What are the skills to write an English email to your boss?
If you really want others to understand what you mean, you must understand each other's mentality? Re-send the email.
Here are seven suggestions to help you write a good email, which I have summarized from my 25 years of experience as a strategic consultant. These seven tips have one thing in common, that is, they all pay great attention to reading the reader's psychology. Why is this so important? After receiving your email, the other party will immediately sort and classify your email in their mind, and it is likely to fall into those bad categories, such as:? Ignore and classify as spam? 、? Read it later? 、? Read now, but do not take action? Wait a minute. Obviously, what you expect is that the other party will classify your email as? Now look, do it now? .
Under you? I will find seven tips to help you become a better email writer, which I have summarized from my 25 years of work? Experience as a strategic consultant. What these seven techniques have in common is that they all pay attention to the reader's psychology. Why is this important? Once a reader receives an article, he will mentally classify it into one of several categories, which may be fatal: Ignore and abandon, read later, read now, but no action. ? Obviously, you want your readers to put your articles on. Read and act now? Slot.
If you want your readers to respond positively, it will help to know a little about social psychology and behavioral economics. Specifically, there are two books worth reading about some basic knowledge in these two fields. The first one is Robert? Hitty's Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, which makes a psychological analysis of obedience, that is, what factors can make a person agree with others' demands; The other one was written by Richard? Richard thaler and cam. Nudge, co-authored by Cass Sunstein, analyzes various systems to help people improve their abilities and make more favorable choices for themselves. Although these two books themselves do not involve business writing, they contain some very practical related theories. On the basis of these theories, I have summarized the following suggestions, which are different from those common business writing skills you have learned elsewhere, such as? Avoid using the passive voice? 、? Avoid using industry terms and abbreviations? 、? The length and structure of the conversion statement? And so on, will complement each other.
In order to make your readers respond positively, it is helpful to know a little about social psychology and behavioral economics. Specifically, two great works provide a good knowledge base for these fields. The first one is Robert Cialdini? Influence: Persuasion psychology, study obedience psychology, that is, the factors that lead one person to agree with another. The second is richard thaler? S and cass sunstein? SNudge studied the system to help people improve their choice ability, and these choices will make them live better. And these books? Do not deal with business writing itself, they contain relevant and applicable opinions. You will find that these tips are complementary to the technical tips about business writing you find elsewhere, such as? Avoid passive voice, jargon and abbreviations. And then what? Change the length and structure of sentences. ?
Skills of writing English emails to your boss 1
Think about when and where your boss will read your email. In today's fast-paced era, high-speed communication based on byte information can be realized anytime and anywhere. So after writing an email, you may be tempted to send it to the other party immediately, which is also easy to achieve. However, please consider when and where the other party will receive your email. For example, if you want to send an email to your boss and apply for a two-month holiday, then Friday night is not a good time. At this point, your boss is trapped in a crowded airport, waiting for the late flight to take him home; Prior to this, he had just had three days of intense negotiations with trade union representatives, and the result ended in discord. Your application for leave may be well-founded and well-worded, but you might as well wait a little longer so that your email can reach your boss's inbox at a better time and place.
Consider when and where your boss reads your messages. Today? In this fast-paced world of instant, ubiquitous and byte-level communication, it is easy and tempting to send an article to your target readers as soon as you finish writing it. But think about when and where he will receive your message. For example, when your boss is waiting for a delayed return flight at a crowded airport after three days of tense and unsuccessful negotiations with union representatives, it may not be a good idea to mail him a two-month leave application on a Friday night. Your request may be completely reasonable and eloquent, but what about you? You'd better wait for a more auspicious time and place to land on your boss? Inbox', event) "> Inbox.
Skills of writing English email to the boss II
Use topic clues to make emails more conspicuous in your inbox. Business people are very busy, so they can't spend too much time making decisions. Therefore, they often subconsciously make decisions based on past experience or just a written clue presented to them. The first thing is to draw up a title for the email, which is not difficult to do. Headlines should make readers feel that this is an opportunity and will be beneficial, rather than asking them to do something difficult or ask them for help. For example, you want to write an e-mail and invite others to participate in benchmark training, if the title contains something like? Study? This will make people produce? How to improve performance? A disturbing association. A more advanced skill is to close the psychological distance between email readers and you, such as mentioning the same hobbies or praising each other. Of course, this practice will go astray if you are not careful: you don't want to mislead, deceive or manipulate readers; I just want to persuade, persuade and urge them to make a decision.
