On Writing Email

I don’t think anyone teaches letter writing anymore. Back in the dark ages of my youth, my teachers had at least one unit – maybe two or three over the accumulated years – where we had to write letters to people. Usually they were mailed off to someone, so kids still paid some attention to it lest they come across as an ass on paper.

But now through the miracle of email, it is now so much faster and easier to come across as a jerk. Unless you know how to write a email like a professional. No, I don’t mean you know where the “send” button is. I mean, the kind of email where the person on the other side takes you seriously. This is particularly important for young people, for whom credibility with strangers is thin on the ground.

(Update) SO. One of my offspring decided that a wage-earning job would be a good thing, and stepped into a local business to inquire after a rumored opening. Said offspring returned home bearing the owner’s business card, which had been accompanied by a request to “send me an email”.

Child: “So, she asked me to send her an email.”
Me: “Okay, and?”
Child: “Well, what do I say?”

Now, I’m not having this conversation with a ten year old. I’m having this conversation with a person who is old enough to operate a vehicle. The state said so. But we sat down and I coached her, sentence by sentence, through the classic Get To Know You introductory letter.

Upon reflection, I think her 3rd grade teacher had the whole class write letters. Which I probably thought was great, then, but the fact is that no teacher has asked to do it since – probably based on the logic that, “They did this in third grade, why do it again?”

I’ll tell you why – because they need the skills in high school *more* than they do in third grade. I’m not saying it isn’t useful for an 8 year old to communicate. But a hell of a lot more is on the line when they’re 17, so maybe it should occur to people that revisiting this skill as a young adult might be a good idea.

From NIH training for summer interns: How to write an effective, professional email:
https://www.training.nih.gov/summer_school_2013_writing_effective_professional_e-mail