A conversation can be quickly forgotten but an email can be read and forwarded forever. If you want to give off the right impression in the workplace, delete the following phrases before you hit ‘send.’
“Just”
This word minimizes whatever action you are in the process of taking. (“I’m just reaching out,” “I’m just checking in.”) It tells the email recipient that your actions aren’t important. Drop the ‘just’ and your actions – and the email — will take on a higher level of priority, as they should.
“I’m sorry”
Unless you truly offended someone, there is likely no need to apologize. Instead of “sorry to bother you,” try “excuse the interruption.” Instead of “sorry this is late,” try “thank you for your patience.” Don’t give the email recipient a reason to think you are at fault.
“I may be wrong, but …”
Sure you may be wrong, but you might also be right. Don’t give the email recipient an incentive to pick your email apart. Remove this phrase and you’ll show that you are confident enough to share an opinion, which is an admirable quality in any workplace.
“This might be a silly idea, but…”
This phrase suggests that you don’t have confidence in your idea, so why should the email recipient care about what you have to say? Eliminate this phrase and show the e-mail recipient that you proudly stand by your contributions.
Your emails say a lot about you. Make sure you’re sending the right message.