Vital Talk About Email

by Debra Hamilton

The Agony of Email: Misuse of the “cc” Function

Jul 6

Posted by Debra Hamilton in Clear and Concise Messaging

I just spent a good portion of my afternoon reading and responding to a flurry of emails because the recipients who were “copied” misunderstood their role in the communication. Was I not clear? Or did they misunderstand? This is debatable, but I will take ownership. However, most of the confusion could have been easily avoided if the “cc” function was (1) better understood by human beings in general and (2) used properly in the first place.

Some of the questions the recipients had were:

1.    Who does what?
2.    Am I supposed to act on this?
3.    Should I “reply to all?”

In the hopes that I can spare others the time-wasting agony that I went through today, I would like to offer three quick tips on how to use the “cc” function.

Who Does What?
Use the “cc” function when there are people who need to see the information you’re sending but do not need to act on it. If there are people who need to act on your message, include them in the “To” line. As a rule of thumb, the “cc” field is for information purposes only.

Am I Supposed to Act on This?
If your name is in the “cc” field, you don’t have to do anything. You’re being informed, and you do not need to take action. The recipients in the “To” field are expected to respond or take action.

Should I “Reply to All?”
Use your best judgment. If you have been “cc’d” and you need to respond to the message, do not select “reply to all” unless everyone included in the “To” and “cc” fields needs to see your response. When in doubt, ask for clarification to avoid the flurry of inefficient “reply to all” responses.

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Comments

Our Addiction to the Immediacy of Email

Jun 8

Posted by Debra Hamilton in The Pitfalls of Immediacy

I hear these kinds of statements from my clients all the time:

  • I’m inundated with email.
  • I’m overwhelmed with people expecting me to respond to them immediately.
  • Some emails are so carelessly written that they barely make sense!

When it comes to email communication, fast and furious doesn’t mean effective.

Think about it: The faster you do something, the more likely you are to make mistakes. So when people write and send emails at warp speeds, mistakes will happen.

Our addiction to the immediacy of email has misguided our sense of urgency—a feeling that everything must be attended to now. And when you’re overwhelmed with meeting other people’s needs immediately, you’re less likely to carefully think things through and craft a clear, thoughtful response.

What You Can Do

Take a step back and set up boundaries with email:

  1. Don’t send email if you don’t have to. The fewer messages you send, the fewer you will receive in response.
  2. Check your inbox at set intervals—perhaps three times per day. Close the email application when you’re not using it.
  3. Slow down! Think before you write to minimize misunderstandings and mistakes.
  4. Know when to use the phone or a face-to-face meeting instead of email.
  5. Carefully analyze the requests you receive. Do you really need to respond to the email? Do you have to address the issue right this minute?

Ultimately, communicating “fast” results in you having to spend more time doing damage control. Slow down, set boundaries, and break the addiction to immediacy.

Tags: , , , ,

No Comments

Know When “Not” to Use Email

May 11

Posted by Debra Hamilton in When Not to Use Email

A client recently wrote to me for advice on how to fix a business relationship strained by a misunderstood email. Our client wrote: I sent an email to my department stressing the need for increased team cooperation while key department figures were away on vacation. The message was intended for the entire group, but one of my colleagues took it as a personal affront. He believed he was the sole target for the email and was extremely upset. This is not the first time this has happened with this particular employee. What am I doing wrong?

Another client wrote in and asked: One of my customers is upset about a mix-up regarding her service contract. We’ve exchanged many emails on the subject, but no matter how hard I try to clear up the issue, she still doesn’t understand what the core problem is. As a result, each of her responses is angrier than the last. How can I approach this differently?

No wonder people point to email as a major cause of work-related stress! Both of these clients are making a classic communication error: They are using email to resolve an ongoing challenge or a sensitive issue. These situations call for personal interaction.

Know when “not” to use email. Pick up the phone. Better yet, schedule a face-to-face meeting if possible. By continuing to use email to address these problems, these clients are:

1.    Escalating tensions
2.    Feeding into misinterpretations
3.    Damaging relationships
4.    Compromising their reputations as communicators

According to a 2006 survey by JupiterResearch, 90% of online customers use email to determine the value of a relationship with a company. When email begins to jeopardize your relationships with clients and customers, take the time to call or meet in person—these simple yet meaningful gestures prove that you respect your clients and are committed to nurturing your business relationships.

Tags: , , , ,

No Comments

Can My Entire Email Message Fit in the Subject Line?

