Work Talk

Addressing Emails: To, CC, BCC, and the Dreaded Reply All

Elizabeth Danziger — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:55:51 +0000

To, CC, BCC, and the Dreaded Reply All

Every email needs an addressee, and every time you address an email, you make significant choices. First, are you going to be careful as you hover your mouse over the To line and make sure that you are sending the email to your intended recipient, and not to some hapless soul who shares the same initials?

That’s the first addressing error, and it has led attorneys to send their strategies to opposing counsel, snarky authors to send their nasties to the people they are trashing, and employers to send comments that end up as evidence in wrongful termination lawsuits. At the least, it has led to some very embarrassing moments. So the first rule of addressing emails is:
· Make sure you are sending your email ONLY to the person you intend it to reach.

CC: Carbon Copy (Why do we still use this acronym?)

Next, decide whether to use CC. When you copy, or CC someone on an email, you are saying “FYI – For Your Information”. People do not expect to act on emails on which they have been CC’d. If you expect your reader to act on your email, put him or her in the To line. And don’t overuse CC. Some people routinely delete or ignore emails on which they are CC’d. Some are annoyed that their inbox is stuffed with messages that are only of tangential importance to them. If there are people in your organization to whom you routinely send CC emails, take a moment to ask them if they really want to receive all those emails from you.

Avoid using CC for self-protection or self-aggrandizement. If you want to let your boss know that you are on top of a problem he assigned you, send a separate email saying, “Just wanted to let you know that I contacted Christine and she will get me the information by Thursday” instead of CCing him on a series of emails.
· CC = FYI only

BCC: Blind Carbon Copy

When you put someone’s name in the BCC line, other recipients will not be able to see that that person received the email. “Blind” refers to the other people who received the email. BCC is useful if you are sending out a bulk email and you do not want everyone’s email addresses to be visible in the To or CC line. In these cases, BCC protects the privacy of the recipients.

However, other uses of BCC are less straightforward. Basically, using BCC means you are hiding something: You are not letting John know that Sally saw the email. In some organizations, people use BCC to secretly show bosses the poor work of their colleagues or otherwise undermine their peers. For this reason, many people avoid using BCC altogether, preferring transparency to secrecy.
Here’s one thing you should never do: If you are BCC’d on a group email, do not hit Reply All. Doing so blows your anonymity and shocks anyone who might have been uncomfortable with your receiving the email in the first place.
· BCC = Be Careful Comrade

Reply All

I did a nationwide survey of Anderson School alumni a few years ago, asking them what email practice annoyed them most. The winner? Reply All. Everyone hates Reply All, yet many people continue to use it. They think other people overuse it. Occasionally, Reply All is useful; for example, you might use it when you are trying to set up a meeting with a few people and everyone needs to know everyone else’s availability. Tedious as it may be, it’s hard to avoid a bunch of Reply All messages saying “I’m not available on the 3^rd; can we make it the 14^th?” However, if you are setting up a large meeting and send out a bulk email to all potential attendees inviting them, each person does not need to hit Reply All to say, “I’ll be there,” or “Can’t make it.” In such a case, responses should go only to the person who sent the email.

Certainly avoid using Reply All just to let everyone know what you are doing. Trust me, everyone does not care what you are doing. They care about doing what they are supposed to be doing. They also care a lot about reducing the email volume in their already clogged Inbox. So having you write “Handling the AAA account” and sending it to them will not buy you brownie points.

· Reply All: Not so fast.

Email can speed to hundreds of people instantly: that’s both the good news and the bad news. If we don’t address our emails carefully and responsibly, we risk losing our credibility and the goodwill of our readers. So use To, CC, BCC, and Reply All slowly and judiciously. Remember, an email is like an arrow: once you’ve launched it, you can never get it back.

Tired of reading unclear, error-filled writing from your organization? Ready to transform the quality of your firm’s writing? Contact Elizabeth Danziger today to learn about the Worktalk Core Writing Trainings. Call (310) 396-8303 or write to lizd@worktalk.com.

