to send you the development timeline and that you were working on communication and planning documents (including timelines) for the project.
I am planning for the project in Asia Pacific and need these dates to initiate discussion with the countries. The pilot will be a topic of discussion on our weekly status calls next week.
Your assistance in getting this information as soon as possible is appreciated.
Thanks, Robert
10/4/2012 From: www.qgroupplc.com/category/writingemails
Know more at
Basic Explanations http:\\www.englishtown.com/community/channels/article.aspx?articleName=184-email or www.ehow.com/how_4995393_end-email-professionally.html
Good Explanations http:\\grammar.about.com/od/developingessays/a/profemails.htm; home.comcast.net/~leparcell/email.html
Practical Explanations http:\\www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/do-your-emails-suck-how-to-write-emails-that-get-results.html
Excellent Explanations (Detailed) http:\\thinksimplenow.com/productivity/15-tips-for-writing-effective-email/
Excellent Explanations (With Examples) http:\\jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/email/
Concise Explanations 1 http:\\www.ehow.com/how_4679819_write-professional-email.html
Concise Explanations 2 http:\\www.ehow.com/how_2159648_write-professional-emails.html
Practical Explanations http:\\rarepattern.com/nodes/2008/01/email-etiquette-best-practices-things-avoid
Not Required But Helpful http:\\www.techrepublic.com/article/10-e-mail-best-practices-to-share-with-your-users/6161848
10/4/2012 SHL1013 Professional English
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8 E-mail Mistakes that Make You Look Bad http:\\www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/8-e-mail-mistakes-that-make-you-look-bad.html
How to Know If Your Email Has Been Read http:\\www.ehow.com/how_5775094_email-read.html
Why Emails Should be Short Instead of Nice http:\\gigaom.com/collaboration/why-emails-should-be-short-instead-of-nice/
7 Rules for Communicating Clearly and Concisely http:\\gigaom.com/collaboration/7-rules-for-communicating-clearly-and-concisely-in-email/
Five Things I Learned From 20 Years of Email http:\\gigaom.com/2012/08/19/five-things-ive-learned-from-20-years-of-email/
Two More Killer Tips for Effective E-mail http:\\blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=4686
Don't Annoy Your Boss and Co-Workers with E-mail Gaffes http:\\blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=4262
Write More Efficient E-mails to Save Time and Frustration http:\\blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=3204
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If you want to know more: CC, BCC, virus, spam, and phishing http:\\www.techrepublic.com/article/10-e-mail-best-practices-to-share-with-your-users/6161848
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T H A N K Y O U
End of Presentation
10/4/2012 SHL1013 Professional English
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