Emails and Letters

Why might you need help with emails and letters?

• You want to represent your company consistently and professionally
• You need help crafting difficult, “negative news” messages
• You feel overwhelmed with email duties and need to develop coping techniques
• You want every message you send to communicate effectively with your readers

We All Write Emails!

Some of you write dozens, even hundreds of emails every day. Is every email or letter sent from your company well written? Does every email and letter represent your company effectively? Or have you sometimes run across emails that, to put it delicately, need a wee bit of work?

Are All Emails Created Equal?

Just because almost everyone in your company or organization writes emails and letters does not necessarily mean that they write them well. It’s an unfortunate fact that very few people are actually taught to write clear and effective emails and letters. The presumption is that everyone just magically picks up the skills when they start a new job.

Not so! If you’re concerned about the emails that your staff are writing and sending, call me. I can work with you to develop some standard formats and wording for company emails and then train your staff. I’ve delivered workshops on writing effective emails for clients at Workers’ Compensation Board, the Royal Bank, and numerous BC government ministries, and taught business communications courses at UBC and Capilano University. Several of my textbooks cover email and letter writing techniques in considerable depth.

Email Obsession

To tell you the truth, I have a bit of a thing about email. I believe that email messages are just as important as paper letters–maybe even more so because these days people are often more likely to read an email than a letter. I believe that every email message should include a salutation, be organized into paragraphs, and include an appropriate closing and a signature line. In addition, every email message should get to the point efficiently and at the same time use a warm, positive tone.

Bad Emails

Have you ever received an email that made you angry or upset? I think we all have–and that’s because developing a reader-friendly tone in an email is challenging. People dash off emails quickly and sometimes forget the human being at the receiving end. In most offices, poorly written, negative emails probably cause more stress than bad coffee. Let’s talk about how I can transform the email habits of your staff.

Negative News Messages

I can also consult with you about writing “difficult” letters and emails–the ones that convey negative news and are challenging to write. Check out Getting
to No: Writing Refusal Letters that Keep Customers for information about writing negative messages. I can train your staff to use these same techniques.