Online Email Course Still Available
Email is fast becoming the medium of choice for business communications. Make sure that you are using it optimally. Sign up for the Ten Principles of Smart Email free online course at www.worktalk.com.

Read recent Writamins:
Avoid Death by Email: When to Pick up the Phone http://www.worktalk.com/writamins/emailing-effectively/avoiding-death-by-email-when-to-pick-up-the-phone.html

White Space Rests the Eye http://www.worktalk.com/writamins/writing-well/white-space-rests-the-eye.html

When to Use a Comma Before And http://www.worktalk.com/writamins/writing-well/when-to-use-a-comma-before-qandq.html

Know Your Purpose Before You Start

http://www.worktalk.com/writamins/thoughts-on-writing/know-your-purpose-before-you-start.html

Create an Appropriate Tone

Elizabeth Danziger — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:33:23 +0000

In my Ten Principles of Effective Email presentation, I ask how many people have received a short email and thought the writer was angry at them. Most of the people in the room raise their hands. They often learned later that the writers were not actually angry. Readers believed that the writers were angry because of the emails’ tone.Your message is composed of two factors: what you say and how you say it. Tone is “how you say it”. Tone reflects your attitude toward both the reader and the subject of your message. Your document’s tone affects your reader’s response to your written message as much as your vocal tone affects a listener’s response to a spoken message. In deciding on your tone, start with the Three Ps: purpose, person, and point.

· What is your purpose?
Every communication has a tone; your job is to use the tone that will best help you fulfill your purpose with your reader. Should you be warm and friendly? Clear and direct? Formal and indirect? It depends on the result you are aiming for.

· How will your reader respond to this tone?
Although business writing is generally becoming more informal, use your judgment to find the right tone. Ultimately, the best approach is to put yourself in your reader’s place and consider the message from his or her viewpoint.

· What tone best suits your point?
You won’t use the same tone in a condolence note as you would in a demand for payment or an invitation to lunch. Your tone should suit your message.

In general, your tone should be:
·         Confident
·         Positive
·         Courteous
·         At an appropriate level of difficulty
·         At an appropriate level of formality.

Formal vs. Informal Tone
Business writing in general has become more informal and conversational than in times past. Nevertheless, a formal tone is often right. A formal tone contains no contractions, no slang, fewer personal pronouns like I and you, and, sometimes, longer forms of words. The passive voice is more common in formal writing. Sentences are often longer. Typically, a formal tone is appropriate for people outside your organization.

You might mix formal and informal elements to create a tone that is warm but professional.

An informal tone is more appropriate for colleagues and peers. Even in an informal business document, however, avoid excessive use of slang, acronyms, or emoticons.

When writing to senior management, be as straightforward and direct as possible. You can use a mixture of formal and informal language, as long as you make your point clear and brief.

How can you create a warm, friendly tone?
·         A warm tone is conversational.
·         Personal pronouns such as you and I/we are warmer than third-person pronouns such as it and one.
·         In a warm document, you can show empathy with the reader. I realize this process is difficult for you… might work in an informal letter about a credit application, but it would not appear in the formal correspondence.
·         Polite, courteous comments build relationships. Please, thank you, would you mind, I would be grateful if and similar terms add an element of good will to your message.
·         Some colloquialisms are acceptable. You can refer to your kids rather than your children.
·         Some contractions are acceptable. You can write don’t instead of do not, can’t instead of cannot, and so forth.

It is never appropriate to use profanity, crude slang, racist, sexist, or other discriminatory terms in business writing, no matter how informal you are being.

Your tone can make the difference between your reader accepting your message and rejecting it. When you re-read your work before sending it (which I hope you do), consider the tone as well as the content. Your results may depend on the tone you take.

