Communicating Electronically: Doing It Right
1. Electronic communication has become one of the most popular ways for managers to quickly and efficiently communicate with their staff. But that doesn't mean managers are doing it right. If you rely on email to communicate with your workers, remember these eight rules.
2. Keep it on one screen or less. When email readers see works running off the bottom of the screen, they tend to start scanning rather than reading, potentially missing the key elements of your message. Edit yourself ruthlessly and cut out every extra word.
2. Write in bullet points. Online usability tests have shown that when people read messages off a computer screen, they find it easier to read and retain the information if it is broken into bulleted points, rather than long, dense paragraphs.
3. Give the "meat" of the message in the subject line. The subject line is the headline for your email. It needs to grab people and tell them exactly what the email is about. Here's a good formula for subject lines: subject + active verb + object. And be as specific as possible. "Meeting rescheduled" is a bad subject line; "Bed. Marketing meeting rescheduled to Feb. 17" is a good one.
4. If you're sending emails from a wireless device, let people know. If you are a Blackberry user, make sure you include a tagline telling people you're using one of those devices, which will help explain the terse nature of your message. Otherwise, you could come across as rude.
5. Spell-check your emails. Yes, it takes an additional five seconds. But, if you want to hurt your credibility, send an email to 50 people with six misspelled words in it.
6. Encourage questions via email. Don't use it as a one-way medium. The true strength of email is its interactive nature. When you blast out an email to employees, make sure they know it's okay to send questions or concerns back to you. And then make time to answer them.
7. Save your smiley faces and other emoticons for personal emails. Yes, one of those silly little smiley faces can help explain that you are being facetious or funny. But don't take this kind of risk. Save your humor for a phone call or face-to-face meeting. It may not translate electronically.
8. Remember: You're not the only one sending emails to your staff. Your employees are likely suffering from "email rage." They are getting organizational announcements, HR messages, facility updates, organization-wide memos, notes from colleagues, community group updates . . . to say nothing about the emails from friends, family, and junk-mailers. Do your best to email only when you need to, so you don't add to the in-box clutter. And if you're ever worried about an important email getting lost in the electronic shuffle, switch to a low-tech solution: Pick up the phone.
Source: Communication Solutions.
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