International Email Writing

One of the most common questions Universal Consensus receives is, “how do I successfully write an international email.” It is not surprising that this is a hot topic. Business interactions are ever more global and email is the communication tool of choice as it reduces ambiguity and works well across time zones.

There are plenty of best practice tips for writing an international email. The three main rules are:

• Reduce ambiguity – be very clear and use shorter sentences
• Don’t use colloquial expressions (i.e., “You really hit that one out of the park.” “Can I touch bases with you.” “That one came out of left field.”)

When sending an international email you have to reduce the risk of being misinterpreted. The risk of being misinterpreted is already enhanced in emails as opposed to face-to-face communication; don’t increase the misinterpretation risk by sending unstructured or unclear in your international email. One may be inclined to think that a more complex writing style is a substantiation of intellect and hence a good thing, but in international emails you should aim for clarity.

• Be aware of the target culture’s communication context – chiefly how direct vs. indirect communication is in the target culture.

Many cultures, especially in Asia, are far more indirect in their way of communicating than their Western counterparts. You may need to read between the lines of what your counterpart is telling you and likewise, if you have information to convey that is in any way disapproving, you will need to be conscious of the losing “face” issues prevalent in many Asian cultures. Given the risk of the running afoul of “face,” include as few recipients as possible in your international emails. While in Western cultures we might throw in a couple of VPs in the email loop to put pressure on the recipient, this could be detrimental in a high context culture, as relationships can get ruined if the counterpart loses face in front of senior people (and especially their boss).

• Finally, Always be more formal than in your native culture.

Even though you might have corresponded with a person for a substantial time it is never advisable to get too informal. Most foreign cultures value formality, respect, and seniority. Unless you’re 100% certain of the appropriateness of being informal, you are much safer keeping correspondence formal. Jokes, abbreviations, and irony is often lost in email writing, and substantially more so in email writing across cultures.

Good luck with all your international interactions, and if we can be of any assistance, please let us know. Contact us at info@universalconsensus.com or see our impact video on our home page at www.universalconsensus.com.