©2013 Elizabeth Danziger All rights reserved
Tired of reading unclear, error-filled writing from your organization? Ready to transform the quality of your firm’s writing? Contact Elizabeth Danziger today to learn about the Worktalk Core Writing Trainings. Call (310) 396-8303 or write to lizd@worktalk.com.

Read recent Writamins:
Avoid Death by Email: When to Pick up the Phone http://www.worktalk.com/writamins/emailing-effectively/avoiding-death-by-email-when-to-pick-up-the-phone.html

Put More Cachet into the Everyday

http://www.worktalk.com/writamins/choosing-the-right-word/put-more-cachet-into-the-everyday.html

Know Your Purpose Before You Start

http://www.worktalk.com/writamins/thoughts-on-writing/know-your-purpose-before-you-start.html

Limit Email Checking

Elizabeth Danziger — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:19:43 +0000

Most people check email more than they need to. Some folks have urgent operational responsibilities that require them to be on top of their email every minute, but others simply succumb to the overwhelming urge to see what emails have just arrived.

Who knows? The single person might have received a marriage proposal. The lawyer or accountant might have heard from a new client. The entrepreneur might have received a fantastic business opportunity. All of them may be receiving the week’s winning lottery numbers. But more often than not, they are sacrificing precious time and concentration to read messages that could have waited until later. Many people place email checking above doing the work they should be doing, all the while thinking that they are being productive.

What’s wrong with checking email every time you hanker to find out what’s in your Inbox? Email checking is a massive productivity killer. The New York Times reported that in the United States, $588 billion a year in productivity is lost because of unnecessary interruptions, including email, according to Basex.

Basex estimates that interruptions now consume 28% of the knowledge worker’s day. This translates into 28 billion lost man-hours per annum to companies in the US alone. Assuming an average salary of $21/hour for a knowledge worker, the cost to business is $588 billion. The firm says that a big chunk of that cost comes from the time it takes people to recover from an interruption (such as checking email) and get back to work. In another study, Infographics estimated that each employee costs an employer $10,000 a year in lost productivity due to checking and sending irrelevant emails.

What drives us to check email when we know we should be working on other things? Two recent articles in The Atlantic connected the email-checking habit to the same principle that drives people to play slot machines: the principle of intermittent positive reward. Most emails do not trigger our pleasure centers, but once in a while we hit the jackpot — a letter from a long-lost friend, a great business opportunity, or some other form of positive stimulation.

That intermittent reward keeps us slavering for more. Add to that the fact that checking email gives us the pleasant sensation of doing something productive when in fact we are just wasting time. That illusion of doing something useful keeps us checking the Inbox all day long.

How can we wean ourselves from the habit of continually checking email? Here are some ideas.

Tips for Reducing Excess Email Checking

Create “blackout” periods when you will concentrate only on your work and not check email.

Close Outlook while working on other tasks so that you do not continually see emails coming in.

Disable the audio alert that tells you emails are coming in.

Check email only at natural breaks in your work flow. Force yourself to wait until you finish the task at hand before jumping in to check your email yet again.

Train people to wait patiently for a response to their emails and to call you if they need instant feedback. If people realize that they can count on you to respond within minutes to their email, they will keep up that expectation — and the pressure will stay on you. If you can, let them know that you are changing your work habits and checking email less frequently.

I accept that some people really have to be on top of their emails every few minutes. This Writamin is directed toward those whose jobs do not truly require that level of connection, but who succumb to the urge to check email too often and end up losing valuable work time. We’ll discuss Facebook procrastination another day.

Want to learn about bringing the Worktalk Email Best Practices training to your organization? Contact lizd@worktalk.com.

Avoid Weather Reports: Use Words That Act

Elizabeth Danziger — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 20:59:29 +0000

I’m sorry.

It’s okay.
We need the paperwork by Friday.
The holding tank might explode.
I think that restructuring is a good idea.

What do these statements have in common? They are weather reports, informing the reader of feelings, needs, situations, and thoughts. Whether stated explicitly or not, their purpose is to inform. If all you are doing is reporting the weather, informing is fine. But if you want people to think, feel, or act differently, simply informing is weak. Either put the information into context or put it into motion. Let the reader know why the facts matter to him, or do something meaningful with the information.

