With everyone working from home, email programs are working overtime in many places. But if you are drowning in a sea of unclear and half-read emails, then fear not! Here are 10 tips on how to make email communication better for all of us.

2020.04.14 | Lise Wendel Eriksen

Emails take up a large part of our working day. Previous studies have shown that knowledge workers like us spend 28 per cent of our working hours writing, reading and answering emails. A percentage that has most likely increased over the past few weeks as now we can only communicate with one another from a distance.

Here are ten general rules to help ensure that email and inbox remain a tool and not a task in itself.

If you are in a rush, you can make do with the bullet points. If you are interested, you can find additional information below the list, and if you are really thorough, you can print the list and comments and hang them on your bulletin board.

 

The good email – ten general rules

1. Choose a meaningful and descriptive subject line

2. Be action-oriented

3. Begin with whatever is most important

4. Write concisely, clearly and in an easy-to-understand manner

5. Create an overview and clarity with bullet points and headings

6. Highlight important parts of the text using bold or underlining – but not UPPERCASE LETTERS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!

7. Write in a friendly and respectful way – like you would if you were talking to the person(s)

8. Think over the number of recipients and limit the use of cc and bcc

9. Forward only when necessary and then only the relevant part of the correspondence

10. Generally avoid using the ‘reply all’ function, unless the answer is actually relevant for everyone.

Should I write an email?

First of all, you should consider whether an email is really the best form of communication. Emails are good for exchanging information and for clarifying simple questions. They are not good for long discussions, criticism or resolving conflicts. Call, drop by the office or arrange a (video) meeting instead.

1. Subject line

Treat the subject line as a headline which encapsulates or summarises the content. The subject line should be brief and descriptive, so the reader can quickly understand what the email is about. You are welcome to write a new subject line if the correspondence alters character and refers to something else, or if the existing subject line is misleading, unclear or bland.

2. Be action-oriented

Make it completely clear why you are writing and what you require from the recipient. What is the task, issue or question? Or is the email really only FYI?

3. Begin with whatever is most important

Drop the long introduction and get to the point quickly. Begin with the most important point so the chance of the recipient seeing it is greatest.

4. Write concisely, clearly and in an easy-to-understand manner

Email language needs to be quick and easily decoded. So do not be afraid to use that extra full stop. Long sentences require concentration and are more difficult to read, and you run the risk of the content being misunderstood or not read at all. The same applies to parenthetical sentences that increase the complexity of the text. The reader may end up concentrating too much on the form and forget what is actually being said.

5. Provide an overview

Emails are often scanned and not read – this is especially true of long emails. For this reason, help the recipient by making the text clearer. Use bullet points instead of running text and make the text less compact by using paragraphs and giving these a highlighted headline. This provides an overview.

6. Highlight parts of the text

It may be necessary to highlight parts of the email text that require special attention, such as e.g. items, deadlines or dates. Do this by using bold or underlining. Do not use colours or wacky fonts, and do not use UPPERCASE or exclamation points! The final two are equivalent to shouting and scolding. For the recipient this may appear strident and it is rude and unnecessary.

7. Write in a friendly and respectful way

While it may seem self-evident, be friendly and polite even if you are writing a short email. The tone should always be characterised by mutual respect. Just as when we talk to each other.

8. Limit the use of cc and bcc

Think about how many recipients really need to get the email. Is it relevant for everyone? The same applies to the cc and bcc functions, which are often used just to be on the safe side. But someone who reads an email without really understanding why they are among the recipients can find it very frustrating and a waste of time. Therefore, say why someone is cc and what you expect the ccs to do.

9. Forward only when necessary

Be careful not to act as a post office and uncritically forward emails. Explain why you are forwarding an email and what reaction you expect. It is a good idea to summarise long correspondences so that the recipient does not have to scroll through a long list of emails to understand the context. And remember to check for confidential content and delete the parts of the correspondence that are irrelevant before you forward emails.

10. Generally avoid the 'reply all' function

Generally avoid using the ‘reply all’ function, unless the answer is actually relevant for everyone. Which is rarely the case. Instead, reply directly or forward your email reply to the people who could benefit from your reply. 

Many people are undoubtedly already aware of these general rules, but they can act as a gentle reminder and help to again raise our awareness of how we actually write and use emails. And that can benefit all of us. Yes, we can!

Contact

Communication Partner Lise Wendel Eriksen
Aarhus University, Health Communication
Mobile: (+45) 2993 8616
Email: lwe@au.dk