BizStratBlog2

Taming The E-mail Beast

E-mail is the best thing to happen to business communication since the invention of the telephone, right? If you are like most business people, the answer is a resounding, "no!"

The problem with e-mail, according to authors David Shipley and Will Schwalbe, is that "e-mail spread so fast... and no one knew how to use, or not, it." To combat the problem, the two have written a book called, "Send: The Essential Guide to E-mail for Office and Home."

The main issues with e-mail (in my opinion) are that it 1) is on 24/7; 2) feeds upon itself; 3) is insidious in the tentacles it spreads in the in box -- one single e-mail, depending on how many individuals it is forwarded to multiplies exponentially without your ever having hit the "send" button.

To gain control of your inbox you need to start at the beginning. Perhaps dedicate a day or a half a day to simply going through each and every unread message in your inbox. Yes, it's overwhelming but it's the only way to get off to a fresh start. Set a time frame within your mind as to when you will complete the task. If you want a clean inbox by May 1, know that you will have to whittle down the messages in chunks to get to that point.

As Shipley and Schwalbe point out, some inboxes attract upwards of 200 messages a day -- I can attest to that, and for me that is a slow day. Business etiquette -- and perhaps there should be a written policy at your workplace -- is that e-mail is answered in a timely fashion, usually within 48 hours (or less)

Set up folders for e-mail, drag messages into those folders when they come in, but don't think that putting them in a folder makes them "out of sight, out of mind" it simply makes the inbox more manageable. Set up folders that make sense to you such as: pending jobs, meetings, information requests, etc. 

Check back for more ways to tame the in-box beast.

Robbi Hess

Put Your Best Word Forward

            How RU? GTG. BRB. TTYL8R. Do these terms mean anything to you? Maybe so, but, will they mean anything to the individual to whom you are writing? It’s likely they won’t.

            Writing in—and for—business communication is a delicate (and lost) art. Individuals—yes, even business professionals, and maybe even your colleagues—have lost touch with the fine art of business letter writing.      Whether writing an e-mail, or putting together a letter on a piece of paper and dropping it in the mail, put your best words forward. Begin with a salutation: a Dear Sue, Good morning John, or even a Dear Mr. Doe.

            Organize your thoughts. What is the purpose of the missive? A follow-up to a prior conversation? A request for information? Consider your audience. Are you writing for the first time to a potential client? Corresponding with a long-time business colleague? Regardless of the audience or how well you know it, be professional. Words, once put to paper, cannot be taken back.  As author Robert Whipple wrote in Understanding E-Body Language, individuals need to learn how their words will be "understood" by the recipient when body language isn't part of the equation.

            Proofread, edit, and re-read before you either hit send or the print button. Make sure every word counts and conveys the message you want it to.

            Close your letter with a “Sincerely” or a “Best regards.” Sign it and send it.

            Go back through your past correspondence, does it make you cringe or are you proud of your efforts? Remember, professionalism in business communication trumps shortcuts and shorthand e-lingo.

Robbi Hess