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6 tips to help you nail your message via e-mail


We live in highly uncertain times; social distancing and working from home is now the new normal.
This also means more e-mails and more phone calls. In this post I want to share some tips on how you can nail your communication via email.

Albert Mehrabian’s rule of 55-38-7 means that 55% of our communication is through our body language and facial expression, 38% comes from our tone of voice; how we say something; and only 7% comes from our words. This shows that it is even more important to carefully plan and write an email, making sure we get across what we want and how we want it.

1)     Be precise and concise and keep it short
Have you ever received and email that has 3 paragraphs or more? Most people don’t read long emails to the end. In order to not lose their attention, bring your point across in a short and concise message.

2)     Make it easy to follow
You want the receiver to read your email and remember the key points. Structure your email in a way so that the main points stand out, use bolt text and separate lines.

3)     Start by asking how they feel and build a connection
With people having to cope with new situations right now it is important to ask them how they are or how they are coping; maybe share your own situation. This does not need to be more than one line: ‘How are you coping in these crazy times?’ or ‘I have just finished setting up my new office at home, I am still getting used to it but it will be ok. How are you doing?’

4)     Condition with what is coming
If you have bad news or something unpleasant to say, then condition them with
‘I know this will be tough…’, or ‘this won’t be easy for you’, ‘this is going to sound harsh…’
This way you soften the impact of your unpleasant message. In a face to face conversation and on the phone, you would use your tone of voice to soften the impact; via email you need to use your written words wisely.

5)     Prompt a response
You want to make sure that they reply to your email, therefore prompt them to reply:
I am looking forward to hearing from you
I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
If I don’t hear back from you by Friday, I will make contact again.


6)     Make a lasting impression
Finish off with a positive and encouraging message by saying something that can’t be disputed such as:
I am looking forward to working with you.
We have always worked together so well.
We have always managed to resolve issues well so we will also get through this one.



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