Follow this simple，six-step system to ensure your e-mails get the job done.

遵循確保你的電子郵件能完成任務(wù)的簡(jiǎn)單六步法。

E-mails are the most common document in the business world.Unfortunately，many e-mails are so poorly written that recipients must struggle to figure out why they‘re reading the e-mail and what they’re supposed to do about it.

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電子郵件是商業(yè)世界里最常見(jiàn)的文件形式。不幸的是，很多電子郵件都寫得非常差，以至于郵件接收者必須努力搞清楚他們?yōu)槭裁丛谧x那封電子郵件以及他們應(yīng)該針對(duì)那封電子郵件的內(nèi)容做什么事情。

Here‘s a foolproof method to write e-mails that get the job done.

以下是讓電子郵件完成任務(wù)的簡(jiǎn)單且萬(wàn)無(wú)一失的方法。

1.Have a specific decision in mind.

1.在心中有一個(gè)具體的決定。

The goal of an e-mail is always to get the recipient（s）to make a decision of some kind.Otherwise，why bother writing the it？Therefore，before you write anything，ask yourself：exactly what decision do I want the recipient to make？As with all business writing，vagueness is the opposite of useful.The clearer the goal，the more convincing your e-mail will be.

電子郵件的目的總是讓郵件接收者做出某種決定。否則，為什么要費(fèi)勁寫電子郵件呢？因此，在你寫任何東西之前，你都要問(wèn)自己：我到底想讓郵件接收者做出什么樣的決定？就所有的商業(yè)寫作而言，模糊性是實(shí)用性的對(duì)立面。你的電子郵件的目標(biāo)越清晰越有說(shuō)服力。

2.Start by writing your conclusion.

2.以你的結(jié)論為開始寫電子郵件。

Your conclusion is a statement of the decision that you want the recipient to make，based upon the contents of your e-mail.

你的結(jié)論是你想讓郵件接收者做出什么樣的決定的一個(gè)聲明，而這個(gè)決定要基于你的電子郵件內(nèi)容做出。

In school，they probably taught you to start with an introduction and end with an conclusion.Wrong.Nobody in the business world has time to wander through the development of an idea.If you don’t tell them the reason for the e-mail immediately，chances are they‘ll just move on.So you start with your conclusion.For example，suppose your goal is get your boss to approve an in-house gym.

在學(xué)校里，他們可能教你以介紹內(nèi)容開始以結(jié)論結(jié)束。錯(cuò)誤。商業(yè)世界里沒(méi)有人有時(shí)間去揣摩一個(gè)想法的發(fā)展過(guò)程。如果你不立即告訴他們你寫電子郵件的原因，他們很可能就會(huì)繼續(xù)干別的事情。所以你要以結(jié)論為開始。例如，假設(shè)你的目標(biāo)是讓你的老板同意建一個(gè)內(nèi)部的健身房。

WRONG：

Jim，

As you know，employee absenteeism is generally recognized as an ongoing problem with a steep financial impact，both in our company and in other companies in our industries.〔yada，yada，yada〕Therefore，we should consider allocating money for the installation of a gym at our headquarter facility.

錯(cuò)誤的說(shuō)法：

吉姆，

如你所知，員工曠工是一個(gè)公認(rèn)的持續(xù)存在的問(wèn)題，而且這一問(wèn)題對(duì)我們公司和我們所處行業(yè)的其它公司都有難以承受的財(cái)務(wù)影響等等。因此，我們應(yīng)該考慮撥款在我們的總部基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施中建造一個(gè)健身房。

RIGHT：

Jim，

I want you to approve the installation of an in-house gym.

正確的說(shuō)法：

吉姆，

我想讓你批準(zhǔn)建立一個(gè)內(nèi)部的健身房。

3.Structure your supporting argument into“digestible chunks.”

3.把你的支持論據(jù)組織成“容易理解的小塊”。

Once you’ve stated your conclusion，marshall the arguments that support your conclusion（i.e.The decision you want made）。To make your arguments“digestible，”break them into small“chunks，”and present each point with a similar format and sentence structure.

