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Commercial CorrespondenceUnit 2

Emails

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Advantages

Personal

Easy to useFastConvenient

Cheap

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Disadvantages

Technical problems (non-delivery of messages,unreadable attachments, virus) Large amounts of junk and unnecessarycommunicationPressure of keeping up with email messages

Lack of privacy and security

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Email: To send or not to send

Make sure every email you send is necessary.Think twice before sending copies to multiple

recipients with the cc function.Be sure to respect the chain of command.Email can be unsuitable for several areas ofbusiness communication, e.g. messages of congratulation, condolence, complaint; confidential documents; or documents for legal or insurance purposes.

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Email addresses

Typical email addresses look like this:dfranks@intchem.co.no

corneyg@kingsway.ac.uk tttt@ftu.edu.vn

First part: name of user - person/ departmentor its abbreviation.Second part (immediately after the @): nameof the ISP or organization (or abbreviation)

mailto:dfranks@intchem.co.nomailto:corneyg@kingsway.ac.ukmailto:tttt@ftu.edu.vnmailto:tttt@ftu.edu.vnmailto:corneyg@kingsway.ac.ukmailto:dfranks@intchem.co.no

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Email addresses

Last part: domain name suffixes (type oforganization or abbreviation of country name)

co: company no : Norwayac : academic uk : United Kingdomedu : education vn: Viet NamOther examples of domain name suffixes:.biz: business .gov : government.org : non-profit-making organization

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Layout

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Layout

Header

To:Cc: (carbon copies)Bcc: (blind carbon copies)

Subject: Attachments

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Writing Effective Subject Line

An effective subject line: Attracts your readers attention. Provides a specific, meaningful, and precise

description of your subject.Examples of Vague Subject Lines

o Marketing reportso Tomorrows meeting o Loading Problemso Customer Service

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Writing Effective Subject Line

Examples of Effective Subject LinesMarketing reports are due Monday morning

Be ready for some tough questions at FridaysmeetingContainer Loading Problems for Vessel

Northern Star Revised Customer Service Procedures

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Style

Attention to etiquette is essential.

Informal, but following the rules of goodbusiness writing, aiming for specific

precise business messages professional

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TO: ALL SUPERVISORSFROM: JOEL CAIRO

__________________________________________________________________

HURRICANE RAOUL IS ABOUT 200 MILES SOUTH OF CHARLESTON, S.C. HE IS STILL ACATEGORY 5 HURRICANE WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF 175 MPH... GUSTS TO 220.

HE IS MOVING NORTH BY NORTHWEST VERY SPEEDILY AND WILL ARRIVE HERE BYMIDNIGHT. THE HURRICANE CENTER EXPECTS RAOUL TO MOVE ACROSS SOUTHCAROLINA AND THEN UP THE EAST COAST THRU ATLANTIC CITY AND POINTS NORTH

TO BOSTON BEFORE TRACKING WESTWARD HO. WE THINK THE TRACK WILLCONTINUE NORTH BUT WHO ARE WE TO QUESTION THE EXPERTS AT THE NATIONALWEATHER BUREAU. AFTER ALL, THEY HIRED MY BROTHER-IN-LAW SO HOW GOODCAN THEY REALLY BE? THIS IS INDEED AS STRONG A TROPICAL STORM AS WE CANEVER HOPE TO SEE IN OUR PART OF THE COUNTRY. THEN AGAIN IT MIGHT PETEROUT AND ALL THIS FUSS WILL HAVE BEEN FOR OTHING. BUT RIGHT NOW WE KNOW

THAT WINDS WILL STEADILY INCREASE AND BE STRONGEST AROUND MIDNIGHT.LOTS OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED ALONG WITH THIS STORM. THESTORM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT OF THE REGION BY TOMORROW AFTERNOONBUT IN THE MEANTIME COASTAL AREAS WILL HAVE TO BE CAREFULLY MONITOREDAND ALL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS REGARDING PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT ANDFACILITIES MUST BE TAKEN.

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TO: All SupervisorsFROM: J. Cairo

_____________________________________________Hurricane Raoul is expected to arrive here by midnight.Thunderstorms and rain will accompany this storm until itmoves out of the area by late afternoon tomorrow.

Please take immediate appropriate precautions regardingpersonnel, vulnerable outdoor equipment, and facilities.

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Style

Include an appropriate greeting and closingsection.

Less informal: Dear Mr Pinto or Dear Tom andYours sincerely

More informal: Hi Tom or Tom and Best wishes

or some other informal closing.

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Style

Never use ALL CAPITALS for any part of yourmessage. If you want to stress, put asterisks:

*urgent*Keep your email messages short and to the point.Limit each message to one subject.

Use appropriate tone, do not send messagescomposed in anger.

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Style

Show emotions Ill be pleased to help you sort out this

problem. I appreciate your understanding in trying to

resolve this issue.

I am happy to offer you an extra discount of5% in the circumstances.

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First Impressions

A bad beginning makes a bad ending.

An attractive format;

A strong opening sentence is especiallyimportant in e-mail messages to motivateyour busy readers to follow the document

through to its conclusion.It expresses your main idea and the focus ofdiscussion.

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First Impressions

Example of Weak OpeningThis is in response to the message I received

from you concerning the best time for us to meetin your office to discuss ways to improve safetyprocedures at our plant. According to my andEvan Douglass schedule the best time to meetwould be this Friday at 2. Let me know if this isconvenient for you.

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First Impressions

Example of Strong OpeningEvan Douglas and I can meet with you at 2p.m. on Friday, April 5, to discuss plant safetyprocedures. Please let me know if this dateand time are convenient for you.

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Organizing Messages

Provide the most important information first.Organize your ideas in short paragraphs (3 5

sentences)Separating paragraphs by one blank space.Format your message clearly and attractively,using numbers, bullets if possible.End your message with a signature file, includingyour full name, job title, company and contactinformation.

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Ensuring Clarity and Precision

Keep sentences short (25 words max) butcomplete. Do not write fragment sentences.

Edit and check your email message: spelling,grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and usagebefore you send it.

When you are ready to click Send, ensureeverything is right, and double check theaddresses and attachments.

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Guidelines to ComposingEffective Emails

Understand the principles of email.Create precise attention-getting subject lines.

Be aware of first impressions: the format andthe opening sentence.Organize email content for easier reading.Use appropriate professional tone.Prefer gender-free language.Edit email for clarity and precision.

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Questions

Answer the following questions (10 minutes).1. Name 3 areas of business communication which

can be unsuitable for using email.2. How should you write your subject line? Why?3. How should you organize an email message?4. What must you double check before clicking

Send?