How to Use Pleasantries in Business Email

Subject: June 6 follow-up meeting with candidate

Can you easily identify the main purpose of this message?

Here's the main content.

There was an interview, it went well,

and now there's a follow-up meeting.

These other parts aren't really necessary,

but they do make the message more polite and more pleasant.

In a message like this it's a good idea to include a short, pleasant remark.

Let's talk about adding pleasantries

and other good practices in business email.

Business email isn't always formal.

Work-related messages can be very conversational.

One thing to remember, however, is that business is business.

That means you should remain professional at all times.

In most situations, standard English with serve you best.

I'd suggest avoiding non-standard spelling, like "gonna"

and text slang like OMG (oh my God!).

There are some abbreviations and acronyms that are fine to use.

They're quite common in business email.

Some safe choices include FYI (for your information),

BTW (by the way),

and ASAP (as soon as possible).

Here are more tips for writing business email.

Remember who you're writing to,

and let your language reflect your relationship.

Email in general is less formal than traditional business letter writing.

Use language that is natural for you.

Read your message before you send it off.

That's a way to check for mistakes and to see if it sounds natural.

For very formal messages, you'll probably want to avoid contractions,

a lot of phrasal verbs, and other idiomatic expressions.

In general, be brief.

It's polite to include a pleasant remark right after the greeting,

but beyond that don't waste words.

Make your point quickly.

If there's a request, make it clear and specific.

Remember to use "please" and "thank you" if there's a call to action.

Let's take a look at another model.

This is Vance's message to Evan, the candidate.

The message is brief.

The purpose is clear.

Is the tone consistent?

Yes, it is.

And it's slightly more formal than the message that Vance wrote to Roger and Carrie - our first model.

We have some pleasantries here. Can you spot them?

There's actually one after the greeting,

and some more before the closing.

Here are some common phrases at the beginning of a message.

Now let's look at some common phrases at the end of a message.

Here's a final model. It's another message from Vance.

The subject is "Reference for Evan Slack."

Let's take a quick look at the parts of this message.

Here's the greeting and the closing.

Do they match in tone?

They sure do.

Spot any pleasantries?

There's one.

And here it is. It's a common one.

As for the main purpose, Vance introduces himself

and says what he needs.

There's a request.

And it's clear and specific.

Vance is now ready to send off this message.

That's all for now.

Thanks for watching and happy studies!