Most words just tell. Some special words, however, act. The process of using these words is an action in itself. These words even have their own name. You don’t have to remember it, but if you are interested, they are called performatives. For example, when you say I promise, you have actually done the action of promising. Before you said it, there was no promise. After you said, something new existed: a promise. Here are a few other words that act:

Apologize “I apologize for what I did.”

Forgive “I forgive you.”

Request/Ask “I request that you send in the paperwork by Friday.”

“Please send in the paperwork by Friday.”

Warn ”I am warning you that the holding tank might explode.”

Recommend “I recommend that you restructure.”

Other common performatives include thank, order, deny, forbid, and recommend. These words add backbone to your writing, making your ideas real and putting them into motion.

In some situations, these words are too strong. If you are writing to someone higher on the food chain, for example, you might not want to use warn or even recommend. In these cases, you can fulfill your purpose of warning or recommending by stating your case persuasively and letting the reader figure out what you intend. However, taking this approach creates the risk that the reader won’t figure out what you mean.

If you want to make an impact, I urge (that’s an action!) you to avoid weather reports and use words that act.

Online Email Course Still Available

Email is fast becoming the medium of choice for business communications. Make sure that you are using it optimally. Sign up for the Ten Principles of Smart Email free online course at www.worktalk.com.

Overcoming Pride of Authorship

Elizabeth Danziger — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 21:23:49 +0000

Let’s face it: No one likes to have work corrected. We dream that people will say, “It’s brilliant! It’s perfect! Let’s run with it.” But that doesn’t always happen. In fact, it is much more common to be corrected than to be unconditionally praised. This is part of the writing process. Remember the adage, “Writing is rewriting what has already been rewritten.”

So if you have sweated over your verbiage and then some senseless monster says that your work is not perfect, how do you cope? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Focus on achieving the purpose of the document.

It’s not about you: It’s about fulfilling your purpose. Hopefully you clarified your purpose before you began to write. The revision process is only about getting you to your goal.

2. Focus on the product.

Again, even though it may feel like it’s about you, it’s not. Take your focus off of yourself and put it on the words on the paper. What can be done to help them fulfill their purpose?

3. Listen respectfully.

Even if you disagree with your reviewer, listen carefully to what he or she says.

4. Look for seeds of truth.

Perhaps the reviewer is overemphasizing a minor flaw, perhaps not. Look for points that might be valid.

5. Don’t take it personally.

In all likelihood, this person is not out to get you, gunning to reduce your contribution, or trying to suppress you. He just has a different vision for how the document should be written. He might be right in some ways and you might be right in some ways. Taking the criticism personally will only harm you, personally and professionally.

6. Avoid defensive behavior.

It may be too much to ask you not to feel defensive, but at least don’t act defensive. It will make you look foolish.

7. Ask for specific suggestions.

You have a right to ask for specific suggestions. You do not need to accept blanket or scathing criticisms without requesting something positive. Ask for a suggestion to go with every criticism. If the person can’t think of one, take the time to discuss options together.

8. Win by letting go.

Release is the secret to serenity.

9. Smile and say thank you.

Believe it or not, this will help you accept the feedback. Even if you don’t feel thankful, recall that the person did take the time to try to help you improve. Criticism may be an unwelcome gift but it is still a gift.

10. Breathe deeply and slowly.

This will help you do everything else on this list.

Pride of authorship is paradoxical. It is good to do work that you are proud of and to be proud of your work. At the same time, if that pride keeps you from seeing what could be improved in your writing, it becomes an obstacle to excellence. Stay focused on creating the best product and you’ll do fine.

For information on Elizabeth Danziger’s writing training and coaching, visit www.worktalk.com or contact her at lizd@worktalk.com.

Forward Emails Responsibly.

