In part I of emailing like a boss, I provided a checklist with the correct structure to slay all of your professional emails. In part II, I discussed how to tweak your content to suit you reader, be it a colleague, employee, boss, or client/customer.
Understanding your reader is essential to getting an effective response. You wouldn’t talk to your sister in the same way you talk to your father. That’s foolishness, especially in an African household.
This same principle applies to your email. Knowing your reader is important as it establishes their position and affects the tone of your message. Let’s dissect workplace roles and how to tailor your email for each one.
Colleagues: Teamwork makes the dream work
Be a great team player, do your part, and communicate in a productive manner. Find ways to personalize each message even when sending generic emails. This way, you aren’t victim to the bystander effect, where no one responds because everyone got the email.
Communicate to everyone one individually. Be open, driven, and progressive towards an equal compromise .
Employees: People want to be led by a visionary
A person with a clear vision and passion for success is the best person to work for. Whether you know this or not, people choose to work for you because they believe your vision can and will get them paid.
If that isn’t trust, I don’t know what is. Try using words that indicate appreciation and urgency to get a task done.
Upper Management, ie. Boss: Busy, Busy, Busy!
One vital thing to know about the lives of your boss and upper management is that they are far too busy taking care of the company to waste time reading emails that beat around the bush. In fact, you have the subject line to capture their attention.
As an employee sending an email to upper management, your email has to be exceptionally purposeful, brief, and relevant. Every word and sentence counts so no need to repeat or go too far with descriptions (unless that is the task at hand). You can find seven fabulous tips to help you send emails to your boss here.
Remember, potential employers are even busier than the management you work for. Why? Because they do not know you. So give them a reason to want to know you.
Clients / Customers: Great customer service leads to profit
Let’s face it, we love our customers because we exist to cater to them. And this catering comes with a price: communicating personally with a clear purpose is key to sustaining and building your brand loyalty. Always use positive framing. Listen and respond to your customers in a timely fashion.
Give your customers what they want, which is to be understood. Acknowledge their comment and respond directly to their words. Because remember, a business is nothing without its customers.
Have you used any other tips to save you from the proverbial African disgrace when writing email? If so, feel free to share them with us.