Emails and Memos in Business Communication

In the previous segment, you learnt about the basics of written communication. In this segment, you will dive deeper and learn about some basics of email writing, which is a form of written communication.

Now, did you know that, according to an article, almost 2.7 million emails are sent per second across the world?

On average, how many work-related emails do you send and receive on any given day? The answer to this question should tell you how important email is for communication in the business context.

Effective emails can create a positive impression on the recipients’ minds, and writing effective emails is considered a valuable skill. In the following video, you will learn about certain basics of email writing that can help you write effective emails. 

The key learnings from this video are summarised below:

1. Start with the top, and avoid typographical errors (typos).
2. Focus on the subject line.
3. Be precise.
4. Be succinct.
5. Maintain an even tone.
6. Use humour cautiously.

Following some of these learnings could help you improve the effectiveness of your emails. It is crucial that your emails are effective, as over the years, emails have replaced one of the most prevalent forms of professional written communication, that is, memos.

Before the advent of emails, businesses used to communicate through memos. Memorandums or ‘memos’ may seem like a relic of the past, but they are still quite relevant in today’s world. In the next video, let’s hear from David as he shares his thoughts on memos

Memos were important, as they were used to formally address an organisation about important updates. The basic steps involved in the preparation of a memo are as follows:

1. Dictation
2. Review
3. Printing
4. Distribution
5. Reading

The amount of scrutiny a memo went through in these five stages meant that the final draft was impeccable. Memos are considered to be of the highest standard in being effective, as they have been reviewed multiple times from multiple viewpoints. 

While working on a memo could be a rare event in today's digital world, it is important to understand that senior professionals are used to office memos that possess impeccable written communication. Hence, when the target recipients for your written communication are senior professionals, you have to achieve perfection, i.e., you need to review your draft multiple times or ask a colleague to do so.

Additional Learning

Read this blog on how to write a professional memo.