For many readers there is only one answer to the question how to best communicate. It's sending an e-mail, and, on the surface, you'd expect e-mail to be one of the biggest productivity-boosters to ever be invented. After all, with e-mail you don't have to wait for the phone to connect, a timeslot in a person's schedule to open for a quick exchange or to coordinate multiple people to attend a meeting. As more and more people use e-mail for all their communication we have, however, not seen the productivity boost we expected.
Why? E-mails are composed of text. Text is a fine medium for expressing very precise meanings; it's also a medium that you can absorb at your own pace. But text has its limitations - it can't convey the subtleties of tone of voice or body language, it's not particularly memorable and it doesn't grab your attention very well.
In short, e-mails are a great tool to convey information. The biggest benefit to using e-mails is that you can compose your message whenever you have a couple of minutes and you have a written record for follow-up. However, I see far too many e-mails sloppily composed with little information or actionable ideas. These are the time wasters clogging up all of our inboxes and reducing drastically the value of this great tool.
Keys to avoiding this are to:
- Use clear subject lines -this will help people to decide if they want to read the e-mail
- Keep it short - if it is more than two paragraphs, e-mail might not be the best medium
- Keep to the facts - let the reader interpret the results
- Never send an e-mail written when you are agitated. Wait 24 hours and consider carefully if your intent or mood is reflected in the message
- Address the e-mail only to the person you expect to act on the content. If you list multiple people in the TO line don't be surprised if nobody feels responsible
- Only copy people when necessary - CC is seen as sending spam, and if pressed for time, people will just delete it
- Read and re-read your e-mail prior to sending to ensure that your message is clear and precise and easy to understand.
You should never use e-mails:
- For One-on-One leader conversations, to provide feedback, evaluate or coach an employee - there is too much that is lost
- To communicate sensitive information
- To delegate - it leaves little room for dialogue and a lot of room for misunderstanding
- To deliver negative messages or reminders - they can sound angry and demanding; even when delivered face to face these are difficult conversations
- When you need the input from multiple people - long e-mail exchanges will bore the readers quickly and the outcomes are, in most cases, less than effective
- When you need immediate answers
- To wrong somebody - e-mails can be printed and saved and can haunt you long after you sent them
Experience has taught most of us that e-mail isn't meant for
certain kinds of humor, sarcasm, ironic asides or critical assessments. The medium is way too literal and fast moving for nuances. Some feel that there are exceptions to this rule for the recipients who know you well and can "hear" your tone via e-mail. Don't! A friend of mine just had several of those e-mails read to him by a lawyer in court. What sounded funny at the time could be career-ending. Certain topics should be entirely avoided. Don't ever use e-mail to send off-color jokes or to comment on anyone's sexual, racial, religious or ethnic characteristics or someone's age or disability. Do not ever trash a colleague's professional capabilities or performance or job history. Some of this can be legally actionable and could severely damage your reputation.
Effective communication is the glue that holds a company together and keeps members focused and moving in the right direction. The other component that sets successful companies apart are high performing teams. Both are built on trust and close relationships of the people involved and sensitive communication. E-mails or personal communication -when properly used- will both boost productivity. Overly relying on e-mails and abusing one's time by sending unnecessary or cover-up e-mails will be discounted as spam and the person's efficiency and contribution will be greatly diminished.
Always remember: Trust and relationships cannot be built through e-mails!
If you would like to read more about effective communication and behavioral prefences give us a call at (216) 408 6324.
Joe
