Designer Presents A Word Phrasing Hack That Will Make You Sound More Respectable On E-mails
Miscommunication is part of life, and when it happens between friends or family, a hug or a joke can repair the situation – but when miscommunication happens in the workplace, the result can be disastrous. E-mail is a vital feature of workplace connections and thus is a ripe area for wires to get crossed, all because of the wrong phrasing or wrong punctuation.
Fortunately, the designer and illustrator of ADHD webcomics, Dani Donovan, has the solution with her brilliant chart with writing tips that explains how to e-mail like a boss. The artist told Bored Panda she was searching for alternatives to overused phrases in professional E-mails and from there the idea evolved: “I’d tried to Google “What to write instead of ‘just checking in'” multiple times, and had never really come up with any results. I started a Twitter thread, and it started to really gain traction, with tons of people saying that they were printing it out for formal letter writing reference to keep at their desks. Around the 6th or 7th time I saw that, I figured it’d be easier for me to make a quick sketch, so the reference looked nice. The graphic designer in me couldn’t help it!”
Laid out are some of the most common errors we probably all have made when trying to craft a formal e-mail and the best alternatives. Scroll down below for her life hacks – it could save you at work!
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Illustrator Dani Donovan has designed a brilliant chart of e-mail tips for professionals
The inspiration for Donovan’s chart came from her everyday work experience as a full-time in-house graphic designer at Gallup: “95% of my communication is done over e-mail. Whether it be to internal partners on our team or external clients, the way we sound and present ourselves has an enormous impact on how smoothly things go. The longer you work in the corporate world, the more you start to pick up on the way people talk. As much as I might not enjoy it, I eventually had to learn how to play the game,” she told Bored Panda.
The illustrator added that she had learned that knowing how to correspond effectively in emails could even affect your bank account: “When I was freelancing full-time, I noticed a direct correlation to how much money I was able to charge, and how unapologetic and direct I was in emails, “she explained. “Calm confidence and valuing yourself are key to being able to charge what you’re worth, and for establishing mutual respect. When I over-apologized and constantly contradicted myself with, “If not, that’s okay!”… some viewed it as weakness and didn’t hesitate to use it to their advantage. But that’s in response to professional writing. As far as my whole ‘Dani Donovan, the ADHD comic lady’ persona… I write/tweet the exact way I speak, without editing myself. I’m a very informal person by nature.”
Donovan is a graphic designer at Gallup and says she’s still improving her email skills
“I proofread every email before I send it, and honestly end up deleting and re-writing things to correct a lot of the same mistakes (too many “just”s gets me every time). I have gradually started doing things less by habit, but the auto-pilot tendency to start an e-mail template with “Sorry” is rooted SO deep.”
Image credits: danidonovan
As with anything people found reasons to criticize the chart, “I’ve seen people online up in arms saying that some of these are super-aggressive or mean. The circumstances around which of these might be beneficial are really dependent on the dynamics and relationship you have with the other person,” and went on to say, “I’m not advocating being disrespectful, selfish, or unhelpful. There is simply a BIG difference between being nice/accommodating (which is wonderful!) and being afraid to ever say no out of fear– and I think it’s time we talked about it more.”
People found the tips super helpful
I disagree with "It'd be easier if we met in person". If I'm writing an email, it's because I need a paper trail. And in this day and age, it's ALWAYS good to have a paper trail, because you WILL be thrown under the bus, lied to, or have your hard work stolen if you don't. I also disagree with not using "What works best for you?" because using that statement is an intentional deferment meant to show that THEIR time is valuable. Which is extremely important with customer service.
Talk about it in person, then send a follow up text or email referencing the talk you just had. That means talk (quicker than email) yet you still have a trail because if you're off base they'll tell you so in writing.
Load More Replies...Whenever I write "have a nice day" I mean "f*** you and the horse you rode in on"
I felt this. I use it a lot in customer service jobs when some entitled butt muffin is just being difficult for the sake of it.
Load More Replies...I learned the hard way to always put the important info in writing. If you seat and discuss this, some people tend to twist it and then is he said she said situation. Meetings should be held only to discuss what was already sent via email or with your bosses to give you new assignments - this way you can ask your questions what exactly is needed or unclear, without wasting time in endless email chains.
