We talk a lot about communication at Dardis, and digital communication is a huge part of the conversation. Email, especially, is something we use every day. But how can you tell if your emails are effective communications?
Here are five basic tips for better e-mails to bring into the new year:
- Email is fast and easy. Your message should reflect the format. Avoid managing large groups or sending complex messages through email.
- Keep it short and sweet. Recognize that long e-mails aren’t read right away (or maybe at all). If you find yourself writing more than one to two paragraphs, it might be time to stop typing and pick up the phone.
- Clarify your messages as much as possible. Start with the subject line: Make it clear and compelling (and change it when the subject in a thread changes). In the body of your message, spell out action items and priorities as bulleted items. State very clearly what you want and what the readers’ response should be.
- Watch your tone. If you mostly communicate through email, know that people will form an opinion of you based on what and how you write. That doesn’t mean you need to go overboard with emojis and exclamation points. Simply make sure that your message is as clear as possible, and remember that there’s a human reading on the other end. Read your email out loud to identify clunky sentences and “cold” phrases more easily.
- Get some training if you can’t write emails effectively. It’s a crucial business communication and should be treated as such.
Need even more tips for effective emails? Dardis offers five more in this blog post.