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6. Use bullets or numbering in your messages to make them easier to read. Reading from a computer screen can be difficult on eyes. Make this task easier for your recipient by making ample use of white space. Avoid long, dense paragraphs.
7. Be wary of formatting features you use (like bolds, colors, and underlines), especially if you are sending message to someone outside of your company. Many email systems strip messages down to
plain text. If you've sent a message with a lot of fancy formatting in it, your recipient may end up with gibberish.
8. Highlight specific action you want recipient to take at end of your message. Few things are more frustrating than reading a long email message only to get to end and not be clear on what sender wants from you.
9. Read your message out loud before you hit send button. Keep tone of your message professional while at same time adding bits and pieces of your personality. Given that deleted emails are never really deleted, never put something in an email message that you would not want to see on Local News. Also, never say anything in an email message that you would not say to recipient's face. You should not hide behind an email to deliver a difficult message. Pick up phone.
10. When all else fails, pick up phone. If you find yourself exchanging email with a person 3 or 4 times in order to clear up a single issue, time had come to pick up phone. Email is supposed to make communicating easier, not more frustrating. It is amazing how a 10-minute call can clear up confusion that a 3-page email created.
Bonus Tip If you have a short message to send, put it in subject line, this will completely eliminate need for recipient to open email.
Example 1: Reminder: Status reports due by 5:00 pm (EOM) Here EOM means End of Message. Be sure you communicate that abbreviation to your team before you start using it. This format is ideal for quick reminders.
Example 2: MARY // Thanks for report. It was perfect! // SUE In this example, subject line contains greeting, message, and closing. It is self-contained and its obvious to receiver that your total message is in subject. This format is great for sending people a quick Thank You note.
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© Copyright 2002 All Rights Reserved. Myrtis Smith is a personal coach. Her mission is to help people create their preferred future and have fun doing it. Sign up for her free newsletter Change Now! at www.premeditatedlife.com .......because life doesn't just happen!
Myrtis Smith is a personal coach. Her mission is to help people create their preferred future and have fun doing it. Sign up for her free newsletter Change Now! at www.premeditatedlife.com .......because life doesn't just happen!