Chapter 5: Short Workplace Messages

and Digital Media

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter, students should be able to

q Examine the professional usage, structure , and format of e-mails and
memos in the digital era workplace.
q Explain workplace messaging and texting including their liabilities and
best practices.
q Identify professional applications of business podcasts and the
professional standards underpinning them.
q Describe how businesses use blogs to connect with internal and
external audiences.
q Discuss business organizations’ external and internal social media
practices as well as the risks inherent in Internet use today.
Communicating in the Digital Age with E-
mails and Memos
 Communicating in the Digital age with E-mails and Memos

Some statistics about the use of E-mails in workplace

• 1st email was sent about 50 years ago;
• Email traffic growth: 4% per year worldwide;
• Office workers receive on average 120 messages a day;
• 125 billions business e-mails are exchanged daily;
=> ‘YOU CAN’T KILL EMAIL!’ (Alexis Madrigal – tech expert)
 Communicating in the Digital age with E-mails and Memos

What makes E-mail preferential?

• E-mail is technologically far superior to social media, messaging, and

collaboration platforms.
• E-mail is least distracting, most sophisticated social network, and offers
greater privacy.
 Some common complaints about E-mail

Communicating Email is not always done well

in the Digital age

• More than one typo per e-mail is unprofessional.
• E-mail seems to be impersonal; for example, when you have

with E-mails and only one-line e-mails. They are so transactional as they
sound like an automaton is responding

Memos • People need to have writing skills for e-mails.

Email Overload
• Workers report they spend about 5 hours a day reading and
writing e-mail (3 hours on work e-mail and 2 hours on
personal messages). Some of those are unnecessary, just to
confirm receipt or to express thanks.
 The scary permanence of digital
messages
• After deletion, e-mail files still leave trails on
servers within and outside organizations.
Communicating Long-forgotten messages may turn up in court
in the Digital cases as damaging and costly evidence.
age with E-mails • Organizations can legally monitor their staff’s
personal e-mail accounts too if the workers
and Memos access them on the company’s network.
• If employees set up their company’s e-mail on
their smartphones, they have given their
employer the right to remotely delete all
personal data on the mobile device.
 The scary permanence of digital
messages
Communicating
in the Digital
age with E-mails • Make sure you know your organization’s e-mail
policy before sending personal messages or
and Memos forwarding work-related information to your
personal e-mail account. Otherwise, you may be
fired for Internet or e-mail-related misuse.
 Communicating in the Digital age with E-mails and Memos

When and how to use e-mail efficiently and safely?

ü Short informal messages travel by text, instant message, or chat while
e-mail is appropriate for longer, more involved, and well-organized
messages that may provide request information and respond to
inquiries;
ü E-mail is effective for messages to multiple receivers and those that
must be archived (saved);
ü E-mail is appropriate as a cover document when sending longer
attachments.
 Communicating in the Digital age with E-mails and Memos

In which situation is email not a substitute?

ü When you want to convey enthusiasm or warmth, explain a complex
situation, present a persuasive argument, or smooth over
disagreements;
ü When it ‘requires a human moment’ that is those that are emotional,
require negotiation and relate to personnel.
In these situations, face-to-face conversations or telephone calls are far
more appropriate than e-mail.
 Communicating in the Digital age with E-mails and Memos

What characteristics represent a professional e-mail?