Stand out from the crowd in the inbox', event)" & gt；; Inbox. Busy as businessmen are, they can't think about every decision they have to make for too long. They often make quite automatic decisions based on past experience or just a written clue provided to them. It starts with simple things, such as the title of the email: it should convey opportunities and benefits to the reader, not his efforts and goodwill. For example, when you write an email asking to participate in a benchmark exercise, what is the title? Study? May cause more terrible associations. How to improve performance? ? More importantly, make your readers like you, for example, by mentioning common interests or flattering him. Of course it's you? You are walking a tightrope: you don't know? I don't want to mislead, deceive or manipulate your readers; You just want to persuade, persuade and promote.
Skills of writing English email to the boss 3
Personalized information. Sometimes, you need to send the same text to multiple readers. For example, when you need to get data from multiple colleagues to build a business case. You can send the same request in groups, or send requests separately for different readers. Although mass sending is efficient at first glance, it also makes you face the experience? Bystander effect? Risk. First of all, everyone thinks that others will respond, so they do nothing. Secondly, everyone is waiting for others' response to judge whether this request is really that serious or important. If you spend some time personalizing information, you may get a higher response rate. Of course, this is not just a scrawled look up? Hello, everyone? Replace with? Susan, how are you? It's about the details.
Personalize your information. In some cases, you have to send basically the same text to several readers. For example, you need data from several colleagues to build a business case. You can broadcast standard requests or send personalized requests separately. Although broadcasting may be more efficient for you at first, you may encounter the so-called bystander effect. First of all, everyone thinks that others will react, so they won't take any action. Second, everyone is waiting for others' responses to determine whether this request is really that important. If you spend some time personalizing your information, you may get a higher response rate. Of course, a little more sophisticated and lazy than simple replacement? Dear team? By who? Dear Susie? .
Tips for writing English emails to your boss 4
Pay attention to the mysterious readers under the stage. Any good business writing guide will tell you that you must consider the different readers who receive your news. For example, if you are writing an M&A target evaluation report, the company's CEO, board of directors and investment bankers may read the report, and you know that their needs are different. What is more difficult to deal with is the mysterious reader, the reader you know nothing about. For example, one of your target readers may (unintentionally) forward a message to someone you think should not read it. Please remember Murphy's law online version: Things that can go wrong will always go wrong. ? Another example is to act as a personal assistant to the sentry between you and the target manager. These people will browse and filter all the letters. In this case, you can write an email as the cover and let the assistant handle it. Don't forget, a document may be stored for a long time, and it may take several years for it to be read by people who don't know why, so it may be misunderstood. Therefore, we should fully consider the existence of mysterious readers and how to deal with them.
Beware of the mysterious readers in your audience. Every business writing guide worthy of the name will tell you that you must consider the different readers your article is aimed at. For example, if you? If you are writing an evaluation report on the acquisition target, do you know your CEO and your company? American board of directors and their investment bankers, each with different needs, may read it. More difficult is the mystery reader? Is that what you are wearing? I don't know. For example, one of your target readers may (unintentionally) forward your text to someone who should be the last to read it in your opinion. Remember the online version of Murphy? What is the infamous law? Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. ? Another example is the personal assistant, who is the sentry between you and your target executives, scanning and filtering all incoming emails. In this case, you can write a cover letter and ask her to take action first. Where's don? Don't forget that a document may have a long shelf life, and after a few years, it will be read by people who don't know its original content, which may misunderstand it. So, think carefully about mysterious readers and how you should deal with them.
Skills of writing English email to the boss
Shut up, asshole. Of course, most readers are not stupid. They know that content is more important than format, and beautiful format (clean composition module, beautiful typesetting, page number, etc. ) cannot guarantee the quality of the content. However, they often subconsciously infer that if the author doesn't even care about the format, he probably won't pay attention to the quality of the content. Paying attention to format quality can also make the so-called? Picky? Shut up. We are all familiar with this kind of people: when they attend the presentation, they will immediately turn to the page with the pie chart and check whether all the percentages add up to 100%. Although these nitpickers will neither be fatal nor add value, don't let them easily seize the handle of your email report and distract readers from the real information.
