If it was not evident in my Week 1 blog on examples of bad communication, poor email communication is a huge pet peeve of mine.
The attached article provides 7 useful tips on proper email etiquette in a business environment. Email Etiquette: Tips for Professional Email
In my role as a credit analyst, I often see emails from our sales representatives that come across as confrontational, argumentative, and sometimes condescending. I love how this article points out that it is very important to “Watch Your Tone.” When an email comes across in a hostile or condescending manner, effective communication begins to break down, and the chances of a similarly toned reply will increase, which will just further damage the working relationship.
I tend to think of the points “Be Professional” and “Use Correct Spelling and Proper Grammar” in the same light. When unprofessional language is used, or when there are excessive spelling and grammatical errors, the impact of the communication can be greatly diminished.
The one point that I recognize I need to improve on is: “Be Concise.” I often send emails to our entire sales floor explaining changes in credit policies and procedures or alerting them of potential fraudulent customers. Our sales personnel are very busy with incoming customer calls and emails, and, as a result, do not have the time sit and read a long drawn out email. Even if they do have the time to read the whole message, it can be difficult to keep their attention throughout the message. For those reasons, the quality of my communication with the sales floor will benefit significantly by keeping my emails as short and to the point as possible.
I also wrote about the importance of email etiquette in week 1 and have found your link this week really interesting. One of my biggest pet peeves is when the sender spells my name wrong, or someone's name who is clearly on the email. My name ends with an 'ie' but I can't tell you how many people still spell it with a 'y' even though my full name is spelled out in my email address and in my email signature. It would only take someone a few seconds to double check that.
ReplyDeleteI should send this link out to my colleagues. There's more than a few who could use a refresher in email etiquette.
I really like the article you attached. It has brought light to things we do everyday but don't pay much attention to. From now on I am going to " wait before I fill the TO eamil address. I can remember several times sending an email that should have had an attachment and not realizing I didn't attach the file until after the email was sent.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the short article "Email Etiquette: Tips for Professional Email." From my experience people often send emails without much thought. I think it is important for everyone to understand the power of email and the negative side effects that go along if you do not utilize email effectively. What I really enjoyed in the article was the tip to not fill in the "To" email adress until the email has been proofread and ready to send out. Another important part was the principle about being concise. We all know that no one wants to read a 10 page email-so get to the point and make it short and sweet. Again, great article! Very insightful!
ReplyDeleteI appreciated your article and I agree with it very much. As technology and text-based communication play a bigger and bigger role in our daily lives, these guidelines become more and more relevant for successful communication. I particularly agree with the matters of incorrect spelling and grammar, which can easily obscure a message or mislead a reader. In the past, I wasn't exactly sure why I was sometimes bothered by some people's emails, but now I know exactly what bothers me and I'll be sure to not make the same mistakes!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree that one should "Be Professional" when using emails as a communication channel, I do not believe that being unprofessional would diminish the "impact of communication." The information would still be delivered even with grammatical errors and incorrect spelling. Again, I do not think that people should unprofessional, I just think that people sometimes overreact to "unprofessionalism" in organizational communication. Just like in face-to-face meetings, people are not always serious, even at their work, so I think of emails the same way I think about other communication channels. Nice article, David!
ReplyDeleteGreat article Dave. It provides some great tips on how we can improve our email communications on a daily basis. I liked all of the tips that were posted, and I felt the tip for waiting to fill in the "TO" email address was especially insightful. Speaking to the point of being concise, I have often heard the saying "Less is more." I think this statement is a good one to live by, as long as no information is left out. Having the ability to present all of the key information in a short email can prove extremely valuable in encouraging co-workers to read your emails and respond. Also, we must always consider the tone our email communicates. An email that gives the incorrect tone can prove very detrimental to productivity and relationships.
ReplyDeleteEmail efficiency is always a great source for tips. I've seen this link before. Even though repeated here, solid reminders of best practice.
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