Elizabeth Danziger — Wed, 30 May 2012 17:51:41 +0000

Being able to forward messages and instantly share information is one of the blessings of email, but it is also a curse, as many people can attest. A simple, honest mistake can become a companywide conflagration once someone decides that everyone should know about it. A privately stated negative comment can become a human-resources nightmare when someone helpfully decides to forward the criticism to the person being discussed. Rumors become rampant as people rush to send them to everyone they know.

Here are some guidelines to keep you from over-forwarding.

Think of two people before you forward an email: the author of the item you are forwarding and the person you are forwarding to. First ask yourself if the person who wrote it would like other people to read it. If you are not sure, ask or err on the side of caution and do not forward.

Next, and equally important, realize that when you hit send you are sending a meta-message to all your recipients. You are saying, “What I have to tell you is so important that you should spend your valuable time reading it.” Ask yourself honestly: Is this joke, consumer alert, cartoon, political statement, bit of gossip, example of someone’s stupidity or other questionable material really worth taking people’s time?

Perhaps the item you are forwarding is of genuine interest to your reader; if so, fire away. However, think before you send. As the Gregg Reference Manual says, “Ask yourself if the person or people to whom you plan to forward the message have a pressing need to see it.”

A few etiquette points about forwarding:

Do not force people to click through a series of attachments to get to the actual message you are sending. Make it easy on your readers.
Protect the privacy of previous recipients. If the forward contains the email addresses of previous recipients, delete those names before you forward. Previous recipients probably do not want their email addresses sent all over creation just because someone decided to forward.
- The exception to this would be if you are forwarding something within your organization and want others to know who else received the email.
- If you are forwarding a group of people who do not know each other, protect the privacy of their email addresses by using the Bcc function. List the recipients’ names in the Bcc line and the To line will just read “undisclosed recipients”.
- If you are forwarding to a group that knows each other well, go ahead and list all the names in the To line. Then everyone will know who else received the message and will resist the urge to forward it to other members of the group.

Forwarded emails clog the overloaded inboxes of millions of individuals. They can stir up trouble where none need exist. They can also be tools for usefully sharing valuable information. Only you can decide whether the message you are about to forward should be sent. All I ask is that you pause and consider the question.

Hyphens Are Word Glue

Elizabeth Danziger — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:20:05 +0000

Whenever you combine several words to make them into one adjective or noun, hyphenate all of the words you are combining, as in:

Man-made
Day-old
Case-by-case basis
25-year-old
One-bedroom [apartment]
90-day waiting period
Toll-free phone number
Energy-related briefings
The 3.8-mile-long tunnel
Two-thirds majority
One-eighth portion
Roll of 35-millimeter film
High-quality water
Part-time job (But you would write He works part time because part time is an adverb describing the manner in which he works.)

Words that start with non are, in general, no longer hyphenated.

Words that start with re are also not usually hyphenated. However, when the root word starts with e , re- words begin to look confusing. In these cases, we opt for greater clarity by hyphenating the word.

Example:

reattach reassemble

re-enter re-emphasize

Suspended Hyphens

When describing a range of topics, you can use a suspended hyphen to signal that the first word is only part of the combined word group.

Example:

Four- to five-foot pipeline

Pre- and post-war Europe

10- and 15-phase controllers

Note that the suspended hyphen must have a blank space after it.

Use the Hyphen to Generate Clarity

If there is any chance that the reader will misunderstand the grouping of your words, use a hyphen to show what you mean.

A man-eating shark is a shark eating dinner.

A man eating shark is a man eating dinner.

three-hundred-year-old trees are an unknown number of trees that are 300 years old.
three hundred-year-old trees are three trees that are 100 years old.
three hundred year-old trees are 300 trees that are 1 year old.

Do Not Use Hyphens With Verb Phrases.

Please block out time to see me.

Verb: block Adverb: out

Please set up my stereo system.

Verb: set Adverb: up

Please follow up on his phone call.

