How many do you send?
Over the past two decades, email has transformed business operations across the globe. In America alone, office workers now send a whopping three trillion electronic messages each year. As a result, information reaches larger audiences over vast distances more quickly than ever before, making communication much more efficient. Fully leveraged, email’s benefits also include more timely data gathering, consensus building, decision-making, and of course, profit potential.
Yet for all of this, email has its pitfalls, and none more potentially harmful than bad etiquette on the part of the sender.
Unlike face-to-face or phone conversations that offer cues such as facial expressions, body language, tone of voice or even cadence of speech, email forces the reader to take the writer — quite literally — at his or her word. Poorly crafted messages can cause misunderstanding and mistakes, while those sent in haste or anger can bring about workplace tension and resentment. And none of this is conducive to productivity.
So how can each of us who writes emails take steps to avoid these pitfalls? Here are a few points of etiquette that may help:
Keep it brief: Email is not the place for writing tomes. It should be reserved for those topics you can best communicate in four or fewer short sentences. If you find yourself writing a couple of paragraphs, it’s probably worth a phone call, memo, letter or meeting instead. Keeping emails as succinct — but relevant — as possible is also respectful of your co-workers’ time.
Be mindful of word choice: More so than any other form of communication, email requires the editor inside your head to always be asking, “When the other person receives this message, how will he react?” For instance, if you received an email invitation to a company gathering and were asked to RSVP, would the more thoughtful e-response be “not going” or “sorry I can’t be there — thanks for the invite”?
Exercise caution: Remember when you learned to “bite your lip” or “count to 10” before saying something you might regret? Well, the email equivalent is, “Think twice before you hit the send button.” As elsewhere, e-discretion is the better part of valor.
Don’t make assumptions: Due to its brevity and lack of accompanying verbal cues, email can be easily misinterpreted. If you read something that doesn’t make sense or rubs you the wrong way, always give the writer the benefit of the doubt and ask for clarification. When you do this, you’ll find the same leniency extended to you.
Follow the rules: Most companies have policies that discourage or prohibit employees from emailing sexually explicit or questionable material, and for good reason. Such policies help protect both employers and their staff from unnecessary embarrassment and potential complaints or legal action.
Go light on the emoticons: Smileys, frowns, and the like, when used judiciously, help lend clarity and a sense of feeling to a medium that’s otherwise one dimensional. But a few happy faces and googly eyes go a long way, especially in a business setting. As a rule of thumb, use these symbols no more frequently than you would expect to receive them in return.
Be polite: Your mother’s advice at the kitchen table applies here, too: Saying “please” and “thank you” is common courtesy, no matter the form of communication.
Gail Wilkerson owns Accent Business Consulting in Falmouth, which specializes in strategic planning, customer service, marketing and special events consulting for organizations large and small. She has been a communications and planning professional for nearly 20 years. Contact her at gwilkerson@accentbusinessconsulting.com.