5 Business Email Habits You Should Break Right Now

1. Vague or out-of-date subject lines

Subject lines like ‘Hello’ or ‘Enquiry’ are not appropriate. If you want your reader to open an email, tell him what it’s about. Don’t leave your reader guessing by using ambiguous subject lines. Similarly, avoid using old subject lines. If your lunch date with a coworker is over, don’t keep using the same thread. Make a new email thread or simply change the subject line to something more relevant to both of you.

2. Abbreviations or Acronyms

Not only are they unprofessional, but abbreviations and acronyms may cause confusion or misunderstanding. Not everyone thinks FYA stands for “for your action”! Consider your reader and spell out the words instead.

3. Writing in a Single Long Paragraph

Nothing is more disheartening than opening an email to find only one very long paragraph. It’s difficult to read and makes it difficult for your reader to focus and pick out the key points.

Leave a blank line between paragraphs and begin a new paragraph every three to four lines to make your message more reader-friendly.

4. Sending Ambiguous Messages

It’s a good idea to plan your message before you start typing – think about the flow from opening to details to action and then to closing. When you’re finished, go over it again and ask yourself these four quick questions:

Have you included all of the necessary information?
Can you get rid of any redundancies?
Is the information flowing freely?
Is the action stated clearly?

5. Sending Messaging That Is Simply Unprofessional

If your email contains no clear goals, misspelled words, long-winded sentences, and you never bothered to double-check it before hitting send, you can bet it will be discarded.

I hope you will resolve to work on improving your and your company’s email presence. Structure your messages logically by beginning with an introduction or some backstory (Thank you for your call, for example), then adding details, telling the reader what action you want, and concluding with an appropriate close.

The bottom line in all email communication is this: what you write and how you write it will influence how others perceive you and your organization, so it’s critical to help yourself and respect your reader by using email appropriately.