英文本 商务邮件写作

Setting the tone

When you are writing a business email, it is important to consider the overall tone you are going to use. Using the wrong tone can lead your reader not to take the message seriously. Even worse, it could cause offense. You should always write business emails in a polite manner but your tone can be more or less formal depending on three main factors, let's take a look at them. 

The first thing you need to consider is how well you know the person you're emailing. For emails to people you've never met, you should use a more formal tone, messages to people whom you don't know very well should also be relatively formal. An informal tone is generally only appropriate for recipients you know well. However, even in this case, you should take the next two factors into account. 

The second factor to think about is your relationship to the recipient. If you are writing to someone who is your superior or who is in a position of authority, a formal tone is generally more appropriate. A less formal tone is usually acceptable with colleagues who have similar status as well as coworkers who report to you though there is one final factor to keep in mind when deciding what kind of tone to use. 

The third and possibly most important factor to consider is the purpose of the email. If the email is about something very serious or important, a formal tone is the way to go. No matter how well you know someone or what your relationship to them is, an email about an important issue calls for an appropriately formal tone because it will help the reader to understand the seriousness. An email about a serious topic like budget cuts, staffing changes, or financial problems written in an informal tone will not be well received and could cause considerable anger or offense. 

On the other hand, an email about something less important such as the planning of a company's social event for example, should be written more informally. If the tone is too formal in this type of message, the email will seem a bit ridiculous. So, now that we know which factors to take into account when choosing whether to use a formal or informal tone, let's take a look at what makes the tone of an email formal. Here are a few basic points to keep in mind; with formal writing, you should limit the use of contractions, so write do not instead of don't, and we are rather than we're. 

Similarly, avoid using abbreviations. Abbreviations are really only acceptable in a formal email if they're universally used in your industry and will be understood by all recipients. Any abbreviations used should also be related to your industry. The standard abbreviations used to shorten messages which will be covered later in this course are not appropriate to use in a formal message. When writing a formal email, you should also generally aim to avoid idiomatic language and phrasal verbs.

 So, we have a problem is more appropriate than we are in hot water and we're going to meet in conference room B is preferable to we'll get together in B. In addition, formal emails require the use of certain greetings and closings. In an informal business email, you can feel free to use contractions and abbreviations within reason. You still want to be as clear as possible so make sure that the abbreviations are ones that everyone will understand. Idioms and phrasal verbs are also acceptable. The main thing to remember is that even if the message is informal, it should still be clear and polite.

The subject line

Selecting transcript lines in this section will navigate to timestamp in the video- [Narrator] Studies have found that the average office worker receives over 100 emails every day. Think about your own inbox. When you have lots of messages waiting for you, how do you decide which ones to pay attention to first? If you're like most people, you probably look at the subject lines as a guide. If you want your email to receive the attention it deserves, you need to write an appropriate subject line. Whatever you do, don't skip this step because your email may be ignored. Of course, what you write in your subject line will depend on the purpose of the email, but there are some guidelines that you should follow. 

Keep in mind that only a limited number of characters will appear on the screen when your recipient looks at his or her inbox. This is especially true if the recipient is checking emails on a cell phone. This means that it is important to try and summarize the main point of your message in as few words as possible. Here are some tips to help you do just that. First, don't use a lot of filler words in the subject line because they will appear in the message itself. Most of the words should help describe the content of the email. So for example, you can often eliminate prepositions and articles in the subject line. Instead of writing, Meeting about the rail project, you can write, Rail project meeting, and a subject line like Retirement planning workshop next week is more efficient than, We will be offering a retirement planning workshop next week. 

Second, if there is a deadline or a specific date involved, include it in the subject line. For example, Rail project meeting September 12th, or, Travel agent's conference May 3rd, 2022. Having the dates in the subject line will encourage the recipient to open the email for the details and add the information to his or her calendar. Also, if you need a reply by a certain date, include that in your subject line to ensure that you get it. For example, New project team: reply needed by August 12th, or Account incident: immediate response needed. 

Third, if the email relates to a specific person, include the person's name in the subject line. This applies to emails that discuss that person, such as Barbara Gonzales performance review, and also to emails you send on a person's recommendation. For example, Application for Head of Quality Assurance referred by Martha Jane. Including the names will help draw more attention to your message. If you need a reply urgently or the recipient must take some other action, you should write that in the subject line. 

For example, Team meeting follow up: reply needed, or Emergency contacts: action required. On the other hand, if you don't need an answer, it's also a good idea to say so in the subject line. So you can write something like, Accounting meeting notes: please read. Berlin trade fair: no reply necessary. Or, New printing policy: for your information. Finally, when you rate a subject line, there are a few things to avoid. One is using all capital letters. While it might seem like a good way to emphasize something, the reader will get the impression that you are shouting at him or her. 

All capital letters can also make the message seem like junk mail or spam. The same is true for excessive punctuation, such as multiple question marks or exclamation points. Using lots of exclamation points will not make your message seem urgent. It will make it seem less serious. The subject line of your email may make the difference between your message being read or ignored. If you follow the guidelines described here, you can be sure that your recipient will pay attention to your email.

Greetings: The opening line

Your recipient has opened your email and is ready to read it. Now, it is important that the opening line of the message is appropriate for the situation and the person reading. The appropriate greeting depends on whether you know the person or people you are addressing or not, as well as their positions. The first thing to remember is that it is always best to address your recipient by name. If you are applying for a job, for example, and the name of the hiring manager or your potential boss does not appear in the announcement, do some internet research to try and find the person's name. Addressing the person by name makes it more likely that he or she will take your message seriously, and it will show your resourcefulness in finding the information. 

You should also try and determine what title your recipient prefers to use. Mr. Ms, or Dr., for example. If you are writing a formal email, the most appropriate greeting is "Dear" with the person's preferred title and their last name. So, "Dear Mr. Jones," "Dear Ms. Patel," or "Dear Dr. Jackson." When writing to a woman, use "Ms.", unless you know for a fact that she prefers to be addressed as Mrs. If she has a doctorate, of course, you should address her as "Dr." If you are not sure of the gender of the person you're writing to, simply write "Dear 'first name, last name.'" So, "Dear Jordan Ames," to avoid problems. If you have done everything possible to find the name of the person who will receive the email but you haven't been able to do it, you can begin the message with "Dear" and their job title. For a job application, for example, you could write, "Dear Hiring Manager" or "Dear Head of Accounts." 

Finally, if you are writing to someone you don't know in your own company and the common practice in your company is to address one another using first names, you can write, "Dear 'first name.'" So, "Dear Dave." The only other time it is appropriate to open a formal email with "Dear 'first name'" is if you are replying to an email from someone who addressed you by your first name in their own message. For less formal emails or emails with colleagues or clients you know well, you can use the greeting, "Hi 'first name.'" You could also use "Good Morning 'first name,'" or "Hello 'first name,'" which is less common. You can also use "Hey 'first name,'" though this should be limited to informal messages with colleagues you are very close with. When in doubt, "Hi" is a better option. When you are writing to a group of people you don't know, you can use "Dear All" or "Dear" and the name of the team. For example, "Dear Sales Team." If the message is addressed to a group of people you do know, you can also write "Dear All" or, less formally, "Hi All" or "Hi Everyone." You'll notice that the greeting is always followed by a comma. And in English emails, the first word after the greeting always begins with a capital letter.