How to write Bussiness Email?How to write effective business English

General
E-mail is by far the predominant form of business writing
today; indeed, inestimable billions of e-mails are sent world-wide each day. Even if we disregard the high percentage of
spam that may be filtered out, the numbers received far eclipse
the number of letters sent. Conservative estimates suggest that
upwards of 75 per cent of our business writing is e-mails – yet
very few companies offer training (let alone specific advice)
on how to do this.
 Let’s just take a look at your business. How many e-mails in
English do you write in a week at work? Do you treat them all
as professional, corporate communication? If you hesitate, the
chances are that you do not. This then raises the question: if
not, why not? Your readers (customers) and your competitors
may be ahead of you on this. Also, do you check each time
you use e-mail that it is the right medium? Would a phone call
or face-to-face conversation do the job more effectively?

The rise and rise of e-mail:

I posed questions in the last section because you need to
understand how to use and write for this fast-growing medium.

Two fundamental findings emerge:

• E-mails are written by virtually all levels of staff in all types 

of company. Largely gone are the days of the traditional
secretary: in a sense we are almost all secretaries while
we are at work. If we are writing English in business, we
generally have to design our writing ourselves.

•  Looking at the statistics, it’s easy to see how such vast e-mail usage can lead to information overload. Therefore it 

is crucial to maintain quality and make things as easy as
possible for the reader, so that your e-mails stand out –
and for the right reasons rather than because your English
is wrong.

E-mail scenarios to watch out for
Sending too quickly

We all do it: we type our messages and we click on the send
button without checking them first. Speed of response can seem
like a great idea but can create particular problems if you are
a non-native English writer writing in English. Spelling and
grammar mistakes, abrupt tone, overreacting or simply not
answering questions can all make readers judge your e-mails
in a negative light. Take the time you need to get it right.

Draft folder

So if you are really pressured and know you cannot complete
your e-mail in English by return, think about drafting a reply.
Move it into your draft folder until you can complete it, maybe
after asking someone who is fluent in English for help.


CC or cc

This stands for ‘carbon copy’. Not every non-native English
speaker knows what it means. The cc field is for copying your
e-mail to other recipients so that they see the same message
as the main addressee. If you use a cc internally within your
company, it’s not generally a problem when those listed in
the cc field see others’ e-mail addresses. But where your cc
field includes the e-mail addresses of external recipients, you
may get into trouble because of privacy and data protection
laws. Spammers can also use these lists – and forwarded e-mail addresses can harbour viruses.


BCC or bcc

This stands for ‘blind carbon copy’. It means that the copy of
the e-mail message is sent to a recipient whose address cannot
be seen by other recipients. This is useful where confidentiality
is required.
Multi-lingual and other e-mail threads
When it comes to business communication, there is nothing
more frustrating, confusing or even downright rude than some-one e-mailing you a message you literally cannot understand!
Just because you are both corresponding in English, it is not
suddenly going to mean that your recipient understands your
language. This might seem obvious, yet the widespread use of
e-mail threads can make a mockery of this need for clarity.
 Read the following e-mail thread starting from bottom to
top, to see how a multi-lingual thread can lead to confusion.


De: Paul Lederer
À: Harry Brown
Objet : Lead Project A
Hi Harry
Pierre Marceau passed me your request. We’ve contacted Pilar
Lopez as she’s the project manager for this and you’ll find her
e-mail on this below.
Kind regards
Paul


From: Pilar Lopez
To: Paul Lederer
Subject: Lead Project A
Paul,
Consignalo para llamarme.
gracias
Pilar


De: Paul Lederer
À: Pilar Lopez
Objet : Lead Project A
Pilar,
I think you’re probably the best person to deal with the ques-tion posed below. Am I right? I know that as you are new to the
company, you have difficulty writing in English, so feel free to
reply to this in Spanish as I’ll understand.
Regards,
Paul


