How to Evaluate Your Email Communication Skills

In today’s highly connected world of business, email communication is the standard. In 2013, there were 3.9 billion email accounts worldwide. That number is expected to grow to 4.9 billion by 2017. With so much of workplace communication revolving around email you may wonder if your messages are being heard or if they are getting lost in the Inbox shuffle.

In our first of a two-part series, we will talk about email and how to make the most of it.

This week, we begin by helping you determine how well you are doing with email and providing a quick overview of important elements. In our next post, we will share more details about developing the Subject Line and the message inside each email.

What can you do to make sure your email is being opened and that it conveys what you need it to?

First, begin by asking yourself a few questions:

1. Do people respond to your email appropriately? That means, for example, do they RSVP to a meeting invitation or follow-up on a request for more information you’ve sent them? Are they answering the question you presented in your message to them? If not, your messaging or your subject lines (or both!) may need some work.
2. If you are having problems getting answers by email is it with the same person or a variety of people? Every office has a few people notorious for not answering email, but if yours are unreturned by more than just a few people your message may be missing the mark.

Next, take some time to learn more about basic email messaging and etiquette. The elements that matter include:

1. The headline a.k.a. the Subject Line: It is how people decide whether or not to open your email. Do you know what phrases to avoid? Are you trying to be too creative instead of clearly communicating the point of the email?
2. Get to the point: Maybe you are cramming too much miscellaneous information in to one email? People aren’t quite sure of what the point is and may skip it with the intention of re-reading it “later.
3. What action do you need: Are you closing your email with a clear call-to-action? What do you want and need the recipient to do? If you don’t tell them or if you ask for too many things in one email you might not get any response at all.
4. Do you answer email promptly: If you are one of those people who don’t respond to others’ emails quickly and appropriately, expecting colleagues to respond to yours is probably unrealistic. We will share some basic etiquette tips in our next post that will help you be a better communicator online.

We hope you will stop back in two weeks when we share the last article in this series. In it we will provide you with more detailed information on creating both a successful Subject Line and email message.

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