Episode 153
Listen to the Episode
Listen once for the main idea. Then use the transcript and repeat useful sentences aloud.
Download and study
Episode Resources
Download a file or continue to the transcript.
Best order: listen once, read while listening, then listen again without the text.
Full lesson
Read the Transcript
Follow the text while you listen, then repeat useful sentences aloud.
Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.
In today's episode, I'll show you how to write a business email in English. I'll teach you how to structure an email by providing some examples. Then with a fun mini-story, you will improve your English fluency.
Nowadays, we need to communicate online both on a personal and professional level. And though sending an email to a friend doesn't seem to be too challenging, many of you feel intimidated when writing a professional email in English.
SpeakEnglishPodcast.com/podcast >
Whether it's sending it to a supplier, to your boss, a professor, sign up for a job, etc., this episode will be very useful.
1) Always start with a greeting.
For example:
If you know the first and last name of the person, say hello like this:
"Hello, Mike Adams."
Use only their last name by saying:
"Dear Mr./Ms. Adams"
If it's a person you know on a more personal level, you can address them by their name:
"Dear Mike"
Another way to say hello is to mention the person's position.
"Dear manager, (recruiter, project manager, hiring manager, etc.)"
When you are not writing to a specific person use this expression:
"To whom it may concern."
2) Use an opening line.
Once you say hello, use an opening line.
Examples:
"Thank you for your reply."
"I hope this message finds you well."
"Thank you for your message."
"Regarding___, I would like to inform you that___"
"Concerning the email I received___"
"I hope you're enjoying (the great weather, your time in the city, etc.")
"Thank you so much for the quick reply; I really appreciate it."
If you haven't heard from that person in a while, you can say:
"It's been a while since I heard from you."
If you have not been able to reply to an email for a while, say:
"Sorry for the late reply,"
3)Giving Information
After a short introduction, you can start providing information.
Start with one of these phrases:
"I'd like to inform you that…
"I am writing to inform you that…"
"I am writing to let you know that.."
"Regarding (our last conversation)
"I'd like to update you on …"
"I'd like to confirm our meeting, your order, the business plan, etc.
To deliver good news, say:
"Fortunately, (we will be able to deliver your goods on time.")
"I am pleased to inform you that (we will be able to deliver your goods on time.")
If you need to give bad news, say:
"Unfortunately, (we won't be able to deliver the goods on time.")
"I regret to inform you that..(we won't be able to deliver the goods on time.")
4) Asking for Information
An excellent way to request information by email is by using this phrase.
"I would really appreciate it if you could provide me with some information on…"
This is how you ask the other person to do something for you.
"I would be grateful if you could…"
If you contact someone you know is very busy, this is a great phrase to use:
"I understand you must be extremely busy, but I would really appreciate it if you could…"
If you don't give the other person much time to answer you, apologize in advance for it by saying:
"I am sorry to ask you this on such short notice."
That's all for now; let's continue with a mini-story.
Now, let’s practice.
Speaking Practice
Mini-Story: Speaking Practice
Answer each question out loud, then listen to the answer and respond quickly. Don’t worry about mistakes.
Speaking practice
Let’s Start!
Jack once had a colleague with bad breath. Jack couldn't stand that.
Did Jack have bad breath?
No. No. Jack didn't have bad breath.
Did his colleague have bad breath?
Yes. His colleague had bad breath.
Could Jack stand his colleague's bad breath?
No. No. Jack couldn't stand his colleague's bad breath.
Who had bad breath?
Jack's colleague. He had bad breath.
Jack wanted to tell his colleague about his problem anonymously, so he created a fake email account.
Did Jack want to tell his colleague something?
Yes. Jack wanted to tell him something.
Was there a problem?
Yes. Jack's colleague had a big problem. He had bad breath.
How did Jack want to tell his colleague about the problem? Face to face or anonymously?
Jack wanted to tell his colleague about the problem anonymously. Not face to face.
Did Jack create something?
Yes, he created an email account.
Was the email account fake?
Yes. The email account was fake. He wanted to tell his colleague about the bad breath anonymously, so he needed a fake email account.
Jack created the new account and sent the email without being too diplomatic.
Did Jack create an old account?
No. No. Jack created a new account.
Did he send a letter to his colleague?
No. No. He didn't send a letter. He sent an email to his colleague.
Was Jack diplomatic when he wrote the email?
No. No. Jack wasn't too diplomatic when he wrote the email. He thought his colleague would never find out that he sent the email, so he didn't bother being too careful when writing the email.
He was so proud of himself until he realized that he had accidentally sent it from his old account.
Was Jack embarrassed?
No. No. Jack was proud of himself because he emailed his colleague about the bad breath.
Did he send the email from his old account on purpose?
No. No. He didn't send the email on purpose.
Was it an accident?
Yes. Jack accidentally sent the email from his old account. What a disaster!
The next morning, Jack apologized to his colleague and saw a hundred packets of mints on his desk.
When did Jack apologize? Next month?
He apologized the next morning.
Did Jack apologize to his wife?
No. No. Not his wife. Jack apologized to his colleague.
How many packets of mints did he find on his colleague’s desk? A thousand?
No. No. Not a thousand packets of mints. He only found a hundred packets of mints on his desk.
What an embarrassing situation! Certainly, Jack's plan didn't work. And although he apologized to his colleague, things between them were never the same.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary from This Episode
Review useful words and expressions before listening again.
01 business email
a professional written message.
02 greeting
the opening words of a message.
03 subject line
the short title of an email.
04 formal
appropriate for professional situations.
05 recipient
the person who receives the email.
06 address someone
speak or write to a person in a particular way.
07 bad breath
an unpleasant smell from the mouth.
08 embarrassing
making someone feel uncomfortable or ashamed.
Excellent, Georgiana!!! Thank you very very much!!!😊👍👏👏👏
It’s really helpful. I appreciate you. How can I ever thank you❤️🇧🇩
Cool it’s so interesting and am happy to listen and learnt and will keep learning
Hey Georgiana, I really appreciate your work, I have been listening to your podcast for the last two years, and I always recommend your podcast to my students and co-workers. Thank you so much