AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Teacher Resource 8.1
Presentation Notes: The Effective Business Email
Before you show this presentation, use the text accompanying each slide to develop presentation notes. Writing the notes yourself enables you to approach the subject matter in a way that is comfortable to you and engaging for your students. Make this presentation as interactive as possible by stopping frequently to ask questions and encourage class discussion.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Email is one of the most commonly used methods of business communication. Research has shown that most employees spend at least two hours each day on email.
Some of the advantages of email:
• It is quick and easy. Tracking down someone by phone or in person could take you hours; sending an email takes minutes.
• It allows you to communicate with many people simultaneously. Companies can send out marketing emails to thousands of customers at once, and a manager can deliver information to her entire team at once.
• It leaves a trail so the history of a conversation can be tracked. Sometimes, we need to revisit a discussion. Unless a phone call is recorded, it’s not possible to do this by phone or in person. Email lets you go back to the information hours, days, or even months later.
• It can be used 24 hours a day regardless of where the recipient is. For example, if your customer is in Japan and you are in New York, you can email them at any time of day without having to worry about what time it is there and whether or not they are available.
• It is efficient. Unlike phone and face-to-face discussions, small talk is not necessary; in fact, it’s not good etiquette to include unnecessary information, like small talk, in a business email.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
There are disadvantages to using email:
• Email is not private. The recipient can easily forward your email to anyone. Not only that, but email may sit in somebody’s inbox, or even trash, for years for anybody to read. For confidential, private discussions, it’s best to use the phone or talk face to face.
• Once you’ve sent an email, it’s out of your control. If you send an angry email, you might regret what you said once you’ve cooled off, but there’s nothing you can do to take it back.
• Email is usually not appropriate for really big news—negative or positive. For example, imagine getting an email that says the president of the company just resigned. Or the company was bought out by a larger company. Or even that you are getting a promotion. Some news is so important that it requires a live person to deliver it, so the recipients can interact, ask questions, and so on.
• If a matter is urgent, don’t use email. You can’t expect everyone to check email throughout the day, every day—particularly if they are traveling, or if they do not have a full-time job that requires them to be at a computer most of the day. If the matter is urgent, make a phone call or find the person to discuss the matter.
• Sometimes emails don’t get read. They end up getting caught in a spam filter or accidentally deleted, and your information never reaches the recipient.
• Just like big news, sensitive matters need a personal touch. If an issue with a customer or an employee requires prompt, sensitive action, use the phone or find the person for a face-to-face discussion.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
It is said that the French King Louis XIV’s gardener put up signs, or étiquets, to keep members of the nobility from walking on the grass. Nowadays, the word etiquette means the set of manners that are appropriate for a certain situation. There’s etiquette for dining, socializing, letter writing, email writing, and much more.
Etiquette is based on the situation you are in; business etiquette is different from appropriate behavior in your personal life. Think about it this way: you wouldn’t dress or talk or behave on a first date the way you would dress, talk, or behave when you’re just hanging out at home with your family. In the same way, how you write an email to your friends or family is not how you would write an email to your boss.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Your personal email account is for everything you do outside of your job, like sending photos to friends, shopping online, making appointments, or contacting potential employers.
Even though it’s personal, think about what your email address says about you. If a potential internship provider gets an email from [email protected] or [email protected], it may not get read at all. It’s not professional. Pick something that won’t embarrass you or make a bad impression on the recipient, no matter who it might be.
Don’t answer personal emails when you’re at work. You can answer them from a personal device like a smartphone when you’re on break or at lunch. That goes for texting as well as checking Facebook and any other social networking sites.
Don’t use your work computer to check personal email.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Many employers will have you sign a contract stating your acceptance of their right to monitor your email activity at work. This is especially true if you have an email address for your job. Usually this address will be a combination of your first initial, last name, and the company’s domain name.
Commonsense rules that you should always follow: don’t forward emails with jokes or pictures that could be considered sexist, racist, homophobic, or biased. This kind of email doesn’t belong at work and it can get you fired. Read every work email carefully. Notice the style of the emails. They are likely to be more formal than one you’d write to your sister, but there’s a huge range. How do people at work address each other in the beginning of the email? How do they sign them?
Since your emails represent your company, comply with all policies your company has about using email. Some companies have a response time policy that requires employees to respond to requests from customers within a specific timeframe, such as “Respond within 24 hours during regular business hours.”
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
The subject line is the first thing the recipient reads. A lot of people decide whether or not to open an email based on the subject line. So it’s very important to make it good! It should tell the reader what the email is about and set the tone—positive, negative, or neutral. A one-word subject line is usually too short; a good subject line is less than 50 characters long, which is about five or six words.
Sometimes an email turns into a long email thread, with many replies. Eventually the original subject line no longer captures what the emails are about. When this happens, start a new email with a new subject line.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Your greeting tells the recipient how formal your email is and creates rapport. Remember, an email can’t convey nonverbal cues. So the words you choose are even more important. A greeting is one of the few ways you can convey “tone” through your email. It’s not okay to skip a greeting in most business emails. An exception to this rule is this: when you are emailing back and forth in an ongoing conversation with somebody you know well, then it’s okay to skip a greeting after your first reply.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Acronyms and emoticons are informal ways to express feeling and emotion through email. They can be very useful. However, they are informal and should not be used in most business communication. And when you do use them in informal emails, be sure you only use ones that are most commonly used and understood. Here are some examples:
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Don’t use all capitals in emails. It is bad nonverbal email communication. Even doing this for one word can be offensive. Instead, choose language that highlights or emphasizes a point, such as “very,” “especially,” and “particularly.”