一旦你說(shuō)出了結(jié)論，就要使用能夠支持你的結(jié)論（即你想要做出的決定）的論據(jù)。要使你的論據(jù)“容易理解”，你要把它們分成小“塊”，并以相似的格式和句子結(jié)構(gòu)呈現(xiàn)每一個(gè)論據(jù)。

WRONG：

According to a recently published government report，group physical fitness is extremely important even though very few companies actually demonstrate a commitment to it！Many firms identify physical fitness as an undervalued competitive asset，but don‘t have a plan for improvement in this area，even though physical fitness is strongly linked to corporate and individual economic and personal success.I feel that if we do not address the issue of physical fitness as it enhances workplace productivity，we will be left behind.

錯(cuò)誤的做法：

根據(jù)最近發(fā)表的一項(xiàng)政府工作報(bào)告，團(tuán)體身體健康情況非常重要，雖然很少有公司會(huì)真正地展示出對(duì)團(tuán)體身體健康做出的承諾！很多公司確定身體健康是一項(xiàng)被低估的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)性資產(chǎn)，盡管身體健康與公司和個(gè)人的經(jīng)濟(jì)和個(gè)人成功有密切關(guān)系，但是他們?cè)谶@個(gè)領(lǐng)域還沒(méi)有改進(jìn)計(jì)劃。我覺(jué)得如果我們不解決身體健康這個(gè)問(wèn)題，我們將會(huì)被落下，因?yàn)樗芴岣吖ぷ鲌?chǎng)所的工作效率。

RIGHT：

An in-house gym will：

-Reduce absenteeism.

-Increase overall productivity.

正確的說(shuō)法：

一個(gè)內(nèi)部的健身房將會(huì)：

——減少曠工。

——提高整體的生產(chǎn)效率。

4.Bolster each argument with evidence.

4.用證據(jù)支持每一個(gè)論點(diǎn)。

It’s been said that everyone has two things：a sphincter and an opinion.Unless you provide facts that back up your arguments，your e-mail becomes one giant，opinion and therefore，in the eyes of the recipient，you‘ll probably seem like one，giant.。。well.。。，you get the idea.

眾所周知每個(gè)人都有兩樣?xùn)|西：括約肌和想法。除非你提供支持你的論點(diǎn)的事實(shí)，否則你的電子郵件會(huì)成為一個(gè)龐然大物，因此在接收者的眼里你的意見(jiàn)似乎就像是一個(gè)龐然大物……嗯……你懂的。

WRONG：

An in-house gym will reduce absenteeism because then people will want to come to work rather than stay at home and they won’t get sick so much.

錯(cuò)誤的說(shuō)法：

內(nèi)部健身房將會(huì)減少曠工，因?yàn)槟菚r(shí)人們將會(huì)愿意來(lái)工作而不是呆在家里，而且他們也不會(huì)生那么多病了。

RIGHT：

-Reduce absenteeism.According to a National Health Institute survey of 1，000 firms，companies with in-house gyms experience 20%less absenteeism than those who lack such facilities.

正確的說(shuō)法：

-減少曠工。根據(jù)國(guó)家健康研究所對(duì)1000家公司進(jìn)行的調(diào)查結(jié)果，有內(nèi)部健身房的公司比沒(méi)有內(nèi)部健身房的公司的曠工率少20%。

5.Repeat your conclusion as a“call to action.”

5.把你的結(jié)論作為“行動(dòng)口號(hào)”來(lái)重復(fù)。

At the end of the e-mail，restate the conclusion in a way that provides the recipient with the next step that the recipient must take，assuming the recipient now agrees with your conclusion，based upon the force of your arguments and evidence.Keep it simple and specific.

在郵件結(jié)尾處以給收件人提供下一步必須采取什么行動(dòng)的方式重申結(jié)論，基于你的論點(diǎn)和證據(jù)的力度假設(shè)接收者同意你的結(jié)論。要讓結(jié)論保持簡(jiǎn)單和具體。

WRONG：

Your support for this project would be greatly appreciated.

錯(cuò)誤的說(shuō)法：

你對(duì)此項(xiàng)目的支持，我將不勝感激。

RIGHT：

If you respond to this e-mail with your approval，I‘ll get the process started.

正確的說(shuō)法：

如果你回復(fù)郵件批準(zhǔn)此事，我將啟動(dòng)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目。

6.Stick a benefit in the subject line.

6.在主題行寫上一個(gè)好處。

Your subject line（aka“title”）is the most important part of an e-mail，which is why you write it last，after you’ve written down both your conclusion and the arguments and evidence that supports that conclusion.

