Emailing Your Way to Success

Nate Doutre is a teacher of religion who religiously writes emails to parents, church leaders, and coworkers on the daily. If the assumption is that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master of any given subject or skill, Nate is drawing closer to the mastery of emails. He is also academically qualified with a bachelor’s and soon-to-be master’s degree in Communications. Besides sitting in front of a computer emailing and standing in front of a classroom full of ordinary teenagers, Nate also enjoys actively participating in sports, spending time with his family, and relaxing in the great outdoors.

Emailing Your Way to Success

You let your eyes glance at the clock. Time is running out. Your palms are sweaty. Your mind is racing, trying to figure out how to end this. It should be instinct by now, after years of preparation and practice. But it is not.

Glancing once more at the time, you realize the bell is about to ring. Unsatisfied with your writings, you reluctantly hit send. The bell rings. Students come flooding in to your class. Your prep hour is over.

Welcome to the world of a teacher. Instead of using the 90 minutes in between class to prepare for the next day’s class, you struggled to put together a few email replies to concerned parents. After school lets out, you’ll return to your office to continue the never-ending battle of electronic communication.

In the workplace, no form of communication is performed more frequently than electronic communication via email. Likewise, no form of communication is ruined as regularly as email.

According to Radicati Group, Inc., a technology research company based in Palo Alto, California, an estimated 2.7 million unique users send an average of 34 business emails each day. That’s a lot of emails to be written! We’ve heard the Bobby Robson quote of “practice makes permanent.” With the average business person sending all those emails full of imperfections each day, we have a lot of bad habits that need to be corrected. But with a proper game plan, solid decision-making and precise execution, you too can become a professional e-communicator!

Writing from a perspective of a high school teacher, with lesson preparation duties, administrative tasks, and other things needing to get done, sometimes emailing becomes a chore. But with a few tips and tricks, I have found emailing to be much more efficient and effective.

The following are a few tips and tricks that will lead to success.

Tip 1 – Good Greetings

Awkward face-to-face meetings are the worst. Meeting someone for the first time can be confusing, as you don’t know if the setting is casual enough for a high-five or formal enough for a handshake. This can lead to uncomfortable feelings and miscommunications. Similarly, an awkward greeting in our email correspondence can result in the same disastrous feelings.

Planning a consistent greeting helps reduce awkwardness and leads directly to effective communication. It also sets the tone of the email. Simply including the recipients’ name followed by a comma will suffice. Forms of salutations to begin the email may vary, but I would stick with a simple greeting.

Here’s the trick… This tip may seem a bit simple, and that’s because it is. Don’t overcomplicate the situation. When you try to get fancy with your greetings, you sometimes use a greeting that turns the reader off immediately.

For example, “To Whom It May Concern” has often been heralded a classic and formal greeting. However, such a greeting shows that you don’t know the recipient of the email, which can be a turn-off for many.

For further reference on how to start an email: http://www.inc.com/business-insider/best-and-worst-email-greetings.html

Tip 2 – Goodbyes Matter

Ending the email in a concise manner also goes a long way. There is no need to end by meticulously defining the level of gratitude that you feel for the recipient. A simple “thanks” will suffice.

Simple is not the only key to a solid sign-off. The tone of the email should continue all the way through to the end. Endings like “Hugs” or “Cheers” convey a feeling of informality and may discredit any credibility or authority that you built up in the body of the email.

Remember, this is the last thing that the recipient will read. You want the email to flow smoothly to the end. If your sign-off causes the reader pause…then maybe you should, too. Pause and make sure your sign-off is what you want it to be.

Here’s the trick… Once you find a professional way to end your emails, stick with it. Don’t change depending on audience or your gut feeling at the time. As it has been said before, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

For further reference on how to end an email: https://www.thebalance.com/email-message-closing-examples-2061895

Tip 3 – Solid Signature

Shakespeare wrote “all’s well that ends well,” and that adage works for emails as well. The email signature is a powerful way to end your emails.

Email signatures come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are colorful and contain logos. Others are straightforward and simple. Some include further contact information. Others only identify the author. How do you know what to include?

Include your name, organization, job title, contact info, legal disclaimer as necessary. As long as the recipient understands who you are and how to contact you in reply, then your job is done.

Here’s the trick… Saving the signature as an automatic addition to your email keeps you from needing to constantly reinvent the wheel. Once you’ve settled on it, keep it.

