Effective e-mails – communication that works

We all communicate by e-mail, and we usually love the speed and the convenience. But sometimes our messages come back to bite us.

Here is some advice to keep you from losing friends and alienating people…

1. Don’t shout or whisper. Use upper and lower case. If you use all capitals, the note you think is just emphatic will appear rude and hectoring. If you use lower case, you will seem unprofessional and not taking your message seriously – so why should anyone else.
2. Don’t clog up the in-boxes of other people who may have less space or a slower computer than you. Tell people in advance that you want to send them large attachments, and ask them if they would like them. If you freeze their computer, they will be furious, with good reason.
3. Don’t waste people’s time. Be specific in the subject line – people want to know why they should bother to open the e-mail.
4. I use the subject line for short messages and often leave the main body blank – for instance: Susan got the job! is often all that is needed. But do this only with people you know well. I am not convinced that e-mails need to have “Dear so and so” at the top and only put this to people I know mind, or to people who might. They are not letters, and sent for speed and ease of delivery. Other people disagree, however.
5. Be brief – see point 4.
6. Say what you need. Ask for an answer if you would like one. And if you need it by a particular time, say so.
7. But not too brief. You can risk being thought of as rude and aggressive, so err on the side of politeness. A pleasant sign off does no harm, and leave a good taste in the mouth.
8. Don’t be too chummy. It can just be irritating and instead of ingratiating yourself as a good chap, you will just seem over-keen to be their bessie friend. If you are writing a business e-mail, that’s the time to do it as if you are sending it on headed letterpaper.
9. If you wouldn’t say it on the phone, do not send it by e-mail. Something typed looks crosser, stronger, more important, more serious than you probably mean it to be. Don’t use e-mails to air a grievance or tell someone off. Do it face to face. For one thing, it’s cowardly. For another, they can always send you one back, and you will like it as little as they liked yours.
10. If you are hopping mad, give yourself time to cool down. Write out whatever you want to say, and put it in the draft folder for a day or so. Then, if you still want to send it (are you sure?) take out the adjectives. You will still make your point.
11. Even though it’s in cyberspace, your message still needs to be written properly. Check spelling, grammar, punctuation – every time.
12. Put in headings and bulletpoints, and your readers will thank you for it – anything that highlights the main points at first glance will be welcome, especially if there are several, and it is a long e-mail.

And finally:

Read every e-mail twice more before you send it. Would you like to receive it?