Business Emails and Etiquette

This module addresses the following elements:

1.Understanding and applying strategies for dealing with email professionally

2.Practise writing and proofreading business emails

3.Extend and apply vocabulary of email useful phrases and vocabulary

4.Develop and practise proofreading and editing skills

5.Understand the difference between transactional and interpersonal communication

Dealing with Emails and Netiquette

Emails and Time Management

Although personal use of email seems to be declining, probably as a result of increased texting and reliance on social media, most people working in professional roles receive a lot of email - almost overwhelming amounts.Some of it is urgent, more is important, and much is simply unnecessary.

Because of the volume involved, managing email is an important professional skill.

You need to be able to read quickly, prioritise, respond, save or delete as appropriate and, when responding, write swiftly and effectively.If your job allows it (and not all do) the research shows that it's far better not to check emails constantly, but to set aside 2 or 3 blocks of time in the day and deal with everything then.

Acronym

Strategy

D. Delete

Delete unwanted and out-of-date messages

Install filters to delete junk mail before it appears on your screen

Avoid responding to senders of junk mail.

R. Reply

Reply as soon as possible

Use a subject line that identifies the message clearly or refers to previous interactions on the topic

Use the Out of Office tool as a courtesy to tell those sending emails the date when you will return

A. Act

Allocate time to the actions you must take in response to emails - high priority tasks now, less important jobs as soon as possible

Avoid procrastination and the need to open and handle emails more than once

F. Forward

Forward and cc emails only to those who need to know, to avoid overloading others with excessive email

Respect privacy by ensuring your emails do not breach confidentiality

S. Save

Organise those emails you need to keep into folders and subfolders

Archive the emails you wish to keep on your hard drive

Activity 4.1: Vocabulary Extension - Email Stress

Email stress: the new office worker's plague

Over a third of workers say they are inundated with a never-ending stream of emails and are stressed out by the pressure to respond to them promptly.

Research has found that some employees check their emails every few minutes, leaving them frustrated and unproductive.

'Email is an amazing tool, but it's got out of hand,' says researcher Karen Renaud.She adds that when you break off from what you are doing to read your emails, you lose your train of thought. The advice is to set aside two or three specific emailing times each day.

Glossary

inundated(with)

given so many things that you cannot deal with them.synonyms: overwhelmed, swamped.

never-ending

seeming to last forever. synonym: interminable.

stressed out

(informal) too anxious and tired to be able to relax.

promptly

Quickly; without delay.adjective: prompt

unproductive

not producing good results.opposite: productive

hard-hit

badly affected by (also severely / badly hit).

be/get out of hand

be/become impossible to control.opposite: be under control.

break off (from )

stop speaking or doing something for a time.

train of thought

A linked series of thoughts in your head at one time

set aside

keep, especially money or time, for a purpose

Metaphorical use of words

A plague is a fast-spreading disease which often results in death: In the title it is something that causes irritation.A stream is a small river, but here it means a continuous flow of things.A deluge is a flood or heavy rain, but in the text it means a great quantity of something arriving at the same time.

Vocabulary Practice:

Use the vocabulary above to complete the following 4 exercises

1. Correct the spelling mistakes.

1 diluge _____________ 3 inondated ____________5 under control__________

2 interminible _________ 4 severly hit ____________6 plage ________________

2. One word is missing in each sentence.What is it, and where does it go? e.g. I'm feeling very ^ outstressed

I need to set aside money for rent.

1.I've lost my of thought.

2.We were hard by the price war.

3.The work has been never-.

4.Our spending has got out hand.

5.I had to break from what I was doing.

6.The situation is control.

3. Complete the questions.

1.If you have a constant s____________ of interruptions, do you feel o___________ / s___________?

2.Did you get a lot of work done yesterday, or was it a rather u______________ day?

3.Do you agree that people suffer from a d__________ of emails?

4.Do you think it's important to reply to emails p_____________?

5.Do you often feel s__________ out because of work or studies?

6.What do you think would make you more p__________ at work?

Activity 4.2: Prioritising - 'Who's First?'

You're the manager of a small chocolate factory and one morning you receive five emails. Put the messages in order of importance (1=most important) and then compare with a partner.

B

C

D

E

Now discuss which of the messages you would respond to (a) by email (b) by phone or (c) in a face-to face meeting.Give reasons for your answers.

Source: Allison et al., In Company Upper-Intermediate Teacher's Book.2nd Ed. Macmillan.

