Every week managers tell me how the quality of emails at work is deteriorating. What upsets them most is the increasingly casual writing style and ‘text talk’ in business emails. So if you want to work your way up the corporate ladder, generally get on better with your boss and (most importantly) achieve better results from your emails, take care writing your business emails.
Why do managers think the quality of email writing at work deteriorated?
Perhaps it’s because our society has generally become less formal. Perhaps it’s a symptom of a faster paced life where time is at a premium driving us to cut corners. Unfortunately, this lack of due diligence can cost your organisation money as well as damage their reputation.
It’s true that business writing these days tends to be more concise. This is a good thing – clear writing that gets to the point is definitely more effective than convoluted, complex, bureaucratic writing. It’s important to remember that although emails may seem a casual form of communication, they are a potentially permanent record that represents you and your organisation.
Is careless writing letting you down?
Emails full of text-type abbreviations and sloppy errors, such as ‘i rec’d UR email.thx.’ will simply not go down well at work. Many readers will find this style of writing sloppy, disrespectful and uneducated. Others simply won’t understand what you’re saying.
Sloppy emails take longer to decipher. If an email is too difficult to read as a result of lack of punctuation and paragraphing, and multiple abbreviations, the reader is likely to give up after the first sentence. Either way, the email has wasted time – your time writing an ineffective email as well as your reader’s time. All this time wasting can cost your organisation money. The lack of care to get the email right can even damage your personal as well as your organisation’s reputation.
Emails full of grammatical and other errors also gives the impression that your organisation doesn’t pay attention to detail. This can cause your reader to lose confidence in your ability to provide a quality service or product and you could lose a prospective customer or client. In short, sloppy emails cost money.
Make every word count
So take pride in your emails and make every word count. Show respect to your reader by writing your emails carefully using standard English and correct punctuation, not text type. Re-read your email at least once and do a spell check before you hit ‘send’. I promise you, this small amount of effort will reap enormous benefits.
Need to improve your writing skills? Contact Concise Writing Consultancy today on 02 9238 6638.