People
are busier than ever these days, especially small business owners
who network! If you don't make your communication easy to follow,
it might not be read at all. Here are a few of the tips on email
gathered from my e-Book, Say What You Mean When You're in Business.
General
Rules for Email Groups:
*
Always begin a post with a good subject line.
It is important that it is descriptive of what you are going to
say. Make sure it is brief and concise. If you are veering off
the subject, change the subject line to reflect the new topic.
*
If you are answering someone in particular, add their name to
the heading. This gets their attention if they are just skimming
their email or posts.
*
Delete most of the previous post you are replying to EXCEPT the
part to which you are responding. If you leave it all in, it will
look too cluttered and might be confusing to weed through. If
you delete the entire previous message, the group may not know
who or what you are replying to.
*
Watch your spelling and grammar!
Email is a pretty forgiving form of communication. Many people
use email very effectively without typing in complete sentences,
using punctuation, capitalizing or even using proper grammar.
This is just fine for your family and friends, but NOT for your
customers and business associates. We are not the grammar police,
but if your email lacks too much structure, it will be difficult
for people to follow and chances are they won't read it at all.
*
Keep your emails short and to the point.
Research has shown that most people don’t like to read long
email copy. Most people find the computer screen and the scrolling
action of email to be difficult to follow.
*
Make paragraphs.
Separate your thoughts so that your emails are easier to read,
are easier on the eye and easier to scan. If it is not punctuated
with paragraphs, it looks like one big sentence that most will
not take the time to read.
*
Speaking of punctuation- use some!
I have seen many emails come through all run together looking
like one very long sentence! People are in a hurry in this microwave
society. That’s why they use email! Don’t make it
difficult for your groups to decipher what you mean. If they have
to work too hard at an email, the delete button will look really
good to them and your message will be lost.
*
Read over your email before you hit send.
Make sure that it is easy to understand, follows logically from
one thought to another and explains all terms or jargon that others
on the list may not be familiar with.
*
Try and correct typos before you hit the send button.
Typos can make your email say something you don’t mean or
confuse your groups to the point of frustration. If done too often,
it can make you appear less than articulate!
*
Make sure to sign your emails!
I know this sounds silly, but I have seen emails come through
with an email address like… 2345happymom @ zippy.com If
you don’t sign your email, it can make it difficult for
your group members to respond to you. They may not even know if
you are male or female.
*
Be careful to word things so that there are no misunderstandings.
Remember that an email is a limited form of communication. Your
audience will not be able to see your smiling face, hear your
friendly tone or ask for clarification if you say something that
could be taken in a bad light. It is very easy to insult if you
are not careful to choose the right words.
Article
by:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
JoJo Tabares is a speaker, the author of several published articles
on communication skills, the resident communication expert at
Homeschool Talk Radio and the author of the Say What You Mean
series of Christian communication studies. For more information
on JoJo or the Say What You Mean series, please visit www.artofeloquence.com
or call 1-866-4SPEECH. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
