Formatting is Important
I think the Ten Habits of Successful Emailers was very helpful, however I think something was missing out. I believe one habit that was overlooked is writing in a clear format. Working in sales, I realize how extremely important formatting can be. Getting people to read your e-mails thoroughly can be hard, but a clear, organized layout makes it much easier. I find that most people enjoy bullets, numbering, or space between paragraphs.
E-mailing drastically differs from text messaging. For one, an e-mail is normally viewed through a computer. This means that more content won’t be as much of a burden as it would through a phone. It is also harder to be formal through texting because of the limited amount of characters one is allowed to enter. I think e-mail is used more frequently in business and industry for project management because e-mail chains allow everyone to stay within the discussion in an organized format. Also, e-mails can be viewed on one’s own time. Conference calls are much trickier because they allow less focus and attention and could possibly interfere with a prior engagement, therefore causing you to miss the meeting. Another helpful feature about e-mails is the ability to organize them within folders according to which project you are completing. This allows for easy and efficient time management.
In regards to the Cerner CEO, I believe he made a huge mistake when not paying attention to Habit #5. Within my workplace, I can see how e-mails that are intended for only a small group of people can be quickly and easily extended to a much larger group. I always keep in mind that whatever is sent or looked at can be tracked at work. I never send anything through e-mail that I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting everyone read.
Laura Lewandowski
Comments
Response
The Ten Habits of Successful Emailers is a great reference. Next time I have to write an email, I am going to take it out and actually go through each step and use it. I would agree that a clear format is something of utmost importance in addition to the other 10 steps. I know that I would not want to have to sort through a jumbled up mess of an email looking for important information. Making it clear and easy read will make me want to read and get all the important information from it that the sender wants me to know.
Email is and will remain the preferred way to communicate I think. I would never want to use my cell phone to write letters to conduct business with. Using a computer is much easier and more organized. Like you said, the ability to store different emails in different folders is beneficial when dealing with multiple projects, for example.
A Clear Format
I also work in sales, and I completely agree with the clear format. I think that E-mails will get read faster and responsed to quicker. I can relate to E-mails that are printed up for the associates to read. I am much quicker to read an E-mail that is spaced out and has a bulleted list of points, rather than a long paragraph. The clear format makes people less likely to pass it by. An E-mail that is formatted clearly will be more appealing and get more attention. As result, there will be more responses and you will be able to get your point across to more people. In the fast paced world of retail, no one wants to take the time to read an E-mail that will set them back in whatever tasks they are performing. By keeping to the point with an easy to read format, your E-mail will not get passed by.
Reply
I agree adding another habit to the list of successful habit of emailer is a very good idea. Format is very important, it can be very hard to read an email that does not have good format and is not organized well. Just breaking what you write up into paragraphs is a simple but effective technique to add format to your emails. It gives your reader a break and allows them to absorb what they have just read. Another very important point that you made is not to ever send an e-mail that you wouldn't want everyone to read. E-mails can travel so fast in any setting or organization and you have to expect people to forward them. It kind of reminds me of the show The Office of NBC, when Michael Scott takes a picture of Jan when they are in Jamaica with her top off and then sends it to one person but it gets forwarded to everyone at Dunder Mifflin. He obviously didn't want everyone at Dunder Mifflin to see his boss with him like that! So you must be careful with the e-mails that you send!
Ten Habits
I think you have a really good point. I hate it when I recieve emails that are confusing and all cramped together. Emails should have clear paragraphs separating different ideas, similar to a business letter. And I think the signatures at the bottom are equally important. It is so helpful to see all the information about who someone is and how to contact them. This should also be something included in a helpful, well organized email.
RE: Formatting is Important
I am in complete agreeance with your entire post. I am also in sales and have found that the formatting of my e-mails makes a difference as far as how quickly I get a response back. If the e-mail is concise and has an eye-pleasing, easy to read format, my busy superiors will be able to read it without taking a lot of time out of their days. Another interesting point you brought up is that work e-mail is NOT private. Many people, especially our age group, do not realize this and there can be terrible consequences. A friend of mine was recently fired from his first job because he was sending personal e-mails from his work account, and this was against company policy.
Formatting
You are correct in saying that formatting is important in emails. I find that it is more likely for me to read and understand and email if it is clearly written. The use of numbers, bullets and roman numerals, can make almost any email worthy of reading. I know that by using these tools, my email with more than likely understood than if I did not use bullets and graphs. These tools can also be used to paint a picture or help the reader visualize what they are reading.
Reading Response Comment
I think that there should be a standard format for emails as well. It can be extremely confusing when trying to figure out how to format an email, and similarly just as frustrating when you receive emails that are in various formats. Since we often receive many emails a day, it would save time if they all followed a standard format, ultimately allowing us to be more effective employees. You mentioned that email is drastically different from text messaging, however, I believe that text messaging and instant messaging have strongly influenced email. Today people use many slang and shortened words in emails and have made emailing an informal method of communication.