Email Is Final – Be Careful What You Type

In today’s world we depend on email to communicate with people, it can send a message to all within the office in seconds, it’s easy and fast. Tell the person next to you about an issue or an FYI to keep all informed. I can’t imagine how we’ve been able in the past to get the word out to co workers within the work place. Before the email was invented you had to get up and walk over to the person next to you and talk face to face. Or you would call people one by one, yikes that could take hours…Many hours were wasted just to pass along information. In addition the hours wasted were also not just yours, we all have good intentions however when delivering a message in person or on the phone, seems like a conversation would start up often times not related to the initial conversation!

Not only a waste of your time but a wast of the person you are attempting to communicate with as well. Email can be misunderstood, not everyone is on the same page as you, discover a funny email and forward to that person thinking they would get a kick out of it, only to be let down when they respond on the defensive side. It can be easy to offend someone with an email which they may or may not think is funny, in fact if the wrong message is sent that person may think your email is far from funny and could be offended by your message. This can lead to further issues as time goes by.

They could contact your HR representative and complain. In the corporate world you could be written up or even terminated. None of us want that to happen so be careful. Same is true if attempting to ask a group of people a question or a thought…Although most have good intentions, before long there are many opinions leading down a rabbit hole of responses, further draining your time and energy. The challenge can be is how your wording is phrased in the subject line.

So what can be done to eliminate countless emails? Begin as stated above within the subject line be clear and to the point. It is a common practice in today’s world to communicate by email, however, instead of attempting to get the point across in an email consider a short 5 minute meeting. Keep an agenda with a time frame. This keeps a meeting successful.

If you find yourself writing a long email you might want to conduct a conference call to get the point across. With the development of new technology we all can access our email on our cell phones which is convenient but can also work against you, if  a long email is read the wrong way, a person is more likely to become frustrated or defensive.

One of my first mentors in business gave me some advice I still utilize today…Never send an email which is contains information you don’t want someone else to know. Literally with a click of a button an email can go to many people world wide. If there is a topic which is confidential it should be discussed in person. Never send over the internet.

Be honest, if there is a hard decision you need to make do it without email, meet in person and discuss the issue. This puts more credibility to the decision. Never type in capital letters, it is a sign you are yelling at the person on the other end of the email. Always use small letters unless there is a subject which requires capital letters.

Today we find ourselves using email everyday and sometimes in our personal life. It is easy and fast, and can help leverage time.

Before you hit the send button re read the email, then think if you received that same email how it would make you feel!

~Stay Strong~