Composing Business Emails

In the modern world business is conducted across the globe and emails have become an effective way of communicating. However, you cannot undermine the importance of business writing in the email format.

Subject line: Since this is the first part of the email to pop up on screen make the entry line as specific and explanatory as possible.

Tight sentence constructions: Scrolling up and down the screen is annoying for anyone who has to go through a dozen emails at work everyday. Try and fit your text onto the screen in such a way that it can be read in one go.

Prioritise: Place urgent and important information first because most readers pay attention to the initial parts of the email only.

Highlight: Use a lot of main headlines and subheads to differentiate information. This also ensures a quick read and shortens the length of the email considerably.

Be professional: Proofreading your writing is of utmost importance and remember to run a spell-check before sending out your emails to anyone. Additionally, don’t use short forms or abbreviations; you must maintain the use of business English. Just because email seems like a more casual way of communication does not mean that you can get away without checking facts.

Attachments: It can be very cumbersome to download attachments. Avoid attaching heavy documents unless it is absolutely necessary.

Signatures: Always format your signature line in your email to include your name, title and contact information. The recipient is more likely to reply if your contact details are clear.