The Importance of Business Emails

Today's business world communicates almost solely via emails written in English.

Since email is nowadays the most common business form of communication, it is important to remember that it is a formal business document. It is therefore essential to write clearly and succinctly and use proper greetings, closing, complete sentences, punctuation and capitalization.

As far as format goes, an email is very similar to a formal letter, that is, each paragraph has a specific function. It should start with a greeting and an opening sentence such as: "Dear David, Thank you for sending back the requested information." The purpose of the email should come next as the body of the letter (in the form of one or two paragraphs). The role of the next paragraph is to state the desired result or outcome of your email, for example: "I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and discussed the above mentioned idea" or: "Please send me your comments to the attached proposal", etc. Finally, don't forget to end the email with a closing sentence, a final greeting and your name, preferably including an electronic signature, as in: "I look forward to hearing from you soon. Regards, Ben Morgan, CFO ABC Inc."

The style and tone of the email can vary according to the level of formality of the email. Whether your email is a formal document sent to a high-level correspondent or an informal friendly request, be sure to keep your tone and style appropriate and consistent. Remember that once you press the 'send' button, whatever you wrote may be read and forwarded to other people, therefore, always use professional and diplomatic language.