2 Ways to Drastically Improve Your E-mail Productivity

You probably have an automatic email responder to activate when you're out of town. You can certainly benefit from taking a more systemic, or systematic approach to a lot of your communication, especially email.

Here are a few concrete suggestions for leveraging your electronic communication.

1. Make sure you have a signature. On that signature, you may want to put a message like this, "Due to current workload, I only check email every 4 hours, if this is an emergency, please contact ...."

2. When you're communicating through email about a work project or customer concern, set it up (structure) early to avoid email drama. What I mean is spelling out the options, if you agree, we will do X, if you do not agree, I expect you to offer Z as an alternative.

These are two easy ways to really increase your leveraging electronic communication. Of course the most comfortable thing to do is to just check it all the time, and respond reactively, but that's not helping you live your life in a big way.

For example, I recently emailed someone about a current marketing project. I wrote that I expected X to happen on a specific date, and if that were not going to be the case, she should do Y. And furthermore, I would be visiting her office on Z date at Q time, and if that were not suitable, she was to send an alternative suggestion for meeting date and time.

The Latest E-mail Check List

Keep in mind that the average worker receives 200 emails each day. You may get more than that. So, remember when you're sending a business-related email, it's one of at least 200 your recipient is going to have to deal with today. Before hitting send on that next email, go over the items on this list, just to be sure:

1. Is it going to just one person? (If yes, jump to #4.)

2. Since it's going to a group, think about who all is on the mailing list. Does everyone really want to be included?

3. Is there anyone on the list who not complain if she didn't get a copy? Make sure it's only going to the right people.

4. Have I actually corresponded with this person before? If not, reconsider email.

5. Am I upset? (If so, save as draft and come back to it later).

6. Would a phone call be more effective in building the relationship?

7. Am I blind-ccing the boss? What happens if the recipient finds out?

8. Is there anything in this email I don't want the attorney general, the media or my boss seeing? (If so, delete).

9. Is any portion of the email in all caps? Probably need to revise that.

10. Is it in black type at a normal size? It should be.

11. Do I have my contact info at the bottom? Should be.

12. Could this email be shorter? Shorter is usually better.

13. Would it be better to attach any files in PDF format?

14. If this is a forward, is it truly appropriate and worthwhile?

15 If this email is to someone at Mixonian (or similar), are the its and it's correct?

16. Does the subject line make it easy to understand what the message is really about and make it likely to get filed properly?

17. Is it worth paying 42 cents to send this email?

When in doubt, use another medium besides electronic mail, if only for the sake of variety. Happy Friday!

When Not to Hit the Send Button

Just because you can send an email message, doesn't mean that's the best option for you. Before you hit the Send button, before you rejoice in marking another task off your 'to do' list, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you in your normal 'happy camper' frame of mind? Feeling good about life? If you don't feel right, you might want to 'draft' this message for a few minutes.

2. Is there any controversy involved in this string of messages? Are the people involved clarifying and re-clarifying what they wrote? If so, it's probably better to pick up the phone, or walk to the cubicle next door and talk about it.

3. Are there legal ramifications to this exchange? If so, think very carefully, review after distancing yourself from the message, before sending it.

4. Is the recipient likely to be offended by the content of your message. If so, pick up the phone!

5. Do you sense any email drama in development stages? Prevent a full-blown soap opera segment by picking up the phone, or email a request for a face-to-face meeting.

6. Would you like to build a better relationship with the recipient? Meet with the person for coffee instead of sending email.

7. Are you trying to be persuasive? All other things being equal, spoken messages are more powerful than written ones.

As a general rule of thumb, use email and texting for less important messages. Voice mail is better; there is more context in your voice than in your email. The best communication is actually meeting with the person, with a phone conversation in second place.

Be strategic and choose the best medium for your message; it does matter. That's why Marshall McLuhan became famous for saying, "The medium IS the message."

E-mail or Voice Mail?

A lot of misunderstandings happen because people unwittingly choose the wrong medium for their message. While we all know ending a relationship, whether at work or otherwise, by text message is cowardly, in other cases we're not sure if we should call or email.

The first thing to always keep in mind is that everyone is busy and distracted. That's why you usually choose the easiest medium for your message, even though it may not be the best.

Here is a list of things people tend not to remember when they hear them:

- Names

- Numbers

- Details

- Dates

- Sequences

And....because these things tend to slip in people's memories, they (we) also tend to fill in the blanks with what we think we remember, or what makes sense in our minds, regardless what was actually said.

So, if details are important to your message, use email. If emotional content is more important, like showing appreciation, it may be better to call the person.

If you need to leave a voice mail for some reason AND you want the other person to remember details, like your phone number, repeat it in the message and give the other person time to grab a pen to write it down.

Think about what you want the other person to remember from your message. Choose your medium accordingly.

Top 8 Email Practices

If you're like most professionals, you use e-mail all the time. With email, you don’t have to worry about catching a person at an inconvenient time, or wait for her to get off the phone with someone else, you simply hit “send” and it’s off. According to a Robert Half International survey, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of executives polled prefer e-mail over other forms of communication.

