Don't lose your best client or even your
job over a simple e-mail mistake.
E-mail is
now a part of everyday life that doesn't mean it's
something you don't have to think carefully about.
Sending or receiving ill-conceived or improper email via
your work account can lead to everything from
embarrassment to lost sales or in some cases
disciplinary action.
Office email, when used improperly, can undermine your
efforts to get ahead in your career. With many "helpful"
features built into current e-mail programs you have to
stay on guard. Following are some tips to help you use
email to your advantage rather than detriment.
Make it brief.
Email is not a form of communication that lends itself
to long narratives. If you do send a long e-mail; say a
product description to a potential client, or if you
send a clarification of departmental policy to your
colleagues - make sure you go over the details in person
as well as in your email, since relying on your email to
communicate all the details often fails. And use
paragraphs and normal fonts/colors, readers have a much
easier time deciphering longer emails that impart
information in discreet, readable chunks than in
endless-seeming blocks of text or worse garishly
distracting words.
Avoid e-mailing sensitive information.
Despite the seeming harmlessness of email, it is not
really private. It's way too simple for the
recipient of your email to forward it to others. And
remember that your company can access any email going
into or out of your account. Rule number one for
emailing sensitive information: Assume that any email
you send will be read by people other than its intended
recipients.
Another reason to avoid including sensitive information
in e-mail is that you might change your mind about
whether you want to let that information be known.
Michael Eisner, for instance, once sent financial
information about Disney to journalists without
realizing it had not yet been publicly released. Rule
number two for emailing sensitive information: Think
before you hit "send." Know when to use email
and when to have a discussion in person or over the
phone. These days people like to use email for all kinds
of purposes for which it is usually not ideal. If you
want to brainstorm, or to manage or critique others,
it's usually best to do so in person - or, failing that,
over the phone.
There are a number of reasons for this. For one thing,
email does not communicate unspoken nuances the way
personal communication does. For another, people are
often not as "present" when they read email as they are
in a real-time meeting. Think about it: How many times
have you thought you communicated something perfectly
clearly via email, only to have to go over it all again
later in person?
Send email only to those who will want or need to
see it. Avoid sending
messages to people who aren't involved. There are
better methods to keep someone "in the loop". Don't
automatically hit "reply all" if your message is really
meant just for the person whose email you're responding
to.
And don't send that forwarded joke about the pope, the
rabbi, and the e-business consultant to everyone in the
office. Those who don't share your sense of humor - or
are too busy to laugh - will lose respect for you over
time. Far better to try to spread cheer to a select few
who will appreciate it than to everybody.
Make sure it is worth there time.
A message without context is a message that's likely to
be deleted as soon as it's read. There are a number of
ways to avoid this. For one thing, you should use your
emails' subject lines to make it clear what they're
about. Don't say "FYI" when you can say "FYI Widget Q3
revenue estimates." For another, you should use a
salutation at the top of the body of your emails, and
include your electronic signature at the bottom; that
way, those who are forwarded or cc:'d the email will
have an easier time understanding who is speaking to
whom and why they are being involved in the
conversation. Finally, try to respond to emails by
cutting and pasting so that your email contains snippets
of earlier emails followed by your specific response to
each snippet.
Spell recipients' names correctly.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised
by how often people misspell their coworkers' names. If
the person you're sending an email to is named "Cindy"
make sure you don't address her as "Cindi." It shows
that the recipient is not important enough to you to
take the time to address correctly.
Watch the AutoFill / Auto complete
Newer e-mail programs will offer suggested recipients
from your contact list as soon as you begin entering the
name. While a nifty little trick your computer doesn't
realize the difference between Jim Barstow your boss and
Jim Barton your headhunter that's been trying to find
you that next great job. Take an extra moment to review
your e-mail and recipients before hitting send.
