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Making E-Mail a More Productive Tool
Debra
Hamilton
President
Creative Communications & Training
Posted July 31,
2002 Student
Affairs Online, 3 (Summer)
Is e-mail a tool or a curse? Despite the staggering growth of
e-mail in the last several years, many senior and mid-level school
administrators and company executives believe that e-mail has become
a significant waste of an organization's valuable resources.
Based on a study conducted in April 2001 by Rogen International
and Goldhaber Research Associates, employees are now sending an
average of 20 e-mails and receiving 30 e-mails each day. As a result,
workers are spending about 2 to 2.5 hours a day on e-mail tasks. No
doubt, these hours are expected to increase exponentially, burdening
workers with the need to keep up.
E-mail becomes a curse when it impedes productivity and adds to
workplace stress. Employees cite lack of organization, no clear
purpose, missing information, harsh tone, poor grammar, and overuse
as the primary reasons that e-mail fails to make the grade as a
productivity tool. And for some organizations and institutions,
unsolicited mail (spam) makes up more than 50% of the total volume.
In these cases, e-mail is clearly a nuisance.
You can make e-mail a more productive tool by writing clear,
concise, positive messages. Sounds easy. But because of e-mail's
"immediacy" factor, most people write and send messages hastily. And
few employees have been trained in how to use e-mail to build
relationships, move projects along, and share knowledge. So it's no
surprise that more than half of the e-mail moving through cyberspace
fails to communicate a clear message, creating a stagnant swamp of
miscommunication.
Here are several guidelines for making e-mail a more productive
tool.
Select e-mail with careful thought. Think
about your message and your recipient and decide if e-mail is the
BEST choice to do the job. Employees often use e-mail when a phone
call, face-to-face dialogue, a formal presentation, or a group
meeting would have worked better
Grab the reader in your subject line. Your e-mail
is competing with a frenzy of other messages, so write a
descriptive subject line that tells, in a nutshell, what the
message is all about. For example,Upcoming Meeting could be
rewritten to read Product Launch Meeting on September 9.
Although the rewrite uses more words, these words will entice the
reader to open the message.
Give the reader an early payoff. Organize the
message with an opening, body, and closing. This may sound
cumbersome, but readers prefer short paragraphs. Readers also want
a "payoff" for reading, so tell them your purpose for writing in
the first paragraph. In the next paragraph, present your major
points supported with details, but be concise. And, finally, a
good e-mail message is action-oriented, so in the closing
paragraph, outline what has to be done and who is to do it. If the
action is to be completed by a certain time, state it. This call
to action makes it easier for your reader to reply.
Use a constructive tone. Tone is the body
language of your message. Readers misinterpret many e-mail
messages because of a harsh tone-even a neutral tone can send a
shiver up the reader's spine. Add constructive words that will
enhance the message, such as please, thank you, look forward
to, appreciate your help, etc. Likewise, avoid negative words
that destroy tone, such as fail to, never, always, lack of,
can't, won't, etc.
Stay active. When writing e-mail, as well as any
business or technical document, use the active voice. Look at
every passive verb and see if you can change it into an active
one. Here's an example: Passive: The contract was signed by the
client. Active: The client signed the contract. Today's
busy readers prefer the active voice because it is shorter,
livelier, more informative, and easier to read.
Be accurate. E-mail is either an electronic
conversation or a more formal message that can be saved, printed,
and forwarded. As such, it is no different than any other business
document. Always take the time to proofread and correct all
errors-grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Also check your facts
and figures, and make sure you didn't leave out any important
details that would require costly re-communication.
Adhere to best practices. Get in the habit of
following e-mail etiquette. Here are ten general guidelines.
- Don't send indiscreet, confidential, or sensitive messages
via e-mail.
- Don't use ALL CAPS. This annoys readers because it is
harder to read. Likewise, don't use all lower case letters or
decorative or ornate fonts. Times Roman or a similar font is
the best for readability.
- Use an appropriate salutation (Dear Bob, Hello Anne, Hi
Gang) and use a sincere automated signature line.
- Cut your "Cc" list to just those readers who need to be
informed of the message but who do not need to take
action.
- Use "Bcc" with caution since blind copies give the
connotation that you are going behind a person's back.
- Use the "urgent" notation sparingly. You will have better
results using a descriptive, well-written subject line.
- Don't send junk e-mail.
- In general, don't reply to e-mail just for the sake of
acknowledging a message or saying Thank You.
- Don't send angry messages. Always take time to cool off and
then review and revise your message.
- Avoid excessive technical jargon and undefined
acronyms.
If you do your part as a writer to service your reader's needs
through better e-mail, you will benefit from their quicker
responses, and you will be looked up to as an effective
communicator. No doubt you will make a difference in the way your
institution communicates.
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