A large multinational corporation hired Write It Well to look for ways to improve the corporation’s e-mail communication. As part of our engagement, we conducted an internal survey to learn how their employees use e-mail. Here’s what we found.

Sometimes e-mail helps us get our job done more efficiently and effectively, but it can be a clumsy tool. 65 percent of employees waste between two and six hours each week using e-mail unproductively.

The majority of users defined a “good” e-mail as being concise, getting straight to the point, using plain English, and including a signature with contact information. Respondents overwhelmingly agreed that a “bad” e-mail is long, confusing, and has a main point buried in the text.

Here are five ways to improve e-mail communication:

1. Determine your purpose for writing and state your main point clearly at the beginning of the message. You always have a purpose for writing – it’s either to inform someone about something, or to influence someone to do something. Once you’ve determined your purpose, it’s much easier to isolate and state your e-mail’s main point.
2. Delete any unnecessary information. Ask yourself what information your audience members already know, and what new information they need to hear from you. If any information is not absolutely necessary, leave it out of your e-mail.
3. Use plain English and avoid jargon. Our motto at Write It Well is that “You’ll impress people with the clarity of your message, not the big words you use.” Same thing with jargon: it’s as easy to show off with technical terms as it is with ten-dollar vocabulary words. Clear writing is more impressive than either one.
4. Include a signature with your contact information. Always include your name and phone number. You can also include your company name, title, physical address, fax number, Web site address, cellphone number, etc.
5. Avoid BCC, use CC cautiously, and be very careful with the Reply All button. We’ve worked with thousands of professionals and have heard hundreds of horror stories about BCC, which has a tendency to backfire. Lots of people use CC incorrectly, too. Remember that if you CC someone, you don’t expect a reply. Also, the CC recipient should feel comfortable filing the message and reading it at his/her convenience. if you need a prompt reply, put the recipient’s name in the To line. Finally, use Reply All judiciously. No one wants extra mail!

Also, remember to pick up the phone whenever an e-mail exchange becomes too complicated, confusing, or otherwise ineffective.

Read our book E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide for many more tips on writing effective subject lines, sending attachments, planning your message, using the correct salutation and closing, and using correct grammar and punctuation.