Write

Look back at the 5 emails on the previous page.

With your partner, write email reply to the email you thought most important.

Swap your email with another group. Proof read the email for:

correct grammar, spelling & punctuation (use a correction code)

appropriate formality & register

Rewrite email addressing the comments made by the proof readers.

Netiquette

Netiquette is a 'portmanteau' word made by combining Internet and etiquette (manners), just as brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch.

Australians tend to be relatively informal in their manners compared to some other cultures but this doesn't mean that good manners aren't noticed and valued.In your emailing, as in all aspects of business communication you should aim to appear confident and courteous.

Good manners cost nothing and bad manners can breed dislike.

Note:Be particularly careful with tone in emails. It's very easy to come across as rude and abrupt. When you're writing you hear a voice in your head with a friendly tone and it's easy to think this same tone automatically comes across in the written word - it doesn't.You need to make sure your actual words are conveying the positive attitude you feel (or want to project) towards the recipient.

Activity 4.3: The Rules of Netiquette

Work with a partner.Can you come up with a list of email do's and don'ts?

Do

Don't

Assessment Task: PWW: EEQ - Email Etiquette Quiz (eGrad)

and complete the quiz on email etiquette.

Effective Email Writing - Chunking & Proofreading

Chunking

When analysing and correcting grammar we break sentences into individual words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions and so on.

However, when speaking and writing in real-time, native speakers don't compose word-by-word as this would be impossibly slow and make communication very difficult.Instead, they speed up the process by using formulaic 'chunks' of language and putting these together to form coherent sentences.

Types of chunks include:

Fixed phrases and semi-fixed phrases -

obreak even,

olater this week,

oout of office

Collocations (word-partnerships, including dependent prepositions) such as-

ofiercely competitive

oslightly different

Expressions often used in a particular situation - such as

oApologies for the delay in replying

Frames and sentence starters - such as

oI was wondering if...,

oPerhaps we could ...

oI'm looking forward to ...

If you look back over the email exercises you've already completed, you'll find the same phrases and expressions being used over and over again.

List in here any 'chunks' or 'expressions' you noticed

EgPlease do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.

It's important to learn a range of common email chunks as they'll allow you to write quickly and accurately.Like vocabulary, chunks vary in formality and tone so using appropriate phrases in a consistent register will also help you sound courteous, confident and friendly.

The exercises in the following pages focus on common chunks of this sort, both formal and neutral.

Note: Chunks and the ideas they express belong to the language, not to any particular writer, so copying them is not .It's good language-learning practice.

Activity 4.4: Key Phrases for Emailing

A.Write subject line from the box for each email. One is not used.

Action re contract

Your order #8694: out of stock items

Meeting 14/5

Reyour advertisement

Shipping confirmation

Special deals for January!

Email 1: Subject: ..............................................................................................

Regarding your last email, we are in the process of arranging the meeting scheduled for 14 May, but there are still a few details I need from you.

Do you want me to book hotel accommodation for you - or will you sort it out at your end?

Also, can you send us something about the Barcelona project you were involved in last year?

It would be helpful to have something to circulate before the meeting.Please send us a copy of any relevant reports.

Regards,

Monica

Email 2: Subject: ..............................................................................................

Sorry for the delay in replying - I've been out of the country on business.

Unfortunately, the items you ordered are not in stock, but we're expecting delivery by the end of the week.I'll get back to you as soon as they arrive.

If you need any more information, please feel free to contact me.

Email 3: Subject: ..............................................................................................

Hi Luisa,

I've emailed Michelle and Roberto about the changes in the contract.

If you like, I can have a word with Michelle to make sure she understands what's going on.And, as you work with Roberto, can you talk to him?

Thanks for your help.

Email 4: Subject: .............................................................................................

Good news! Subscribers to this email newsletter can take advantage of fantastic price savings in our January sale.I've attached a pdf file that gives full details, or alternatively just click on the link below.

You can order online or by phone - our customer service staff are always available to answer questions.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Email 5: Subject: .............................................................................................

Just a short note to let you know that we received your order.

I can confirm that the items were sent by courier today.To track your order, click on the link below.If there's anything else, just let me know.

Best wishes,

Pierre.

B. Complete the table by matching an underlined phrase in section A with a similar phrase below.Look carefully at the headings in bold.

