KISS at Work

Writing emails at work can be thought of as an art form... You don't want to sound too monotonous, nor do you want to be too lavish with your words and so you have to use the Occum's Razor approach: i.e. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID (K.I.S.S) - but not too stupid.

For example, when writing to my line manager, I use casual diction and abbreviate often, "K, what did u think of the AOP meeting?"
When writing to the division head, I am more formal but still bordering on conversational like "Okay, let's meet about filling in the gaps to the..."
When talking to people outside my department, I greet them formally (if it is a first email) and proceed with professional language, avoiding slang and abbreviated words except for the occasional FYI,FYA,ASAP.
When talking to Senior Management, here is where is gets tougher- they don’t have time to read lengthy and wordy emails, you have to get straight to the point, however, your brevity cannot eat away at the message you are delivering. You might fall into the trap of failing to deliver the message appropriately, and this is when making the message too simple make you look stupid.

If you find yourself typing away without a clear structure in mind to what you are trying to say, always remember that all emails have an objective! The subject title should describe in one word or a short phrase what the email topic is about. Again, choosing the right subject title is often tough.

When I first started working I was told emails are the perfect way to communicate, it documents everything. When I first started typing emails I would think long and hard about what to write- I would type, proof read, re-read, and then hesitate to click send. Eventually though, I picked up on a rhythm, got comfortable with a way of typing and it's been working for me... Well at least I haven’t received any complaints as of yet!

Casual and social emails on the other hand.... that is a different story, ask my friends, they know :)