你的主題行（又名“標(biāo)題行”）是一封電子郵件中最重要的部分，這就是在你寫下你的結(jié)論和支持結(jié)論的論點(diǎn)和證據(jù)后最后再寫主題的原因。

Ideally，a subject line should accomplish two important tasks：1）interest the recipient enough so that the e-mail gets opened and read，and 2）imply the conclusion that you want to the recipient to accept.

理想情況下，一個(gè)標(biāo)題行應(yīng)該完成兩項(xiàng)重要任務(wù)：1）足夠地吸引接收者，這樣接收者能夠打開電子郵件并閱讀電子郵件2）暗示你想讓接收者接受的結(jié)論。

In most cases，the best way to accomplish both tasks is to encapsulate a benefit（or benefits）that will result from the decision that you‘d like the recipient to make.

在大多數(shù)情況下，完成兩項(xiàng)任務(wù)最好的方法就是概括你想要接收者做出的決定將會(huì)帶來(lái)的一個(gè)好處或者多個(gè)好處。

WRONG：

Subject：The Health Impact of In-House Employee Fitness Program

錯(cuò)誤的說(shuō)法：

主題：內(nèi)部員工健身項(xiàng)目的健康影響

RIGHT：

Subject：How we can reduce absenteeis

正確的說(shuō)法：

主題：我們能如何減少曠工

To wrap it up，here are the two e-mails：

不多說(shuō)了，以下是兩封電子郵件：

WRONG：

To：Jim＠Acme.COM

Subject：The Health Impact of In-House Employee Fitness Programs

Jim，

As you know，employee absenteeism is generally recognized as an ongoing problem with a steep financial impact，both in our company and in other companies in our industries.An in-house gym will reduce absenteeism because then people will want to come to work rather than stay at home and they won’t get sick so much.Therefore，we should consider allocating money for the installation of a gym at our headquarters facility.Your support for this project would be greatly appreciated.

Jill

錯(cuò)誤的說(shuō)法：

至：Jim＠Acme.COM

主題：內(nèi)部員工健身項(xiàng)目的健康影響

吉姆，

如你所知，員工曠工是一個(gè)公認(rèn)的持續(xù)存在的問(wèn)題，而且這一問(wèn)題對(duì)我們公司和我們所處行業(yè)的其它公司都有難以承受的財(cái)務(wù)影響。內(nèi)部健身房將會(huì)減少曠工，因?yàn)槟菚r(shí)人們將會(huì)愿意來(lái)工作而不是呆在家里，而且他們也不會(huì)生那么多病了。因此，我們應(yīng)該考慮撥款在總部基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施中建造一個(gè)健身房。你對(duì)此項(xiàng)目的支持，我將不勝感激。

吉爾

RIGHT：

To：Jim＠Acme.COM

Subject：How we can reduce absenteeism

Jim，

I want you to approve the installation of an in-house gym.This will：

-Reduce absenteeism.According to a National Health Institute survey of 1，000 firms，companies with in-house gyms experience 20%less absenteeism than those who lack such facilities.

-Increase productivity.We have 50%more absenteeism than other firms in our industry，so reducing that number by 20%will automatically increase our productivity by 10%。

If you respond to this e-mail with your approval，I‘ll get the process started.

Jill

正確的說(shuō)法：

至：Jim＠Acme.COM

主題：我們能如何減少曠工

吉姆，我想讓你批準(zhǔn)建造一個(gè)內(nèi)部的健身房。這將會(huì)：

——減少曠工。根據(jù)國(guó)家健康研究所對(duì)1000家公司進(jìn)行的調(diào)查結(jié)果，有內(nèi)部健身房的公司比沒(méi)有內(nèi)部健身房的公司的曠工率少20%。

——提高生產(chǎn)效率。我們公司比其它同行業(yè)公司的曠工率高出50%，所以把曠工率減少20%自然會(huì)把我們的生產(chǎn)效率提高10%。

如果你回復(fù)郵件批準(zhǔn)此事，我將啟動(dòng)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目。

吉爾

Seriously，which of the two e-mails do YOU think is more likely to move your agenda forward？

認(rèn)真地說(shuō)你認(rèn)為這兩封電子郵件哪一封更可能推進(jìn)你的工作日程呢？