How to Keep Courtesy in Your Ongoing Business Email Conversations

Part and parcel of effective email communications is the ability to communicate clearly. This includes ensuring that the desired tone is consistently set as the conversation continues.

What tends to happen is that after the first initial back-and-forth, our efforts change. The 5 Essentials of Every Business Email are not the five essentials of only the first email in a conversation. Subsequently, these basics are abandoned in place of one—or two-line statements, questions, or comments.

Avoid One Line Replies

Without a greeting and closing, your email’s tone becomes more abrupt and demanding. Questions appear as challenges, and one-liners are sarcastic statements. Without the basics, you lose control of the conversation.

I experience this daily as clients ask me for information. Their initial emails are the epitome of courtesy and attention to detail. Then, when they are uncomfortable with the reply or are confused about what to do next, here comes the one-liner reply.

What am I supposed to do with this?
Why does it take so much time to implement?
Do what you need to do and report back.
Please take care of this ASAP.

On the other hand, imagine the above one-liners with a little extra effort and courtesy…

Hey, Dave:

What am I supposed to do with this? I need a little hand-holding — can you help me out?

Appreciate your help!
Jane

Hello, Mary:

Why does it take so much time to implement? I have no idea how this works and would love to learn more. Can we schedule a time to discuss this?

Thank you,
Joe

Hey, Sally:

Thank you for bringing this to my attention! Do what you need to do to get this resolved and report back to me, okay?

Regards,
Tom

Hello, April:

Can you please take care of this as soon as you can? I’m completely in over my head right now and would appreciate it if you could jump in. Let me know if this works for you too.

Thanks,
Michael

Can you see the difference? Which version do you think will help to foster ongoing productive working relationships?

Making the Extra Effort

In addition, one-line replies rarely express gratitude for the earlier email’s information or guidance. Instead, they express frustration or annoyance with the situation at hand.

When challenged by the issue or topic being addressed, do not let your emotions show your unwillingness to make the effort to be a courteous communicator.

In short, for ongoing email conversations, it behooves both sides to consistently implement the basics and ensure they continue to include clarity and courtesy in every email. This approach allows you to nurture relationships, which lends to the perception that you are a professional communicator.