Verb: follow Adverb: up

Incorrect	Correct
Amount not-to-exceed $5 million	Amount not to exceed $5 million
The board will follow-up…	The board will follow up…

Hyphenation is a slippery topic in today’s grammar. Words, like email, that were hyphenated just a few years ago are often not hyphenated now. Phrases like web site are still in transition — some people hyphenate while others do not. Sometimes the best thing to do is to check a reference such as the Gregg Reference Manual, the Chicago Manual of Style or the AP Stylebook for guidance. In general, it is more conservative to hyphenate compound words.

Looking for a way to upgrade the quality of writing in your organization? Contact lizd@worktalk.com for information about Worktalk’s customized on-site writing trainings.

Avoiding Death by Email

Elizabeth Danziger — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:55:45 +0000

When I teach “Email Best Practices,” the first principle does not refer to directly to email. Rather, it suggests that people determine whether email is the best medium for their message. In many cases, the phone is a better option.

Email is quick and easy to use and, even better for many people, it does not require you to directly confront your reader. Because of this paradoxical combination of immediacy with non-confrontation, people often opt for email when they are trying to communicate emotions or sensitive subjects. This is a mistake. If you need to have a dialogue with someone, you are probably better off with the phone. When both individuals take turns venting their feelings through their keyboards, conflict is more likely to escalate. Lacking nuance and tone, email is a poor choice for highly charged discussions.

Have you ever sent an email to someone asking them to get back to you immediately and then started tapping your foot, wondering why they haven’t responded already? Again, email is paradoxical. You as the sender can make your message instantly available, but your receiver is under no compulsion whatever to pick up your message. You have no control over when your reader will pick up your email or respond to it unless you sidestep the process by calling him on the phone. So if you need an answer or response immediately, follow your email with a phone call.

How annoying is it to run through five or six emails just to set a time for an appointment or meeting? Most people would agree that it’s pretty irritating to have your inbox clogged with “9:30 works for me” and “Where?” and “Sorry, can’t make it”. Although email feels like a quick, efficient choice, in some cases you will get your questions resolved more quickly with a phone call. If you work in a large organization, hopefully everyone is on Outlook or some other calendaring program; this would enable you to set appointments for groups without multiple “reply all” blasts about who is available when. Even if you can’t use Outlook, a quick phone call with both people looking at their calendars can eliminate the process of going back and forth with multiple one-line emails.

So here are a few situations in which email might not be the ideal choice: If you are dealing with strong feelings or sensitive information, avoid email. If you need an immediate reply, use the phone. If you’re setting up an appointment, try the phone first. As a general rule, figure that if you have exchanged three emails on a topic, it is time to pick up the phone or go to the person’s office. Hash out your communications in a context that enables you to access vocal tone, nuance, volume, and other vital elements of expression. Email is a great tool, but like all tools, it should be used for what it’s best at: Quickly conveying non-emotionally charged, non-time-sensitive information.

For more information on Worktalk’s Email Best Practices seminar, contact lizd@worktalk.com.

Ecclesiastes vs. Orwell

Elizabeth Danziger — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:22:01 +0000

The December 2011 issue of National Geographic contains a fascinating article by Adam Nicolson about the genesis of the King James Bible. (A link to the article appears at the end of this post.) While the history surrounding the document is intriguing, I want to focus on the fluidity of the language. In choosing the final versions of every verse, the translators put the manuscripts in their laps and simply listened to how the words sounded when read aloud. In the Worktalk writing trainings, we emphasize the importance of using this powerful editing tool.

George Orwell did an exercise that illustrates the power of the language in the King James Bible. He took an excerpt from the book of Ecclesiastes and rewrote it using abstract, long-winded words. Ecclesiastes has been in continuous circulation for millennia. The original book was written in Hebrew over 2000 years ago and the translation was done 400 years ago. Here is the passage– try reading it aloud:

I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

Notice the power of the language: the short, familiar words, the use of visual images, and the parallel structure. Hear how it flows. Now here is Orwell’s rendition of the piece:

Objective consideration of contemporary phenomena compels the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.

