5 MANERAS DE MEJORAR TUS EMAILS EN INGLÉS

1. ALWAYS SAY "THANKS"
As I am sure you know, the British are big fans of saying "thank you" and "please" at every opportunity. It even gets to the point of being somewhat ridiculous!

While this is definitely true for a whole variety of situations both in your personal and professional life, it can also be applied to your emails!

When I respond to an email in English I always respond by thanking the individual who emailed me for their original message. Something like this:

• Thank you very much for your email...
• Thank you for sending me an email last week...
• It was great to hear from you last week…

The first two of these could even be used for an email that is actually quite negative (sí, somos un poco falsos)!

So, just remember that it is always a good idea to start off by thanking the person you are writing to, even if the overall message that you are writing is some bad feedback. It's the British way :)

2. THE "PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE" APPROACH

If you are not sure what the concept of the passive-aggressive email is, here’s an explanation. It is basically a situation where you want to get somebody to do something that they have clearly NOT yet done and you want to get them to do it without being too direct.

Here are some good examples:

• "As I mentioned previously..." = I have told you this before but I am going to tell you again!
• "I would be grateful if you could advise me about..." = I need to you to respond to my email and give me your opinion/advice
• "Sorry for emailing you again" = I have sent you this email before but I am going to send it again so that you really read it!
• "I have reattached the document for your convenience..." = I know that you got the original attachment but you clearly did not open it last time and I know that you are not going to look through all your emails to find the original email and attachment.

Most native speakers use these type of phrases all the time and although some people find them annoying I think they are very interesting for non-native English speakers because they provide a way of being less direct.

3. CLAVES PARA QUE CONTESTEN TUS EMAILS MÁS RAPIDO

Muchas veces me hago esta pregunta, ¿cómo puedo evitar que tarden en contestarme a este email?

Me puse a revisar mi bandeja de entrada y descubrí que los mails más asertivos de entre todos los que he enviado y recibido últimamente, pueden encontrarse 3 características en común:

Están redactados de forma concisa. En inglés las frases suelen ser más cortas, simples y directas que en español. Usa más puntos, usa menos comas y separa las frases con “and”.

• There is still certain information lacking in the spreadsheet. We need to get this to the provider by Wednesday and Mr X still needs to review it. It is a pretty urgent matter and I would appreciate a quick reply if possible.

Se explica claramente qué se espera de la persona que recibe el email y el deadline si lo hay. Pro tip: si no hay un deadline, pero esperas una respuesta inmediata, dilo también.

• Please respond with your availability before April 2nd.
• Awaiting your immediate response.

Si hay una pregunta, la formulan de forma clara y directa al final.

• Can you confirm if the meeting is still on today?
• Do you have the hard copy that needs to be signed?

4. DESPEDIRSE CON UN SIMPLE "THANKS" EN UN EMAIL PUEDE SONAR SECO

¿Y si aprovechas la última frase para cerrar con un toque positivo, empático o personal? Por ejemplo:

• Would love to get your two cents worth on this
• Do let me know if I can help with anything!
• Looking forward to your thoughts
• Let me know when is a good time for you

Si no te cuadra ninguna de estas opciones, siempre puedes terminar con alguna variación de ‘thanks’:

• Many thanks!
• Much appreciated!
• Thanks for sharing/reaching out/thinking of me!

5. PEDIR EXPLICACIONES EDUCADAMENTE DE POR QUÉ NO SE HA CUMPLIDO UN DEADLINE NO ES FÁCIL

Late submissions. I’m sure we’ve all been there, whether as a kid who failed to get the homework done on time or in your professional career.

As a boss, you’re responsible for setting deadlines and for making sure they are met. But what do you do when an expected report wasn’t handed in on the day it was due?

Without first finding out why it’s late, you sure do not want to sound too bossy. After all, the report could’ve got stuck in the outbox, there could have been a last minute emergency, or worse still, it somehow got sent to your spam folder.

So how do you send a polite yet assertive prompt via email? Here are some examples you can use without sounding too demanding and bossy:

• Could I get an ETA on the X report?
• How’s the X report coming along? Do you need an extension?
• Were you able to finish the X report?
• It’s X days past the due date on the X report. Is everything ok?
• When can I expect to see the X report?