The ability to write great emails has become extremely powerful. It’s extremely important for leaders to be able to give direction and generate buy-in from written communication.
Clearly communicate your point
The most important part of writing great emails is keeping it focused so you can clearly communicate your point. Don’t be afraid of being very direct when it comes to email. Everyone is busy, so the faster someone can read and understand your email the more likely they will be to help.
Keep a positive tone
Always aim to have a friendly and positive tone with your emails. Avoid coming across as demanding, or acting like someone has to do something for you. Rather, keep a tone of humility and thankfulness for their help.
Open with a friendly greeting. Just using an exclamation mark after your greeting can completely change the tone of your email.
Hey Mike,
Compared to
Hey Mike!
End with a genuine way of thanking them for their help.
The Grammarly plugin is also very useful for checking the tone of your emails.. It will actually rate the tone of your writing.
Consider the sender
It’s also important to consider the readers knowledge with what you are writing about. They might be an expert, or it might be something they haven’t dealt with.
If someone is an expert in the area you are emailing about, keep it as short as possible.
If you are giving someone an assignment they have never done before, be sure to include all the resources they would need to complete the task.
Formatting
A little bit of formatting can go a long way with emails. Both for presentation, and better visual organization can make your emails easier to read.
A big part of getting buy-in on a project is about making it easy for everyone involved. Emails should be treated the same way. Make it easy for the other individuals to help you.
Set action steps
A great way to wrap up an email is to have a few short bullets that summarize exactly what information or action is needed.