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Respect your reader’s time and don’t write a book! On the other hand, don’t write so little that you don’t make your point or sound rude. Here are some rules of thumb:
• Provide enough information to make your main point clear, but not too much so it gets lost in the details.
• If the email includes a lot of information, include an “executive summary” at the start which alerts the reader about what information is included.
• Instead of repeating information from a previous email, refer the reader to the previous email; summarize if necessary.
• Try to keep emails to 25 lines or shorter; if you’re writing more than this, consider attaching a document with the extra information.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Research has shown that many people don’t read past the first paragraph, so make it a good one! This is where you tell the reader why you are writing to him or her. Start with an introductory sentence that sets a pleasant tone and provides context.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
In your attempt to be formal and business-like, don’t sound cold or unfriendly. Choose friendly and pleasant words, but don’t joke around. Not only can jokes be considered too informal or unprofessional, but they can be offensive to some people. Don’t try to be cute and funny, just be nice!
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Bad grammar, poor spelling, and overused punctuation create a negative impression on the reader. These kinds of flaws also take away from the message you’re trying to convey. Read, re-read, and, if possible, even have somebody else read an email before it is sent. And always use spell-check!
After using spell check, double check your email. Sometimes the spell-check feature changes the spelling of a word to make it a different word altogether. This is especially common if you are typing on a smartphone or tablet with an “autocorrect” feature. In this case the recipient of your email will be confused, and the email can reflect in a negative light on you.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
End your email on the same note you started it. This will leave the reader in a positive frame of mind. In very informal emails, it’s okay to skip a closing and just write your name. However, this should not be done in most business communications.
If the email is to a client, sign it formally with your first and last name and your title. Also include your phone number at work (not your home number) so that there is more than one way to reach you.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Consider the rules of business etiquette you just learned. How does this email follow, or not follow, those rules? Here’s an abbreviated list to reference:
Subject: Your complaint email This sets a negative tone
Date: March 9, 2015 Responded within 24 hours: a good response time
Dear Ms. Tan: Good greeting
We truly make every effort to make every guest’s stay a “heavenly” one. I’m sorry to hear about your less-than-heavenly experiences. ☺ Abrupt opening; Avoid joking around and trying to be witty; delete emoticon.
I assure you that I have addressed the isues you described with the appropriate employees. Moreover, you’ll be happy to know that our wake-up call system is currently being updated to reduce the risk of an error like the one you experienced during your stay. the housekeeping staff has just been retrained. We have reinforced the requirement that they check the doorknob for “do not diturb” signs as well as the rule that they must return for a second round of cleaning in the afternoon. And finally, we are working on reconstruction of the pool area located near the lobby, the new layout will redirect guests around the lobby to a side door, which will prevent the pudles in the lobby that you had experienced. Fix spelling errors/ typos; break up this paragraph into shorter paragraphs; last sentence should be broken up into two or three sentences. Good: addressed all points made by customer.
I appresiate the time you took to write to me and share your feedback. I sincerely hope you will choose to stay with us again!!! Good closing, ending on a positive note; fix spelling error/typo; replace three exclamation points with period.
Wishing you a heavenly day, Avoid joking around and trying to be witty; replace this closing with a more professional one.Sarah MolinoCustomer Relations DirectorHeavenly Resort and Spa
Using the following criteria, assess whether students met each one.
Met Partially Met
Didn’t Meet
The email contains an appropriate subject line, greeting, and closing. □ □ □The email avoids the use of acronyms, emoticons, excessive capitalization or excessive punctuation. □ □ □The email maintains a friendly but professional tone without being too informal or too cold. □ □ □The email is made up of short clear sentences and paragraphs; the overall email is not excessively long. □ □ □The completed assignment is neat and uses proper spelling and grammar. □ □ □
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Teacher Resource 8.4
Key Vocabulary: Effective Professional Writing
Term Definition
business letter A letter written in formal language, usually used when writing from one business organization to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and their customers, clients, and other external parties.
confidential Speaking, writing, or acting in strict privacy or secrecy.
emoticon A symbol used to convey emotional content in writing.
etiquette An established and commonly followed set of rules for a given situation, such as writing an email, dining, or hosting a wedding.
memo or memorandum A short, informal type of written communication most often employed in a business environment.
rapport Similar perspective, being in sync or on the same wavelength as the person with whom one is communicating.
thank-you letter A letter acknowledging a response, gift, donation, or special effort.
AOHT Delivering Great Customer ServiceLesson 8 Effective Professional Writing
Teacher Resource 8.5
Bibliography: Effective Professional WritingThe following sources were used in the preparation of this lesson and may be useful for your reference or as classroom resources. We check and update the URLs annually to ensure that they continue to be useful.
PrintLeland, Karen, and Keith Bailey. Customer Service for Dummies. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2006.
OnlineBrizee, Allen, and Courtnay Perkins. “Memos.” The OWL at Purdue, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/1/ (accessed November 25, 2014).
“Free Sample Job Interview and Career Thank-You Letters for Job-Seekers.” Quintessential Careers, http://www.quintcareers.com/sample_thank-you_letters.html (accessed November 25, 2014).
Hughes, Stephanie Williams. “Email Etiquette.” The OWL at Purdue, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/636/01/ (accessed November 25, 2014).
“Letters and Forms: Sample Business Letters.” 4hb.com, http://4hb.com/letters/index.html (accessed November 25, 2014).
