In Business Email, Explicitness Matters
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Are you as explicit as you need to be in your business email communications? Let’s look at what explicit actually means:
ex-plic-it -adjective
- fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied; unequivocal: explicit instructions; explicit language.
- clearly developed or formulated: explicit knowledge; explicit belief.
- definite and unreserved in expression; outspoken: He was quite explicit as to what he expected us to do for him.
Easy Ways to Be Explicit in Email
Now that we understand the definition above, apply it to your business emails.
Are you the communicator who goes above and beyond, or the one who requires clarification or has questions to ask? Proactively covering all the bases can make a difference in who a potential customer chooses to do business with.
Explicitness in your business email communications helps to avoid confusion and misunderstandings. The bad habit of top-posting – just typing a cryptic reply at the top of an email without including any email etiquette – contributes to confusion.
By top-posting, one may assume that you are not capable of succinct replies. Or lazy, which doesn’t build confidence.
Review and Respond Point by Point
Some folks just don’t want to down-edit. I’m not sure why, but I have experienced quite a bit of resistance to doing so. If you do not wish to down-edit for whatever reason, don’t just reply with the point or info you want to relay. You need to respond to the specifics of the email sent to you.
Taking the time to read an email and ensuring you’ve covered all required topics or questions reflects attention to detail. Not doing so will demonstrate a lack of courtesy to those who email you, requiring them to send an additional email for further clarification. This makes you appear inefficient and causes others to be the same. Not a great way to nurture business relationships, right?
Business is so darned competitive. You must use every trick in the book to stand out above your competitors. In this regard, email is a differentiator!
When you make it clear that contacts can easily communicate with you, that reflects what it will be like to do business with you. The easier it is to communicate with you, the easier it is to do business.
In business, replying without displaying this level of attention to detail will undermine your potential for success. Why take that risk when it is so easy to avoid?
