Administrative assistants must know how to communicate effectively by email. Long emails can overwhelm the reader, and recipients are more likely to read short and concise emails. The following email tips can help you learn how to compose emails that your recipients will read and respond to.
When you're writing emails, it's important to keep your message focused. This is one of the most important email tips. You don't want to send an email that contains a variety of loosely related topics, because many recipients read an email until they feel they have something to contribute. Once they find that something, they respond without reading the rest of the email. Because of this, it's better to send multiple short emails so that the reader will respond to each issue.
Popular email tips also suggest that you compose emails by writing short, separate paragraphs with a blank line between them. Most people find long paragraphs without line breaks intimidating. Breaking your email up into short paragraphs makes it easier to read. It's also important to take the time to format your email. Avoid using fancy fonts and bold lettering. Many email tips suggest that sticking with a simple, common font without using bold or italics makes your email more readable.
While it's important to keep the email tips about writing short emails in mind, you shouldn't cut out critical parts of your message just to make it shorter. Instead, take the time to check your email and consider what is important and what isn't. To do this, write your email, proofread it thoroughly, and eliminate any unnecessary words. This will shorten the email without sacrificing the message you're trying to convey.
Don't automatically assume that people will respond to your email without some encouragement. If you want your reader to respond, it's important to include a call-to-action sentence at the end of your email. This could be something as simple as saying, "I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject." This way, your reader knows that you want them to respond, but you don't sound pushy.
As an administrative assistant, it's also important that your emails are professional. Keeping an email short may make it easier to read, but if you aren't professional, a short email could come across as snippy. Keep the format of your emails simple, but include an appropriate salutation, a concise message, and a signature.
Writing emails doesn't have to be a difficult process, especially when you follow important email tips to streamline the process. Before long, you'll be writing short, concise, and professional emails and getting the responses you desire.
(Photo courtesy of mrsiraphol / freedigitalphotos.net)
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