What You Still Don't Know About Email

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By Burt Wetanson | Login to save as favorite | Send to friend | Print this article

With trillions of email messages crisscrossing the globe each year, email easily earns its championship title as the “killer app,” the most popular online activity, and definitely the number one electronic communications tool in the world of business. It follows, therefore, that a big part of your value as a 21st-century employee is how skillfully (and securely) you use email to communicate with coworkers, superiors- and your company’s customers.

Let’s review the skill set that ensures your mastery of the killer app.

Skill One: Composing New Messages

Email is basically writing, and the first step in any writing process is to know your audience and its needs and preferences. So what do people in the business world want from email?

• Help them to succeed. Your readers want emails that enable them to do their job better and more easily. Why? Because that’s how they get bonuses, raises and promotions. Nothing drives people crazier than wading through emails that have nothing to do with their job responsibilities.

• Make life easy for them. In an age of multi-tasking, heavy workloads and overflowing inboxes, you’ll be appreciated most if your emails are easy to read and understand.

Skill Two: Read It Again, Sam

Okay, you composed a message you’re happy with. You reach for the Send key. Stop! Read it one more time and ask yourself:

• “Does everyone need this email?” If Bob or Renata doesn’t belong in the loop, take pity on them. Delete their address from the “To” line.

• “How are my tone and attitude?” Your recipients are people with feelings and sensitivities. Change any wording that might offend or be misconstrued. The most dangerous temptation in email is the Dash-It-Off-And-Send-It one. If you’re doubtful about a message, run it past a second pair of eyes.

Skill Three: Email Isn’t for Everything

Being a “cool” medium, email works best for messages that are factual and noncontroversial. That means:

• Don’t argue or squabble. If you must confront, keep it off the record. Do it face to face or by phone.

• Don’t negotiate. To wheel and deal you need to see or hear the other guy’s reactions. Telephone and face to face are obviously better for that. (Job hunters take note.)

• Don’t air sensitive issues. A computer screen is not the place to hash out emotionally charged workplace problems. Resist the temptation to hide behind the faceless computer screen.

• No group discussions. Set up a face-to-face meeting for this. Or try teleconferencing.

Researchers have found that groups that make workplace decisions by email conferencing have a much harder time reaching agreement. They end up taking more extreme positions and trading more verbal punches.

Skill Four: Beware the Dark Side

In business, the watchword has always been — “Be careful what you put in writing.” Yet countless “smart” people ignore this excellent advice when sending emails. (Remember Enron?) We use email the way we drive our cars and choose our diet, secretly thinking, “It can’t happen to me!” We turn the controls over to Homer Simpson. Avoid the following email abuses:

• Backstabbing. When you’re tempted to skewer a coworker, subordinate or supervisor, remember that an email, once sent, cannot be taken back and can be forwarded exponentially.

• Gossiping. Gossip undermines the harmony of the workplace. Don’t use email to spread rumors.

• Criticizing. Don’t attack others. Don’t embarrass others. Don’t mock others. Choose your words carefully.

When you allow your dark side to creep into your emails, you risk professional suicide.

Skill Five: Battling the Bad Guys

You’ll never get your black belt in email if you’re clueless about security risks from outside. Your company probably spends a fortune to protect their computer systems against spammers, hackers, phishers, viruses and worms.

• Never open spam, the definition of which is unwanted, unsolicited junk mail. It’s not just annoying and time-wasting, but can carry viruses and phishing attacks. Carelessly opened attachments are another way to let viruses and worms infect the system. They can bring down your home computer and even giant networks. According to www.MessageLabs.com, 90 percent of global email traffic is spam. We’ve invented filters and other good stuff to block spam. Sometimes it works, often it doesn’t.

• Hackers. My computer-savvy friends tell me that hackers are just folks who like to dig into programs, figure things out and do it their way. The bad guys who wreck, pillage and sabotage they call “crackers,” as in safe crackers. Whatever you call them, they’re trespassers or worse, and firewalls and defensive programs are meant to keep them out. Never do anything to compromise your employer’s defenses against hacking.