De: Pierre Marceau
À: Paul Lederer
Objet: Lead Project A
Paul,
Je n’ai pas les informations dont Harry a besoin. Peux-tu
l’aider ?
Merci
Pierre



If I tell you that Harry Brown speaks only English, can you
see how unhelpful this thread is going to be? First of all, who
is dealing with Harry’s request? It seems to be being passed
from one person to another but Harry does not know that.
The fact that Pilar Lopez has ultimately helpfully suggested
(in Spanish) that Harry call her, is not something he is going
to see from the thread. After all, it is Pierre who understands
Spanish, not Harry. Also, why is Pilar suggesting that he give
her a call, when he had asked Pierre for details by e-mail?
 How is Harry going to feel? Annoyed? Yes. Alienated? Yes.
Is the matter resolved? No. Harry will have to make further
enquiries. To avoid this alienation (of which the sender is
normally unaware, as it is rarely intentional) you could try
these alternatives:

• Be both courteous and efficient by summarizing, in 

English, the main facts of the message thread.

• Avoid multi-lingual threads altogether.
• Therefore start each message afresh.

Embedding responses
Whether or not you embed responses can be a question of
knowing how well this method works both for you and your
recipients. Some people cannot imagine working any other
way. For others it is actually stressful, especially where they
are the people left to weave together perhaps five differing
views, all embedded into their original e-mail.
 Have you ever had to figure out what the overall picture is,
at the end of a complicated trail of embedded messages? If you
are dealing with messages in your native language it can be
quite a challenge. Imagine then how much worse this will be
where you have to try to interpret broken or variant English
too. There comes a point at which embedding messages can
become ‘hiding messages’. Quit before you get to that point
– and start a new e-mail!
 This example shows you how tricky it can be to decipher
embedded text. Let’s say your e-mail asks four people in four
different countries for their observations. You suggest they
each embed their comments using a different colour. So Alexei
in Russia chooses dark blue, Kentaro in Japan chooses teal,
Cora in the Netherlands chooses red (and chooses to use
capitals as well), and Carmen in Chile chooses brown.
 Can you already see the problems that this course of ac-tion may present? It’s going to become a very complicated
procedure. I pity the originator who will have to try to draw
the strands together to make sense. Surely it would be simpler
to send a separate e-mail to each of the four? Incidentally, can
you see why Cora’s choice may lead to further complications?
I know red is an auspicious colour in China and no doubt
in other countries too. But be aware that in many countries,
red embedded print is used to correct written mistakes or
make criticisms. Readers may literally see a comment in red
as a problem – even if it is actually meant to be helpful and
positive.
Cora has also chosen to use capitals. According to accepted
e-mail etiquette, capitals throughout an e-mail signify that
you are SHOUTING. Cora’s comments could then appear
to be criticisms, although she may never realize this or the
fact that she might be offending readers as a result. So please
do evaluate when and how to embed messages and when to
avoid this writing technique.

Structure your e-mails
E-mail is largely viewed as a form of communication that is
halfway between conversation and formal business writing.
Many people feel this means they can type their ideas:

• in the English words that just occur to them;
•  in no particular order;
•  with no stated objectives;
• with no attention to punctuation, grammar or any other 

quality control;

•  with no attention to layout.

Yet feedback repeatedly suggests that readers do not like
reading solid blocks of text. What’s more, if they don’t like
the look of a piece of writing, they may intuitively feel they
are not going to like its content. This feeling can even go so
far as to prevent them bothering to read it.
 When it comes to our personal e-mail, and to the fast-growing world of blogging, we can relax to an extent. These
are areas where we can let our writing just capture our
thoughts, more or less exactly in the English in which they
spill out (though we still have to observe the constraints of 
the law, including libel etc). Readers are more likely to have
the time and the inclination to read our outpourings – but this
approach is definitely best avoided for business e-mail.
 So my tips apply even more if you are writing English for a
cross-cultural audience. Use an easy-to-read font, design good
layout and enter some carriage returns when you type, so that
your words are not bunched up and thereby difficult to read.
 Leave some white space by using paragraphs for new topics;
people will thank you for it because, by and large, people like
white space. Structure every e-mail to help readers (especially
those who may not be proficient in English) see exactly what
your points are and where the e-mail is leading: that is, its
purpose and who does what and when.
 If you do not make the purpose, the time frame and any
call to action clear, then people might not respond. And, of
course, if your e-mail has no purpose, then you should not
write it!
Designing how you write e-mails
Here are some guidelines to help you structure your e-mails
well.

