What R U up 2?
by Melissa Barecca
What R U up 2?
Public Relations by Melissa Barreca & Kathy Callahan
Poorly used or overused e-mail correspondence can send a negative message about your company
We have a confession to make.
We are collectors of bad grammar, misspellings and other embarrassing e-mail faux pas. While the senders of these gems often think they're being cute, hip or efficient, they may in fact be getting noticed for all of the wrong reasons.
If your e-mails look more like alphabet soup than business correspondence, maybe you need to take a second look at how, what-or even if-you're communicating. In the big picture of reputation management, you are what you write.
There's no doubt that e-mail writing has carved out a special niche somewhere between the written and the spoken word. Used effectively, it can be a powerful tool for daily business interactions. But e-mail gone wrong can confuse more than it can clarify, or offend more than appease. The result: people are spending more and more time reading and writing e-mail, and less time actually communicating effectively and achieving an outcome.
By now, we have all learned that you're perceived to be SHOUTING if you use all capital letters. But going beyond the basics, what else does the style of an e-mail-or even the choice to use e-mail rather than make a phone call or schedule a meeting-say about you or your company?
Especially when it's important to persuade an audience or communicate complex information, The Harvard Management Communication letter advises: "For the greatest impact, hold a meeting. You get more 'bandwidth' face to face. The phone call eliminates the body language, but maintains tone and live exchange. Voice mail gets tone but does so without live exchange. And an e-mail is neither live nor terribly nuanced."
Reading between the lines
So with e-mail, what you see is what you get. Not a lot of subtleties, no room for sarcasm-and sometimes even a dangerous illusion that it's truly an interactive dialogue, when in fact it's a series of one-way messages that can be misinterpreted by the reader. So to help you make e-mail a more effective communication tool, here's a compilation of our favorite e-mail advice and admonitions.
• Always use proper grammar, capitalization and punctuation, even when messaging those that you know very well. If you don't, you will appear sloppy, unorganized or even irresponsible.
• Use spell check. Turn your spell check feature to auto so that you will be alerted of mistakes, but don't rely on it exclusively.
• Use "human check." Even with spell check, you'll still have to re-read the message to ensure you didn't type "there" when you meant to use "their" and a host of other common mistakes that spell check won't catch. This is especially true for Blackberrys, where small keys and large fingers can lead to a lethal combination for typos. And don't forget to check the subject line.
• Yes, we feel this warrants another bullet even though it is technically a spelling issue. Never, never, never spell someone's name wrong! Spell check won't catch name misspellings, so you'll have to look it up yourself. Even when you are moderately sure that you know how to spell someone's name, double check and save yourself potential embarrassment.
• Never "reply to all" unless absolutely necessary. Perpetual violators of this unspoken rule are often seen as wasting everyone's precious time when only one or two people need a response.
• Write the recipient's name on the "to" line as the last thing you do-not the first. That way, you don't risk hitting "send" before you have a chance to look over what you have written.
• Clearly state your needs, including when you need a response. Concise, direct language gets results.
• Practice good etiquette. Don't expect a recipient to read a long trail of "forwards" and don't forward an e-mail without permission. If it was sent only to you, why would you pass it on to others unless that's what the sender intended?
• Don't hide behind the "cc" line. If you need someone's support or involvement, enlist that support in a phone call or meeting-but not by simply copying them in. If you have a compliant or issue, address it verbally rather than taking the tattletale approach by adding their boss on the "cc" line.
• When you reply, answer all questions and pre-empt additional questions. You'll save time and e-mail traffic. For example, don't just reply "okay," but add context, as in "it's okay to send this release out as is."
• Don't write anything that you wouldn't want to see in the local newspaper. Even marked "confidential," e-mail may escape outside of your intended audience.
• Don't reprimand or reward via e-mail. These important interpersonal communication opportunities are best done more formally. A face-to-face meeting can turn a negative situation into a learning opportunity. A handwritten thank-you note is far more meaningful than just another e-mail.
• Above all, think first. Take a moment to organize your thoughts before firing off a message.
By following a few simple guidelines, e-mail can circumvent delays, errors, misunderstandings, and even a drain on productivity that seem to be escalating in today's business communications. Call us sticklers-even via e-mail if you'd like. But think about it B4 U hit "send."
Melissa Barreca is communications project manager at Ameristar Casino St. Charlesin St. Charles, Mo. She can be reached at (800) 325-7777, or by e-mail at melissa.barreca@ameristar.com. Kathy Callahan is director of communications for Ameristar's corporate office in Las Vegas. She can be reached at (702) 567-7053, or by e-mail at kathy.callahan@ameristar.com.
