You are interested in taking a week-long training class that you believe will help you perform your job more effectively. There is a small training budget within your company, but the only class being offered is on the other side of the country and would require flight and hotel costs in addition to the substantial tuition. Make the case for the money to your boss in an email.
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You are interested in taking a week-long training class that you believe will help you perform your job more effectively. There is a small training budget within your company, but the only class being offered is on the other side of the country and would require flight and hotel costs in addition to the substantial tuition. Make the case for the money to your boss in an email.Consider the following lines from business emails. How would you describe the tone of each entry? What words, phrases, or other elements suggest that tone?
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“Maybe if the project leader had set a reasonable schedule from the beginning, we wouldn’t be in this mess now.”
“Whatever they’re paying you, it isn’t enough. Thanks for working so hard on this.”
“I’m not sure what else is on your plate right now, but I need these numbers by this afternoon—actually in the next two hours.”
“I cant remember when u said this was due.”
“While I appreciate that your team is being pulled in a number of different directions right now, this project is my department’s main priority for the semester. What can we do from our end to set your group up to complete this by June?
Whether in a workplace or in our personal lives, most of us have received emails that we’ve found off-putting, inappropriate, or, at a minimum, curt. Striking the right tone and being diplomatic, particularly in business communication, can mean the difference between offending your reader and building important professional relationships. And more immediately, it can mean the difference between getting what you want and being ignored.
As with any piece of writing, considering, audience, purpose, and type of information is key to constructing business communication. Truly finessing your writing so that it works for you, rather than against you, is key to forming strong professional relationships and being effective in your own position.
The following tactics and examples outline the small revisions in your writing that can go a long way in building diplomacy and not only keeping your tone appropriate, but also using it to your advantage.
First, prior to writing, consider the following questions:
Who is my audience? What does the audience need to know, and what do they already know?
Why does this email feel tricky or difficult in terms of getting the tone just right?
Why am I writing? Am I informing my audience? Asking for help? Delivering bad news?
Do I have strong feelings about the subject or situation that might get in the way of writing effectively and appropriately?
Are there specific elements (anything from highlighting big problems to reminding the reader about an important due date) that I want to emphasize?
Once you have answered these questions, consider the strategies below as you begin to compose your communication. Certain tactics will likely be more relevant than others, depending on the type of communication, but each of these tips can help you get into the habit of more diplomatic writing as you move through college and into your career.