While email is a quick way to reach someone, it's also a quick way to make a bad impression. By its nature, email tends to be more informal, but you need to keep in mind you're still doing business with the person on the other end, whether it's a customer, a vendor, an employee or your boss-and lack of care within your email will speak volumes to them.
The challenges of email, says Jodi RR Smith, is that there is no way to convey body language, which makes up 65 to 70 percent of interpersonal communication, and that leads to misunderstandings. The words we use are almost unimportant compared to our body language and tone, says Smith, president of Mannersmith in Massachusetts, of how people generally communicate. People need to compensate for the lack of body language with proper wording.
People also need to rein in their frustrations when they don't get an immediate response. We make the assumption that everyone is sitting at their desk all the time or on their Blackberry, says Jim Kimberly, president of Sapphire Consulting in Amherst. They are not. If it is that important, get your butt out of the chair and walk over and talk to people or call them.
We asked experts for their top tips for proper email etiquette, and when to know it's time to pick up the phone-or yes-even a pen.
1. Avoid putting words in caps and don't use emoticons: In subject lines, capitalization is a cue for email servers to send your message to junk mail. Even worse, excessive capitalization within emails can have your readers feeling like doing the same thing. Some people take that as the person is yelling at me', says Ted Gorski, owner of Get Your Edge in Bedford. When people feel that way, Gorski say that immediately has people feeling offended and then they don't read the message. As to emoticons, Kimberly says most people find them annoying.
2. Check your grammar and spelling: Business is about relationships, so make recipients feel like you took time for them, Smith says. Check spelling, including people's names, and punctuation. This includes text messages. Just because you're dealing with smaller keys is no excuse for using eslang and abbreviations in professional correspondence.
3. Use greetings and letter endings: You wouldn't pick up the phone and just launch into your message, Smith says, so treat email the same. I find it helps to personalize an email. It's almost like a warmup. All the little niceties allow us to stretch our interpersonal muscles, Smith says.
4. Don't CC all of upper management: I think it's really obnoxious the amount of cc'ing in business today because they want to cover their butts, Kimberly says. Most people, unless they really know why they are getting an email, just see their name on a list of 20 people and don't bother reading it. Kimberly's suggestion: Only send emails to people who need to know. He says higher ups are cc'd on lots of things they never read and don't want to know about.
5. Use attachments: Email is meant for short and sweet messages. If you have more than two paragraphs, put it in an attachment, Kimberly says, so people can decide when to read it.
6. Use the subject line effectively: Kimberly suggests making the subject line detailed and concise. So instead of meeting tomorrow write 2 p.m. meeting tomorrow for Jones proposal.
7. Take a break before sending: If you have any doubts about an email, wait an hour or two before sending it, Smith says, especially if it's to a VIP client.
8. Pick up the phone or take a walk: Email is convenient, but sometimes it's just not appropriate. We've gotten to the point of being overly reliant on email, Gorski says. My big advice is, if you can use the direct approach and talk to the person face-to-face, that's probably the most effective way. Kimberly suggests calling if you need a quick response while Smith says both calling and emailing creates more of a impression than just email.
9. And finally, pick up a pen: Yes, a pen. If you want to let a client know you appreciate their business, send a handwritten note. An email thank you note says I care enough to do the very least, Smith says.
10. Beware of shorthand: While U and 2 may be acceptable shorthand in a text to friends, be professional in business texts. The frustration I hear is people tend to forget they are in a business setting and they are shortening words as if they are talking to friends. If you are texting in that vein, it's a reflection on the [business], Gorski say.
Email, all three experts agreed, has many good uses, but using it right, they say, sometimes means using it less.
Current Issue - May 2024