Apr 20

Posted by Debra Hamilton in Clear and Concise Messaging

A workshop participant recently asked: What do I do if my entire message is my subject line? Is it okay to just use the subject line?

Yes! Considering that 60% of people who receive an email read only 50% of the message (Jeanniey Mullen, ClickZ.com, 2005), brief is always better as long as you are not compromising clarity or leaving out important details. If your message is short and clear, then it’s perfectly fine to limit its contents to the subject line.

When your entire message can fit into your subject line, simply put the abbreviation “EOM” at the end. EOM (end of message) alerts your reader that your message is complete and that they do not need to open the email.

Tags: , , ,

No Comments

Message Credibility: Are Your Readers Tuning You Out?

Mar 31

Posted by Debra Hamilton in Get Your Readers' Attention

Too many messages… Vague subject lines… Abrasive tone… At the last conference I spoke at, an attendee asked, “Why don’t people respond to my emails?”

I replied: “Today’s readers are drowning in email. In fact, the average corporate worker spends more than 40% of his or her day sending and receiving approximately 200 email messages (John Freeman, The Tyranny of Email, 2009). Information overload causes people to tune out.”

People today are overwhelmed with too many email messages; therefore, they are impatient and selective and will only read and respond to messages that they can comprehend in 30 seconds or less.

On any given day, there are potentially hundreds of email messages waiting to be opened. How can you ensure your messages stand out from the deluge of email? How can you get the response you need?

  1. Be a credible sender. Be concise, complete, and accurate. State your reason for writing in the subject line. Anticipate and answer the important questions your readers have about your message. Avoid using email if the situation is “urgent.” Instead, use the phone or schedule a face-to-face meeting. And don’t ask for delivery receipts—this will almost always annoy people.
  2. Write descriptive, informative subject lines. A clear, detailed subject line increases the likelihood of your message being opened. Be specific about your topic and action needed. For example, instead of Surveys, write, Action Needed: Employee Communication Surveys Due Tomorrow.
  3. Send as few messages as possible. Your messages will stand out more if you send them sparingly. By sending them in moderation, you limit the volume of email—the fewer messages you send, the fewer messages you will receive.
  4. Write a clear “call to action.” Tell your readers exactly what you need them to do, and put the action steps in bold. If you do not need your recipient to respond, tell them so: “No response needed.” Remember to use words that show appreciation and collaboration, such as “I appreciate your help; thank you.”

Respecting your readers’ time and intelligence builds trust and increases the chances that readers will tune into your messages. As a result, they will respond in a timely manner with complete information (but not always)!

Tags: , , , ,

No Comments

How Does Poorly Written Email Affect Profits?

May 19

Posted by Debra Hamilton in Email and Profits

Do poorly written email messages cost companies money? Much of the research and stories we hear point to “yes,” yet most companies do not know the hidden cost of ineffective email. Originally designed as a tool of convenience, email has now become an overused and often abused communication choice that carries a hefty cost in terms of inefficiencies, misunderstandings, and potential litigation.

Email offenses range from vague subject lines that leave readers clueless to ineffective writing that is laden with mistakes. One of the biggest email wrongdoings is inappropriate tone—messages that are hastily written with a dispassionate, demanding, or sarcastic tone.

So how does poorly written email affect profits?

Consider this analogy: I send you a product. The product is defective, so you return it. I fix it and send it back to you in the hopes it is now acceptable. This cycle of “rework” is how email continues to morph into a counter-productive tool. Up to 60% or more of all email messages are so unclear that they fail—they are returned to their sender—resulting in a chain reaction of needless follow-up emails and corresponding responses. Much of the way email impacts productivity and profits is through this rework—rewriting to clarify a message, obtain more information, correct a misstatement, and so on. One study reveals that a company with 100 employees can expect to lose more than $450,000 a year because of email blunders and rework, and with larger firms, this number increases exponentially.

The tangible cost of mistakes, misjudgments, suboptimal decisions, as well as the cost of solutions to repair these avoidable calamities result in a significant waste of an organization’s resources. Add to that dilemma a reader who is angered by an insidious tone and the casualties keep coming: impaired working relationships, breakdown of trust, and the need for damage control. With regard to customers and clients, ties to customers can be severed completely. One survey found that 45% of respondents reported that they could name at least one company they stopped doing business with because of its poor email content.

How is ineffective email affecting your organization’s bottom line?

Tags: , , ,

4 Comments