While everyone is in a hurry, sending email messages without much thought can easily give the wrong, sometimes way wrong, message. Project the right image with your message using these top 8 e-mail practices:

1. A precise subject line. The subject line lets the person receiving the message know what it's about, and also provides him or her with a reason to read it. Some people -- and your boss is probably one of them -- get hundreds of e-mails each day and may not have the time to open each of them. The subject line acts as the window into the message and can also indicate its level of urgency, so be specific.

2. A professional sign-off. A weak signature is like a clammy handshake. Yuck. Your email signature should include your e-mail address, physical work address and phone number. These details give recipients multiple means of contacting you. Remember that your email may well be forwarded to people who have no idea who you are, so this information is especially important.

3. Real English without ALL CAPS. Most people take an extremely, perhaps too casual approach when using e-mail. But your writing reflects your professional self, so take the time to craft complete sentences, use proper grammar and check your spelling. And don't depend solely on your computer's spell-check function; review your e-mail carefully before sending it.

4. Get to the point. Keep it short, but complete. Brief sentences and short paragraphs are best. However, make sure you include everything that’s necessary and you don’t want to appear curt.

5. When in doubt, leave it out. Remember email messages leave out over 90% of the content. There’s no facial expression and little, if any, context. Any attempt at humor may be read as something offensive or inappropriate. If you're not sure how something you wrote will be interpreted, leave it out. Keep this in mind with large attachments, send massive files only to people who absolutely need them.

6. Double-check your recipients. It’s far too easy to send the message to the totally wrong person, especially if several of your contacts have the same first name. Be careful about the recipients of your email.

7. Separate business and pleasure. When the information is confidential or sensitive, including personal information in a professional context could be dangerous. If you use your work e-mail account, the message should be business-related. Get familiar with your organization's e-mail policy, and have your friends send non-work-related e-mail to your personal account.

8. Consider using other communication media. If you find yourself typing a long message in order to avoid confusion, it’s probably better to get on the phone. Same goes for a message that you don’t want forwarded. E-mail is best suited for quick and emotion-free communication

With e-mail correspondence becoming increasingly important in the workplace, you can only benefit from learning how to craft an effective message. So keep the above tips in mind the next time you sit down at the keyboard.

Mixonian has two other posts about getting email right on July 20 and July 22. Email's important, take advantage to get your best message out.
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5 More Ways to End Email Drama

As you pay close attention to these email guidelines, you'll see how to make your own email messages more readable and easily understood. This is continued from the July 20 post on email for a total of 10 Ways to End Email Drama.

6. White space directs the eye. Email messages are not as easy on the eyes as letters are. You need to use lot's of white space to draw the reader to what you are writing. Cluttered messages are stressing. Make sure there is a blank line between each paragraph, and make your paragraphs short.

7. No reverse typeface. Reverse typeface means white letters on a dark background. This type of layout is more difficult to read. Avoid it.

8. Use bold for emphasis. Underlining words creates additional clutter and WRITING IN CAPITAL LETTERS is screaming at your reader, not a pleasant experience. After bolding, italicizing is the second best way to draw attention to key words.

9. Subheadings clarify. If you're like me, you're in a hurry when you read and when you write. That's the root cause of most email drama anyway. A one to three-word subheading to your paragraph makes your meaning more evident. Capitalize the first word of your subheading.

10. Use bullets or checklists. A checklist is a good way to provide important information in a condensed format. Either a checklist or a string of bullet points helps you to organize your own thinking and make your meaning easier to capture.

Imagine your work life with no email drama. Think of all you can now accomplish!

5 Ways to More Effective Email

Ever hit the “reply” button when you meant to hit the “forward” button?

Of course you’re familiar with email drama. Perhaps you got yourself involved in one yourself, where the misinterpretation of a message, or one that got sent to the wrong person, spun off into a totally unproductive soap opera segment.

First of all remember everything you write can be used against you, even by someone you never met. Second of all, don't take your received messages so seriously!

1. Think first. Before you initiate a thread, carefully consider what you really want to communicate, what emotion you want to share, and the personality of your intended recipient. Make sure you wouldn’t do better by calling the person, or sending a longer, more formal letter. If you’re replying, see if your reply really is necessary. Sometimes we get copied on messages that are only slightly relevant to us.

2. Edit. Never hit “send” without re-reading your message at least once. If you’re not a good speller, use spell check to give a more professional image. Even a simple message of “no” can be improved to “no, thank you anyway.”

3. Review emotional content. If you’re feeling great, no worries. But, if you’re concerned or angry about something, even if it’s totally unrelated to the message, you’ll probably send negative emotional content without intending to do so. Don’t write email when you’re upset.

4. Control time spent in checking email. Before you automatically start your day by checking email, consider if the early hour would be better spent doing something else. What are your real priorities for the day? Postpone email until later in the morning, and don’t check it every five minutes. If you’re expecting an urgent reply, call the person.

5. Interpret with care. If you find yourself offended by an email, file it to look at again at a later time. Remember everyone tends to be stressed and busy. Give the sender every benefit of the doubt. If you still feel bad, call the person and ask him or her to explain more carefully the message.