Efficient, Effective

E-mail
Communication
Karen Eckberg
November 2011

Agenda
Introductions
Objectives:
Effective communication
Effective EMAIL communication
MUSTs
DOs and DONTs

Ways to organize your EMAIL

Identifying 2 or 3 practices YOULL make

Definition (American Heritage)

Communication (noun)

1. the act or process of communicating;

fact of being communicated.
2. the imparting or interchange of thoughts,
opinions, or information by speech,
writing, or signs.
3. something imparted, interchanged,
or transmitted.
4. document or message imparting news, views, i
nformation, etc.

Communication takes place when one person transfers some

understandable data to another person.

EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION

Real-life / typical day analysis

How do you communicate with
Colleagues?
Supervisors?
Partners?
Clients?

Do you have a preferred way of

communicating?

Communication preferences

Face-to-face
Phone
Business Letter or Print Memo
Email

Carnegie Mellon Study

Receive 30-50 e-mails per day

Immediately delete 29%
Check e-mail 12 times per day
Spend 2+ hrs. reading and responding
to e-mail
Keep 187 e-mails in their inbox
(Some in study with over 500!)

Survey of Business Executives

Survey of MEGTEC as of
November 15, 2011

E-mail advantages

Fast
Cheap
Easy to use
Digital (saves paper)
Expands a businesses capability to
communicate with their customers

E-mail disadvantages
Digital divide
For legal reasons, some people need
original hard copies on letterhead stationary,
complete with signatures.
Some still PRINT emails
Not all email formats are made alike

Lets make sure the emails we do write are effective means of

communication.

IF WE ARE GOING TO USE

EMAILS AS OUR MAIN
METHOD OF
COMMUNICATION

We want to
1. Increase personal efficiency
2. Improve individual and corporate
professionalism
3. Protect yourself and your organization
from potential liability issues

We want to
4. Create e-mails that will
be read by the receiver.
be understood by the receiver.
engage the receiver to achieve the
intended purpose.
not require too much time on the part of
the receiver.

Personal Ethics
As a communicator it is your responsibility
to be:
Honest
Clear
Accurate
Comprehensive
Accessible

Understanding the Writing

Situation
Every instance of workplace writing occurs for a specific
reason and is intended for a particular individual or group...
Although this may seem obvious, awareness of purpose,
audience, and tone is the single most crucial factor in
determining whether your communication will succeed.
- George Searles

Three Main Principles

Purpose
Audience
Tone

Purpose
Overall design that governs what writers do in
their writing.
Reason why a writer will even sit down to type
an e-mail.
Specific subject and strategies writer uses to
communicate the subject most effectively.
Should direct and control all the decisions a
writer makes.

Types of E-mail

Self Fulfilling
Inquiry
Open-Ended Dialog
Action

Self-Fulfilling
You tell the receiver something.
There is no reply.
Example:
Daughter is sick and will be out of the office
for the rest of the day.

Inquiry
You need something from the receiver.
The reply is the desired outcome.
Example:
Request of colleague as to whether they
achieved proper permissions to move ahead
on project from marketing.

Open-Ended Dialog
You want to keep communication lines open
for future purposes.
Example:
Working schedule about a new procedure or
process.

Action
The goal is action on the part of the receiver,
not a reply.
Example:
Complete a particular form for HR and send if
you want to be a part of a new wellness
program.

Audience
Thoughtful and effective communication
requires a sensitive understanding of an
audience since the knowledge level and
expectations of those who need information can
vary widely.

- Nell Ann Pickett

Types of Audience
Category of
Audience
Experts

Technicians

Characteristics

Advanced knowledge and skills. Handle theory

and practical application with ease.

Understand technical information.

Handle practical application with ease

Are educated to read and understand

information.
No practical application experience

No specialized education.
Not motivated to read information in entirety.

Professionals

Lay

Levels of Workplace
Communication
Category of Communication

Definition

Upward

Intended for those above you in the

workplace

Lateral

Intended for those at your own

level in the workplace

Downward

Outward

Intended for those below you in the

workplace
Intended for those outside your
workplace

Audience Tendencies
We answer the e-mails that are the fastest
to answer and process
Our natural reaction is to close long
e-mails and come back to them.
When we receive an e-mail asking
something of us, we become guarded and
ask why should I care?

Audience perception
Think of perception as a you read emails
from:
Your supervisor
Your colleague
Your client
Your family member

Tone
Tone indicates your attitude as a writer
toward the subject and the audience.
It is what you say and how you say it.
Inappropriate tone can cause your reader
to ignore, delete, misinterpret, or overreact
to your message.

Setting the Right Tone

1. Use words carefully.
2. Choose an appropriate greeting and
closing.
3. Use personal pronouns.
4. Write in the active voice.
5. Order information to maintain a
professional tone.

Three Levels of Style decides

TONE
1. Informal Style
2. Semiformal Style
3. Formal Style

Practical Applications
1. Writer vs. Reader Centered Tone
2. Negative vs. Positive Wording
3. Tact

Exercise on page 6.

