IMA Soft Skills CME Series
Dr K K Aggarwal On an average an IMA leader sends or receives more than 100 emails every day. We need to train our staff, who respond to emails addressed to us, in basic email etiquettes so that the receiver does get annoyed but feels happy. Train your IMA staff who handles your email in the following manner. Let me confess, even I learnt a lot after I attended a similar workshop. If you write an email to someone you don’t know “Might I take a minute of your time?” If it is someone you know “I’m just emailing to ask…” If you have sent an email and haven’t got any feedback “When you get a minute, could you please drop me a line regarding my last email?” or “I would like to follow up making sure you got my previous email.” Instead of writing “Meeting” in the subject matter Write: “Tomorrow, 5 am, super-important discussion!” Instead of writing “Asking for a favor”. “Life or death matter that requires your intervention”. Always write “I am attaching the file” Or he may not notice it Always introduce yourself, if you writing the mail for the first time Say “Let me introduce myself…” or “My name is Dr KK and I am addressing you because…” Be polite even while complaining “I wish to complain about the services I got yesterday. I would like to get some explanations (refund, replacements, etc.)” Do not write your services were bad. Let people know that you realize why they are angry and offer a solution. “I understand your frustration...” How to reject a CV “You are great, but unfortunately...” “You did very well at the job interview, but I regret to inform you that we picked someone else”. “ASAP” vs “As soon as possible” Acronyms are very cool to use in texting. They are not for emails, thought. So, unless you are writing to a close friend, try not to use them. If you can put the same information in shorter sentences and paragraphs, then you should better do it. Show people that you value their time. Start every new idea with a new paragraph. “Hello X I got your reports yesterday after the meeting with our partners, and I have a few questions and remarks concerning them. Did you collect the information only for two months? I needed the data for at least four. By the way, you need to be careful with the numbers there were several miscalculations. I also noticed that the figures dropped last month; we need to inform the marketing department about it so that they start dealing with the problem. The guy from the second flow told me that their sales increased two times this month; we should start doing something to top that. Respectfully Y” This letter is easier to read because it is structured in a more logical way and has no unnecessary information. “Hello X Thank you for your reports from yesterday. I have a few things to discuss. Did you collect the information only for two months? I needed the data for at least four. By the way, you need to be careful with the numbers there were several miscalculations. I also noticed that the numbers dropped last month; we need to inform the marketing department about this matter. Respectfully, Y” Always write your name at the end of the letter Unless you are writing to your mom or a best friend Give a personal touch “I hope you are doing great...” For example, if your business partner was on vacation (you might have gotten an auto-email notifying about that), you can ask how it went. If you write to your doctor, for example, ask how his or her family is. If it is a business mail, write a nice comment about a person’s company, site, service, etc. “Hello X I hope you and your family are doing great. Have you finished those cooking classes you were so thrilled about? Well, I actually writing you with a question…” Always thank It is always nice to know that your time and effort are appreciated. “I really appreciate you finding some time to answer my email”, or Simply “Thanks a lot for writing back.” Use would or could If you are asking someone to do you a favor, to read your article, to mention your business, to take a look at your product, etc., you need to be very polite and use “would” or “could” sentences. “Would you be so kind…?” Apologize for the delay “I’m very sorry it took me this long to answer…” Or “I apologize for the delayed reply…” Never apologize with a reasoning Apology is an apology. Never give a reason. You shouldn’t make excuses saying that you were sick, out of town or your cat died. Just politely apologize; you don’t have to explain yourself (unless you do because you missed some deadlines, etc.) Be careful with the titles before names You should be very careful with the titles before names. Many people get offended when they are addressed by the wrong titles. “Dear Mr Aggarwal” Always be correct in your spellings The names may be different: Agarwal, Aggarwal, Agrawal How you end the mail matters The way you close an email may influence whether you get a response or not; or how fast you will get it. Seeing some gratitude or a nice wish at the end of an email can dispose people to answer right away. “Have a great weekend and I hope to hear from you soon!” or “Enjoy the evening! Looking forward to hearing from you”. Essential components of writing Before writing any word ask yourself • Is it necessary? • Is it based on facts? • Is it kind? Do not write if the answer is to any one of them is ‘No’. Whether you write emails on a regular basis or not, it is necessary to know how to do it right. You always need to understand what results you want to get and write appropriate phrases to get those results. If you write complaints and want to get your money back, you need to be convincing and reasonable, but not rude. If you write a business email, you need to be formal and respectful. And if you write to a friend or good acquaintance, you can be personal, but still respect their time. Always think of the feedback you want to receive and then write!