Corporate communication
Is there a corporate style regarding layout? Do you have a
corporate font? Is the font you use easily readable, such as
Arial, Tahoma, and Verdana? Is the point size you use large
enough? (12 point or above is often recommended). Don’t
just use lower case alone: corporate e-mail should still be
in standardized English. Are you using your spellcheck and
grammar check – and have you selected the correct variety of
English?



Tone and appropriateness

Probably most reader complaints about e-mails relate to poor
tone and inappropriate subject matter. Regarding the first
point, be aware that you need to introduce the right tone for
your target audience in each e-mail, as we have seen earlier.
 Check whether you are using the right style of English:

•  Is ‘Hi’ is the right opening salutation?
•  Or should you use ‘Hello’ or ‘Dear’ followed by the 

recipient’s first name or title and surname?

• Or is it sufficient simply to use their first name alone; for 

example: ‘Paolo’? (Some would find this approach curt.)
While I find that most companies I work with do use ‘Hi’ as
the default salutation, this is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution.
When in doubt, using mirroring techniques can be useful in
cross-cultural situations. By this I mean that, where feasible,
you try replying to readers in a similar way to the way they
address you.
 Always remember that if you are not prepared to say a
particular thing face to face, or if you would not be happy for
other people to see your e-mail (including people you may not
know about), then do not write it!




Use a good subject heading; refresh it 
regularly

Why do people fail to choose meaningful subject headings
for their e-mails? ‘Update on Project A at end of week 30’ is
always going to be a better heading than simply ‘Project A’.
But then what should you do in subsequent e-mails? Refresh
the headings, so that your messages always reflect the current picture. For example, is it efficient to keep that heading about
week 30 when you are actually discussing progress at week
40?
 Yet ineffective writers do this sort of thing time after time. It
can be because they are preoccupied with writing the correct
English in the main body of text but overlook the fact that
subject headings still have to be updated.
Regularly refresh e-mails
I have discussed the problems that can arise from multilingual
e-mail threads. Let me just reinforce the message now: try to
get into the habit of stopping e-mail threads, maybe after the
third message. Start a new e-mail and if you need to carry in-formation over, just recap the key points.
Before you send
1. Reread your e-mail and check that your communication
in English is correct on every level.
2.Make sure it does not include previous e-mail threads
that may not be appropriate to forward on to the new
reader(s).
3. Have you included any attachments? Are they in English
too?
4.If you have copied somebody in, have you explained
why?
5. Is the subject heading good?
6.Is the e-mail easy to read (font style and size etc)?


After sending
Check after the event (a day, two days, a week) that you have
achieved the outcome you want. Check that the English you
have written has worked for your needs.



Your checklist for action
Before you press send, ask yourself:
1. Is e-mail the right communication medium? Is your English
fit for purpose? E-mail is corporate communication and
your English has to be professional.
2. If you are not prepared to say your message face to face
or let it be seen by others, you should not send it.
3.Would it be a problem for you or your organization if this
e-mail is forwarded in its entirety to other people without
your knowledge?
4.Did you systematically read and cover the points in the
e-mail to which you are replying?
5.Have you run a spellcheck and grammar check, using the
correct variety of English?
6.Have you developed the right rapport with your readers
and met their business and cultural expectations?
7.Have you checked your meanings?