Thursday, November 06, 2014

It's Not Rocket Science - 6

This one will sound so much like a "duh" statement I'm almost afraid to put it down, but after all that is the kind of things this particular series of posts addresses, so here goes.

When you write an email, please remember that no one can see your quirky smile, or frown, or wink, or ANY OTHER MESSAGE CONVEYED BY BODY LANGUAGE.  All the reader has to go on is the choice of words used and the order in which they appear.  No professional email should be sent without the author re-reading the email AT LEAST four times, once out loud, and reflecting carefully upon the choice of words and their order.  Ponder how the email will be received and the feeling it will provoke.  Yes, the feelings of the sender have to be considered because you will not be able to use your body language to offset any abrasion your words may cause.  Be clear, don't assume; convey your message, but DON'T digress.

Much of our communication today is by email.  There is noting wrong with that as long as you don't forget that relationships can be built or broken on a seemingly innocent choice of words.

It's not rocket science but few people actually much energy into crafting their emails to clearly communicate.

No comments:

Post a Comment