Why replying to a request could benefit the reader

Your goal is to have the reader make a decision quickly and respond in a timely manner. Information that is not related to your objective should be left out. Consider your targeted reader. Make it your business to now something about that person. What is their title or position? Are they the president of the company or the shipping clerk? Do they have what you want? Can they do what you ask?

Give them the relevant background information needed in order to make an informed decision. Let the reader know who you are and something about your motive. If you are to receive some benefit, it may help to explain for what purpose the benefit will be used. If the reader is to receive some benefit, it may help to offer an incentive to respond.

Put yourself in the reader's shoes and ask yourself what and how much background information is needed in order to take the action you are requesting. Would you already know everything you need to know, or would you need a little more? While you are in their shoes you might also ask yourself how much persuasion you would you need in order to be moved to act. This will help you determine whether you have supplied too much information, or not enough. It will also help you determine what information needs to be qualified or amplified for the reader's benefit.

Organizing your response letter will establish a logical order in which to present your information. You have already begun this task by establishing an objective and determining your scope. Refer back to them. Together they include much of the content that will become the body of your letter.

A simple outline will get you organized. Begin by creating a list of points that your letter will address and put them in the sequential order that will best help your reader comprehend your response. These points will become the backbone of your draft; your outline will become a checklist. Working from an outline is the simplest way to draft a response letter. You have already organized yourself by creating a list.

Refer back to it and turn each fragment into a full and complete sentence expressing a single thought or idea. In order that your thoughts and ideas are conveyed in a cohesive manner, write in as natural a sounding voice as possible.

Try writing your draft quickly and then read it out loud. Concentrate on communicating your objective to your reader. Make sure that the scope of your letter contains all the relevant information included in your organizational list. Keep in mind that you are writing a rough draft. Note : To learn how to request a reply with attachments feature, see How do I give feedback on Microsoft Office.

Before you click Reply All , consider whether everyone needs to see your reply, especially if the message was sent to a lot of people or distribution lists. It's often better to click Reply , and then add only the people you really want to include.

If you want to forward two or more messages to the same recipients as one message, select the messages you want to include in the message list. Click the first message, then hold the Ctrl key as you select the additional messages. Once you've selected all of the messages you want to forward, click Forward on the main Outlook Ribbon to create a new message with your other messages included as attachments. You can have Outlook automatically open all replies and forwards in a new window not in the Reading pane.

Select Mail , then scroll down to the Replies and forwards section. When you forward a message, the message includes any attachments that were included with the original message. Additional attachments can be added to the message. You can manually add attachments to any reply message. Replying to or forwarding an e-mail message is one of the most common tasks in Microsoft Office Outlook The basics of replying to or forwarding a message are covered here.

Help on customizing your e-mail messages, such as changing the background or adding attachments, is available in other topics. Reply to the sender. Reply to the sender and all recipients of a message. Forward a message. Do not automatically include the original message.

Troubleshoot a missing Send button. When the message is selected but not opened in its own window On the Standard toolbar, click Reply. When the message is open and I see the contents On the Message tab, in the Respond group, click Reply.

Tip: To add an attachment, see Attach a file or other item to an e-mail message. Note: By default, when you reply to an e-mail message, the original message is included in the message body. See the section Do not automatically include the original message to change this setting.

You can reply to the sender of an e-mail message, or you can include anyone else listed in the To and Cc fields. In many cases, you do not need to include everyone on your response. Exercise discretion when you use Reply All , especially when there are a large number of recipients or distribution lists on your reply. Reply is a better choice when you only need to communicate with the message sender. Or, delete the names of people and distribution lists that don't need to read your reply.

When the message is selected but not opened in its own window On the Standard toolbar, click Reply All. Tip: If you only need to contact some of the recipients, you can delete other recipients of the message by clicking a recipient's name in the To or Cc box, which highlights the name, and then pressing DELETE. When you forward a message, you specify the recipients in the To, Cc, and Bcc boxes. The message will include any attachments that arrived with the original message.

To add additional attachments, see Attach a file or other item to an e-mail message. Tip: If you want to forward two or more messages, select the first message, press CTRL while selecting each additional message, and then click Forward. Each message will be forwarded as attachments in a new message. When the message is selected but not opened in its own window On the Standard toolbar, click Forward.

When the message is open On the Message tab, in the Respond group, click Forward. Note: You must have at least one valid e-mail recipient in the To , Cc , or Bcc box to send a message. To select recipient names from a list, click the To , Cc , or Bcc button. The future of innovation and technology in government for the greater good. Leaders who are shaping the future of business in creative ways.

New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine--even an entirely new economic system. To increase your chances of getting of a reply, here are nine tricks you can try:. It sounds simple, but sometimes all you need to do is ask for a response. If an email needs a reply, alert the person in the subject line, suggests St. Louis-based professional organizer Janine Adams. The topic can change, especially during a long back and forth thread, making the original subject line inappropriate.

By updating the subject line on that thread, you re-engage all readers. To boost your response rate by half, keep your email between 50 and words, according to a study by email-marketing platform Boomerang.