While looking at BusinessWeek this morning, I came across an interesting article: How to Create E-mails That Generate Action by author and communications expert Stacey Hanke.
I think Hanke's article addresses a general concern that it's often overlooked: the clarity and effectiveness of our electronically-written words. Think about any of the e-mails you sent in the past week: I'm sure that there was at least one after which you thought to yourself, "I wish I had been more articulate" or "I hope that person understands precisely what I meant."
We use e-mails because they can be faster than a phone call or face-to-face meeting, which, in theory, makes our lives a little easier. But if someone misunderstands your words, all that added ease goes right out the door.
Here are five tips from Hanke on how to improve the quality (and thereby effectiveness and clarity) of your e-mails:
1. Although you should use a subject line that grabs the recipient's attention, "avoid generic onces: Important, Urgent, Follow-up, Looking for your response." The subject of your e-mail should both fit with and lead to your message - or, as Hanke says, "this isn't the time to be mysterious, cagey, or anything but clear and direct."
2. Make your message both easy to read and aesthetically pleasing. This means: writing clear, concise paragraphs and sentences. E-mails allow you to highlight, bold, italicize, and bullet your words - use these features to help get your point across.
3. "Tailor your message for the recipient" because, let's face it, no one really likes to receive a generic and vague mass e-mail. Hanke suggests using "KNOW," that is,
"K - what do your readers know about your topic?
N - what do they need to know to take action?
O - what is their opinion on your topic?
W - who are they?"
4. Write your e-mail with a clear objective in mind - this will help you avoid miscommunication (not to mention the additional e-mails that are inevitably required to clear up any confusion).
eRb
No comments:
Post a Comment