Five minutes, five months or even five days before receiving
that harsh email from a boss or wealthy client with a very cold subject title “You
are fired”, or “Not Interested”, you had
been given the opportunity to take that one decision that would eventually lead
to a devastating outcome for your
business/career. It could have been one email or maybe a series of emails but
in today’s business world where everything seems to be moving at an accelerated
pace, the power of email communication is becoming more frighteningly magnified.
Email is used for all business communication purposes and as a result, it is important to get it right so as to keep that good job
or maintain that impressive list of wealthy clients.
So what are
those rules and netiquettes governing the use of email for business
communications purposes?
A lot!
SENDING
AN EPISTLE - There's nothing worse for a colleague, boss or a
business client than receiving an email from you that looks like a hymnal
meditation on all the saintly galaxies of the stars as seen through the eyes of the blind.
Though, it is understandable that some emails may be long based on the required
type of information to be disbursed, a standard email should be brief, clear,
concise, correct, coherent & courteous. It should be in readable size
keeping in mind that the recipient may have other tasks they need to get back
to and the shorter your mail, the more likely they get to read all the content before sending straight to the archive box. And except
the recipient is an author proofreading your recently completed work of fiction, keep the
email very concise where official information is concerned, well, except it is a wage reduction email alert. If however,
the intended information needs to be detailed out which should not be in all
cases, you can consider introducing each thought in another paragraph to hold the attention of your recipient step by step. Lumping up thoughts and information will no doubt ensure you hear their bored snores from your office. So,
remember to keep it short and simple so it is not confused for some multiple
questions examination.
LACKING IMITATION SKILLS– When sending out an email from a professional
correspondence, it is very important to understand and mimic the work attitude & culture
of your recipient or the format of all mails received from them. If you have a
boss that sends a mail to you like “Hey
Dave, why don’t you come on over and let’s hash out those pending budget
forecast”, you can certainly respond with “Hi Femi, I’d most certainly be right down in a minute”. If however
you have a colleague or boss that sends mails formatted like a presidential speech or one
that is meant for ears of the Queen of England -"Dear Manuel, may we have a look at the presentation slides for
tomorrow’s board meeting. Kindly bring to the board room if you please",
then certainly responding with “Yo
Natalie, hold up and I’d be right down with the deal, aiit” will move you
down their respect ladder. And when it comes to the content of the mail, it
is important that you follow the pace & tune of your recipient. If you are
responding to a mail that asked, “May I understand
why sales happen to be low this afternoon”, it is important to keep your
responses as short so this may not be the best time to explain it was as a result of
the head of sales pulling out 20 team members from the work saga which occurred
4 weeks ago. Consider responding with a concise statement such as- “This
may be as a result of low staff turnover for today due to the bad
weather. However, I suspect this may also be as a result of the system upgrade currently
in process”. If the recipient now sends a mail asking you to “explain”, you
may then go ahead and compete with the lengthy verse of Alexander Pope’s Rape
of the Lock.
Misunderstanding
your Recipient: Miscommunication can easily occur because of
cultural differences, especially when writing as body languages cannot be
read. And in the current global economy where work diversity and
inclusion means several workers from different cultures now work closely together, it is important they take time to understand mannerisms and work attitudes to create a great work culture. When you receive a mail, it is perfectly okay to read repeatedly
until you get the message. It is a standing joke among my colleagues that when
we receive a mail from above, we usually share among ourselves asking one another what
they think the message meant. It could be a one liner but we could take several
minutes debating on the clarity and if there were any hidden meanings. Tailor your
message depending on the receiver's cultural background or how well you know
them and their behavioral patterns. Some recipients want immediate responses to
any mail sent. Even if you don’t have the answer, simply acknowledge the mail
and promise to get back to them. You should understand what your recipient
wants and how he/she responds to mails and once you have a good idea what your recipient
expects from you, sending mails that’d get & hold the person’s attention will help in
getting you through.
Icy
Email Alert: Have you ever received a message from a
colleague or boss that makes you think of the “world war zombies” or "robocop"? You must find ways
to be personable in your mails without sounding like a crush longing for
his/her colleague/boss' affection. Leave your humane signature in every email you send
out. Let colleagues, bosses or business partners be able to identify your mails
even without seeing your name or email address. It could be in the way you use “please”
after every request or “kindly” after every task assigned or “thank you” after
every request has been fulfilled. Simply show your own humanity and learn to personalize
once in a while. Don't get too personal however -"I hope this hot season doesn't make you all sweaty and dripping" just sounds weird & off the beat. If you however receive an email in which
your correspondent steps into more personal territory asking after your family
or your health, you can take it as a friendly cue and make sure to respond
personally but succinctly.
Not Proofreading
like Your Life Depends on It: I judge people based on
spelling errors. And be rest assured that every email you send to your bosses,
colleagues or clients is being
proofread even while digesting the information. Reason? The human mind is prone
to identifying errors and loopholes. Hence be assured that your mistakes won't go unnoticed
by the recipients of your email. Try not to rely on spell checkers and if in
doubt, simply leave it out or type the word on Google and it will bring out the
correct spelling. Never write a colleague/boss/client's name in small letters nor the names of their companies in small caps.It not only suggests rudeness in some culture, it shows the sender is tacky and not respectful.(I know my Chinese colleagues may take it personal having their names written in small tiny letters) Read and re-read your email a few times like it’s an exam.
While working closely with a great boss, I ensure that I proofread my emails religiously and even seek the opinion of other colleagues whether there is a word out
of place. It never mattered whether it was a one liner. With him, making
spelling or grammar mistakes would have earned me a sarcastic comeback. Everyone
in the organisation also knew that. With him, your mails must be devoid of errors,
ambiguous meanings and most importantly, very concise. To be certain it is devoid of ambiguity, you can consider
reading out aloud to be fully certain.
Only then can you hit send.
In my next blog post, I’d be sharing useful communication tips
on successful public speaking.
I have a boss who sends us mails like military veterans giving instructions at the war zone. For the epistle, I don't really agree as I tend to write long essay like mails for better explanation of budget breakdown. I work in Finance.
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