I am not sure how much time I spend on email, but it certainly occupies a significant amount of my business day. Email dominates business communication. In fact, there are more emails sent and received in a day than voicemails and business letters combined.
Given the amount of time we spend on email, we should all be good at it, right? If only that were true. I’ve found in today’s business world, the growing use of short, email or PDA-like messages are leading to more communication breakdowns.
Part of the reason for the miscommunication is that we often don’t take the time to choose the right words when delivering the message. For example, let’s interpret this email coming from the CEO: “I need to see you at 11:00” rather than “Can you come see me at 11:00? I have something interesting I’d like your input on.” The intent is the same, but I think we can see where the receiver could interpret each message differently.
Whether written or verbal, effective communication is “defined by the receiver” – not the sender. Let’s think about that. It means that being a good communicator requires us to think about the message, consider the receiver, create the content, and most importantly, review the communication before hitting the send button. Remember, just a few words can change the entire intent of the message and how it will be received. We do it all the time in public speaking and formal business letters. We take into consideration the audience, craft the message accordingly, and even sometimes engage others to review or practice the delivery.
That’s not the case with email. How many emails are in your inbox? How about your sent folder? Any still in draft mode? If you are like most professionals, you have few emails – if any – in your drafts folder. Why? Email demands immediacy and so we rarely take the time to think, create, and review emails before we send them like we used to for traditional business letters.
It’s important that leaders have strong email communication skills. Here are some practical steps to effectively communicate using email:
- Think about your email message and create it. Don’t worry that the first draft is perfect; you’re going to edit before you send it.
- Re-read your message. Yes, it seems simple, but this is the most important step. Try to interpret it from the receiver’s perspective. This also will help avoid misspellings, grammar errors and other typos. Spell check only takes you so far.
- Keep it concise, but not too short. Don’t leave out any words. When we are in email mode, we typically keep it short – too short (especially on a PDA). While concise typically means fewer words, it is not exactly the same as short. Concise writing means choosing words that clearly and precisely communicate your message. Remember, every word counts.
- Texting shortcuts have no place in business communication. “U” know what I mean.
- Remember email is permanent. If you don’t want to document your message to the world, don’t use it.
- Avoid email as a means to share feelings about a person or situation. The opportunity for misinterpretations and misunderstandings is high and not as effective as personal communication.
- When in doubt, call a timeout. If it’s taking you too long to craft the message or you cannot find the right words, step back. It likely is a signal that email is not the right communication method and it’s time to pick up the phone or schedule a face-to-face meeting.
Communication is complicated. You can be certain I will be talking more about effective communication as a leader in future blogs. One of the only text books I actually reference from college is a business communications publication that is as relevant today as it was 25 years ago. It does not speak to email – and other emerging communication tools of today - but the principles and tips are the same. We just need to apply them.
We’ve all sent an email we’d like to retract. If you consider your receiver, think about the intended message and review it before you hit the send button, you’ll find your digital communication will be more effective and received as intended.
