Effective Communication

Email Etiquettes

Comviva_Template_V1.0_Mar09

1
Workshop overview

1. Email Etiquette – Why is it important?

2. Do’s & Don'ts in Writing Emails
3. Sample Emails
4. Exercise (During the Training)
5. Follow up exercise – Monitoring email exchanges
5.1. Between team members
5.2. Between cross functional teams
5.3. With clients
6. Evaluation

2
 Why is Email Etiquette important?

“We all interact with the printed word as though it has a personality & that personality makes
positive & negative impressions”

“Without immediate feedback your document can easily be misinterpreted by your reader, so it
is crucial that you follow the basic rules of etiquette to construct an appropriate tone”

Points to remember:
1. Professional medium to communicate
2. To avoid misinterpretation and misuse of email service
3. Relationship in hierarchy
3.1. For colleagues and juniors
3.2 For boss and seniors

3
 How to write an email ?
Must ask following questions to yourself

1. Why am I writing this document?

1.A. Decide on the subject.
1.B. Structure your thoughts on what you want to write

2. Who am I writing to ?
2.A. Know your audience.
2.B. Content of information to be shared.
2.C. "To" & "CC"

3. What do I want to communicate ?

3.A. Articulation of idea and message.

4. How do I communicate ?
4.A. Aggressive / Expressive (what action we expect from the recipients)

4
 Elements of Email Etiquette

1. General Format.
2. Writing long message.
3. Attachments.
4. The curse of surprises.
5. Flaming.
6. Delivering information (contents and words).
7. Delivering bad news.
8. Electronic Mailing List.

5
 To: CC: BCC: Think before you click !!

As with any form of writing, in order to be effective, you must first identify your target audience. The same
is true when writing emails.

To: Used for : Main recipient (Is

Is any action needed from the person?)

CC: Used for: Other important persons who should be part of the email or
“Carbon Copy” should be informed.
BCC: Used for: forwarding an email to large number of recipients
“Blind Carbon Copy”

Points to remember:

1. Don’t automatically “Reply to all”

2. Take one last look at your distribution list – is this email necessary for all recipients.

6
 Persuasive writing

“Persuasive writing is a type of writing where your main goal is to persuade or convince someone to do
something that you want them to do”

1. Speaks to the reader in accordance with his/ her frame of reference.

2. Clearly and succinctly conveys the message.
3. Makes the reader take the actions the writer wants.
4. Writing effective introductions.
5. Making a well structured content.
6. Using appropriate tone.
7. Writing effective closings

7
 General Format

1. Salutations.
2. Subjects
3. List and Bullets
4. Format and Layout
5. Paragraphs
6. Attachments
7. Signatures

8
 General Format

A. Salutation
A.1. Salutations are tricky, especially if you are crossing cultures.
A.2. Frequently, titles are different for men and women, and you may not be able to tell which
you are addressing.
A.3. In the United States, using someone's first name is usually ok.
A.4. Dear, / Hi (first name), / first name / Dear Mr. (last name)

B. Subject
B.1. Don’t leave subject blank.
B.2. Subject should be a very short summary of your e-mail.
B.3. Do not make it too long (40-45 char).
B.4. If it’s an urgent issue that needs very quick attention, mention URGENT in subject.
B.5. If it is absolutely business critical that the recipient take action today, you can write “Action
required today”.

9
 General Format

C. List & Bullets

C.1. When you are writing directions or want to emphasize important points, number your
directions or bullet your main points.

D. Paragraphs
D.1. Use paragraphs that are not more than three to five lines, so that the meaning of the
message of short and sharp!

E. Format and Layout

E.1. Content
E.1.1. Don’t be a novelist.
E.1.2. Try to keep the email brief.
E.1.3. Keep sentences short and to the point.

E.2. Format
E.2.1. Use CAPS, only when required.
E.2.2. Use fonts with professional or neutral look.

10
 General Format

E. Format and Layout

E.3. Layout
E.3.1. Structure your thoughts
E.3.2. Different ideas to be separated.
E.3.2.1. Use bullet points.
E.3.2.2. Use sections.