Previous contact

With reference to your email sent (date) ...1 __________________________

Reason for email

We are writing to inform you that...2 __________________________

Good news

You will be pleased to hear that....3 __________________________

We are able to confirm that....4 __________________________

Bad news / Apologising

I apologise for.....5 ________________________

We regret to inform you that...6 __________________________

Requests

I'd be grateful if you could...7 __________________________

I would appreciate it if you could...8 __________________________

Offering help

Would you like me to...9 __________________________

If you wish, I would be happy to.....10 __________________________

Promising Action

I will contact you again.11 __________________________

Attachments

Please find attached...12__________________________

Final comments

Thank you for your assistance.13 __________________________

Please not hesitate to contact us again14 __________________________

if you need any further information.

Closing

We are looking forward to...15 __________________________

Yours / Sincerely16 __________________________

C. In general, do you think the phrases on the left above are more informal or more formal than those on the right?

Underline all the phrases above you already use in your emails. Work with a partner and see if you can add any more phrases (in any of the sections).

Source: Emmerson, Email English 2nd Ed. Macmillan.

Activity 4.5: More Common Emailing Phrases

Below are some examples of sentence starters that are often found in the opening, body and closing sections of emails.

Work with a partner and brainstorm at least two typical phrases for each of the sentence stems below, writing in the spaces given.

Opening

Dear....

Hi....

To:...

Thank you....

Thanks ....

I am writing.....

It was good to...

It was a pleasure to...

I was sorry to....

(I'm) just writing to say...

(I) hope....

(I'm) sorry....

How...?

As (you) requested / suggested / instructed...

Body

I would be grateful....

Could you...?

..., if that is convenient for you.

I'm afraid ... / I'm sorry, but... / Unfortunately...

Is it okay / Would it be okay...?

As you may be aware....

This is because...

I wasn't sure...

Please find...

Closing

I look forward to...

If...

I'll...

See you...

Thank you...

Thanks ...

... would be greatly appreciated.

(I'm) sorry...

(I) hope...

Source: Case, www.usingenglish.com(slightly adapted)

Proofreading

Ideally, your writing should be error-free, or nearly so. Although it's fair to say that most individuals are not particularly worried by the odd typo in emails from a close colleague, a large number of errors creates an impression of sloppy unprofessionalism and makes a text difficult to read - the mistakes distract the reader even if they don't actually cause misunderstanding. Errors in complex formal documents, such as reports, resumes and cover-letters are viewed as unacceptable. It's therefore important that you make a habit of proofreading your writing and learn to identify and correct errors.

Most people find it easier to spot the mistakes in someone else's writing than in their own so, with really important documents, such as your resume, you should always ask other people to proofread for you.However, you can improve your ability to self-correct by being aware of the type of errors you often make. Think back to feedback you've received on your writing from teachers and trainers.

What areas of language are you particularly likely to make mistakes in?

Write them in the box below then compare with a partner.

My common language mistakes ......

Activity 4.6: Proofreading Snakes and Ladders (Group Work)

As with all areas of language, practice also helps increase your skills. Work in small groups and play a game which involves practising your proofreading skills.

Note: the errors in the game are grammatical ones but in real life it's also important to proofread for consistency of register and appropriate tone.

Editing and Correcting

Introduction to Assessment

Activity 4.7: Follow-up Emails

Introduction

1. In business, a distinction is often drawn between 'transactional' communication (which focuses on the task) and 'interpersonal' communication (which prioritises or focuses on the relationship).Decide whether the following are primarily transactional or interpersonal.

1. So, I think we've got to look at production capacities....
2. Good morning, Colette
3. It was just a pain getting down here.
4. ...you have to send it in writing.
5. I think we should make a start.

2. The terms 'transactional' and 'interpersonal' can also be applied to business culture and practices.Decide whether the following views are more transactional or interpersonal.

1. Long term relationships are valued over quick profit.
2. Relationships in business should begin and end quickly.
3. Business relationships are built up slowly, and based on trust.

4.Business communication and services should be quick, efficient and to the point.

3. Pete Jones' email was not as successful as he had hoped it would be, because it was not interpersonal enough.Look at the following points and discuss which ones you think he should have followed in his email.

1.use the recipient's name to open the email

2.mention the client's visit to the USA

3.make 'small talk' - for example, about the weather

4.thank the recipient for visiting the USA

5.say something about the history of his company

6.state the reputation the company has

7.say something about his company's desire to have good relations with the recipient's country and company

8.request the recipient contact his company.

