Who do you know that is really well-organised when it comes to managing e-mail and their inbox? I believe that success leaves clues and that one way of becoming more organised regarding your e-mail is to find out what other successful people are doing in managing their inbox and look for ways to emulate that behaviour. Amazingly, it‘s quite easy to get a grip on managing your e-mail and reducing the size of your inbox. All it takes is a basic understanding of the principles of managing e-mail. That‘s why I have put together my new book called "The E-mail Manual". It is the book you should have received when you first started using e-mail. I think if everybody had a copy of this book on their desks and read it before they started using e-mail, there would be a fewer problems and issues with using and managing e-mail. Please enjoy these 5 email strategies. Be on the lookout for my other articles on how to better manage your e-mail and reduce the size of your inbox.
66. For longer emails, use short paragraphs
Put breaks between your thoughts and express your thoughts in short, snappy sentences. This makes it easier for someone to scan your email quickly and know what you are trying to say.
Avoid long rambling sentences with endless paragraphs. If an email looks too long or too detailed most people will give it a cursory glance and move on.
67. Using a professional business greeting and closing
A good rule of thumb is to address the addressee as he or she addresses you. It may be appropriate to use ‘Dear Bob’ to start the Email. Often when writing business Emails the greeting can become semi-informal such as ‘Hello John’ or ‘Hi Jim’.
Informal greetings should only be used with someone you are in a continuous working relationship with. Greetings such greetings as ‘Hiya’, or ‘Yo’ should be left for your personal Emails.
Just as your greeting should not draw attention to itself, a good ending is just as important.’
Ending an email with ‘Regards,’ or ‘Kind regards’ and then your signature is always a safe bet.
68. What‘s the “ALL CAPS or all lower case? “
Good communication on the internet is called ‘netiquette’ (short for internet etiquette).
Because we can‘t see the writer’s facial expressions or hear their actual voice tone in an Email, we have to compensate by interpreting the tone of the message through the words and style alone.
Very often people misread the way Emails are composed and sent. This can cause all sorts of problems. One classic example is the use of typing only in capital letters. A good rule of thumb is this…CAPITAL LETTERS ALWAYS SOUND LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING. Add a few exclamation points and you could have a FIGHT ON YOUR HANDS!!!!!!!!!!!
See what I mean? Shouting in an email almost always implies you are angry, so you want to take care not to introduce anger to your Emails.
The same goes for the use of italics, underlines, or dramatic fonts that make your statements unusually bold. Use these things sparingly and only when they are intentionally making an emphasis.
69. Avoid sexist language and profanity
Whether you are expressing your anger or frustration at a colleague for failing to follow through on a project, or just feeling like using a
little ‘expressive’ language, the professional world has no room for prejudices, rude or unprofessional language in any email correspondence.
If you are sending email from work you are representing your organisation. It‘s also worth remembering that your email can be forwarded over and over again to many other people, or
all over the world for that matter.
Once you send an email it’s very hard to get it back. What you have expressed or said is out in cyberspace for eternity. email has a funny way of coming back to bite you!
The bottom line is not to write anything in an email (especially when you are angry) that might bring shame, humiliation or a legal claim on you or to your organisation.
NO – swear words
NO – nasty remarks about your manager or customers
NO – feedback about your ‘weekend conquests’
NO – comments about the sexual preferences of
co-workers (or anyone for that matter)
Many organisations have strict policies and guidelines about the use of Email, as well as the ability to monitor employees Email. Big Brother probably is watching, so don‘t put anything in an email that you don‘t want your organisation to read.
70. If gossip is bad face-to-face, it is a disaster in email
Similar to using email for sarcasm or low-brow humour, email is a terrible place for getting into gossip. If you find yourself dying to share a juicy tidbit with a colleague or friend, make a phone call.
Never use your work email address. Use your personal email account. This way there may be fewer implications from a work perspective.
71. Send an email before making an important phone call
email can be a pretty phenomenal communication tool all by itself. But, like any form of communication, you really begin to realise the true power of the tool if you combine it with all of your other methods of communication. Just as music is great just to hear, it’s ten times more powerful to see it and feel it performed as well as to hear it.
If you need to speak to someone about an important matter, consider sending a short email earlier in the day. This way the email is going to prompt the person about your upcoming call as well as provide them some type of outline as to the purpose of your call.
For example:
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Good morning Bob.
I trust your day is going well. I wanted to send a short email to ask if we could catch up on the telephone around 3pm this afternoon.
I need to discuss the Jones project and want to get your feedback on two items:
1. Pricing
2. Delivery time
Could you get back to me by email before 12 o‘clock to confirm that 3pm will be okay for a telephone catch up.
Kind regards…
PAUL
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While I could phone Bob totally out of the blue at three o‘clock, I think you will agree that it is far more professional to give him some notice in the event that he will not be available at 3pm.
If you would like to learn how to better manage your e-mail or inbox, why not consider my Zero Inbox training program? This e-mail management course is available in Australia and will soon be available online. You can visit, http://www.success.net.au/seminars/zero-inbox.html to learn more about how to better manage your e-mail and reduce your inbox. Alternatively, you can visit: http://www.zero-inbox.com/