Sounding Line
May 2002

Interview:
Robin Raina

Editorial:
Do We Have to
Do the Same Thing
Over and Over?

System Review:
ebix ASP

Communication:
E-mail versus
Me-mail

Adding Forms
to Your Web Site

Policy
Automation
and MGAs

Why Many
Agency Web Sites
have Failed

Resources

Ten Things
to Think About
When Comparing
Windows and
Browser-based
Applications
 

Sounding Line
2001 - 2002

Sounding Line
Contents by Topic

Sounding Line
Contents by Issue

Communication

E-Mail Versus Me-Mail

Has the convenience of e-mail dulled our ability to effectively communicate?
by Wanda Shumaker

Thanks to advances in technology, our typed and spoken words are being delivered anytime from anywhere and at what once was inconceivable speed. But is the message getting through? Some have argued that the electronic calculator dulled our aptitude for simple mathematics. Has the convenience of modern day communication tools done the same to our communication competency?

A past business associate once expressed frustration at the company's Chief Operations Officer and her inability to write a memo without inciting the ire of half the staff. E-mails had no paragraph construction, no punctuation, no capitalization, and rambled endlessly with tired rhetoric. In fact, most employees missed the intent of the real message, as they admitted to deleting it after reading only a few words.

E-mail is a boon to business communication. It has also become one of the most prevalent conduits for misunderstanding. But I believe that there are times when the e-mail vehicle should be abandoned for what I like to refer to as "me-mail," the old-fashioned alternative of communicating in the form of a conversation, a hand-written note, or a personal phone call.

The Golden Rule…and other timeless classics

To avoid e-communication pitfalls, practicing some simple rules of common sense, courtesy, and professionalism could reduce frustration levels while creating a friendlier communications environment.

• Communicate unto others as you would have them communicate unto you. Before sending an e-mail, or any communication, read it or listen to it with the heart and mind of the intended audience. In the example cited above, the COO was apparently often critical of her associates for not communicating "in a brief style," though did not exhibit that same courtesy in her own messages.
• Never e-mail angry. If you are angry enough to write the thoughts in an e-mail, and if the issue is important enough, the e-mail should be nothing more than a brief invitation to meet in person. This is not to suggest, however, that your e-mail should be a preemptive offensive strike before your face-to-face meeting. Situations of this nature are usually best remedied via direct "me-mail," as personal interaction often has a way of clearing up misunderstandings in a way that impersonal electronic communication cannot.
• Proofread, proofread, proofread! Spellchecker is not enough! I recently received an e-mail solicitation, followed by a printed four-page, three-color flyer inviting me to a management seminar. The topmost banner on the front page told me all I needed to know: ATTENTION OFFICE MANGERS. Even spellchecker would miss that blunder, but it was enough incentive for me to send this expensive marketing effort straight to the recycle bin! Providing a means of instant correspondence to an individual with poor communication skills is somewhat like handing the Ferrari keys to a driver's education dropout.
• Just because you can doesn't mean you should! There are events in daily business that should never be relegated to e-mail. Praise and reprimand should, as a rule, be face-to-face events. While e-mail kudos to a group of one's peers can be effective positive reinforcements, taking the time initially to congratulate in person or via a telephone call can go a long way toward building relationships. A handwritten note can also be effective, as it indicates you thought enough of the activity or endeavor to take the time and personal effort to recognize it.
• When in doubt, don't! Even with the strictest e-mail policies in force, junk mail, joke mail, and the widespread "forward-this-and-have-good-luck" e-mails continue to clog mail servers. Even if you are confident of your friends' likely reactions, you have no control over to whom your friends might forward the e-mail or what their reactions might be.
• Beware the urban legend! Take it upon yourself to research those virus warnings and personal safety warnings before clogging the e-mail circuits. Be wary of any message that leads with, "IMPORTANT WARNING, SEND THIS TO EVERYONE IN YOUR CONTACT LIST!" The resulting traffic overload can be as damaging as a virus. Research the warning yourself with resources such as www.truthorfiction.com or Symantec's virus research portion of their site, www.symantec.com.
• Character DOES matter…and so does punctuation, spelling and grammar! Most professionals would shudder at the sight of a formal letter sent with no punctuation or capitalization. The advent of instant communication means that everyone is free to communicate as they see fit, and many executives no longer have an administrative "linguistic cleanup crew" to make their communication reader-friendly. An otherwise good message is often lost in the process, if not ignored entirely. As in the "Attention Office Mangers" incident, it didn't matter how informative the seminar might have been. My "attention" was drawn to the careless blunder.
• Does your computer look like a water cooler? What might have seemed like innocent "water cooler" banter became an important courtroom exhibit in one of the most recognized anti-trust lawsuits of our time. With employment practices and harassment litigation on the upswing, we should be careful not to state anything in email, or forward anything questionable from another source, that we would not wish to repeat under oath in a courtroom.

© Copyright 2002 by Sound Internet Strategy. All rights reserved