I am a huge fan of happiness. I do not like to dwell on the negativity. Often I throw bad situations instantly in the past and try to move on to something else that is happy. Sometimes a situation has to addressed — happy or… not so happy. At Ving we call these situations, “the elephant in the room.” There are tips to, how to write a professional email, when it deals with the elephant.
Our first tip to learn how to write a professional email dealing with conflict or awkward animals in your office is to nip it in the bud. You need to catch it early. It is important to not deal these conversations. They can be added unwanted stress that you, your managers, and your employees do not need.
If you have an elephant in your office — and it is a sad elephant — make a happy sandwich. Surround the problem by positive reinforcement. When you are learning how to write a professional email about conflicts start and end them with something that your employee is doing great. Here is a great example:
Dear XXX,
Thank you so much for turning in your project early. This gives us extra time to make sure everything is exactly how it needs to be. I noticed that there were a few sections I think we can revise to make even better. Please take a second look at the 4th and 6th paragraphs on page 2. Thank you so much for all your hard work. We couldn’t reach our goals without you!
It can be easy to want to just tell your employees that they are doing (insert elephant) wrong. Instead let them know how their problem or situation is affecting you or the other employees. Pull the blame away from them so that they are able to see how it is affecting others and why it is such an issue.
These awkward unhappy elephants happen but once you have learned how to write a professional email that addresses the situation, you will be able to handle anything that comes your way.
Our tool Ving, will help you handle the situation with a more personal touch. We encourage you to sign up for your free trial of Ving and try sending your employees a personal video. This will create that face to face communication without the need of calling a meeting over an elephant.