Why is it that when we send an email, we forget that we are writing to fellow human beings? Would you start a phone conversation without saying hello? Would you hang up without saying goodbye? Would you send a letter without signing your name?
If you fail to add a greeting, closing, and signature to your email, you may be hurting your business relationships.
Email sits in the sweet spot between spoken and written communication. It lacks much of the formality of the formal business letter, but it also lacks the visual and auditory feedback that is present in spoken communication. The result is a simplified, text-based medium that heavily relies on the reader for interpretation. This is true both in terms of the meaning of the text as well as the tone–or feeling–of the text as well. This can be problematic.
Next time you write an email, try reading it to yourself in an angry voice. Do you like what you hear? It is possible that the recipient is interpreting the email in this angry voice as well. Try to soften the tone. Add a simple greeting: “Hi John, I hope you are having a good week.” Add a closing statement: “Thanks again. Best, Marc.” Sign your name! (That block of text with your name, title, and phone number that is automatically added by your email program is not enough.)
While it is natural for email to trend toward a simplified, text-message style format during a prolonged interaction, for an initial email–whether internal or external–the greeting, closing, and signature are essential. Don’t be fooled into thinking that skipping these items will save you time.
Next time you write an email, consider it an opportunity to build and maintain your professional relationships, rather than just another item to cross off of your to-do list.