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Professional Email Writing Tips for Non-native Speakers

Saturday, November 17, 2018 by Michael Rincon | Business

 

 

 

Today, we are going to learn some quick tips improve your process for writing e-mails in American workplace environments. Specifically, I want to talk about the culture, the business etiquette. I want to talk about the behavior I have seen from many non-native English speakers.

 
Why is this important?

E-mail is one of the main forms of communication used in the workplace, and everyone is judging you based on your e-mail practices. And when it comes to building a successful career or business, how people perceive you matters.

 

If you do not handle your communication practices correctly, you are going to turn people off, and you will never know about it, you just won’t be invited for an interview, or they will avoid you at work and reach out to another co-worker or to your boss because you are difficult to work with.

 

So let's get started:

 

Tip #1: You don’t need to respond to every single e-mail.

 

I’m willing to bet you have spent time and effort writing e-mails, feeling anxiety and worrying about how they might respond. Only to never get a response.

 

Sending a response to e-mails that don't require it makes people think you don’t know what you are doing, its informal and unprofessional.

 

Some common examples of when you do not need to respond to an e-mail:

 

  • Any sort of polite greetings or comments such as “How are you?” or “Thank you.”
  • Any sort of FYI e-mail. Like if your boss is saying he is working from home.

 

How do you know if you should respond? Some things to look for:

 

  • Look for a call-to-action. Some phrases include
    • “Let me know when this is completed.”
    •  “Please confirm receipt of this e-mail.”
    • Usually, it’s a formal question such as "Do you know where I can find this information?"
  • Is the e-mail addressed to you, or is it addressed to someone else?
    • If it is not addressed to you in any fashion, then you probably should not respond unless someone asks you to.

 

Tip #2: Don’t get personal or emotional

 

It's very easy for things to get misinterpreted over e-mail. What might seem okay to you, can be considered rude to someone else.  

 

General rules:

 

  • Consider your tonality and avoid accusations.  
    • "You did not send us payment” vs “We have not received payment” – can you see the tonality difference?
  • Use proper format and grammar, as many professionals in America feel it is lazy if you write your e-mails in broken English.
    • They will think you are being sloppy.

 

If this is a problem, it might be a good idea to get help. Find someone who can review your writing and provide feedback and lessons to improve your English composition and knowledge.


If you are interested in learning more about one on one customized business English lessons, visit our home page with this link.


Another reason I stress not to get personal or emotional in your e-mails is to minimize the risk of romantic misinterpretation. There are plenty of stories about women who try to network for their careers but sometimes the guys get the message that its a date.


Whenever you send an e-mail, the reason you are intending it should be clear, and obviously work-related.


To avoid any misinterpretations, stick to keywords and phrases to focus on your intention.

  •  “I totally understand. That was not my intent. This is strictly professional. I just wanted to talk you about these goals” and then move on.
    • "I wanted to learn more about your career path. For example, what kind of projects do you have? What skills are most important in your career?”

Tip #3 Create templates.

Templates allow you to repeat something over and over with minimal adjustments. If done right, it also looks professional. You treat everyone the same.

 

Here is one example you can use:

 

Email Template for Asking for Information

 

Subject line: I need Information about [area and a short description of information]

 

“Hello [Name of recipient],

 

Do you have any information on [be specific about the information you need]? In particular, I am interested in [list any key areas where you need particular info].

 

I have the following questions [list key questions] and I have already used the following resources to try and answer them [list resources].

 

Please send me the information and let me know if you can answer these questions.

 

Thanks,

 

[Your Name].”

 

Notice the call to action at the end?

 

Tip #4 Stay focused on your goal

It's very easy to go off topic and mention details that are not important.

  • Think about why you are writing this e-mail, who is it for.
    • Does this person need this information?
    • Who needs to be copied on the e-mail?
  • Make sure that everything in the e-mail is necessary.
    • Keep it as simple as possible.
    • Make sure you have the correct attachments and that any hyperlinks you have inserted are working properly.
  • Provide a clear call-to-action if you expect something from them.
    •  An example would be to say "Can you please let me know when this will be completed?"

 

Recap

We talked about why professional e-mail writing is important and I shared four tips to improve your e-mails.

 

Homework

Go through your e-mails and think about if any of these apply to you and how can you adjust.

Write a comment or send me an e-mail. If you have experiences like these I would love to hear them.

If I can help you in any way I'd be happy to do it.


Best Regards,

Michael Rincon

Michael@Michaelsbusinessenglish.com