Public Relations by Melissa Barreca & Kathy Callahan
Poorly used or overused e-mail correspondence can send a negative message about your company
We have a confession to make.
We are collectors of bad grammar, misspellings and other embarrassing e-mail faux pas. While the senders of these gems often think they're being cute, hip or efficient, they may in fact be getting noticed for all of the wrong reasons.
If your e-mails look more like alphabet soup than business correspondence, maybe you need to take a second look at how, what-or even if-you're communicating. In the big picture of reputation management, you are what you write.
There's no doubt that e-mail writing has carved out a special niche somewhere between the written and the spoken word. Used effectively, it can be a powerful tool for daily business interactions. But e-mail gone wrong can confuse more than it can clarify, or offend more than appease. The result: people are spending more and more time reading and writing e-mail, and less time actually communicating effectively and achieving an outcome.
By now, we have all learned that you're perceived to be SHOUTING if you use all capital letters. But going beyond the basics, what else does the style of an e-mail-or even the choice to use e-mail rather than make a phone call or schedule a meeting-say about you or your company?
Especially when it's important to persuade an audience or communicate complex information, The Harvard Management Communication letter advises: "For the greatest impact, hold a meeting. You get more 'bandwidth' face to face. The phone call eliminates the body language, but maintains tone and live exchange. Voice mail gets tone but does so without live exchange. And an e-mail is neither live nor terribly nuanced."
Reading between the lines
So with e-mail, what you see is what you get. Not a lot of subtleties, no room for sarcasm-and sometimes even a dangerous illusion that it's truly an interactive dialogue, when in fact it's a series of one-way messages that can be misinterpreted by the reader. So to help you make e-mail a more effective communication tool, here's a compilation of our favorite e-mail advice and admonitions.
• Always use proper grammar, capitalization and punctuation, even when messaging those that you know very well. If you don't, you will appear sloppy, unorganized or even irresponsible.
• Use spell check. Turn your spell check feature to auto so that you will be alerted of mistakes, but don't rely on it exclusively.
• Use "human check." Even with spell check, you'll still have to re-read the message to ensure you didn't type "there" when you meant to use "their" and a host of other common mistakes that spell check won't catch. This is especially true for Blackberrys, where small keys and large fingers can lead to a lethal combination for typos. And don't forget to check the subject line.
• Yes, we feel this warrants another bullet even though it is technically a spelling issue. Never, never, never spell someone's name wrong! Spell check won't catch name misspellings, so you'll have to look it up yourself. Even when you are moderately sure that you know how to spell someone's name, double check and save yourself potential embarrassment.
• Never "reply to all" unless absolutely necessary. Perpetual violators of this unspoken rule are often seen as wasting everyone's precious time when only one or two people need a response.
• Write the recipient's name on the "to" line as the last thing you do-not the first. That way, you don't risk hitting "send" before you have a chance to look over what you have written.
• Clearly state your needs, including when you need a response. Concise, direct language gets results.
• Practice good etiquette. Don't expect a recipient to read a long trail of "forwards" and don't forward an e-mail without permission. If it was sent only to you, why would you pass it on to others unless that's what the sender intended?
• Don't hide behind the "cc" line. If you need someone's support or involvement, enlist that support in a phone call or meeting-but not by simply copying them in. If you have a compliant or issue, address it verbally rather than taking the tattletale approach by adding their boss on the "cc" line.
• When you reply, answer all questions and pre-empt additional questions. You'll save time and e-mail traffic. For example, don't just reply "okay," but add context, as in "it's okay to send this release out as is."
• Don't write anything that you wouldn't want to see in the local newspaper. Even marked "confidential," e-mail may escape outside of your intended audience.
• Don't reprimand or reward via e-mail. These important interpersonal communication opportunities are best done more formally. A face-to-face meeting can turn a negative situation into a learning opportunity. A handwritten thank-you note is far more meaningful than just another e-mail.
• Above all, think first. Take a moment to organize your thoughts before firing off a message.
By following a few simple guidelines, e-mail can circumvent delays, errors, misunderstandings, and even a drain on productivity that seem to be escalating in today's business communications. Call us sticklers-even via e-mail if you'd like. But think about it B4 U hit "send."
Melissa Barreca is communications project manager at Ameristar Casino St. Charlesin St. Charles, Mo. She can be reached at (800) 325-7777, or by e-mail at melissa.barreca@ameristar.com. Kathy Callahan is director of communications for Ameristar's corporate office in Las Vegas. She can be reached at (702) 567-7053, or by e-mail at kathy.callahan@ameristar.com.
