BUSINESS ENGLISH: HOW TO WRITE A PROFESSIONAL EMAIL IN ENGLISH

Do you know what is one of the most valued skills in the business world? Communication with colleagues, customers and, of course, foreign customers. In this context, one of the most effective forms of communication is email. Writing emails will leave an important record of what you write. In case you are thinking of introducing business English courses, it is interesting that the training includes classes to learn how to write a professional email in English. Why? We will tell you why below!

Why write professional emails in English

One of the simplest and most effective ways to talk to clients, colleagues or anyone who needs to, is simply to send an email. What has happened to phone calls? Of course some people prefer them to save time, but compared to email, phone calls are more volatile.

Advantages of writing an email in English

If employees should communicate in English, but they don’t like to phone because they still feel insecure, you can always ask them to write emails in English, because they are not sure about it:

• Writing a professional email, whether in English or any other language, adds credibility to work processes: it is a written medium on which conversations are stored. You can then review everything that has been discussed in the process of working with the client.
• Imagine that you call your client when he is in a meeting. In addition to interrupting him, he is likely to ask you to call him back later. But, maybe later is already out of working hours, you forget and that important message you were supposed to give him never arrives. Writing emails won’t do that: they can be checked later, so they are not abrupt or aggressive interruptions of the client’s internal processes.
• Writing professional emails makes your communication professional and interactive: as mentioned before, it is not a very aggressive way of communicating with clients or colleagues, as it gives space. And it is also interactive: you can include files, documents, links, other emails and other elements with which the client can interact.

All these advantages can be extrapolated to any language. But in English, which is the key to business success, there is an added bonus: if your employees are not used to the language or are learning it, they may be embarrassed to speak in English. To avoid tensions, mistakes and misunderstandings, it is very interesting to write professional e-mails in English.

Tips for writing a professional email in English

Inevitably, if you want to expand your business, you are going to need your employees to write in English, as it is the language of business. Incorporating business English into your business is a great idea if you want your employees to start communicating and writing emails in English. But how do you get a good business email in English?

Start at the beginning

The beginning of everything is always the greeting. Of course, the type of greeting you use will depend on your relationship with the person you are greeting. You can use the formulas: Dear John, Dear Mrs. Bellamy, or Hi Tom. If you do not know the person to whom it is addressed, you can use: To whom it may concern.

Make the target of the email the body of your email

Continuing along the line of professionalism, one of the things your recipient will appreciate the most is that you thank them. You can use: Thank you for your prompt reply, or Thanks for getting back to me.

If you are the one writing first, to express the purpose of the email and your contact, you can use: I am writing in reference to […], or I am writing to discuss […].

Concluding remarks and farewells

And, of course, the use of business English when writing a professional email will always ensure politeness and professionalism. Therefore, it is time to say goodbye and wait for the return message: Thank you for your patience and cooperation, If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know, or I look forward to hearing from you, combined with Thank you, Best wishes, or Sincerely are the most commonly used farewells.

In-company English courses to teach how to write professional e-mails in English

As we have seen, there are good reasons for your employees to learn to write emails in English. In addition to the advantages that business English brings to your business, if you are looking for good communication with foreign clients and colleagues, you can always contact us and take advantage of our in-company training. This way your employees can learn to write the English they need for the business world.