Have you ever been surprised, or should I say, appalled, at a correspondence you’ve had with another professional in your field? Have you ever received an email with poor spelling, grammar, or punctuation? I have, and it immediately makes me question the person’s professionalism. Here are five quick tips on how to make email, letters, and even text messages professional and effective.
- Spell check!
I know we’ve all seen those squiggly red lines below our words after typing a sentence, well that means the word is spelled wrong! Most programs have a built in spell checker which make it very easy to have proper spelling and grammar, there should be no excuse to send an email with misspelled words, lowercase letters at the beginning of a sentence, or poor grammar. Sites like http://www.grammarly.com and http://www.grammarbook.com can be great places to help you check your grammar and even take quizzes to improve your skills.
2. Get to the point.
Have you ever missed some important information because an email was too long and you just skimmed it over? It’s not necessary to be wordy or use business jargon when sending a coworker or client an email. I don’t like reading a five paragraph letter just to tell me that my order is ready for pickup. Make your writing clear, concise, and use common words; acronyms and words specific to your industry make it hard for a customer to understand exactly what you’re saying (www.forbes.com).
3. Emojis?
No, please. Some people love to express their words with a cute little smiley or surprised faces in the middle of a sentence. According to http://www.business.com, emojis have become too flippant in certain situations and don’t always have a universal meaning. Try and keep the smiley faces to a minimum unless you’re sending a text to your teenage daughter (www.business.com).
4. Curb your enthusiasm!!!
It’s never ok to use more than one exclamation point or question mark at the end of a sentence, it’s just annoying. We know what you’re saying is very important and we can tell that with one end mark. While we’re at it, please don’t use ALL CAPS to stress your point either. I once read a post from a fellow student and every third word was all caps, it was like she was yelling at the audience at every chance she could get (www.forbes.com).
5. Attention to detail.
It’s great to read and reread an email before you send it, especially to that very important client about the million dollar deal. A small detail that is forgotten due to a lack of proofreading can cost you. Do you want to that special client to feel uncomfortable giving their business to you because of a simple error? I sure don’t.
Overall, use tools to help, keep it simple, be professional, and pay attention when writing for business. Your colleagues will thank you.
References:
Adams, S (2013), 10 Tips For Better Business Writing, https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/04/29/10-tips-for-better-business-writing/#48e3a4a66dd5, accessed on 7-16-2017.
Business.com editorial staff (2017), Put an Emoji On It: Should You Use Emojis In Business Communication? https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/04/29/10-tips-for-better-business-writing/#48e3a4a66dd5, accessed on 7-16-2017.
Pro Business Tips 