How to Empower Your Email Style

Your email tone and the way you communicate can have a huge impact on the way your colleagues and clients perceive you and interact with you.

A polite, confident and assertive email style isn’t hard to achieve but it does take practice. Use these tips to start off, and remember to avoid things like:

• Excessive apologising (unless you really offended someone, in which case ownership and an apology might be warranted).

• Filler words (‘just’, ‘maybe’, ‘perhaps’).

• Self sabotage (‘I could be wrong but…’, ‘I’m not the expert’).

• Excessive use of ‘I’ (team projects mean you can often the collective ‘we’ which indicates a united front – power in numbers).

• Delaying bad news (our mantra is 'good news fast, bad news faster').
  

Of course, certain situations may require you deviate from these recommendations, so use your instincts or ask a trusted mentor if you’re not sure how to respond. Ready to harness the power of the pen?

1. Thanks, not sorry.

2. Don't tell me, I'll tell you.

3. I do actually know how to do my job.

4. Check-in time.

5. Get it? Got it? Good.

6. I'm not perfect but who is?

7. You can have my attention for this long.

8. I'm awesome – I know!

For more tips like these, follow Mavens on LinkedIn and Instagram.