1. Written Communication
Rachel evans, maricopa county sheriff’s office
director, business information systems & digital communications

2. Topics
etiquette
Business reports
Sharing data

3. Always include contact information in your signature block. It will prevent announces for the recipient and make sure time isn’t lost as someone tries to track down your phone number when you’ve asked them to call you.
You can create both default and reply signatures in Outlook. Additionally, remember to update your signature block on your phone. For iPhones, the default says “sent from my iPhone.” Personally, I don’t care where the message is sent from, but I do want to know how to easily contact you if I need to.
Etiquette
signature block | subject line | content |tips and tricks

4. Adding brief keywords at the beginning of a subject line can help inform your recipients about what to expect before they even read the message. Is the message just informational? Add “FYI :” to the front of the subject. Do you have a request for information or input? Add “Request :” to the front of your message. Or, if you need the recipient to provide a review and feedback, let them know in the subject line by adding “for review”
Etiquette
signature block | subject line | content | tips and tricks

5. Make sure body of email is relevant to the subject line
Make sure body of is relevant to the subject line. For instance, this is an example from my office, but if the subject is Coffee with a Cop, make sure the body of your message has to do with that subject. In this case, the subject is one thing but the body of the message is completely unrelated, it discusses dates regarding an upcoming Community Academy. It will be impossible to track this down again because the subject is completely unrelated to the body.
Click:
Give deadlines
Get to the point quickly. There is an art to being concise, it actually takes more time and thought to be concise than to be wordy. If loads of back data is not needed, don’t include it. If it is necessary, make sure any action items are included at the top of the .
Proofread and proofread again
Always run spell check
Etiquette
signature block | subject line | content | tips and tricks

6. Always re-read your message before sending it, no matter who your audience is. Be especially diligent if you are sending an to leadership. Re-read your message multiple times, including reading it out loud.
Turn on spellcheck - In Outlook settings you can force a spellcheck before the message is sent. This has saved me even when I did re-read the message.
Use Grammarly. There is a premium version that comes with a cost, but the free version provides excellent feedback into common grammar errors.
Etiquette
signature block | subject line | content | tips and tricks

7. Business Reports
Documenting your work in a professional report goes a long way. Your efforts will be noticed and appreciated. Include a background statement and brief summary or your proposal before getting into the details.

8. Similar benefits come when you can share data in a digestible and eye-catching way. If you don’t have the skill to create your own infographics, and you don’t have someone in your office who can.
Sharing Data
tips and tricks

9. canva.com piktochart.com Take note of these two great resources.
Canva allows you to make amazingly simple graphic designs. Whether this is for Facebook, Twitter, events, or certificates. Numerous templates are available for free.
Piktochart allows you to take your visual communication to the next level. Easy to use online tool to help you make informative and beautiful infographics and more.

10. Thank you
Rachel Evans