MCR Kicks off Summer Workshops with Email Writing
Effective email writing is crucial for success in professional life. Whether it be future job interviews, a letter to a colleague, a request to a boss, or pretty much anything that involves professional communication without personally meeting with someone, email writing is a skill that most people need to thrive. With that in mind, it is essential that you write emails that are coherent, compact, and follow the criteria described below.
Over the summer, the Montgomery County Regional Board is hosting a variety of events focused on refining the skills of both board members and any curious spectators. These events or workshops are interactive experiences that teach spectators the necessary skills and give them a chance to put these skills into action.
One of these events was an email writing workshop that was hosted on Saturday, July 11. This event was hosted over Zoom with nearly 90 attendees; spearheaded with MCR Secretary, Shairee Arora, and MCR Treasurer, Arvin Kim. Attendees would read along on a google slide presentation while the hosts reiterated and elaborated on points made in the presentation.
The MCR Writing Workshop covered three main objectives: the elements of an effective email, distinguishing good from weak emails, and practicing the creation of successful emails based on broad prompts. The meeting began with a brief introduction of MCR President, Layna Teitelbaum, as well as Secretary and Treasurer; Shairee Arora and Arvin Kim. Shairee kicked off the workshop with a brief list of background information about emails and went on to provide an overview of key areas in email structure.
The listed elements of the structure included the subject line, greeting, introduction, email body, additional information or requests, contact information, closing, and finally, the sign-off. The presentation addressed how emails should have strong subject lines that are neither vague nor overly detailed. Recipients should be addressed by name, and the introduction should include your name and any applicable title. The full google slide presentation for the workshop can be found below.
The second objective, distinguishing good from bad emails, was led by MCR Treasurer Arvin Kim. This objective had participants react with a “Check” or an “X” to email examples that had good or bad qualities. Spectators would then describe the logic of their decision in the chat and the hosts would explain theirs.
This segment had spectators interact with the slideshow and give their input on whether or not an email correctly followed the criteria. Email examples, at first, clearly leaned in one direction. However, as the presentation went on, they became increasingly challenging and provided for an interesting (and occasionally amusing) experience for all parties involved.
Emails were criticized for grammatical errors, lacking contact information, being too lengthy, not providing a name and title in the introduction and other flaws that didn’t correctly follow the criteria.
The third and last objective of the email writing workshop allowed attendees to actively partake in the drafting of emails in a timed situation. Attendees were put in separate “rooms” and were given 3-5 minutes to write an email fulfilling the criteria of a certain prompt. Volunteers would proceed to present their emails in the main “room” for everyone to give their input on them.
This allowed for participants to refine their email writing skills while the information taught prior was still fresh in their minds. One of the prompts had participants “Write an email to a celebrity to schedule a time to meet with them.” One of the event participants named Tenin Dembele wrote her email to Michelle Obama concerning her “Becoming” Netflix movie.
The final objective concluded the workshop with a brief review slide to summarize the event. Overall, the email writing workshop was not only educational but provided a highly interactive experience for participants and kept spectators engaged throughout. If you are interested in signing up for any future workshops, make sure to fill out the quick form below.
https://tinyurl.com/y25lclro
Written by Zach Poe
Published by PR Department