Sure, it contains similar ideas, but how likely is it that people would turn to Orwell’s version in times of distress? How many people will be reading it for inspiration a thousand years from now? Not too many. This exercise illustrates just a tiny portion of the King James Bible. The scholars who put together the whole translation took the time to edit with their ears as well as their pens, and produced a document that helped unify a nation and spread its message throughout the globe.

When we write for business, we are not striving to create language for the ages. Most of us will be happy if our message lasts just long enough to get to the person to whom we are writing. But the message of King James’s scholars rests with us as well. Get several people to look at a document and reach consensus about what sounds best. Put the manuscript aside for a while and then read it aloud. Where your voice pauses, insert a comma. Where your voice stops, insert a period. Where your voice stumbles, rewrite. Even if you fear that you are casting pearls before swine, remember that in the beginning was the Word.

For more information about the Worktalk writing trainings, contact lizd@worktalk.com.

Author Adam Nicolson has done an admirable job of tracing the history of this powerful document and describing its role in the development of European history. Here is a link to the article: > http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/12/king-james-bible/nicolson-text/1

Avoiding Email Disasters

Elizabeth Danziger — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:08:14 +0000

“Act in haste; repent at leisure” is the operative proverb for email today. How often have you sent an email flying off into cyberspace, only to realize too late that it:

Was going to the wrong person
Conveyed a negative or angry tone that would damage your relationship with the reader
Contained spelling or punctuation errors that would make you look ignorant and unprofessional

The more time I spend training people in how to use email effectively, the more horror stories I hear and the more likely I am to pick up the phone instead of sending an email.

Every email must be able to pass the newspaper test. That is, as you write your email, visualize it being reprinted on the front page of the Wall Street Journal or your local paper. If you cringe at the thought, don’t send that email. Take it from the countless employees at Toyota, Enron, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and so many others: That little email that you write in the privacy of your office is the most public thing you have ever written and you have no control over when and how it can be broadcast to the world.

Two key points in the writing of every email give you control over the process:

Filling in the TO Slot

If you want to avoid sending the email to the wrong person, do not fill in the TO spot until you have finished writing, reading and re-reading your email. This will raise the likelihood that you will send the email only to the person or persons whom you want to receive it.

Hitting SEND

Set up your email program so that sending an email becomes a two-step process. Outlook can be set up so that you hit SEND and are routed to the SEND/RECEIVE box, where you have to hit SEND again. Sometimes the millisecond pause is enough to make you think better of the idea of sending that sarcastic missive. Once you hit SEND, that email is gone. Force yourself to think twice before sending every email — especially if you were feeling emotional while writing it.

Another few points to remember:

Never trash another person in an email.

Assume that your nasty note will end up in that person’s inbox within 24 hours — and talk to the people who have accidentally sent their own nasty letters to their victims because of rushing to hit REPLY ALL.

Don’t send emails when you are feeling emotional.

Save it to the Drafts folder. Have someone else read it and give you candid feedback. Take ten deep breaths. If you have been pounding away at the keys, imagining with glee what an impact your words will have on your unwary reader, think carefully. Stop. Look at yourself. Listen to your inner sage and don’t hit SEND.

Proofread every email twice.

Face it: Spelling and punctuation errors make you look ignorant and unprofessional. There is no excuse for them in the days of Spelling and Grammar checking software. However, don’t rely exclusively on software for proofreading. Remember the consultants who sent in a proposal for a “Turkey Proposal for the Pubic Sector”. But seriously, folks, sending from an iPhone or iPad is no excuse. If you’re writing for business, spell and punctuate correctly.

For more suggestions about using email effectively, visit the Worktalk blog postings on Email Land Mines.

Want to have a customized email training for your company? Contact Elizabeth Danziger to learn more. Call 310 396-8303 or write lizd@worktalk.com.