To spot the passive voice, look for forms of the verb "to be," such as "will" or "was," in front of a verb. For example, "The meeting will be held at 8pm," is passive. Instead, say, "The meeting is at 8pm."

Sometimes it's tempting to throw in a joke or include some office gossip in an email. However, these add-ins don't contribute to your message and can negatively affect your reputation. They're also easily misunderstood.

Yes, you need to be authentic and to let your voice shine through in your writing. But you also need to stay professional; it's a balancing act. A good way to check the appropriateness of your content is to ask, "Would I be comfortable with this if it was on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow morning?" If this makes you cringe, do some editing.