• Phishing is an outright crime, an email scam that can rip you off big-time. And the weapon they use is email. Here’s how phishing works: You receive an email that claims to be from your bank, credit card or other trusted institution. They ask you to click on a link and go to their website. You do, and find yourself on a webpage that looks exactly like the real thing.

Your “bank” asks you to confirm certain personal and/or financial information. A pin number, social security number, etc. You type it in and send it. You’ve been phished! The crooks (often connected with organized crime) use the info you gave them to steal your identity and your money. To avoid being phished — don’t open the original email! Delete it.

No legitimate institution will send you such an email. If they need information, they’ll send you a letter. If you get a phone call that claims to be your bank, call the institution and make sure the call was legitimate.

Skill Six: One Final Test

If, as you reach for the Send key, the thought pops into your head (or you have a feeling)…“I sure wouldn’t want this to fall into the wrong hands!” then don’t send it. Email is the wrong medium for that particular message. Use the killer app wisely to secure your future in the working world.

SIDEBAR

How to Write Reader-friendly Emails

• Plan each message. Before you touch your keyboard, think your message through from start to finish. You’re less likely to ramble if you plan first.

• Let your subject line say at a glance what the message is about and who it’s from.

• Try to limit each email to one subject. If you must cover more, give each topic its own paragraph, with a heading that says: “Changing the subject now. The new subject is...”

• Have a lot to say? Put the most important information in your first sentence, certainly the first paragraph. Try to keep the whole message “above the fold,” in the part that’s visible without scrolling.

• The pros of TV and print: Use punchy headlines to spotlight the essence of the story. Try a headline above the body of your next email.
• Keep it simple. If your messages are brain busters, your recipient is almost sure to miss important information.

• Be concise. Don’t use 100 words if you can make your point with 50.

• Use everyday language. If you have to use industry jargon, ask yourself, “Are my readers familiar with this lingo?” This is especially important if your emails are going to people outside your business or industry.

• Avoid solid blocks of text. Break up big blocks into paragraphs and sections.

• Don’t bury action items inside blocks of text. Each question, request for information, or set of instructions deserves its own space. Attention grabbers like bullets and numbers make your thoughts jump off the screen.

SIDEBAR

10 Ways to Use Email to Job Hunt

How well you use email to communicate with potential employers can make or break your self-marketing campaign. Here are some tips on using email as a job search tool:

1. Making first contact: Only use email to contact an employer if they invite or instruct you to in a job ad, verbal conversation or on their website. Otherwise send hard copy, such as a cover letter and resume.

2. Sending your resume: Keep a few different resumes in separate folders. Don’t send the same one to every employer. Customize your resume to the specific job.

3. Responding to employers: Read their response carefully. Be sure you understand what they want. Carefully follow their instructions.

4. Remember thank you notes? Email one after each interview — even if you’re turned down for the job. Be careful to get right the name and title of the person.

5. If you do something verbally (in person or over the phone), follow up with email (or in writing). Keep a detailed record of what they said, what you said.

6. Get organized. It only takes a few seconds to create a separate folder for each employer. Keep all correspondence (such as copies of e-mails) in your folder.

7. Don’t negotiate salary, perks, etc. by email. This is best done in person or by phone. Have any questions? Alert them by email that you have a question. Then meet or talk on the phone to get the answer.

8. When emailing an employer, don’t use your casual talking-to-friends voice. Be clear, concise, and businesslike.

9. Use the signature custom feature of your e-mail program to package your contact information for easy insertion into your e-mails.

10. Don’t email from your work computer. Remember, your employer has the legal right, and technical ability, to retrieve and read your emails even after you delete them.

Burt Wetanson is a freelance writer who has contributed over 60 articles to Working World. His goal: “to give readers practical tools for success in the tough LA career market.”