A professional e-mail has
ü A compelling subject line;
ü Appropriate greeting;
ü Well-organized bodies;
ü Complete closing information.
 A professional email

Step 1: Draft a compelling but concise subject line

Remember!
• Avoid meaningless statements – ‘Help’, ‘Urgent’, ‘Meeting’;
• Summarize the purpose of the message clearly;
• Make the receiver want to open the message;
• Try to include a verb;
• Subject line should appear as a combination of uppercase and lowercase
letters – NEVER in all lowercase letters or ALL CAPS!
Example 1: Need You to Attend Las Vegas Trade Show
Example 2: Meeting Location Changed to Conference Room III
Examples of
Poor Subject
Lines
Examples of
Improved
Subject Lines
 A professional email

Step 2: Include a Greeting/salutation

• Greeting sets the tone for the message and reflects your audience analysis;
• For friends or colleagues, try friendly greetings: Hi, Lara; Good morning, Lara.
• For outsiders, use more formal messages: Dear Ms. Ingram; Dear Robin Gray (if
gender is not known).
Step 3: Organize the Body for Readability and Tone
• Start directly;
• Group similar topics together;
• Present some information in bullets or numbered lists;
• Add headings if the message contains more than a few paragraphs;
• Condense phrases and sentences if possible;
• Get rid of wordiness BUT DO NOT sacrifice CLARITY;
• Keep a longer sentence if it is necessary for comprehension;
• To convey the best tone, read the message aloud. If it sounds curt, it probably is.
 A professional email

Step 4: Close Effectively

• Include an action statement with due dates and requests;
• You might include a friendly closing such as ‘Many thanks’ or
‘Warm regards’ though complimentary closes are unnecessary;
• Do include your name because messages without names become
confusing when forwarded or when they are part of a long thread
of responses;
• For most messages, include full contact information in a signature
block, which your email application can insert automatically.
Example of a bad information e-mail
What problems of the bad e-mail?
How can the bad e-mail be revised?
 How to keep your INBOX in check?

Using time management strategies:

• Check your e-mail at set times such as first thing in the morning and again
after lunch or at 4 p.m.;
• Turn off your audio and visual alerts;
• If mornings are your best working times, check your e-mail later in the day;
• Discuss with your boss your schedule for responding and share it with your
colleagues
• The two-minute rule: if you can read and respond to a message within 2
minutes, then take care of it immediately. For messages that require more
time, add them to your to-do list or schedule them on your calendar.. To be
polite, send a quick note telling the sender when you plan to respond.
 Replying e-mail efficiently with Down-Editing

What does it mean by ‘Down-Editing’?

Down-Editing is a useful skill involving:
• Inserting your responses to parts of the incoming message;
• After a courteous opening, your reply message will include only the
parts of the incoming messages to which you are responding.
• Your responses can be identified with your initials if more than one
person will be seeing the response. You may use a different font
color for your down-edits.
What are the good points of the down-edited reply?
• Reducing confusion;
• Saving writing and reading time;
• Making you look professional.
 Writing office memos

When are Memos necessary?

Memos are necessary for important internal messages that are
(a) Too long for e-mail
(b) Requiring a permanent record – without a long thread of confusing
replies or without changing the origination date when a file is
accessed like in an e-mail.
(c) Demanding formality
(d) Informing employees who may not have work e-mail such as those
in manufacturing or construction.
Within organizations, memos deliver changes in procedures, official
instructions, and reports.
 Compare Memos and E-mails
ü Similarities
+ Components: Both have subject line, dateline, identification of sender and receiver, using headings,
bulleted lists, and enumerated items whenever possible to enhance readability.
+ Content: Both carry non-sensitive information and generally close with:
(a) Action information, dates, or deadlines
(b) A summary of the message
(c) A closing thought
Examples of closing thought:
• An action is requested (Please create a slideshow featuring our new product line by August 20 so that we
are prepared for the trade show in May).
• A summary of main points.
• A simple concluding thought (I’m glad to answer your questions; This sounds like a worthwhile project).
ü Differences
In e-mails to customers and clients, you need to close messages with goodwill statements;
In messages to coworkers, you need NOT close messages with goodwill statements; however, some closing
thought is often necessary to avoid sounding abrupt.
Examples:
I sincerely appreciate your help.
What are your ideas on this proposal?
How would you like to proceed?
Please let me know if I may be of further assistance. (What mistake? => overused expression => Mechanical
and insincere!)
Formatting an interoffice memo