IDENTIFYING ISSUES IN AN EMAIL

Guidelines for Writing Effective Emails

E-mail etiquette asks you to put your readers
needs first, especially when you want the
other person to do something for you.
Mostpeopleknowroughlywhattheywant,
butdonottaketimetoclearlythinkitthrough.This
ishowweendupwithramblingemailour
thoughtsaredisorganized,andwecaneasilyconfuse
thereader.

Writing Effective E-mails

Begin with the end in mind.

Write a meaningful subject
line.
Identify yourself clearly as if
it were a face to face
introduction.
Be concise and to the point.
Avoid attaching
unnecessary files.

In most cases, do not

leave out message
threads.
Dont assume privacy.
Respond promptly
Show respect and
restraint
Read your e-mail before
you send

What is the PURPOSE of the email?

Going back to the PURPOSE, what is the
PURPOSE of your email?
Response?
FYI?

Meaningful Subject Lines

DO
Department Meeting is cancelled
25 confirmedlarger room?
Dont
Leave the subject line blank
Important! Read NOW!
Quick Question

Vague subject terms to avoid

- Hello
- Hey
- How are
you?
- Check this
out!
- Hmmm...

-Question
-Yes
-No
-Yo
-A few thoughts
-Thought of you

Writing Effective E-mails

3. Identify yourself clearly as if it were a face to
face introduction.
When contacting someone, especially for the
first time, always include your

Name and Position

Purpose for Contact
Contact Information

Writing Effective E-mails

4. Be concise and to the point.
Let your receivers know right away what
you want or need from them.
Make it clear what action you expect from
them.
If no action is expected, state No reply
necessary.

Writing Effective E-mails

5. Avoid attaching unnecessary files. You
want to limit the steps necessary for your
receiver to act on your message.

Attachments Require
Time to download
Space on the receivers computer
Complementary software on the receivers
computer.

Writing Effective E-mails

6. In most cases, do not leave out message
threads.
Receivers read multiple e-mails every day
and cannot possibly remember what every email was about. Deleting threads causes the
receiver to spend extra time looking for the
original message to reference.

Writing Effective E-mails

7. Dont assume privacy. E-mail is
not secure.
Praise in public, but criticize in private.
Do not use e-mail to discuss confidential
information

Writing Effective E-mails

8. Respond promptly
Give the appearance of always being
available to your online correspondents
even if you cant help them right away.

Writing Effective E-mails

9. Show respect and restraint
Dont forward or copy a message without
the permission of the original sender.
Dont forward chain letters
Dont overuse reply to all
Dont send e-mail with offensive, racist, or
obscene remarks

Writing Effective E-mails

10. Read your e-mail before you send it.
Errors in grammar and mechanics cause
your receiver to question your authority
and professionalism.
Make sure all questions have been
asked or answered and further questions
preempted.

REVISION OF EXERCISE PAGE

6

Concise E-mail: Do
Number or bullet key points
Use active voice and tone
Divide substantial points into separate
messages so your receiver can respond
to them individually

Concise E-mail: Do
Write in plain English
Use standard grammar, spelling &
punctuation
Avoid long sentences
Use proper structure and layout

Concise E-mail: Dont

Write in all CAPITALS

Use distracting typefaces
Use text messaging abbreviations
Plain text dont assume HTML

Brevity is key!
Remember who your audience is.
Choose simple words.
Be polite and clear.
Make your message brief and direct by deleting
redundant words.
Choose strong, active verbs.
Concise writing equals effective communication.

Netiquette: Network etiquette for common rules in the

communication medium of emails.

REVISION EXERCISE PAGE

10

Managing Your Inbox

1. Schedule a regular time to read, organize,
and respond to your emails.

Managing Your Inbox

2. Use the Four Ds for Decision Making
Model
Delete it (29%)
Do it (2 minutes or less)
Delegate it
Defer it

Managing Your Inbox

3. Distinguish between reference and action
information
Reference: Not required to complete an action but
should be filed for later use
Action: Required to complete an action

Managing Your Inbox

4. Find a system for organization and stick
with it
Filters
Folders
Search Functions

Using Folders
Keep it Simple

Today/This Week
Reference/Action
Payroll
Personal
Pending or Follow-up
Projects
Classes

Managing Your Inbox

5. Pick up the phone or meet face-to-face.
If your situation is going to take multiple
e-mails to resolve, call or meet instead of
e-mail.

Managing Your Inbox

6. Separate personal from work.
Give friends and family a separate e-mail
address and keep your work e-mail strictly
for business.
Dont send subscription e-mails to your work
address.

Wrap up .
Communication
MORE than email

Email can be an effective method of

communication
Purpose
Audience
Tone

What will you do?

Did you discover something about your
communication style?
Did you discover something about how
you write emails?
Will you change anything?

What will you do?

What will you keep the same?
What two things will you do to keep
yourself organized?