Dr K K Aggarwal On an average an IMA leader sends or receives more than 100 emails every day. We need to train our staff, who respond to emails addressed to us, in basic email etiquettes so that the receiver does get annoyed but feels happy. Train your IMA staff who handles your email in the following manner. Let me confess, even I learnt a lot after I attended a similar workshop. If you write an email to someone you don’t know “Might I take a minute of your time?” If it is someone you know “I’m just emailing to ask…” If you have sent an email and haven’t got any feedback “When you get a minute, could you please drop me a line regarding my last email?” or “I would like to follow up making sure you got my previous email.” Instead of writing “Meeting” in the subject matter Write: “Tomorrow, 5 am, super-important discussion!” Instead of writing “Asking for a favor”. “Life or death matter that requires your intervention”. Always write “I am attaching the file” Or he may not notice it Always introduce yourself, if you writing the mail for the first time Say “Let me introduce myself…” or “My name is Dr KK and I am addressing you because…” Be polite even while complaining “I wish to complain about the services I got yesterday. I would like to get some explanations (refund, replacements, etc.)” Do not write your services were bad. Let people know that you realize why they are angry and offer a solution. “I understand your frustration...” How to reject a CV “You are great, but unfortunately...” “You did very well at the job interview, but I regret to inform you that we picked someone else”. “ASAP” vs “As soon as possible” Acronyms are very cool to use in texting. They are not for emails, thought. So, unless you are writing to a close friend, try not to use them. If you can put the same information in shorter sentences and paragraphs, then you should better do it. Show people that you value their time. Start every new idea with a new paragraph. “Hello X I got your reports yesterday after the meeting with our partners, and I have a few questions and remarks concerning them. Did you collect the information only for two months? I needed the data for at least four. By the way, you need to be careful with the numbers there were several miscalculations. I also noticed that the figures dropped last month; we need to inform the marketing department about it so that they start dealing with the problem. The guy from the second flow told me that their sales increased two times this month; we should start doing something to top that. Respectfully Y” This letter is easier to read because it is structured in a more logical way and has no unnecessary information. “Hello X Thank you for your reports from yesterday. I have a few things to discuss. Did you collect the information only for two months? I needed the data for at least four. By the way, you need to be careful with the numbers there were several miscalculations. I also noticed that the numbers dropped last month; we need to inform the marketing department about this matter. Respectfully, Y” Always write your name at the end of the letter Unless you are writing to your mom or a best friend Give a personal touch “I hope you are doing great...” For example, if your business partner was on vacation (you might have gotten an auto-email notifying about that), you can ask how it went. If you write to your doctor, for example, ask how his or her family is. If it is a business mail, write a nice comment about a person’s company, site, service, etc. “Hello X I hope you and your family are doing great. Have you finished those cooking classes you were so thrilled about? Well, I actually writing you with a question…” Always thank It is always nice to know that your time and effort are appreciated. “I really appreciate you finding some time to answer my email”, or Simply “Thanks a lot for writing back.” Use would or could If you are asking someone to do you a favor, to read your article, to mention your business, to take a look at your product, etc., you need to be very polite and use “would” or “could” sentences. “Would you be so kind…?” Apologize for the delay “I’m very sorry it took me this long to answer…” Or “I apologize for the delayed reply…” Never apologize with a reasoning Apology is an apology. Never give a reason. You shouldn’t make excuses saying that you were sick, out of town or your cat died. Just politely apologize; you don’t have to explain yourself (unless you do because you missed some deadlines, etc.) Be careful with the titles before names You should be very careful with the titles before names. Many people get offended when they are addressed by the wrong titles. “Dear Mr Aggarwal” Always be correct in your spellings The names may be different: Agarwal, Aggarwal, Agrawal How you end the mail matters The way you close an email may influence whether you get a response or not; or how fast you will get it. Seeing some gratitude or a nice wish at the end of an email can dispose people to answer right away. “Have a great weekend and I hope to hear from you soon!” or “Enjoy the evening! Looking forward to hearing from you”. Essential components of writing Before writing any word ask yourself • Is it necessary? • Is it based on facts? • Is it kind? Do not write if the answer is to any one of them is ‘No’. Whether you write emails on a regular basis or not, it is necessary to know how to do it right. You always need to understand what results you want to get and write appropriate phrases to get those results. If you write complaints and want to get your money back, you need to be convincing and reasonable, but not rude. If you write a business email, you need to be formal and respectful. And if you write to a friend or good acquaintance, you can be personal, but still respect their time. Always think of the feedback you want to receive and then write!
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