Bad Example

Good Example

Subject: Revisions For Sales

Report
Hi Jackie,
Thanks for sending that
report last week. I read it
yesterday, and I feel that
Chapter 2 needs more
specific information about
our sales figures. I also felt
that the tone could be more
formal.
Also, I wanted to let you
know that I've scheduled a
meeting with the PR
department for this Friday
regarding the new ad
campaign. It's at 11:00 a.m.
and will be in the small
conference room.
Please let me know if you can
make that time.

Subject: Revisions For Sales

Report
Hi Jackie,
Thanks for sending that
report last week. I read it
yesterday, and I feel that
Chapter 2 needs more
specific information about
our sales figures.
I also felt that the tone could
be more formal.
Could you amend it with
these comments in mind?
Thanks for your hard work on
this!
Monica

Monica

(Monica then follows this up

with a separate email about
the PR department meeting.)

Bad Example

Good Example

Emma,

Hi Emma,

I need your report by 5 p.m.

today or I'll miss my
deadline.

Thanks for all your hard work

on that report. Could you
please get your version over
to me by 5 p.m., so I don't
miss my deadline?

Thanks!

Harry

Bad Example

Good Example
Thanks so much!
Harry

hey,
i need help on my paper can i come by your office tomorrow
thx
E-mail from Student 2:
Hi Dr. Jones,
I am in your ENGL 101 class on Thursdays, and I have a question about the paper
that is due next Tuesday. Im not sure that I understand what is meant by the
following sentence in the prompt:
Write a 10 page paper arguing for or against requiring ENGL 101 for all UNC
freshmen and provide adequate support for your point of view.
I am not sure what you would consider adequate support. Would using 3 sources be
o.k.?
Can I come by your office tomorrow at 2:00 pm to talk to you about my question?
Please let me know if that fits your schedule. If not, I could also come by on Friday
after 1:00.
Version 1 of Jane Does E-mail:
Subject: tomorrow
As you know, tomorrow afternoon well be meeting to discuss the status of all of our
current projects. Donuts will be provided. Be sure to arrive on time and bring along
teh materials you have been working on this weekbring enough copies for everyone.
Some of these material might include your calendars, reports, and any important emails you have sent. Also, I wanted to remind you that your parking permit requests
are due later this week; you should turn those in to Ms. Jones, and if she is not at her
desk when you stop by, you can e-mail them to her.
Version 2 of Jane Does E-mail:

Subject: materials for Wed. staff meeting

Hi, everyone
For tomorrows 3 p.m. staff meeting in the conference room, please bring 15 copies of
the following materials:

Your project calendar

A one-page report describing your progress so far

A list of goals for the next month

Copies of any progress report messages you have sent

to clients this past month

See you tomorrow

Jane
s article, we will focus on one specific section of written communication i.e. E-mail
communication. We are sharing some tips and tricks to make email communication
smoother and effective. This is applicable for all teams and not just the QA team.
Say, you received the below email today:
Email #1
To: Testing Team
Subject: QA Update
Body:
Team,
There has been an unexpected delay in the deployment of code to the staging
environment. For some reason the code got mixed up and we dont know when this
issues will be sorted out. We are going to have to postpone our activities, dont know
until when. So engage yourselves in other testing activities.
The change request CR0100H68 is in planned to hit production by the end of this month.
Please go over the document from share point and give me an estimate.
Thanks,
X, QA team.
Do you think this email is effective? How is this when compared to the
following?
Email #2
To: Testing Team
Subject: Staging environment code deployment delayed- indefinitely & CR0100H68need analysis
Body:
Hello Team,
Today, Ive two updates for the team.
1) The staging environment deployment issues:

Due to unexpected reasons the Staging environment code deployment is delayed

no ETA yet. We have to postpone our staging activities until we have further
updates.
Please work on creating the templates for the quality audit until it is resolved.

2) New update and tasks for change request CR0100H68:

Expected to go live by the end of the month.
Please go over the documents and let me know the following details by EOD
tomorrow.
How many test scenarios do we need
How much of the existing documentation will we have to change
How much time to write the new documentation
Test data requirements?
Test execution time?
Thanks,
X, QA team.
If I were a recipient of the email #1 this is what would happen:
1. I might not even open it right away, because the subject line does nothing to
convey the importance of the content of the email.
2. Even if I did open it lets face it, it is just one big chunk of words; tedious, to
say the least.
3. The tasks to be done or the expectations from me are pretty vague so I really
have no idea what to do.
But if I do get email #2:
1. I know what the email is about subject line helps me correctly guess the tone of
whats being communicated.
2. The content is clearly organized in bulleted points to make grasping things easy.
3. All the tasks to be done and the ETA are clearly defined so you know what to do.
Ideally, I would divide and send 2 separate emails about the two topics I am providing
updates about.
But that is your choice.
As you can see, taking simple measures has improved the quality of the communication.

