When in school we learn how to write emails in different forms, but a lot of times you will hear a person tell you “I don’t know how to start an email” or “I can write an email however, I don’t even take time to read what I wrote.” Such people tend to make some mistakes while writing an email and don’t even recognise that there are mistakes in the email because they don’t know them. That is why you will find an email was rejected, or ignored because there are some mistakes we all make but don’t know that they are mistakes. Jean Jaques Hakizimana, an English tutor, says that there are some common mistakes we all tend to use in a professional email but never notice that they are mistakes. “Mistakes like starting an email with a “hi” or “hello”, especially when writing a professional email are commonly made and we always think it is fine but the other person receiving the email will feel that the email is very casual and relaxed yet they are very professional. Such mistakes end up ruining our first impressions, because imagine if it was a new business partner reading the first line of a professional and all they see is a “hi”. They will surely feel disrespected and will reject the partnership immediately,” he says. Evelyne Uwayezu, an author says that most people tend to make mistakes because they only know one format of writing an email. “We have all learned about many formats but there is this one format all people use when writing an email, the kind where they even fear to include all details so they end up just waffling, but there are so many templates of emails online. It really doesn’t hurt to check one professional email a person wrote, learn from it and then apply the details that they used. We can’t all write professional emails but there is a lot of help online,” she says. In an article by Nora Mork, a British lifestyle blogger, she shares some mistakes to avoid that are commonly made: Checking emails all the time One of the biggest mistakes you can make is falling into the trap of checking your emails all the time. With tabs in our browsers open all the time and notifications constantly pinging on our devices, it’s no wonder we constantly feel like we’re living in our inboxes. However, while there are obvious productivity problems here, the writing-related issues may not be so clear. By being in your inbox all day, every day, as well as feeling the need to reply straight away, you may rush your typing, or want to clear your inbox as quickly as possible, ultimately increasing the risk of making a mistake. Instead, make sure you’re only writing and responding during set hours of the day. Not writing proper subject lines Not writing an accurate or genuine subject line, or leaving it blank entirely, is one of the worst things you can do when writing an email. The subject line is there to help everybody stay aware of what the content is about and what message they can expect, especially defining whether it’s important or not. You need to make sure you’re filling this out accurately, and genuinely so it’s not misleading, and correctly identifies the content of your email. Not getting to the point Nobody in the workplace has time to read an email that’s thousands of words long and takes ages to get to the point. Someone will see this kind of long-winded email and will start to skim-read it, meaning they’re probably going to miss out on the important information. Make sure you're 100% concise and accurate with your content, and generally speaking, the shorter your emails, the better. Not addressing the individual If you’re writing in response to a 40-person email that has been sent out and you’re replying directly to the group using the Reply All function (which should probably be avoided at all costs anyway), you need to make sure you’re addressing who you’re speaking to at the beginning, so everyone has complete clarity. Even if you’re speaking to someone on a one-on-one basis, make sure you’re using their first name, so everyone is absolutely clear you’re talking to them. Using abbreviations and emojis “Not everybody uses emojis, and not everybody knows or understands every single abbreviation, so for the sake of communicating effectively, make sure you’re typing out all words fully to avoid any mistakes or misreads” explains Benjamin Goody, a recruiter at Elite Assignment Help and State of Writing.
