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Say What You Mean – Use Email Effectively

Have you been encountering a lot of ambiguity in your email lately? Could it be that we were thrown into using email sink or swim, and Email Writing 101 was never a course we took in school or was available to us at work? Are we all so pressed for time that we don’t take the time to adequately express what we need, how we feel or what we mean? Or is it that texting has indeed taken over and our instinct to use our vast vocabulary is stifled by the need to be succinct and quick in our email communications? Although there is an undercurrent of thought that says texting will replace email as the main form of business communication (as it is thought to currently be the most popular form of communication among teenagers), for the time being, email is still predominantly the main way we communicate at work.
Email can be tricky — it often doesn’t convey the emotion behind the message, which can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication. However, despite the occasional ambiguity, an Office Team survey reported that over 65% of business executives prefer to use e-mail for office communications (up from 34% the last decade). So what are some steps you can take to try to make your email communications solid?

• Use the Subject line to clearly convey the intent of the email — include a date if the communication is time sensitive or requires follow up.

For example:
Subject: Monthly Sales Meeting Agenda — REPLY by 10-1-10

• Keep your email targeted toward a single subject — don’t send an email out about the monthly meeting, the report that was due yesterday and the employee picnic.

Separate emails will keep topics orderly and easier to find. It might seem like a lot of work to write three emails instead of one, but not only does it keep topics segmented for the reader, it allows for easy recall and search-ability should you need to refer back to the email or track the respondents. Also try to keep your message short — if you need to discuss a more complex issue, doing so in-person or via a phone call is best.

• Be specific about what you want the reader to do — reply, take an action, forward, DON’T forward (confidential), etc.

In your email provide the information needed for the reader to take action or respond - such as your preferred email address or phone number. Having this information in your signature line ensures the respondent can always reach you if their contact list isn’t handy.

• Don’t “Reply All” just because you can — as with most communication, take some time to craft and think through your message or your response AND who needs to receive the communication.

Firing off your first response to an email is not the best strategy; nor is copying it to everyone in the office. Take some time to interpret (and reinterpret) the meaning and intent of the email (and, yes, pick up the phone if needed). Consider who needs to be in-the-loop on the communication for practical purposes versus copying everyone to cover your assets. Thoughtlessly copying all the recipients of an email when your response was hastily or thoughtlessly crafted, could prove damaging and is annoying.

• Use spell check (always) and good grammar — most all software programs provide a spell check and grammar check feature use it or proof it the good old way.

These are business communications; treat your email like a memo that will be part of the company record forever. As such, don’t include anything that shouldn’t be part of the company record — forever. Use complete sentences and show thought in your writing (see above).

• Keep the appearance simple — fancy or colored backgrounds make email hard to read and worse, hard to reply to.

Fancy fonts may look more interesting or personalized to you, but can be hard to read for others and might appear less polished. Remember that some people only receive text email and won’t fully appreciate the HTML formatted email you worked so hard to create. And only include images if they are pertinent to the conversation — this goes for attachments as well. Many people won’t open attachments due to the threat of viruses.

• THIS IS CONSIDERED “YELLING” — really, it is!

Don’t type in all caps – use caps ONLY to emphasize certain words. And if you do feel like yelling, don’t send an email. Take an hour or two to cool off and compose yourself before you fire off an email that you might regret later.
Some other rules of thumb —

• Don’t send an email (or voice mail for that matter) that says “call me”. The great thing about email (and voice mail) is that you can provide some detail. This allows the recipient to prepare for your conversation and be ready with the information you need. Email and voice mail should SAVE time, not waste it.
• On the flip side, don’t send a volume of information in an email. Some things are just better explained over the phone; and, if you think about it, would take less time to convey in an in-person conversation than the time it would take for you to type it. Email is meant for quick communication.
• Don’t spam. Nothing is less endearing than to send junk mail. You won’t make a million dollars from Bill Gates if you pass along his email to your colleagues and you won’t have a week of bad luck if you don’t share a sonnet with your 10 best friends. IT WON’T HAPPEN (yes, I’m yelling). If you are compelled to pass along some “useful” words of wisdom to a friend, check it out before sending. Online sites such as Snopes.com or Hoax-Slayer.com will help you determine if that compelling email is an urban legend or a legitimate concern.
• While email is admittedly emotionless, using emoticons J or : ) to help add emotion to your message isn’t generally appropriate for business communications :-o. If your office demeanor allows, you might be okay using these symbols in peer to peer communications, but don’t send emails with smiley faces to clients or use in external communications. L
• Email is not entirely private. It can be read by others if they desire to do so – they only need the skill or resources to access your email (where there is a will, there is a way). Before sending an email always be aware that what you publish electronically could fall into the wrong hands.

Always keep your audience in mind - the different generations have diverse feelings about communication styles. Generally speaking, Baby Boomers are more likely to pick up the phone or talk in person rather than send an email. Generation X lives and breathes through email, while Generation Y finds email “old-fashioned” and prefers Text, FaceBook or Twitter for quick communications.
I LOVE email. It allows me to send a long and detailed or a short and to-the-point message instantly, cheaply and to as wide or small an audience as I desire, any time day or night. And while texting/Tweeting might be the most popular form of communication among teens, I believe email still has a few years left in the business world. So make the most of that time and use email to say what you mean.

Debbie Hatke, MA, SPHR is a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant and Talent Strategy Manager with Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (http://www.StrategicHRinc.com). If you have questions or comments about this article, you can contact Debbie at Debbie@StrategicHRinc.com.

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