Business Writing: E-mails-------

11th October, 2016

Introduce your partnerWhat’s his/her name?Job titleHow long has he/she been working for ------?What did he/she study in university?Tell us something that nobody else knows about him/her.

ObjectivesBy the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

understand the differences between formal, informal and neutral e-mails

build well-organized e-mails, convey your message fully and effectively.

Warm-upHow often do you write business e-mails?What do you pay attention to while writing e-mails?What are the difficulties you face?What do you find easy to write?Which counties do you send e-mails to?

* Cross-cultural differences?

What type of e-mail do you write?

Do you write

InformalFormalNeutral

e-mails?

Brainstorming

In your groups you have 3 minutes to write down as many conjunctions as you can.

The Structure of an E-mail

Opening

Body

Closing

E-mail Style

Group work…

Informal-Formal-NeutralCould is used more often in formal language than can.

In formal language, more formal synonyms are used, e.g. require,

receive, assure, contact, further instead of need, get, promise, get in

touch, more.

Phrasal verbs, e.g. put off, think about, etc. are more common to

informal and neutral email language.

Informal-Formal-Neutral Contractions (I'm, you're, won't etc.) are used less often in formal

language. Formal language uses full forms (I am, you are, will not,

etc)

Abbreviations, e.g. info, ad, etc. are appropriate for informal

language. Formal language uses full words, e.g. information,

advertisement, etc.

In formal language, more formal forms of address are used, e.g.

Dear sir or madam, Dear Mr Smith.

Building EmailsGroup work…

Write 1 formal, 1 informal and 1 neutral email.

Writing E-mails1. Be concise and to the point. Avoid long emails that are

discouraging to read.2. Try to reply to your customers' emails within 24 hours.3. Do not write in CAPITALS - it seems like you are shouting

and you might get a flame mail in response.4. Leave the message thread in your email to save the

recipient time and frustration looking for earlier messages.

5. Add disclaimers to your emails to protect you and your company from liability.

Writing E-mails6. Proof-read your email before you send it.7. Only copy in other people if they know why they are

receiving a copy of the message.8. Do not overuse abbreviations and emoticons - the

recipient might not know what they mean.9. Do not request read receipts - this will annoy your

recipient.10. Do not reply to spam - this will generate even more

spam.

Formal1. You spoke to your supplier on the phone about changing the terms of

delivery. Write an email to her confirming that you would like 20 days instead of 30 days.

2. Respond to a customer complaint about one of your products/services.

3. You are considering changing your supplier. Write an email to a potential supplier enquiring about the price and discount policy.

4. You want to arrange a meeting with a colleague from another branch. You attach a map showing where exactly your office is located.

5. You are interested in applying for a job advertised in an English language magazine, and you want to know more details.

Informal1. You will not be able to attend the New Year’s party in the office.

Write an e-mail to your colleagues.2. You spoke to a colleague from another branch on the phone. He is

going to visit your office tomorrow. Write him an email to confirm when you will be available to see him and when you are leaving the office.

3. Your friend wants to know about some local places to visit in your town. Write him an email.

4. You are going to an interesting party/exhibition. Write your friend an email to invite her.

5. You call a colleague to give her some information she wanted, but you are unable to make contact. Write to her instead and mention this in your email.

SummaryNow you should be able to:

understand the differences between formal, informal and neutral e-mails

build well-organized e-mails, convey your message fully and effectively.

The End

Group 1Your name is Ben Graff. Write to Jean, your

team leader. You need her to comment on a

monthly sales report you had sent her.To: From: Subject:

Group 2Your name is Jean. Reply to Ben. He needs to make some changes in the report (missing figures / factual mistakes). He has 2 days to do it.To: From: Subject:

Group 3Your name is Angela Landis. Write to John Zygadlo at SanCor, your client. You want to

know whether they received the latest shipment of your product and Whether the invoice has been signed and sent.To:From:Subject:

Group 4Your name is John Zygadlo. Reply to Angela Landis. You have received the shipment, but there was a problem (missing boxes) so you can’t send the invoice.To:From:Subject:

ExtrasUsing English: Emailing preposition