10 phrases you should never write in an e-mail
September 8, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Employee computer use, Special Report
HR spends a lot of time communicating with busy managers, execs and employees. Here are some ways to write more clearly and quickly get your message across to those time-pressed people.
When most people write, they use words and terms they wouldn’t say in person. Though some of those phrases are a part of standard business vocabulary, all they really do is add unnecessary words and muddle what you’re trying to say.
Here are the 10 most common wordy phrases and their quicker, clearer alternatives:
- Replace: “You will find attached” with: “Here is.”
- Instead of: “At this point in time,” just say: “Now.”
- Replace: “To summarize the above” with: “In summary.”
- Don’t write: “I am of the opinion” — just say: “I think.”
- Instead of: “I came to the conclusion,” just say: “I concluded.”
- Rather than: “Prior to that time,” use: “Before.”
- Replace: “Despite the fact that” with: “Although.”
- Avoid: “We made a decision to” — use: “We decided.”
- Don’t use: “It is indicative of” — just say: “It indicates.”
- Instead of: “We performed an analysis of,” just say: “We analyzed.”
There are plenty more ways to make your writing sharper and clearer. To see more phrases you should keep out of your e-mails and other communication, click here.
Tags: Communication, e-mail, writing
September 9th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I do not know who writes the headlines for your articles but they are misleading at times to me. I was expecting to see something that I should never write in order to avoid potential problems if ever audited in this article. This article should have been titled - How to shorten your messages or How to e-mail more precisely.
This is not the first time I thought that I would have an interesting article to read only to find out that it was just another “common sense” article.
September 9th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I completely agree with Ginnie Redd. Your article titles lead me to believe one thing and the actual article is not even close.
September 9th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
I agree with Ginnie, If you feel the need to express yourself with such eloquence, by all means, do so. But to say, “never write these phrases in an email is misleading the reader into thinking Oh boy here’s somethig I can really use” Not the best HR Tech News article.
September 9th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Ginnie, I couldn’t agree more!
September 9th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Ginnie, you should already know what you should never write.
September 9th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I agree with Ginnie that title is misleading. It also contains unnecessary words and muddles what you’re trying to say. You wouldn’t use these words in person.
Suggested alternative: “Writing Succinct Emails”.
September 9th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
This is a great reminder of the short set of words we can use to convey our messages.
With the small black berry buttons we have at our disposal…… the shorter the better.
“Now” we needed that.
September 9th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I am of the opinion that - I came to the conclusion - at this point in time - despite the fact that - the article headline is “misleading” - I would say that the headline names are designed to make you interested in reading. I absolutely agree with Ginnie, but I would say this technique is intentional.
To summarize the above, I always enjoy reading the news on this site even if you manipulate my feelings with your intense headlines.
September 9th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
What about #11- The Sky is Blue.
As I continued to read this is the content I felt I would stumble upon.
September 9th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
This reminds me of a very basic business communications class lesson.
September 10th, 2008 at 7:54 am
I also agree the heading is very misleading (as they frequently are…). However, I tend to read/scan most of your articles, usually starting with those that have interesting or more urgent sounding titles….
September 10th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Ditto Ginnie!
This is becoming a common tactic used by TV journalist as well! The listeners/ readers are sucked in to read or listen further. How dissapointing!
Our time is very important. Please give us a little respect!
Judith
September 10th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I agree with Ginnie! I was expecting words or terms that should not be used in an email for legal purposes!
While I understand we are all busy and short on time these days, I don’t think that changing the way we write is the way to go. At that rate, when will you post an article on text message shorthand?!
As time passes, new and improved technologies are introduced to save you time but I believe they just make us busier. What did we do before the Blackberry? We had a quieter commute and relaxing vacations.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
The English language is a wonderful tool, capable of subtleties not possible in some other languages. I agree that some of the examples listed above are more wordy than necessary. However, some of the “forbidden” phrases imply much more meaning than the proposed replacement.
September 10th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Well looky here. This was at the bottom of the headline (the subtext in much smaller font, which should have been directly under the headline instead of under the computer graphic):
“HR spends a lot of time communicating with busy managers, execs and employees. Here are some ways to write more clearly and quickly get your message across to those time-pressed people.”
Now, that accurately describes the article.
September 24th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I can’t agree with Ginnie more. I was expecting phrases to avoid that could pose legal issues.