Email is a great tool, when used at the right time, for the right purpose, and to deliver the right message.
What I’ve learned over the years is that there is certainly email etiquette.
I bet you’ve experienced a time when:
• You reacted to something, created an email, hit that send button and immediately felt “Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t have sent that email… “
• You thought you were communicating clearly only to get a reply from someone saying, “What do you mean by that?”
• You tried to communicate your point to a group of people only to find out that you stepped on a lot of toes in one single email.
I know about these situations because I’m guilty of sending one or more, or all, of these types of email and I’ve been the recipient of these types of emails as well.
What I’ve found is that the best way to avoid an email that you may regret later is to stop and think about what you want to accomplish as a result of that email and even literally talk yourself through the email and edit it before you send it.
Email is a great tool, but as with any tool, there are ways to be effective with it and ways that it could be destructive, even if that’s not your intention.
What I feel many people don’t realize is that email is simply another form of communication and therefore it’s important to have good email communication skills.
For instance, if you’re someone like me who is a bottom line kind of person, I would sometimes forget to add the more personable touches to the email I was sending to my assistant. She finally pointed out that she felt like I was being demanding.
Of course, that’s not where I was coming from and it’s certainly not how I wanted to make her feel so I had to slow it down a bit and start my email like I would a conversation with her.
Now I am in the habit of saying good morning and such and she feels better about the way I communicate with her and that’s important to me.
Another mistake I see with email is when someone is trying to resolve a situation where there are a lot of people contributing their thoughts, ideas and opinions.
When you’re going to address someone or even a group of people regarding a sensitive or hot topic, and you feel email is the most effective way for you to do that, I find that having a neutral party read your correspondence is a very wise decision. This person can give you feedback on how you are coming across and you can course correct that email before you even send it.
I actually don’t recommend email at all for any sensitive discussion. A phone call, or an in person meeting is always best in this situation. This leaves little room for miscommunication that could lead to having to go back and say “I didn’t mean it like that”.
If you are already challenged in the communication area and the people you know, like and trust often tell you that you’re communication skills could use some work, then you will definitely want to be extra careful and put more thought into your email before you send it.
The bottom line is to remember that email is simply another form of communication and it behooves you to develop your online social skills so that you are utilizing this great tool to your benefit and to the benefit of others.
And if in doubt, don’t hit the Send button. It’s much easier to edit before you send than to put out an email correspondence fire.