Meetings can be really useful sometimes, but it's always a good idea - for the reasons you stated - to follow up with an email "this is what we discussed" so that everyone has it in writing and if something is misunderstood, you find out right away. Of course, I'm not always great at that but one of my colleagues is amazingly organized and always does this, and we all really appreciate that about her.
Load More Replies...I also HATE IT when people say "Thank you for your patience". You are assuming I was patient. You are also making it sound like I had a choice in the matter. I would rather hear, "Thank you for waiting". That sounds less snobby.
You totally screwed that up - or - What went wrong? What's your problem? - or - Is there anything I can do to help? Would you just shut up - or - Would you please shut the f up?
i can fully comprehend and see, that those mails a working for you fine. in europe, its a bit different, the expectations of "overly kind"-writing may be lower. apart from that, i prefer communicating by the telephone.
I've learned to be upfront at my job since becoming lead Designer, "No problem." vs "I'm happy to help." can be interchangeable. On the other hand, saying "I'm happy to help too much, can make you seem like a pushover, and that you are an open agent for co-workers to push their work onto you.
^ I'm adding onto this as a bit of professional advice to any field ^ --- Be sure to always check and get approval with a manager or director above you when approached by co-workers to help them with their work that you know will last more than 20 minutes, you maybe doing their work for them with no recognition- regardless if they outrank you. And the last thing you want is to have your manager ask what you've been doing for the last hour when you haven't gotten the work they asked done.
Load More Replies...Agree with most of these, but "when can I expect an update" will get a response like, "Expect!?!? Who the f**k do you think you are?"
You can expect and update any ol' time it tickles your fancy. It's got f**k-all to do with when you'l get it, but you can expect it whenever you want.
Load More Replies...I disagree with "It'd be easier if we met in person". If I'm writing an email, it's because I need a paper trail. And in this day and age, it's ALWAYS good to have a paper trail, because you WILL be thrown under the bus, lied to, or have your hard work stolen if you don't. I also disagree with not using "What works best for you?" because using that statement is an intentional deferment meant to show that THEIR time is valuable. Which is extremely important with customer service.
Talk about it in person, then send a follow up text or email referencing the talk you just had. That means talk (quicker than email) yet you still have a trail because if you're off base they'll tell you so in writing.
Load More Replies...Whenever I write "have a nice day" I mean "f*** you and the horse you rode in on"
I felt this. I use it a lot in customer service jobs when some entitled butt muffin is just being difficult for the sake of it.
Load More Replies...I learned the hard way to always put the important info in writing. If you seat and discuss this, some people tend to twist it and then is he said she said situation. Meetings should be held only to discuss what was already sent via email or with your bosses to give you new assignments - this way you can ask your questions what exactly is needed or unclear, without wasting time in endless email chains.
Meetings can be really useful sometimes, but it's always a good idea - for the reasons you stated - to follow up with an email "this is what we discussed" so that everyone has it in writing and if something is misunderstood, you find out right away. Of course, I'm not always great at that but one of my colleagues is amazingly organized and always does this, and we all really appreciate that about her.
Load More Replies...I also HATE IT when people say "Thank you for your patience". You are assuming I was patient. You are also making it sound like I had a choice in the matter. I would rather hear, "Thank you for waiting". That sounds less snobby.
You totally screwed that up - or - What went wrong? What's your problem? - or - Is there anything I can do to help? Would you just shut up - or - Would you please shut the f up?
i can fully comprehend and see, that those mails a working for you fine. in europe, its a bit different, the expectations of "overly kind"-writing may be lower. apart from that, i prefer communicating by the telephone.
I've learned to be upfront at my job since becoming lead Designer, "No problem." vs "I'm happy to help." can be interchangeable. On the other hand, saying "I'm happy to help too much, can make you seem like a pushover, and that you are an open agent for co-workers to push their work onto you.
^ I'm adding onto this as a bit of professional advice to any field ^ --- Be sure to always check and get approval with a manager or director above you when approached by co-workers to help them with their work that you know will last more than 20 minutes, you maybe doing their work for them with no recognition- regardless if they outrank you. And the last thing you want is to have your manager ask what you've been doing for the last hour when you haven't gotten the work they asked done.
Load More Replies...Agree with most of these, but "when can I expect an update" will get a response like, "Expect!?!? Who the f**k do you think you are?"
You can expect and update any ol' time it tickles your fancy. It's got f**k-all to do with when you'l get it, but you can expect it whenever you want.
Load More Replies...
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