How to make the best use of e-mail
E-mail is rapidly becoming the most powerful of communication tools. More and more people in business rely on desktop technology to communicate rapidly with colleagues and clients. Knowing e-mail etiquette is vital to maintaining a healthy electronic business relationship, however, and an e-mail policy in your organisation is essential if employees are not to abuse the privileges which e-mail bestows...
1. Be aware of these basic guidelines.
E-mail will work for everybody if the following basic rules are followed:
- Watch your words. Remember that words can be misconstrued, so be concise and get to the point if you want to eliminate the need for follow-up e-mails to clarify earlier misunderstood messages.
- Keep paragraphs short. Long chunks of text are difficult to read on-screen. Write short sentences, short paragraphs - and short e-mail messages if you want a quick response. Conciseness is always desirable.
- Stick to one topic per message. The more topics in your message, the more likely that the reader will be confused and delay a response.
- Minimise your 'CC's. It's easy, with the simple click of a button, to add people to your e-mail's distribution list. But send messages only to people who need, or want, to see it.
- Remember: Once you click 'send', your message can't be retrieved. So be sure you won't regret what you've written.
- Don't forget: Nothing is private. Even when a message is deleted, many software programs and online services can readily access it on the hard drive. Put nothing in an e-mail you wouldn't put in an office-wide memo.
2. Follow the e-mail etiquette rules.
By adhering to e-mail etiquette, you will become a better e-mail user and make life easier for recipients:
- Avoid angering someone. If your e-mail contains antagonistic or critical comments (cyberspeak calls it 'flaming someone'), it can hurt and create problems. Keep your e-mails free of negative comments. Resolve problems face to face or by phone.
- Sign each e-mail. Never assume people can identify you from your e-mail address. Always sign off at the bottom of your message, giving your name and position.
- Never CAPITALISE sentences. Slabs of text in capital letters makes your message harder to read.
- Think twice about sending unsolicited e-mails. Ensure your e-mails have value for the recipient. If they don't, they'll be viewed as junk mail, and deleted as soon as they're listed.
- Minimise attachments. These take longer to download and eat up the recipient's computer memory. Mail lengthy documents.
- Respect your chain of command. E-mail allows us to jump over our immediate supervisors and get straight to the top. Consider the consequences of such action.
- Don't forward others' e-mails without their permission. Assume that the sender wanted only you to see it. Always check before you send someone's message to you elsewhere.
- Use a meaningful subject line - ’New item for Ajax meeting agenda’ is more meaningful than ‘Re: your email of 6th July’.
- If you attach files, specify in the text what they are so that the reader can ensure they are received.
- Read and proofread the message before you send it. Sloppy e-mailers soon gain a reputation for carelessness.
- Follow your e-mail up with a phone call if your e-mail is an important one, to make sure it was received and understood.
3. Be creative in your use of e-mail.
Apart from using e-mail for handing out assignments, checking progress, and passing on information, you'll be wasting a valuable tool if you don't creatively explore its potential. For example:
- Try using e-mail to brainstorm. E-mail is great for brainstorming staff in different locations. Outline the objective and e-mail the challenge, together with a routing list, to the first person on that list who provides input and e-mails the next person. As the last person on the routing list, you can collate the accumulated responses.
- Try using e-mail to improve morale and motivate:
Offer help. If an employee is struggling with a problem, send an e-mail expressing your concern and offering support.Show appreciation. Send selected employees little notes to let them know you appreciate their efforts.
Go over their heads. If someone helps you, send a short note to his or her boss, outlining the contribution. Send a copy to the employee.
Share the credit. At day's end, identify something good that happened to you. Send a thank-you e-mail to a staffer who helped make it happen.
