Stop sending to all if all do not have a need to know.

“Reply All” is convenient. It is easy. BUT – If all don’t need to know, you’ve just intruded. Yes, every unnecessary email IS an intrusion.

Some companies have actually removed the ‘Reply All’ button. What a novel idea!

Be frugal with who’s copied on your responses. Not only will it save them time, YOU won’t get their response – so you’ll get less email too.

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In the first line of your e-mail, place the action request.

Too many e-mail messages are too long, and unfortunately bury the action that the sender is requesting of the reader. By changing your habits to make sure that the action that you intend to be taken as a result of your e-mail message is clearly stated in the very first line of the e-mail, you will be surprised with the results.

Here are some examples:

• Please respond to me by Tuesday, June 4, with your availability.
• This article is for your information only.
• Here are the directions to our off-site retreat, please save them.
• Please submit your recommendations for blah blah blah by this Friday.
• The enclosed documents should be brought to our Thursday staff meeting.

By being direct on exactly what response you desire from the reader, you will help them manage their work, be clearly understood.

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With all of the ways to communicate, relationship building is not an either — or game. Many times, it is a combination. I have always believed that the face-to-face and personal touch is the absolute best way to build relationships, and that has not changed in my view. However, with our reach stretching across the country and throughout the world, that face-to-face interaction becomes much more challenging. Telephone conversations are second, because two people have an actual exchange and discussion. You can hear the other person’s reaction and respond accordingly.

All this does not eliminate the power of social media for staying in touch with people. With the 24/7 harried world we live in, sometimes a quick touch is better than nothing. Many people avoid phone calls because they fear they will get hung up too long. It is up to the individual to determine which is the best medium to use. Frankly, I enjoy seeing LinkedIn status updates about the people in my network, and I occasionally respond to them. The same goes for Facebook. Actually these Social Mediums have replaced the group list joke e-mails that just about everyone hates receiving.

Bottom line, it really depends on how much you need to stay in touch with your clients and prospects, how they prefer to receive communication, and the amount of time you have to put into it. The rules are changing, and no one really knows what they are…

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Email is NOT a meeting! Don’t try to make it one!

Some people use e-mail to “discuss” issues and gain opinions. Each time an opinion question is sent to numerous people or to a group list, the e-mails tend to develop branches: the opinions multiply exponentially, the threads take on different paths, and each recipient is now receives multiple strings of the same subject e-mail that have gone in different directions. It all results in spending much more collective time than a one time meeting or teleconference may have taken. This makes it more difficult for participants to see the big picture and hear the overall opinions. The multiple threads are confusing and time consuming.

Instead of using e-mail this way, it is much more effective and productive to call a meeting and discuss the issue in detail. Invoke the “two-round rule:” when you see e-mails developing circling back the second time, call a meeting to discuss the issue in further detail and put an end to future lack of productivity caused by all those e-mails. Better yet, call the meeting in the first place.

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Here is a great post by Dudley Dawson… enjoy!

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We’ve all been on the wrong end of a phone call when the other party was clacking away at his or her computer. Probably doing email, right? Or maybe that culprit is ourselves? Maybe WE’VE been the ones doing email while the other party is trying to discuss something with us.People can’t do two things at once. We try, but it is physically impossible, just like we can’t be in two places at the same time.

When that inbox is open, it stares us in the face as a temptation. Truth? It IS a temptation!

Here’s a strategy you can try. Minimize or close down your inbox. Simple. Just do it! Then truly focus on the discussion at hand.

The benefits outweigh the milliseconds of productivity you fool yourself into thinking you’ve gained. Your discussion will be more fruitful because you’re fully engaged. It most likely will be shorter because you weren’t distracted causing repeats of information or the other party correcting our “misunderstanding” of dialogue. And, oh yeah, you won’t offend the caller.

You think they can’t hear that clacking? Think again.

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Hey – don’t just read these, rate them 0-5 on how well you follow them, 0 being stinky, and 5 being fabulous.

1.    Be concise. ‘Nuff said.

2.    Get to the point. Place your main point, request, or question in the very first sentence of your message.

3.    Spell check. Proofread. Make sense.

4.    Use proper layout.

5.    Use a readable font in a size that is easy to see.

6.    Avoid stationery that takes a large amount of megabytes

7.    Use the person’s name, either in the greeting, or in the body of the message.

8.    Keep language gender neutral.

9.    Avoid text lingo (oops, I mean language.)

10.   Use only abbreviations that are well known.

11.   Avoid emoticons and smiley faces.

12.   Avoid long sentences.

13.   Use active vs. passive voice.

14.   Answer all questions, and anticipate future questions.

15.   Include the important points of the message thread.

16.   Clean up forwarded emails. Either delete unnecessary verbiage or highlight the important points.

17.   Use detailed subject lines to help your recipient quickly understand the focus of your message.

18.   For very short messages, use the subject line as the message, ending in EOM (End Of Message) to let them know not to open the message.

19.   Avoid writing in ALL CAPS. It is viewed as “shouting.”

20.   Use the high priority option only when it is truly high priority.

21.   Use the words “URGENT” and “IMPORTANT” sparingly, and only when it is true.

22.   Use ‘Reply all’ only when every person in the distribution really needs to receive the message.

23.   Avoid sending email messages when you are emotional. Regardless of how you try to mask it, people will “feel it.”

24.   Never forward messages that are off color, offensive, racist, or obscene.

25.   Don’t forward chain emails, or emails threatening you if you “don’t forward in 24 hours.”

26.   Copy ONLY the persons who really need to receive the email.

27.   Avoid using email to provide “constructive criticism.” It is never taken positively. Those conversations should be done in person.

28.   Avoid using BCC to rat out your co-workers. It turns YOU into the rat.

29.   Avoid using email to “discuss” issues among several people – the threads become diffused, and the content is difficult to follow. Call a meeting instead.

30.   Avoid sending urgent emails. If you need a response in under 3 hours, visit or call.

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And it ain’t cuz Emily Post wants you to.Businesses will benefit from promoting proper email etiquette for three great reasons.

1. Protection from liability. Here’s the no brainer. Certain rules need to be followed to avoid problems for the business. Email messages can and will be reproduced, and employees can, knowingly or unknowingly, put their employers at risk.

2. Efficiency and effectiveness. Many etiquette guidelines promote efficiency and effectiveness, for the sender and the recipient. Following etiquette guidelines will contribute to the overall efficiency of the organization

3. Professionalism. A professional image is important to a business’s success. Proper email etiquette and professionalism go hand in hand.

Please feel free to peruse the category, email etiquette for some great hands on tips.

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When traditional etiquette books were written, email did not exist. The absence of guidelines or rules therefore allowed people to create their own ways of doing things, some of which are downright poor etiquette. All these new technologies – email, voicemail, smart phones, cell phones – have opened the door for some horrific etiquette blunders.

Let’s remember that the basis of all etiquette is RESPECT – not just politeness, but consideration for people’s time and energy and emotions.

When in doubt, ask yourself, “am I being as respectful of the recipient’s) as I can be?”

That’s the key question. That’s the one Emily would have asked you.

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Check out this post by Todd Zwillich on his blog, The Takeaway, on congressional rudeness – hey it’s bi-partisan!

http://www.thetakeaway.org/stories/2009/nov/04/web-special-congress-rudeness-bipartisan/

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