A Word on Email

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Del curso dictado por University of Colorado Boulder

Business Writing

603 calificaciones

University of Colorado Boulder

Business Writing

603 calificaciones

Curso 1 de 4 en SpecializationEffective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation

Writing well is one of the most important skills you can learn for success in the business world. Knowing how to write well allows you to deliver your ideas with the power they deserve. Good writing also conveys a sense of your professional excellence to the world around you. In this course, you'll master the simple, effective skills that drive all successful business writing. You'll create impactful documents that not only showcase your ideas, but showcase your own professionalism to your audience. The principles you learn in this course enable you to become a great business writer. They also provide the foundation for moving into Graphic Design and Successful Presentation, so that you can unleash your best professional self whenever--and however--you present your ideas in the workplace.

De la lección

Activate Your Voice!

So, you've started to write a document . . . Module Four takes you beyond the scaffold and good grammar to provide you with specific tips that will elevate your language, infuse your writing with clarity, and amp up your ability to communicate your ideas effectively. Every lesson in this module is based on the principles you learned in Module One, and they form a checklist of techniques that you can apply to any business document to insure your ideas shine on the page. Short videos on emails and longer documents give you simple techniques for applying the lessons of this course to a broad range of your work.

A Word on Email3:26

Long Documents, in Brief2:51

In Conclusion4:40

Time to Design: Dave Takes the Memo1:47

Conoce a los instructores

Dr. Quentin McAndrew
Instructor
Department of English, University of Colorado Boulder

So what I've been talking about the basic principles and

techniques that you need for good writing, and my promise is that these techniques

apply to any business document that you want to create, right?

But in the case of emails, emails are a little bit different.

I mean, there are a couple more things that you need to consider when you're

writing an email.

First of all, they're a little more informal than, say,

a memo, and second of all, emails have gotta be short.

>> Yeah, long emails.

I'm reminded of a quote from Blaise Pascal,

who said, If I had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter.

>> That's perfect.

Yeah, that [INAUDIBLE] Mark Twain.

Mark Twain said something very similar.

But that's so important.

if I had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter.

So the point of that is when you're writing an email, if that email is long,

you're really telling your audience, I didn't have time for you.

>> Yeah. >> I didn't have time for you.

>> That's exactly right.

>> You have time for me.

And the thing with email, too, is that when you get an email,

it appears on your computer, and then you read it in your head, in your own voice.

So emails have this kind of inner psychological effect.

Even though we read thousands of emails a day, and we work through them,

it's still in your head.

So to me, the first thing is it's really important to be nice.

And that's what you said, and when I write an email, I always revise it.

Even it's a very simple stupid note, I always revise it.

I get at my point, I make my point to short as I can, but

then I insert above that something nice like, so good to hear from you, Dave.

>> [LAUGH].

>> At least that, right?

Hope the kids are doing well, and then, I revise down my points, because I'm telling

you I have time, I'm taking the time for you, Dave, to write something short.

>> To make my day a little easier.

>> To make your day a little easier.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> When I was Chair at the English Department, I had a rule.

No five sentence emails, everything had to be two or three sentences.

And if it were five sentences, come in my office and tell me what's up,

because email gets in your head.

If it's at all offensive, you're stuck on it all day.

[INAUDIBLE].

>> [LAUGH] >> And

if it's really long, you're just telling me things.

You're not giving me time to react.

So your rules are right, your rules are right there, I agree.

>> Well, and as you're talking,

too, I think about that idea of you're always starting with something positive.

Even when your email is flat, let's say, and doesn't have any emotion, it's so

easy to read negative emotions into it.

And so if you began with the positive statement at the beginning,

you set the emotional term for the whole image.

>> I agree, so the salutation in an email is important.

Dear tells you that this is a little more formal, because it's dear.

But hi, exclamation point, at least in your mind, when you read that,

is a little more formal, and it tells you this is at least beginning more friendly,

whatever it may turn out to be, right?

>> [LAUGH].

>> I always felt I could be very firm in saying no, but I could always end with,

best of luck with your project.

>> That's good, too.

>> That's [INAUDIBLE].

Or another thing in the email that's useful is if you can hand off to anyone

like, no, however, maybe William can help with this issue.

Best of luck with your project.

>> And he loves long emails.

>> [LAUGHTER]

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