How to write Email professionally

Email is an efficient way to communicate information in a well-presented, easy to read and

professionally appropriate manner. It is widely used as a form of inexpensive yet highly effective
business communication tool. Printouts of emails are rarely taken and soft copies are used because
archiving and retrieving emails is easily. The reason of its popularity is the ease of access, which
everyone in an organization starting from the Head of the Department to the Junior-most in the
Department can use.

Email etiquette is about respect and common sense. The same respect and professionalism you
expect others to show to you is also crucial when writing your own communications. Email is a form of
communication. Like written letters, telephone conversations, and face-to-face speech, email is guided
by etiquette. We use mutual respect and common sense to guide us in all forms of communication.

Golden Rule: Remember that every electronic message leaves a trail.

A basic guideline is to assume that others will see what you write, so don't write anything you
wouldn't want everyone to see. Or in other words, don't write anything that would be ruinous to you or
hurtful to others. After all, email is dangerously easy to forward, and it's better to be safe than sorry.
Many people mistake emails with text messaging, or at least their approach towards writing
emails suggests so. Compared to this, emails are read by professionals who, depending on their work,
may get anything between 20 to 200 emails a day. They neither want to engage in a back-and-forth
conversation, nor have the time to ask for details, multiple times. They just want to understand the
content of the email, read out the instructions, process the information, get the task done and empty
the "unread" section of the inbox.

Five simple steps to make sure your Emails are perfectly official/professional.
1. Begin with a greeting.
2. Thank the recipient.
3. State your purpose.
4. Add your closing remarks.
5. End with a closing signature.

SOME TRICKS TO WRITE EFFECTIVE EMAILS –

1. Think twice before hitting 'Reply All'

2. Ensure the hierarchy is maintained as per the Office Procedure, viz. If a junior has been directed
to convey something on senior’s behalf, he/she must mention in the Email itself on these lines.
e.g.
“I have been directed by ………… to convey/inform …………………..”
“This issues with the approval of ……………………. on file no……………………… dated……….”
“This Email is being sent with the approval of………………… on file…………….. dated……..”
“This Email is being sent with the approval of ……………………on Email from…………….
dated………………………..”
3. Double-check the recipient’s Email Address.
Always type the email address in last to whom the mail is to be sent because no one wants to
send an email accidentally before finishing writing and proofing the message. Even replying to a
message, it's a good precaution to delete the recipient's address and insert it only after writing
the message to be sent."
4. Use the subject line to grab the reader’s attention.
5. Use official/professional salutations viz. Dear Sh…../Sir/Madam, etc. as if we are writing on a
letter.
 6. Remember that - message should be short and clear and nothing is confidential, so write
accordingly.
Every electronic message leaves a trail. A basic guideline is to assume that others will see what
you write and don't write anything you wouldn't want everyone to see. After all, email is
dangerously easy to forward, and it's better to be safe than sorry.
7. Plan your message: Keep in mind that people from different cultures speak and write
differently.
8. Do not write/type your entire message in lower case choose proper fonts for clarity.
Keep your fonts proper, generally, it is better to use 10- or 12-point type and an easy-to-read
font such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman (for English) and Unicode based fonts such as
Mangal(for Hindi) with black color, is the safest choice.
9. Proofread your message before sending it and assume accountability.
10. Take a few minutes to cool down before sending any email while angry.
11. Avoid your message in capitals else may capitalize only selected words for focus purpose only.
Capitals may be considered as SHOUTING also.
12. Briefly introduce yourself - Every mail should be ending with proper Signature containing
Name, Designation, Office Address, Phone Numbers after all Email is an alternative to a physical
letter for faster action only.

For this purpose an Auto Signature option may be used as per example given below
Preferences Signature
स मान स हत ध यवाद, Thanks & regards,
िजते मनोचा, सहायक नदे शक, सू॰सं. ो॰ वभाग, क॰रा॰बी॰ न॰-मु%यालय
Jitender Manocha, Assistant Director, ICT Division, ESIC-HQ
9811783077, 10011208, 011-23701373
In certain cases, emails may not be suitable. Prefer to call someone when −
• You have to discuss personal, sensitive or confidential information.
• You are going to give bad news.
• Your message is complex and meaning might be lost in the wordings.
• You need an immediate response.

Legal Risks of Emails

As all we know that emails are the preferred mode of communication now-a-days carrying lots
of information that could be confidential. Be alert to which it is supposed to be forwarded.
The security and confidentiality of the information in the emails is the joint responsibility of both
the sender and the recipients. There are strict guidelines to safeguard documents and their contents.

Sender of the mail or his/her office/department may be held liable for legal suits if −
• You send or forward emails with offensive content.
• You send an attachment that has a virus.
• You forward the sender’s email to another person without permission.
• You try to forge others’ emails or send emails from others’ accounts.
• You try to conceal your identity from the receivers when sending email.
• You copy a message belonging to another person without permission.