F. Attachments
F.1. If referring to attachments in your email, make sure that you have actually attached the
files. (You can look very foolish if you talk about a vital attachment and when the recipient goes
to view it, it’s nowhere to be found.)
F.2. Keep the file size of attachments as small as possible.
F.3. If an attachment is big, do a follow up with the recipient, if he/she has received the attachment.
F.4. If an attachment is big, it is advisable to give a heads up to the recipient

11
 General Format

G. Signature
G.1. Ensure you have a proper signature.
G.2. It is an excellent opportunity to market yourself in a elegant way.
G.3. Keep your signature short and sweet.
G.4. Many people use these signatures as an easy way to give their name and alternate ways of
reaching them.
G.5. Don’t get carried away and write poetry or your favorite quote!
G.6. Keep it simple and professional

a t
ng
i
S re
u
12
 Delivering bad news

1. Deliver news up front.

“We are unable to complete the task in the

reduced time due to an unscheduled
leave.”

2. Avoid blaming

“I think it will be hard to recover from

this, but what can I do to help?”

3. Avoid hedging words or words that sound ambiguous.

Examples:
B.Possibly, most likely
C.Perhaps, may be

4. Maintain a positive resolve.

13
 Writing a complaint

1. Briefly state the history

“I have been in touch with your Executive Ms. Nina, over the last two weeks,
regarding the error in my savings bank account.”

2. Show why it is important for your reader to get involved:

“This is a problem for two reasons. First, I am inconvenienced as it is my salary

account and I have not been able to withdraw money from it during this period.”

Second, I have not received a positive response from your staff, despite repeated
follow up, which makes me doubt if my concern has been noted at all.”
3. Show attempts made by you thus far to resolve the issue:

“I have offered to come to the Bank with the necessary documents.”

4. Maintain a positive resolve.

“Please let me know what you require from me to enable a speedy solution for my problem. I
would like you to personally take up this matter and help resolve it, as two weeks and many
emails and phone calls have already been exchanged in this matter.”

14
 Do not take your reader by surprise !!
1. Do not wait until the end of the day to introduce a problem or concern via memo or email.
2. Avoid writing a list of concerns that you have been harboring for a long period of time.

Keeping the flame under control !!

1. Before you send an email message, ask yourself, “would I say this to this person’s face?”
2. Calm down before responding to a message that offends you. Once you send the message it
is gone.
3. Read your message twice before you send it and assume that you may be misinterpreted when
proofreading.
Responding to a flame

1. Empathize with the sender’s frustration and tell them they are right if that is true
2. If you feel you are right, thank them for bringing the matter to your attention
3. Explain what led to the problem in question.
4. Avoid getting bogged down by details and minor arguments.
5. If you are aware that the situation is in the process of being resolved let the reader know at
the top of the response.
6. Apologize if necessary

15
 Examples of flame mails

Lucy,
I have read your response and I do not agree. I have been a Lead for a team, for over a
year now and I know how to Manage this team better than anyone else.
When you ask my team to take on work that your team is doing you should ask me first so
that I am aware and I can plan accordingly.
Next time please ask me when you want my team to do Your work.
Rgds,
Amy

Examples of response to flame mails

Hi Lucy,
I understand that you expect my team to support you, when Your team members have an
issue with the design.
While this assistance that my team extends also sharpens their skills it does delay their
work. The best way I think, to handle this situation is if you can let me know of your
requirement in advance, so that I can plan accordingly and my work does not get affected.
I hope you can understand my constraints and will help me help you.
Thanks,
XYZ

16
When Email Won’t Work

• There are times when you need to take your

discussion out of the virtual world and make
a phone call.

• If things become very heated, a lot of

misunderstanding occurs, or when
you are delivering very delicate news
then the best way is still face-to face.

17
 Please remember !!
1. Avoid poor usage of email facility

Action required and key points are hidden in the message

Misusing the global distribution list

18
 Please remember !!

Discussion that could have been done on the phone

General tips
1. Use Follow Up Flags.

2. If you find you are on a distribution list you don’t need to be on.
@ send a note to the originator to be removed.
3. If you get involved in an email discussion that you don’t need to be in
@ask to be taken off the distribution.
4. While forwarding the message delete the list of email addresses if not necessary
5. If you see someone else practicing bad email etiquette
@send a friendly note and ask them to correct it 19
Email
Lets practice!

20
 An e-mail to the Transport
Department
To: Varun Choudhry
Sub: URGENT!

Dear Ashish,
This is to inform you that I have to picked up at 8:30 from tomorrow onwards.

Regards,
Sudhir

21
Update to a client ( Example)

22
www.comviva.com
Thank You

23