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Mastering face-to-face, phone, correspondence communications isn't enough to master business communications these days. In this ever-growing computer economy, you have to know how to e-mail. The average worker gets literally hundreds of these electronic messages a week from a range of sources for a host of reasons in a multitude of forms. We've all heard the horror stories. E-mail gets lost, intercepted, rerouted, and unanswered. The "e" in e-mail may very well stand for exasperating for all its work and inconvenience or it may stand for extraneous for its for impersonal yet never-ending nature. The same was probably said when the telephone, fax, and other technologies arrived on the scene. They are, after all, merely means of communicating. Understand them and you relate effectively. Misunderstand them and get lost. But it can also stand for exceptional. "E" may also stand for exceptional if you know how to effectively use this most popular of mediums. Ask yourself which email messages do you ignore, discard, rush through? It's likely that if yours looks like theirs, they'll do the same to yours you're doing to theirs. Know before you go. This is a most unique communication form and it's ease, directness, speed, and accessibility, it can lead to problems. Whether you're ..., it's always good advice to look*or think* before you leap. The informal nature of e-mail makes it susceptible to ... Stop and think. You do it for oral presentations. Why not e-mail? Decide if your message is most suited for e-mail. It could be a phone call, a personal visit, or a formal letter would be more appropriate. Because it is so immediate, it must be handled with judiciousness. This is especially true of emotional messages. It's a good idea to think before you type. It can save everyone a lot of problems And since it is as easy to send your message to the entire universe as to a single member, many do. Limit your distribution. Who really needs to receive your message? More isn't always better. Sometimes it is less effective. And if you continue to send extraneous messages to unwanting people, they might not heed your message when it is pertinent.
Say what you mean. Books use chapters, newspapers use sections, plays break down into scenes.
Structure your message. Provide easy access with formatting. People need to know what's what in an immediate basis not once upon a time. If you've done your preparatory work, this should be easy.
Use informative subject lines so readers can determine priority. If you need action, state it in the subject line. In other words, make it easy for them to respond.
Write a good story with the key point of the message at the front. Don't make them hunt for what the point of your message is. The chances are high they won't take the time or effort. Make it important or risk being deleted.
Update and get them up to speed. Especially with multiple readers who may not all have the same information, it is necessary to bring everyone up to speed.
Use good English. Just because it seems informal doesn't mean people don't care * and aren't making impressions based on your work.
The more active you are, the better. The more specific you are, the better.
Correct grammar and spelling is never so important in a medium that uses only the printed word. You don't have the luxury of voice inflection, nonverbal cues, or the ability to expound.
Off-beat acronyms. What may make sense to you may not to others. Remember that humor or tongue-in-cheek remarks rarely go over in black and white.
Keep good notes. E-mail can be like your back yard. One or two weeds unchecked soon become a yard unmanageable. Check regularly and you won't have to reread through it all later. The more you check it, the easier it is to check it.
Delete regularly. It's a discipline. Some people keep everything they receive. Information pack rats. If it's that important, react to it. E-mail is here to stay. Master it and use its ease and speed to your advantage. In addition to the voice-mail madness that seems to be sweeping the nation, e-mail messaging can also become an abysmal pit of pressure to respond-from the trivial to the urgent. Typically, the staff in our office receive from 5 to 60 e-mails each day. Choices? Delete, file, or print out. We're back to the desktop stack trays piled high with printed e-mail. Before e-mail habits victimize yet another hapless recipient, please consider passing along these tips to the guilty:
irrelevant details are no more appropriate in e-mail than in hard copy. or whiny note. You may come to regret reflex mail at performance appraisal time, during a job-hunting season, or in the face of later sales opportunities. Technology is here to stay. What's disappearing fast is personal communication. |
