Messages 1

Outline Fields of an Subject line One point per The expected response Be a good correspondent Final tips 2

Fields of an Header – To – Cc – Bcc – Subject Body 3

Fields of an the right people. 3 fields, each with a meaning To field: – One or more addresses (recipients) – Message is directed to you – For people you require action from 4 4

Fields of an Cc field: – One or more addresses – Keeps other people “in the loop” – No direct action required – Lets the receiver “be aware” Bcc field: – Keeps others secretly “in the loop” – "To" and "Cc" recipients are unaware – Larger mailings (50+ recipients ) 5 5

Subject Line Recipients usually scan the subject line and then either open, forward, file or delete the message. s without subject lines may be mistaken for spam. 6

Meaningful Subject line You must include a subject line with every . Subject lines are headlines – Use a few well-chosen words to tell the recipient what the is about. Make the subject line as clear as possible. – “I need your help!! ” vs. “ Could you me the link to the file?” 7

Examples Subject: [Blank] – Inappropriate: You should get your recipient thinking about your message even before opening it. Subject: “Important! Read Immediately!!” – Inappropriate: What is important to you may not be important to your reader. – Appropriate: "Emergency: All Cars in the lower Lot will be towed in 1 hour." Subject: “Follow-up about Friday” – Fractionally appropriate, provided that the recipient remembers why a follow-up was necessary. 8

Examples (Cont.) Subject: “That file you requested” – Appropriate: If your recipient will recognize your address, and is expecting a file from you. – Inappropriate: Many providers spam-blockers will not let your message through. Subject: “10 confirmed for Friday... will we need a larger room?” – Appropriate: Upon reading this informative subject line, the recipient immediately gets an idea of the content. 9

One Point Per has no extra cost for multiple messages. – Write a separate to communicate each different idea. – Helps your correspondent reply to each one individually. In case all the points are related to the same subject (e.g. a project), then present each point in a separate, numbered paragraph. 10

Bad Example 11 Subject: Revisions For Sales Report Hi Ahmad, Thanks for sending in that report last week. I read through it yesterday and feel that you need more specific information regarding our sales figures in Chapter 2. I also felt that the tone could be a bit more formal. Also, I wanted to let you know that I've scheduled a meeting with the PR department for this Friday, regarding the new ad campaign. It's at 11:00, and will be in the small conference room. Please let me know if you can make that time. Thanks! Mona

What’s Wrong? The second paragraph about the meeting is pretty important, but it might not be noticed. Searching for the meeting information at a later time will be hard because the subject does not match the content. The next couple of slides show how to split the message into two s. 12

Good Example (1) 13 Subject: Revisions For Sales Report Hi Ahmad, Thanks for sending in that report last week. I read through it yesterday and feel that you need more specific information regarding our sales figures in Chapter 2. I also felt that the tone could be a bit more formal. Thanks for your hard work on this! Mona

Good Example (2) 14 Subject: Friday 10/9, 11am Meeting w/PR Dept Hi Ahmad, I wanted to let you know that I've scheduled a meeting with the PR department for this Friday, 10/9, regarding the new ad campaign. It's at 11:00am, and will be in the small conference room. Please let me know if you can make that time. Thanks! Mona

Be clear on the expected response Let the recipients know what you expect from them. Provide sufficient information to clarify the message to the recipient. Give full contact information. 15

Bad Example 16 From: Subject: Exam problems Dear Ali, Did you receive my suggested set of problems for next week’s exam? I haven't heard back and wanted to make sure. Can you please call me so we can discuss? Thanks!

What’s Wrong? The professor is ing the online exams manager asking about a set of questions he had sent to him earlier. – Missing information. What course is he talking about? Did he send it by post, or through ? – No contact information given for the phone number – Full name and title are not given The next slide shows an improved version of the 17

Good Example 18 From: Subject: Checking on exam problem for NES 201 Dear Ali, I just wanted to check that you have received the set of proposed exam problems which I ed to you last week. I haven't heard back and wanted to make sure it went through. Would you please call me by Wednesday so we can discuss? This is when I need to have the questions posted online ahead of the scheduled exam time. The quickest way to contact me is by office phone. Thanks! Dr. Sahel Al-So’ob Dept. of Network Engineering and Security Ext, (office) (cell)

Be a good correspondent Go through your inbox regularly and respond as appropriate. If you don't have the time to collect the information, send a holding reply saying that you have received the message, and indicate when you will respond fully. Always set your Out of Office agent when you're going to be away from your for a day or more. 19

Final Tips Identify yourself clearly – Full name, Title, Contact information Be kind and never send an when angry – Think before you click "Send" Proofread – Read. Use Spell-check Don't assume privacy – is not secure Recognize formal and informal situations – Know who you are writing to Show Respect and Restraint – Ask the sender before forwarding a personal message – Use BCC instead of CC when sending sensitive info to large groups 20