Kill mosquitoes. Of course, most of your readers are not fools. They know that content is more important than form, an attractive form (clear building blocks, attractive layout, page numbers, etc. ) does not guarantee the quality of the content. However, they often reason unconsciously if the author doesn't? He doesn't even care about the quality of form. Probably he doesn't? And don't worry about the quality of the content. The appearance quality also neutralizes the so-called mosquitoes. We are all familiar with them: the participants in the demonstration will immediately turn to the page with the pie chart, and check that the percentage adds up to exactly 100. Although these picky people are neither fatal nor value-added, don? Don't let them criticize your email presentation easily and distract your audience from your real message.
Skills of writing English email to the boss 6
Make it easy to reply to your email. Evaluating the quality of a pudding depends on the taste, while testing the quality of writing depends on the reader's reaction. Remember, not replying is often a more convenient choice. Although it is difficult for you to force readers to respond, at least you can stimulate them. To this end, from the first sentence, you should indicate your intention, explain why you wrote this email, and what kind of response you hope the other party will make. Business letters should not be like mystery novels. Finally, it is necessary to provide readers with default options to facilitate their response. For example, you can write:? If you don't reply before Monday, I will take it that you agree with my suggestion. ? Of course, if the recipient of the email is your immediate superior, this is very difficult to do. The default option is powerful, because people are often reluctant to spend too much energy to make other choices. It is often difficult for people to say no to the default options, especially when you point out that the options you provide are normal or even recommended by others. If the default option is not easy to think of, you can clearly indicate to readers that you expect a reply, and ask them to tell them their plans, as well as the relevant time and method. It helps to just ask people about their plans.
Make it easy to reply to your message. If the taste of pudding is obtained in the process of eating, then the taste of your writing is obtained in your readers? The response. But remember, not responding is usually a more convenient choice. It's hard to force a response, but at least you can urge it. First of all, almost from the first sentence, it is necessary to clarify why you want to write to the reader and what expectations do you have for her? Commercial texts should not be mystery novels. When you write at the end, give the reader a default option so that she can answer easily. For example, you can include in your email: Unless I receive your letter before Monday, I will think you agree with my suggestion. ? If your reader is your boss, this may be difficult to do. The default is powerful, because people usually don't want to spend too much energy to think of other options. If you imply that your choice is normal or even recommended, then choosing the default option is particularly irresistible. If there is no simple default option, you can clearly tell your readers that you expect a response, and you can ask them to let you know what they plan to do, when and how. The fact that people are asked what they are going to do is itself a driving force.
Skills of writing English email to the boss
Repeatedly revised. There is no way to be lazy. It takes time and energy to write an excellent email. Think about Thomas? Edison's favorite motto:? Most people miss the opportunity because it looks like work in overalls. ? Only by taking the time to improve the quality of mail can we get rewards and win opportunities. Just press the send button, and your readers may notice, see, understand and take action.
Work on your article over and over again. There's nowhere to run. Writing a high-quality article requires hard work, so it takes time. Think about Thomas Edison? The most popular motto:? The opportunity is missed by most people because it looks like work in overalls. ? This opportunity is related to the reward you may get by spending a little more time on improving the quality of your article. Your audience is likely to notice, read and understand your message, and take action after pressing the send button only once.
In a word, email writers should design their emails as carefully as designers. A good business email writer is neither an artist nor an engineer; He is a designer, who can foresee people's needs or ideas, and then elaborate an appropriate email accordingly. Using this method, you may get the response you want.
In a word, a writer should act like a designer. A good business writer is neither an artist nor an engineer. He is a designer, imagining people's needs or ideas, and then making an appropriate email. By following this method, you are likely to. I will get the response you want.
Herman. Vantrappen is the managing director of Akordeon, a Brussels-based strategic consulting firm, and the author of Executive Action.
Herman Vantrappen is the managing director of Akordeon, a Brussels-based strategic consulting firm, and the author of "Implementing Action".
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