Dear Mr Liu,

I have recently spoken to my colleague Sid Cowans, who told me about your visit to the United States.I hope that you enjoyed your stay and that your trip home was a comfortable one.I am writing as Mr Cowans has informed me that you have expressed an interest in our products, and would like further information about our company and the products we provide.

Please let me firstly tell you a little about us.We are a fairly large company based in Bloomington, Illinois with over 10 years' experience in selling both livestock and livestock equipment. We have trade relations with more than 45 countries and we have built up a solid reputation and good relationships in the industry as a whole.

4. Look at the example below of a more interpersonal email and see which of the points in exercise 3 the writer follows.

We are very interested in building a relationship with clients in China and would be very keen to hear if any of our products would be of interest to you.I am attaching a product price list and will be happy to answer any questions or queries that you have.

May I thank you again for your interest in our company.We very much look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Tom Whittaker

Activity 4.8: Intercultural Analysis

1.In your culture, which style of communication would be more successful in attracting clients?

2.Do you think cultures can be accurately distinguished according to whether they are more transactional or interpersonal - for instance 'deal oriented' for the USA and 'relationship oriented' for China?

3.Do you think there are any problems with such generalisations?

Assessment: Write Formal Email (PWW: WFE)

Effective workplace writing is a critical skill to develop and one that you will be using on a daily basis in your professions.

In class you have focused on improving the areas of email structure, style and etiquette, and grammar and language usage (transactional vs interpersonal).Developing these areas will be important in creating a good first impression and maintaining your professional reputation with internal and external stakeholders.

Task 1:Plan your email to a potential client. (Class discussion and Q&A)

Read the scenarios below.With a partner, choose one of the following scenarios and discuss:

how formal the email should be

what tone you should adopt - friendly and interpersonal or purely transactional and task-focused

how many paragraphs you should include and what the main message of each paragraph should be

Task 2: Individually, write email response to the scenario you chose to discuss in Task 1 (must be done individually)

Draft an appropriate follow-up email.Refer to the key phrases (Activity 4.4) and examples (Activity 4.7) for guidance.When you have finished your draft, swap with a partner and proofread each other's work.Provide suggestions for improvement. These could be related to: email structure, content, tone, punctuation and language, accuracy.

Task 3: Finalise and submit your email (must be done individually)

Consider your partner's suggestions for improvement, edit and apply changes and re-read your final version checking for consistency of tone and style, clarity of information, structure, grammar and punctuation.Make sure you have an appropriate subject line.Submit this final version by uploading onto eGrad for grading by your trainer.

Subject Review

In this subject we have looked at various aspects of business writing.

We have:

examined the fundamentals of good business writing

reviewed types of business documents, focusing on emails and reports

understood and applied the 'Plan, Write, Complete' writing model

identified the target reader and selected the appropriate formality, register and tone

practised grammatical accuracy and broadened professional vocabulary

References

Allison, J, Emmerson, P, Hird, et al (2010) In Company Upper-Intermediate Teacher's Book, 2nd edition, Macmillan Education, Oxford UK.

Brook-Hart, G (2007) Business Benchmark Advanced Student's Book.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK.

Brook-Hart, G (2007) Business Benchmark Advanced Higher Teacher's Resource Book.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK.

Case, A (2002) Email Vocabulary and Collocations.Retrieved from www.usingenglish.com

Case, A (2014) Common Emailing Phrases.Retrieved from www.usingenglish.com

Cotton, D, Falvey, D & Kent, S (2011) Upper Intermediate Market Leader Business English Course Book (3rd edition), Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, UK

Dwyer, J (2012) The Business Communication Handbook, 9th edition, Pearson Education Australia,

Dwyer, J (2014) The Business Communication Handbook, 10th edition, Cengage Learning Australia,

Emmerson, P. (2009) Business Vocabulary Builder: the words and phrases you need to succeed. Macmillan Education, Oxford.

Emmerson, P (2013) Email English, 2nd edition, Macmillan Education, London.

Gairns, R. & Redman, S. (2009).Oxford Word Skills Advanced.Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Lisboa, M & Handford, M. (2012) Business Advantage Student's Book Advanced, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK

Powell, M. (2010) In Company Upper-Intermediate Student's Book (2nd Ed).Macmillan Education, Oxford.

Swan, M. (2006) Chunks in the Classroom: Let's not go overboard. The Teacher Trainer 20/3 retrieved from: http://www.mikeswan.co.uk/elt-applied-linguistics/chunks-in-the-classroom.htm

West, C. (2009) Recycling Advanced English (3rd Ed).Georgian Press: Jersey.