The Snitch

Going nuts over the sheer volume of emails?

While emails are now the de facto form of communication, many employees  (including myself) do not often know how to utilise this tool to communicate effectively. What are email headers supposed to say? How do we sign off? What goes into the bulk of content?

In the book The Personal Efficiency Program , Kerry Gleeson gives some rules of thumb for managing emails which I thought were helpful and dead-simply to implement immediately.

Some tips include:

• When composing an email message, make sure the subject matter of the subject line is clearly stated. Note if it’s for action, information, reading or otherwise.
• Limit yourself to one topic per email message.
• Avoid the Reply All key.
• Use paragraphs and proper grammar.
• People often view an email more negatively than they would a telephone call or face-to-face meeting. To avoid misunderstanding, keep sarcasm out of your email.
• Compose better messages. Use bullets for clarification. Underline those things you wish to stress.
• Do not reply to an email when you are upset.
• Avoid long emails. If a lot of text is required, create a separate document and attach it to the email.
• Activate the automatic spell check function so that the email leaves your office without spelling errors.
• If revising or adding to an existing email document, make revisions in colour so they are obvious to the recipient.
• If the message in the email is bad news, don’t send it. Instead, set up a meeting and a call.

Related post:  Our video with Martin Severn, director of Productivity Managemen on three ways to better utilise your email and outlook.