How do you structure your emails to get a positive response?

You want your emails to be clear, concise, and convincing, but how do you achieve that? Whether you're writing to a colleague, a client, or a potential employer, you need to use some reasoning skills to structure your emails effectively. In this article, we'll show you how to apply four key elements of logical communication to your emails: purpose, audience, evidence, and action.

1 Define your purpose

Before you start writing, ask yourself: what is the main goal of this email? Do you want to inform, persuade, request, or apologize? Your purpose will guide your tone, content, and format of your email. For example, if you want to inform your team about a new project, you might use a formal and factual tone, provide relevant details and attachments, and use bullet points or headings to organize your information. If you want to persuade a client to buy your product, you might use a friendly and confident tone, highlight the benefits and features of your product, and use testimonials or statistics to support your claims.

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Aditya Singh Gaur

Deputy Manager at C3iHub, IIT Kanpur | National Quantum Mission, Department of Science and Technology| Interested in Cybersecurity, Aerospace and Defence Tech |
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Structuring your emails effectively is crucial for eliciting a positive response. An email lacking a clear purpose is akin to shooting an arrow blindfolded. Before composing an email, it is imperative to define its purpose—what do you seek from the recipient? Whether it's information, a request, or the dissemination of information, clarity is paramount. Subsequently, set an appropriate tone, whether formal or factual, aligning with the nature of your purpose. To enhance user-friendliness, consider incorporating bullet points for summarization and include a well-crafted heading. The use of bullet points allows for a concise presentation. Additionally, a compelling heading serves as a guide, emphasizing the importance of the email's content.

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2 Know your audience

Next, consider who you're writing to and what they need to know. How well do you know them? What are their expectations, preferences, and concerns? How do they communicate? Your audience will influence your style, tone, and level of detail of your email. For example, if you're writing to a senior manager, you might use a formal and respectful style, a polite and professional tone, and a concise and clear level of detail. If you're writing to a colleague you know well, you might use a casual and friendly style, a warm and personal tone, and a more elaborate and engaging level of detail.

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Indraneel Pandit, FRM
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This is possibly the most important part of any communication. Step into your audience's shoes, try and think what they are trying to take away from your communication, what are the questions they need to be answered. If you address these questions in the first shot, in clear and unambiguous language, you are making life so much easier for the reader! Before you hit "send", pause for a moment and ask yourself "will this give rise to more questions in the reader's mind?". If yes, answer those too.

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Aditya Singh Gaur

Deputy Manager at C3iHub, IIT Kanpur | National Quantum Mission, Department of Science and Technology| Interested in Cybersecurity, Aerospace and Defence Tech |
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Structuring your emails effectively and tailoring them to your audience can significantly improve the chances of receiving a positive response. Following are the reasons: >> Understand the preferences, interests, and communication style of your audience. >> Consider their level of familiarity with the topic and adjust your tone and level of detail accordingly.

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3 Provide evidence

Then, back up your main points with evidence. Evidence can be facts, data, examples, testimonials, or anything else that supports your claims or requests. Evidence helps you to demonstrate your credibility, reliability, and authority. It also helps you to appeal to your audience's logic and emotions. For example, if you're writing to request a raise, you might provide evidence of your achievements, performance, and impact. If you're writing to apologize for a mistake, you might provide evidence of how you fixed the problem, learned from the experience, and prevented it from happening again.

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Andrew Watkins, CPCC, CPRW, CPA

Resume Writing | Personal Branding | Interview Preparation | Coaching Helping Professionals Land Their Dream Jobs-Take the Next Step
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Providing evidence is crucial for substantiating your main points and bolstering your credibility. Whether it's facts, data, examples, or testimonials, evidence lends weight to your claims and appeals to both logic and emotions. For instance, when requesting a raise, presenting evidence of achievements and performance demonstrates your value to the organization. Similarly, when apologizing for a mistake, evidence of how you rectified the situation and implemented preventative measures illustrates accountability and growth.

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4 Call for action

Finally, end your email with a clear and specific call for action. A call for action is a request or a suggestion that tells your audience what you want them to do next. It can be a question, an invitation, a reminder, or a recommendation. A call for action helps you to motivate your audience, create a sense of urgency, and close the communication loop. For example, if you're writing to invite someone to an event, you might ask them to RSVP by a certain date, provide them with a link to register, and thank them for their interest. If you're writing to follow up on a proposal, you might remind them of the deadline, offer to answer any questions, and express your enthusiasm for working with them.

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Andrew Watkins, CPCC, CPRW, CPA

Resume Writing | Personal Branding | Interview Preparation | Coaching Helping Professionals Land Their Dream Jobs-Take the Next Step
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End your email with a clear call to action, directing your audience on the next steps to take. Whether it's RSVPing to an event by a specific date or reminding them of a proposal deadline, a clear directive helps create urgency and ensures effective communication closure.

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How do you structure your emails to get a positive response?

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1 Define your purpose

2 Know your audience

3 Provide evidence

4 Call for action

Reasoning Skills

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