Your email is showing
Paul Glenn, an engaging speaker and author from C2 Consulting wrote an informative piece for Tech Republic magazine in which he reveals that HOW you compose email often reveals a lot about you to the recipient in either a good or bad way.
I came across the article on the heels of a visit over the holidays by an old friend. We had a great time getting reacquainted since we hadn't seen each other for at least 7 years. After the 2nd day I excused myself to check email so I wouldn't get inundated or miss some timely and important message. My friend disclosed that he didn't have email and wasn't inclined to get it. He didn't fit the profile of a non-techie so I found it noteworthy. In the light of this article I reflected that my friend has always been direct, insightful and quick to emotionally connect with an idea and the one he is conversing with. Much of this is hard to achieve using email.
So what does your email say about you? According to Glenn, it says a lot. Here are some of the clues you give about yourself in email ...
SPELLING / GRAMMAR
Some people don't bother using spellcheck or proofing an email before sending to make sure context and syntax are correct, making even an intelligent author look lazy or stupid.
SIGNATURE BLOCK
Providing no clue who you are is arrogant, while providing your entire contact information and advertising jingle is ill advised (for identity theft) and desperate.
SUBJECT LINE
Try to give the reader a clue of why you're writing. Misleading subject lines are annoying and missing subject lines show laziness.
FORMAT / LENGTH
Do you write in sentences and paragraphs? That's what most readers expect. Writing in long blocks of text, or using stream of conscious style is pretentious and hard for the reader to follow. It's also best to keep emails short and covering as few topics as possible.
GRAPHICS
OK, so you're artistic. That doesn't mean you should load every email with extensive graphics and background wallpaper. Not only can this be garish, but for dial-up readers, it can take forever to load.
Here's a good reality check ... try sending yourself a blind copy of some of the email you send to others. You'll get a chance to see how your email looks to those on the receiving end. It is surprising how bad formatting, misspellings, bad grammar, lack of salutation, lack of signature block or poorly composed messages come across on the end product.
All the seemingly trite observations fit here. In this case, however, they are true ...
1. You only have one chance to make a good first impression. If you are writing to someone for the first time, pay extra attention to how you are coming across.
2. Don't ask for someone's confidence while showing that you are not trustworthy. Why would someone buy your product or do business with you when you apparently can't spell or write proper English.
3. The first rule of class is courtesy. Just because you are writing an email to someone doesn't give you leave to omit a salutation or sign-off. Doing so shows arrogance and disregard for the feelings of others.
OK, the etiquette class is over. Now get out there and WRITE !!!
Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com