Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Madlantern Arts
What makes email different?
Difference: No nonverbal cues
No nonverbal cues, which
account for ___________
percent of message
Nonverbal cues
No nonverbal cues, which
account for 65 - 93 percent
of message
Only words and :-)
Difference: Tone
No nonverbal cues
Tone becomes crucial
Difference: Tone
No nonverbal cues
Tone becomes crucial
In Germany and Britain, 23 percent
and 14 percent respectively [of
respondents to a Daily Mail survey]
admitted confrontations with
colleagues because of e-mail
misunderstandings.
Criticisms are harsher
Messages meant to express
mild displeasure can come across
as tirades.
Louise Dobson, Avoiding Email Catastrophes (2006)
Tone: Example One
To: Female employees
From: H. Honcho
Re: Dress code
Date: 1 July 2006
Men Women
•khaki pants •casual pants and skirts
•leather shoes… •leather or fabric shoes…
Tips: Tone
Avoid terseness, which can
be misinterpreted
Use face-to-face
communication if issue is
sensitive
Read your emails aloud,
looking for ambiguity
For want of a smiley…?
Rob Glaser asked to meet
with Bill Gates
Gates said no, in a “cold and
flip email”
Glazer denounced Microsoft
at anti-trust hearings
Difference: Humor
Humor is riskier
Humor: Riskier
Nearly a quarter of employees have
suffered problems with colleagues or
clients because their use of humour in an
email has not been understood or
appreciated, according to a survey.
Robert Jacques, “Email Jokes Backfire
for UK Workers” (2004)
Humor: Often misinterpreted
Participants [in recent studies] were
able to accurately communicate
humor and sarcasm in ________
percent of the emails they sent.
Louise Dobson (2006)
Humor: Often misinterpreted
Participants [in recent studies] were
able to accurately communicate humor
and sarcasm in barely half --
56 percent -- of the emails they sent.
Louise Dobson (2006)
Tips: Humor
If in doubt, don’t send it.
Chevron was forced to pay $2.2 million
to settle a harassment case based in part
on emails with such subjects as “Why beer
is better than women.”
-----------------------------------------------------------
Tip: Spelling still counts
This is an actual email.
Purposal
I can beat almost anyones price and almost
promise you success and if I don’t reach it,
we wont charge you after the time we say we
can achieve it until we do.
Tip: Spelling still counts
Sloppiness is one of “seven deadly e-mail sins”
Bad grammar, misspelling and disconnected
arguments gave 81 percent of the survey
sample "negative feelings" towards the senders.
41 percent of senior managers said badly
worded e-mails implied laziness and even
disrespect.
CNN.com
Tip: Level of Formality
When in doubt, err on the side
of formality.
Tip: Level of Formality
When in doubt, err on the side
of formality.
Usually the problem is that we treat
[e-mail] too much like a phone call
and not enough like a letter.
O’Conner and Kellerman (2002)
Tip: Level of Formality
When in doubt, err on the side of
formality.
16% [of email users under 25] sign every
message with love and kisses, even when
addressing their boss
MSN survey
Tip: Level of Formality
Be conversational.
An overly formal e-mail message
alienates the reader. Don’t adopt a
cold, remote, or superior tone in an
attempt to sound professional.
Angell and Heslop (2002)
Difference: Level of Formality
Questions to which answers are evolving:
Do I need a subject line?
Should I email a thank-you note
after a job interview?
Should I communicate bad news
via email?
Difference: Electronic
Hit Send and it’s gone
Hit Reply All and your career
may be gone
Deleted emails live on
Messages can be forwarded
without your knowledge or consent
Tip: What not to do
One of the officers convicted of beating
Rodney King sent this email:
Diana Booher
Tip: Write business casual
Strive for a style somewhere
between stuffed-shirt and t-shirt.
Diana Booher
Question: Do I need a greeting?
Consensus: Yes.
Otherwise, you can seem
brusque or unfriendly.
Question: Which greeting?
Opinion: Divided
Some say “Hi, Steve,” is too
informal.
Some say “To whom it may
concern” is stilted.
For external communication, use
same greeting as in letter
For internal communication, some
use Myra:
Question: Which closing?
Consensus
Match greeting in tone
Formal: Sincerely, Best regards,
Cordially
Informal: Thanks; All the best,
Talk to you later
Use a sig line that gives your
name, title, and contact information
Omit a P.S.
(if the email is longer than a screen,
a postscript could be missed)
Question: Email thank-you?
36 percent of employers on
Monster prefer thank-you notes
sent by email
29 percent prefer traditional
letters
Why netiquette?
The electronic equivalent of a set
of fussy rules that tell you … which fork
to use with the salad course?
Netiquette does not consist of a set
of rigid rules.
It encourages you to adopt a certain attitude
of thoughtfulness.
Gregg Reference Manual, 10th ed.
Suggested resources
Available at http://word-crafter.net/email.html
Articles
Best practices for email marketing
Grammar help
Test your netiquette