Chapter 10
MAKING THE MOST OF E-MAIL
Chapter overview
This chapter gives practical advice to students on how to use e-mail in a business-like way. It has
four suggestions.
Brief outline of the chapter
I. Be brief. Readers of e-mail are usually ready to delete your message—so get to the point
right away. Craft the subject line and first line of your e-mail. These are the parts virtually
every reader will read.
II. Be careful with your tone. E-mail has replaced not only memos but phone calls as well.
Writing can come across as more blunt in tone than you probably intend unless you adopt
some of the techniques of spoken conversation—such as some “polite noise.”
III. Remember you’re creating a public document. E-mail is easy for your reader to duplicate,
so be careful what you send.
IV. Watch your spelling and grammar. Too many people are sloppy with their e-mail, yet, in
business, e-mail is a “business” tool. It deserves more care than some people give it.
V. Exercises.
General comments
E-mail is a way of life for most of us now. I try to make my students feel they need to do a good
job with the e-mail they send as part of my class.
Notes on the exercises