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9 Tips on the Most Underestimated Skill in the Workplace

One of the most overlooked and underestimated skills at the workplace is the ability to write effective emails. I have easily written over 10,000 emails since I first started working in the corporate environment and want to share email-writing tips that I have learned throughout my short career. I believe writing emails is an art that requires years of practice and experience to master. In my opinion, writing emails is an integral component of customer service. Even if your job role doesn’t involve communicating with external customers, you may be interacting with internal customers frequently. Oftentimes, an employee has their first interaction with another employee through email which means that the quality of a given email can be a leading determinant in a colleague’s first impression of you. Thus, every time I send an email I believe my personal reputation and brand is associated with each one. Since there is a large variety of jobs and occupations, I don’t expect that you will be able to utilize each tip but I expect at least a few to resonate. In hopes of providing you meaningful content, I am omitting any tips that are obvious such as checking spelling, including a signature, user proper language, etc. Without further ado…

1. Put Yourself in the Reader’s Shoes. The structure, content and verbiage of the email all depend on this crucial step. This is the most vital tip since the suggestions I provide below are a direct byproduct of this. If you can put yourself in the position of the audience, you can successfully tailor any given email to best address the readers’ needs.

2. Always Be One Step Ahead. Constructing quality emails reminds me of playing chess. The best chess players can think ahead and are great at predicting their opponent’s next move. Similarly, if you can think ahead and predict possible follow-up questions and concerns from the audience when constructing an email, you can significantly improve its quality and effectiveness. If you notice in the example below, I answer Joe’s inquiry and provide instructions on downloading the report based on my experience with previous coworkers. Did Joe ever ask me to provide him instructions? No. But, I did this in hopes of preventing a potential future question/issue that will delay Joe in acquiring the necessary information he needs to be successful.

****EXAMPLE****

Inquiry

Hi Feliks,

I am looking for the Weekly Risk Report, but can’t seem to find it. Would you please help me locate it?

Thanks,

Joe

Response

Hi Joe,

I have provided a hyperlink above where you can find the Weekly Report we publish every week. In the past, we have had a number of people that have encountered difficulties downloading the report from SharePoint as it isn’t very intuitive. For your convenience, I have provided step-by-step instructions that will help you successfully download the report if you run into any difficulties.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Feliks

Instructions on Downloading Report

1. Navigate to Team XXX Google Docs site.

2. …..

3. ….

****************

3. Provide Screenshots Whenever Possible. When providing the audience step-by-step instructions via email pertaining to a specific subject, screenshots are immensely helpful and assist the audience to successfully achieve an objective without much confusion. Since many individuals are visual learners, screenshots can truly make a difference between a successful email and one that elicits more questions than answers. Furthermore, if you have a screenshot capturing software at work that allows you to add highlights, text, symbols, etc to any given screenshot, I would highly encourage doing this. Since I am lucky enough to have a screenshot capturing software at work, I always include arrows and highlight specific portions of my screenshots to further guide the reader. I have found this extremely helpful.

4. Context of Email Flows Smoothly to Prevent Confusion. Composing emails reminds me somewhat of developing the structure of a website page. Have you ever navigated to a poorly constructed website page where it was difficult to understand its purpose and objective? If you have, you probably left the website shortly thereafter confused. This same concept can be applied to constructing emails. After I am finished typing an email, I try to put myself in the position of the audience and reread the email to ensure the information flows in such a way that the audience can follow along and won’t get confused. To ensure the email flows smoothly, I create a makeshift divider that separates the email message and any references (screenshots, step-by-step procedures, etc.) that I provide. I firmly believe that placing references within the email message can break the flow and cause confusion.

****EXAMPLE****

Hi Joe,

I have provided a hyperlink to the Weekly Report in the previous email. In the past, we have had many people that have encountered difficulties downloading the report from SharePoint as it isn’t very intuitive. For your convenience, I have provided step-by-step instructions that will help you successfully download the report if you run into any difficulties.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Feliks

Instructions on Downloading Report

****************

5. Outline the Purpose of Email Attachments. When attaching multiple files to an email, I have found it very helpful to define the purpose of each file somewhere in the body of the email. This prevents confusion and helps the audience understand which files correspond with which action item. I have been on the receiving end of emails that contain multiple files where the sender didn’t specify what the intention of each attachment was. It can be time-consuming to sift through an email and the corresponding files to accomplish a particular objective. Thus, if you spend a little more time on writing an email to clearly outline the attachments you will make it much easier for your audience to understand and reduce the number of follow-up questions. Your audience will also appreciate you that much more for it.

****EXAMPLE****

Good Afternoon,

Per request, I have attached the ABC standard operating procedures, sample report and report guidelines.

ABC Standard Operating Procedures — procedures that outline how to use the tool to generate the report.

Sample Report — example of a report that should be generated if procedures are followed correctly.

Report Guidelines — guidelines that explain the purpose of each section of the report.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Feliks

****************

6. Email Attachments Are Print-Friendly. From personal experience, this is one of the most overlooked aspects of emailing. I cannot count the number of times throughout my career I have received MS Excel files that weren’t print-friendly — even ones that were provided right before a meeting started! When I first started working in the corporate environment, I admittedly was a culprit of this behavior as well. However, after a few instances of being on the receiving end of attachments that weren’t print friendly I have adopted this as a cardinal rule for myself whenever I email file attachments. This is a critical step in providing exceptional customer service and I guarantee that your audience will appreciate you for it. Since this largely applies to MS Excel files, I have provided below the modifications I typically make before sending the file attachment:

7. Provide Email Attachment Guidance. When including attachments in your email, you should provide the audience guidance to help them utilize the attached files properly. I frequently do this when attaching an Excel file that contains multiple tabs. The audience will find it helpful if you identify the tab that addresses their needs. It can be time-consuming to search through an Excel file to find the information that you need, especially if the file contains many tabs.

****EXAMPLE****

Good Afternoon Mary,

I have attached the Annual Budget report above. Kindly navigate to the “Human Capital” tab to view the information you are seeking. Please refer to the “Reference” tab for rationale regarding how each item was calculated.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Feliks

****************

8. Specify Expectations and Next Steps. After constructing the introduction and body of the email, it is important to set clear expectations and provide next steps to ensure that the email objective is met timely. Omitting this can cause confusion and significant deadlines to be missed. To ensure that these important details aren’t missed, I usually mark the text in bold font and even apply a red color at times. Even though this may seem obvious, it can be easily missed during the process of composing the email.

****EXAMPLE****

Hi Bill,

I have attached step-by-step instructions above that outline how to submit a change request form. We require that you submit the change request form with the required fields completed and an approval from you manager.

Kindly submit the completed change request by COB tomorrow to ensure it is consumed timely.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Feliks

****************

9. Less Isn’t Always More. Prior to writing this article, I researched advice others were providing on this subject. I was shocked that many articles opposed writing lengthy emails and favored short, concise emails. From my personal experience, the only instances when I adopted this advice was if I was writing an email to an officer or someone that was closer to the top of the organization. This accounted for probably less than 5% of the total number of emails I have sent. Instead, I have found detailed emails that address each of the audience’s questions and concerns in a way that it is simple to understand more effective. Am I arguing for constructing wordy emails? No, not at all. I am just in favor of providing more details instead of less. I believe that if you provide an email structure that is easy to follow, your audience will appreciate an email that explains everything in greater detail.

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9 Tips on the Most Underestimated Skill in the Workplace

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