The Real World: Always remember email etiquette
One of the great ironies of our
tech-savvy world is the way in
which we communicate — that is,
don't communicate. Despite
instant messaging and texting,
Skype video chat and email, we
live in a world that is technically
wired but often disconnected in
terms of communicating effectively.
In my Corporate Communication and Public Relations writing class here at Fanshawe College, I encourage my students to be connected during class time — not only in terms of participation, but also as it relates to the Internet. After all, social media is the most powerful medium, offering instant broadcasts to a worldwide audience. It never gets old for me to check on my Google Analytics to track global visitors to my websites.
Perhaps the biggest change I've noticed in terms of simple emailing is the length of messages. When Internet communications first took the world by storm, it was quite common for email messages to be written as long as traditional business letters. I must admit, being old-school and, yes, a professional writer, I sometimes send lengthy messages that I am sure read like War and Peace.
Yet with the advent of texting, smartphones and tablets, email messages are now short and sweet. I chatted recently with my computer techie, who told me purchases of PC towers, for example, have plummeted — most offices now use only laptops. The world of electronic messaging is continually morphing — but not always for the best.
The biggest problem I note with modern communications is a lack of proper email use. By their very nature, email messages can be wrongly interpreted, for many reasons. The sender must be able to craft a well-written message, and must send it in a timely fashion. Messages must be forwarded in a concise, professional manner when you are dealing with clients and staff. There is a human factor involved with email messages, and until we figure out how to put robots to use in handling all of our daily electronic correspondence, there will always be a margin of error involved in Internet-based messaging.
Every day I am forced to decipher poorly written email messages. Case in point: a publisher recently corresponded with me on three separate occasions and, when he couldn't properly relay his message, gave up in frustration. This was a publisher, not a grade school pupil texting his classmate during English class.
Microsoft Office Online, in a piece penned by the "Crabby Office Lady," listed its Top 10 Cyber Discourtesies — I'm sure you'll recognize these 10 deadly email sins:
- Avoid the "Reply to All" button. In most cases, your personal reply to an email doesn't require you to share your thoughts with everyone on the mailing list. Greta in the accounting department probably couldn't care less if you are attending the company picnic.
- Skip the CAPITAL letters. By using uppercase letters, it essentially means that you are yelling at the recipient. Save the capital letters unless you really want to shout and seek assistance.
- Save the fancy stationery. You don't need pastel backgrounds, smiley faces and a fancy letterhead to send an email. Keep it simple and uncluttered.
- Give your response first. When you reply to an email, make sure your reply is the first thing the recipient reads.
- Keep forwards to a minimum. Everyone has already heard the joke.
- Don't be a cyber-coward. If you have something to say that is highly personal, scary, sad, angry, tragic, vicious, shocking, or any combination of those, say it in person.
- Keep the 500KB image file to yourself. Most email accounts have limited capacity. Don't send your vacation photos to everyone in your address book. Use Facebook or Flickr to post your photos.
- Fill out the subject line. People get plenty of emails every day; if you can't take the time to fill out the subject line, I don't need to take time to open it.
- Avoid HTML format. The most easily accessible email format around the globe is plain text.
- Count to 10 before hitting the Send button. Think twice, or even wait 24 hours, before sending that clever, scathing message to someone and possibly the rest of the world. A "flaming" email often starts more fires than you can put out.
Of the aforementioned 10 deadly sins of emailing, cyber-cowards and "flaming" emails stand at the top of my list. Just in the past day, I've been privy to some pretty scathing messages — welcome to the world of journalism. Hang around this game long enough, and your skin becomes as thick as an elephant's.
Before you hit the Send button, make sure you're connected to proper email etiquette. Otherwise, you may be blocked from future use and forced to send smoke signals to your friends.
Award-winning journalist Jeffrey Reed is a Fanshawe College professor with the Corporate Communication and Public Relations post-graduate program and an instructor with Fanshawe's Continuing Education department. E-mail him at jreed@fanshawec.ca.
In my Corporate Communication and Public Relations writing class here at Fanshawe College, I encourage my students to be connected during class time — not only in terms of participation, but also as it relates to the Internet. After all, social media is the most powerful medium, offering instant broadcasts to a worldwide audience. It never gets old for me to check on my Google Analytics to track global visitors to my websites.
Perhaps the biggest change I've noticed in terms of simple emailing is the length of messages. When Internet communications first took the world by storm, it was quite common for email messages to be written as long as traditional business letters. I must admit, being old-school and, yes, a professional writer, I sometimes send lengthy messages that I am sure read like War and Peace.
Yet with the advent of texting, smartphones and tablets, email messages are now short and sweet. I chatted recently with my computer techie, who told me purchases of PC towers, for example, have plummeted — most offices now use only laptops. The world of electronic messaging is continually morphing — but not always for the best.
The biggest problem I note with modern communications is a lack of proper email use. By their very nature, email messages can be wrongly interpreted, for many reasons. The sender must be able to craft a well-written message, and must send it in a timely fashion. Messages must be forwarded in a concise, professional manner when you are dealing with clients and staff. There is a human factor involved with email messages, and until we figure out how to put robots to use in handling all of our daily electronic correspondence, there will always be a margin of error involved in Internet-based messaging.
Every day I am forced to decipher poorly written email messages. Case in point: a publisher recently corresponded with me on three separate occasions and, when he couldn't properly relay his message, gave up in frustration. This was a publisher, not a grade school pupil texting his classmate during English class.
Microsoft Office Online, in a piece penned by the "Crabby Office Lady," listed its Top 10 Cyber Discourtesies — I'm sure you'll recognize these 10 deadly email sins:
- Avoid the "Reply to All" button. In most cases, your personal reply to an email doesn't require you to share your thoughts with everyone on the mailing list. Greta in the accounting department probably couldn't care less if you are attending the company picnic.
- Skip the CAPITAL letters. By using uppercase letters, it essentially means that you are yelling at the recipient. Save the capital letters unless you really want to shout and seek assistance.
- Save the fancy stationery. You don't need pastel backgrounds, smiley faces and a fancy letterhead to send an email. Keep it simple and uncluttered.
- Give your response first. When you reply to an email, make sure your reply is the first thing the recipient reads.
- Keep forwards to a minimum. Everyone has already heard the joke.
- Don't be a cyber-coward. If you have something to say that is highly personal, scary, sad, angry, tragic, vicious, shocking, or any combination of those, say it in person.
- Keep the 500KB image file to yourself. Most email accounts have limited capacity. Don't send your vacation photos to everyone in your address book. Use Facebook or Flickr to post your photos.
- Fill out the subject line. People get plenty of emails every day; if you can't take the time to fill out the subject line, I don't need to take time to open it.
- Avoid HTML format. The most easily accessible email format around the globe is plain text.
- Count to 10 before hitting the Send button. Think twice, or even wait 24 hours, before sending that clever, scathing message to someone and possibly the rest of the world. A "flaming" email often starts more fires than you can put out.
Of the aforementioned 10 deadly sins of emailing, cyber-cowards and "flaming" emails stand at the top of my list. Just in the past day, I've been privy to some pretty scathing messages — welcome to the world of journalism. Hang around this game long enough, and your skin becomes as thick as an elephant's.
Before you hit the Send button, make sure you're connected to proper email etiquette. Otherwise, you may be blocked from future use and forced to send smoke signals to your friends.
Award-winning journalist Jeffrey Reed is a Fanshawe College professor with the Corporate Communication and Public Relations post-graduate program and an instructor with Fanshawe's Continuing Education department. E-mail him at jreed@fanshawec.ca.