For further reference on how to craft email signatures: http://www.yesware.com/blog/email-signature/

Tip 4 – To Email or Not to Email…

Yes, that is correct. In a blog post about how to write more effective emails, I am counseling you that there are times when email is NOT the right choice. Sometimes there are better, more effective forms of communication. Phone calls may be more direct and allow for clarification. Face-to-face meetings are more personal and convey a message of importance. Email may be our first thought, but it isn’t always the correct one.

Electronic communication is marvelous and has revolutionized the way we converse, but it is only one tool.

Here’s the trick… Are you wanting feedback about a student’s behavior in a timely manner? Is there information that the recipient needs right away to make a decision? Looking at the subject matter can help you determine whether or not email is the best form.

For further reference about when to use email; http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/when-to-use-email-when-not-to.html

Tip 5 – Fast vs. Hasty…Know the Difference…

One of the attractive aspects of email is that it is fast. Instant even. You send this letter of into cyber space and it suddenly appears in an inbox in someone’s account. Speed can be your friend.

It can also be your enemy. This age of electronic communication has ushered in an urgency to respond as soon as possible. For the sake of relationships and possibly your job, it sometimes is better to slow down and pause. Like the old adage says, “Don’t go to bed angry.” I would say, “Don’t go to the keyboard angry.”

Here’s the trick… A practice I use when I notice that my emotions running away is to write the message down. Get it all out. All the defensive arguments. All the facts. All the frustrated comments. Write them all down. Get it all out. Then hit the delete button.

This validates your feelings, but also provides a clean slate for you to come back to try again. Write a second draft, without the hastiness and possible irrational statements of the first when the emotions have subsided. Decisions in the heat of the moment usually don’t turn out well.

For further reference about how your emotions affect your emails: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/threat-management/201311/dont-type-me-email-and-emotions

Tip 6 – Does the Method Match the Message?

Similar to Tip 5, this involves revisiting what you wrote. Sometimes conversational writing is fine. Other times professionalism should win out. The nature of electronic communication is that it conveys meaning through words…and that’s it.

In a sit-down, face-to-face conversation, each participant receives multiple messages through various forms of communication. Visual cues from body language and facial expressions are present. Ears pick up on the tonal cues that accompany the verbal choice. All of these combine to form the interpretation of the receiver of the message, which dictates their response. Email has only one means of mutual understanding: words. And if those words aren’t clear in their intent, understanding can be lost.

Here’s the trick… Make sure your email says what you need it to say. Reread your text. Look at it from the perspective of the receiver and make sure it indicates what was intended. That will save time and grief in the end.

It’s the actual execution of what you put in the email in the end that determines its success.

For further reference about tone in business emails: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/matthew-held/business-emails_b_5955124.html

Tip 7 – Subject Lines: The Start of Something Good

Recently, the title for Star Wars: Episode IV came out. There was a ton of speculation leading up to the revealing of the title as to what it would be. There was so much excitement surrounding the simple title. Why did it matter so much?

A title to a movie or a book gives a little insight as to the subject matter and sets the tone for what the reader can expect. The subject line on an email serves the same purpose. After all, it is the first thing the recipient sees about your email.

As a teacher, I send emails home every time a student is absent. When a parent sees an email with the title of “Student absence”, they often don’t read the email at all. Instead they simply reply by excusing the absence. I changed the subject line the other day, because to “Just checking in on Susie.” The simple change, which made it more personal and evoked a little curiosity on the part of the parent, lead to a great email discussion about the student and resolved some issues.

Here’s the trick… Think of the subject line as a sales pitch. You want to create curiosity and a desire to read the email. The recipient needs to feel a need to read.

Take your time on the subject line. Don’t just write type something and move on. Reread the subject line to yourself and see if it accomplishes what you created it for. It’s OK to spend a little time on the subject line to craft it into what you want it to be.

For further reference on how to help your subject lines: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-write-an-excellent-email-subject-line-2014-3

Tip 8 – Be Clear and Concise

Why do we like email so much? It is an instantaneous form of communication. It eliminates the paper piles that were created by traditional letter writing. It delivers a message straight to the intended recipient, allowing for a reply just as quickly. Simply put: email is fast and efficient.

Then why do we insist on bogging down the reader’s experience with irrelevant information?

I’ve written emails before where I outline what material is being covered in class, what positive things the students have been experiencing, and what to expect in the future. Three paragraphs later, I finally ask the parent how I can better understand their child and a specific behavior. Well, by that time, the parent probably logged off, ran some errands, and took a nap.

It’s important to get the main point of the email across first, so that the reader doesn’t get distracted and stop reading.