Guidelines that can make email communication

smoother and effective:
1) Organize your thoughts before you start composing the email.
2) Use the subject line to your benefit Set the tone of what the email is going to
contain. Give the recipients a sneak peak, if you will, into whats inside.
3) Use the email programs Important flag to signal a critical communication- but again,
be judicious in your decision as to what constitutes important. For example, if the testing
cannot continue due to some error and all the teams need to know about it mark the
email important.
4) Define the intent of the email clearly. There are 3 basic reasons for an email
------------

 You are providing information Be crisp about what you write. Keep it clear, keep
it simple. Keep it concise.
You are requesting information What do you want, when do you want, how do
you want it.
For example: I would like a copy of the Test plan document by the EOD. Please place the
same in the common project folder and let me know. A statement like this, will tell
you What- the test plan, when EOD and how place it in the common folder.
Acknowledgement These are one liners and dont have much to them. Typically
Thank you or Done.
5) Try to spell check. Most email applications come with an option to perform this check
mandatorily every time an email goes out.
6) When you are in CC, it means its a FYI. So you just need to know whats going on
but an action from you is not expected.
7) Do not reply all when not necessary.
8) To avoid an email that you sent to multiple recipients be replied to all, BCC all the
email addresses.
9) Be sensitive. When you are delivering a critical or negative feedback about a person
or product, try to do it by talking to the person directly or send an email to just that one
person.

Here are some more tips to avoid the oops moments:

1) Put in the email addresses in the To, CC or BCC fields at last; once you have
composed the email and are satisfied with the content you wrote. This is because,
sometimes, you might accidentally hit send before you are ready and end up being the
sender of an incomplete or incorrect email.
2) When it does happen that you did send a half complete (or half incomplete,
depending on your philosophical bent) email accidentally, there is a recall option
available to make amends.
3) If you are new at writing official emails- try to get a peer to read it for you before you
send it and get his opinion.
4) Do not use a colloquial expression or an idiom unless you know what it means. You
might end up saying something embarrassing and an email once sent is pretty much set
in stone.
I really hope this helps you write better emails. Share your experiences with us.

Here are two reply email samples, written one-to-one:

Reply Email Sample II: Declining an Application without Offending

Mr. Vijay,
Thank you for your recent application to become a writer on Woculus. We are very
much complimented that you would like to write for Woculus.

Your application details will be retained in our files. Currently, we do not have any
vacant section; and our writers are on the top of their jobs. We shall, however,
contact you as soon as we have an opening.
I would appreciate being notified if you wish to cancel your application for any
reason.
Best regards,
Reply Email Sample III: Approving Application for a Different Position

Dear Mr. Frank,

Thank you for applying for the opening in our company and sending your design
samples. I have reviewed your style and thought about the issues you raised during
our last discussion, especially your reluctance to create new design samples for our
evaluation. Since then, I have received new design samples from more than ten
candidates, lending credence to their works.
Eventually, I have concluded that your samples are not enough to help me reach a
conclusion about you. So, we now have a new Chief Designer for our company.
However, I would be happy to work with you on contract basis if you agree to this.
Thanks again, Frank, for your interest in our company.
Cordially,
3. Keep it Short, Simple and Sweet (KISSS).

Be careful of the length of your email replies; they determine if they will be read or
not. This is an old principle of writing that still holds true in writing email replies.
Reply Email Sample IV: Declining an Invitation

Dear Miss Sheryl,

Pardon the delay in responding to your last email. I have been in the process of
setting up my own social network; so I had to resign from Facebook Inc.
I very much appreciate your invitation to help evaluate the Facebook App you are
developing this time, but this may not be in the best interest of Facebooks
management. You may contact some other editors on Facebook forum.
Thank you for understanding.

Best regards,
Reply Email Sample V: Declining an Appointment

Dear Mr. Mohammed,

I was flattered by your request to make me a minister in your church branch in
Bahamas. Regrettably, I wont be able to accept this position.
I wish you well in Bahamas
Yours truly,
More Reply Email Samples

You will find more reply email samples below. For tips on writing and responding to
business emails, you may refer to my post on 9 Tips You Need to Write and Respond
to Emails Professionally.
Reply Email Sample VI: Reply to request for information about your
product or service

Dear Mrs. Thatcher,

Thank you for your inquiry about Apple Stores. Find attached herewith some
literature on our products including the products in alpha development stage. I have
also included a sample username and password for you to try out the products that
catch your fancy.
Please, do not hesitate to call me if you have further questions. I will be glad to have
you as a customer.
Sincerely,
Reply Email Sample VII: Reply to Request for Samples

Dear Mr. Ahsan,

I have attached five samples of my original designs to this email. The sixth
attachment is a list of designs where I collaborated with other designers including the
location (URL) of the designs on the Internet.
Thank you for allowing me to send samples to you. I will be pleased to participate in
the forthcoming competition and also introduce my services to your team.

Kindly notify me should you need any other information.

Regards,
With the above reply email samples, you should be able to effectively respond,
whether positively or negatively, to emails that come your way.