Over 200 billion e-mails are sent and received daily. This number is growing. E-mail is a primary communication tool in business. You have to learn to use this so as not to be behind the best.
Speed – overestimated value of communication
We get lost in many matters because of speed. We reply too fast.
In most of the situations speed is not a value, but we have made it one.
The faster we reply, the less we are appreciated because of fast answer. So many people hurry like that so speed becomes a standard. If a message is not valuable – speed is unnecessary and unappreciated.
How many times have you forgotten to attach a file?
Maybe you made a mistake and sent an email to the wrong address?
Hurry slowly as Romans used to say and use the following options:
-> Save, do not send.
Use “Save in drafts” option so you can read and check it one more time before sending.
-> Check at least twice.
Before you send an e-mail – check: recipient, people in cc, attached files. Read the content of the e-mail one more time.
-> Be precise.
Sending a reply too fast very often means lack of precise information. It results in matter taking longer than necessary, more e-mails, wasted time, higher costs.
Speed can be you doom so remember:
- Sending a reply too fast means higher risk of making a mistake.
- Fast reply is very often about focusing on oneself – “I will reply and it’s done”, without a thought of recipient and aim of the e-mail.
- Fast reply frequently contains your mental shortcuts which may not be entirely understood or even misunderstood.
Less words – better!
When I started work in business a lot of people told me that I had been writing long e-mails. Nobody said they were too long. Nobody also said that it was a problem, but I soon realized that long e-mails betray not only my personality and the fact that I like writing, but also my lack of experience in business.
It isn’t that you have to write short e-mails, but business requires precision, specific, clear and concise content.
The more words you need to write something and convey it, the bigger problem with understanding it yourself you have. Bear that in mind.
Mistake… About missed opportunity.
I receive from 30 to 60 e-mails daily and I notice that very few people use calculations or other discriminants.
Mistake!
These simple things make the communication clearer. I personally believe that I still use too little of these things. They require ordered thoughts of the author and make it tremendously easier to grasp the information.
Calculations give us a chance to simplify the text – eliminating difficult words, building simple sentences, minimizing number of characters in a given section.
Why should I waste my time on improving my e-mail?
It’s not a waste of time, but saving it. If you haven’t read it yet, visit 1st part of this entry and learn most important things about writing e-mails:
See the best e-mails –>>> Click here!
Time invested in writing good e-mail pays off.
- well-thought e-mail means ordered thoughts, made decisions, awareness of the problem, expectations or further steps,
- well-structured e-mail (with paragraphs, calculations) means good reception by the reader; not only in terms of impression (He made it clear), but also in terms of comfort which results from higher chance of understanding what is written and what for,
- well-written and considered e-mail saves time for everybody as it minimizes the amount of follow-up e-mails with additional questions, explanations, doubts, etc.