Here’s the trick… Be direct. Cut to the chase. Get straight to the point. As you reread your email, if there is anything that is not essential to the purpose of the email, simply remove it.

If, however, you want that information as part of the correspondence, simply rearrange your text. Put the main purpose for the email up front and let the reader choose to read the extra information on their own.

For further reference on writing clearly and concisely: https://gigaom.com/2007/10/05/7-rules-for-communicating-clearly-and-concisely-in-email/

Tip 9 – Edit, Edit, Edit

Professional means expert, skilled, trained, and practiced. It someone is to be a professional at something, their product should reflect their level of expertise. Professional chefs routinely turn out marvelous culinary masterpieces. Professional athletes consistently exemplify amazing feats of the human body. Professional communicators are no different.

That being said, we all make mistakes. As you write, you may commit a punctuation error that you normally don’t make. In your attempts to finish your email as fast as possible, you may misspell words or hit a key that was unintended.

That’s where editing comes in. A professional communicator will go back over the text of the email and make sure that it conveys the message that was intended. They will ensure that any small mistakes or typos are caught, so that the end result is one to be proud of.

Here’s the trick… More often than not your first attempt will not be perfect. Simply reread what you wrote and make sure that it says what you want it to say. A second pair of eyes may help you in this endeavor. However, the more you write, the better you will be at catching your own mistakes.

For further reference about proofreading: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-proofreading-workforce-36110.html

Tip 10 – Final Formatting is Fundamental

One last tip: after all has been written down, take a step back and look at the email as a whole. Not WHAT was written, but HOW it looks. We live in a visual world, and even without images our emails should be visually appealing. Remember, the easier it is to read, the more likely the recipient is to do so.

No one wants to read a solid block of text. Our impatience wears thin. We get antsy. We even get lost in the immensity of it all. Even if the flow of information seems to be smooth, long paragraphs can lose the readers interest.

Paragraphs also add reference points. If someone gets distracted while reading a large paragraph of text, they struggle to find their place upon their return. With many shorter paragraphs, the reader is able to return quickly to where they left off.

Here’s the trick… Breaking up the email into smaller paragraphs will help immensely in the readability of your email. This is especially important if the email is longer in nature. By adding paragraph breaks in a lengthy email, you will make it seem shorter than it really is.

For further reference, specifically on how to format an email into three specific parts: https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-format-an-email-message-2061888

Here’s one final trick… Incorporate all the above ideas in a template. We teachers often write the same email over and over again. We try to recreate the message and that takes away valuable time. Don’t do that!

Once you’ve created an email for a subject that you communicate constantly to parents, use the previous email as a template. Of course you will personalize it to their student regarding their particular situation, but there is no need to start from scratch.

Hopefully these tips help you in your quest to conquer the never-ending barrage of emails. Whether you are a teacher, a business person, or a mommy-blogger, these tips and tricks are universal and can be applied everywhere.

Good luck and happy writing!

Other references used: http://www.radicati.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Email-Statistics-Report-2015-2019-Executive-Summary.pdf

SIDEBAR:

Dennis Doutre, a senior specialist software engineer for Boeing Co., uses electronic communication throughout his work day. Email isn’t his primary method of messaging.

Although he typically writes between 5 and ten emails a day, Doutre mentioned that he communicates internally using Microsoft Lync. “We use Lync messenger more than email, simply because it is quick. It still gets saved as an email,” said Doutre.

An employee for Boeing since 1985, Doutre remembers the days of communication before email become mainstream. “We’d walk down to cubicles of other guys. Or call. We did a lot of calling,” he commented. “Memos. Messages. Notes everywhere. I remember that things were organized and yet chaotic on the communication front.”

Boeing soon adopted email and other forms of internal electronic communication to their everyday operations, Doutre has noticed that the forms of communication have been “more streamlined and more efficient.”

“If I were to give some advice for those entering into the business world about how to communicate through email and such, I’d have to say that the number one thing is to know your audience,” said Doutre. He said that changing your language and tone in an email based on whom you are writing is important. “Coworkers are different than superiors. Outside customers and third party participants are different than a quick hit to someone collaborating on a project. You just have to change your approach.”

Over the years, a lot has changed in how we communicate, but some things remain the same. “The way that talk, the vehicle we use, may continue to change. But the basic principles are still the same,” said Doutre. He emphasized that no matter how we choose to do it, we need to make sure that we get our message across in a timely manner.

No matter the industry, no matter the vehicle, no matter the messenger, the basics of communication remain the same.