Email is serious!

by Peter A Bell, Pragmatix Communication

Think of your computer as a toolbox and surely one of the most powerful tools it puts at your disposal is email. But powerful tools have to be used responsibly. Used well, email can be a boon to any business. Used carelessly, it can do more harm than good. And, as with so many powerful tools, email has the potential to become a dangerous weapon in the hands of someone with malicious intent.

We've all heard tales of email messages accidentally sent to the wrong person, with consequences that are often less than hilarious. The media present us with woeful articles about unstoppable floods of system-clogging spam; horror stories about various email-borne nasties; and dire warnings about sinister gangs of keyboard-wielding crooks clamouring to access our personal secrets and our bank accounts.

On the other hand, think about what email has to offer. As a means of communication it is almost as instantaneous as a telephone call without the requirement that the recipient be immediately available to attend to the message. It is a simple matter to send the same message to any number of people. Email can carry the briefest memo or huge amounts of information with equal ease. Email can be used to send a wide variety of different types of information, i.e. text or pictures. All or part of a message can readily be forwarded to other people, with or without added comments.

It is a trivially simple matter to keep copies of all messages sent and received along with details such as the relevant time and date and almost as easy for organisations to monitor their email traffic.

Email can be customised to match your business stationery and a "signature" can be automatically appended containing contact details, legal disclaimers etc. It is an easy and flexible method for businesses to communicate internally, with other businesses and with customers. Perhaps more importantly, email provides a fast, simple way for customers to contact you.

So why do so many businesses fail to treat their email communications seriously? I burn a lot of calories just shaking my head in appalled amazement at emails, often from prominent companies, which are little more than the digital equivalent of a note hastily scrawled on the back of a Tesco's receipt by someone equipped only with a broken bookie's pen and a command of the language that would have had my old primary school teacher reaching for the "Ruler of Wrath" to inflict a dose of the painful knuckle-rapping which passed for remedial teaching in those times.

Are you realising the full potential of email? Are you sending the right message? This may be a good time to take a long, hard look at the way your business uses email.

Get to know your email client. Most have a variety of tools to help you manage your messages. Knowing how to use these tools can save a lot of time and heartache.

Consider the purpose of your message before writing. Is email the best option?

Think carefully about what you write. Email is neither private nor secure. If you wouldn't put it on a postcard, you probably shouldn't put it in an email.

Consider the recipient when composing your email. Fancy formatting may look good when you send it, but it could be barely legible when they get it. Plain text, or minimal formatting, i.e. paragraphs, is more likely to display properly on different systems.

Always put something meaningful in the subject line. Something which lets the recipient know immediately what the message is about.

Use the spell-checker. Correct spelling, good grammar and proper punctuation are important, both for effective communication and for presentational reasons. Keep to hand a dictionary and a good style guide, i.e. Fowler's Modern English Usage, or use an online resource (see below).

Don't ask for 'Read Receipts'. Most email users find it very annoying.

Don't use terms such as 'Urgent', 'Important' or 'High Priority' wantonly. After a very short time nobody will take you seriously.

Think just as carefully about what you read. Email is easily forged. And even if it is genuine it may have been carelessly worded leaving scope for misunderstanding.

Keep your message brief and concise. Decide what the point is, make it, then close. If you think of something unrelated while writing, put it in another email.

Only send the email to those who want or need the information. The 'Reply to all' button is an option, not an instruction.

Don't forward email unnecessarily. Forward only if you have something meaningful to add and the recipient needs the information. NEVER forward hoaxes, chain letters or scams.

Don't use all capitals. This is the equivalent of shouting.

Don't email in anger. Before you hit that 'Send' button, THINK! However infuriating the message you are responding to, courtesy and politeness will invariably result in more effective communication.

Only attach files if absolutely necessary. Make sure any files you do attach are not too big - less than 1Mb is generally safe. Also, ensure that the files are in a format which the recipient will be able to open, i.e. JPEG or PDF. Never send files in a proprietary format unless you know for certain that the recipient has the software required to access them.

Always use a signature to provide the recipient with relevant contact details.

Never open attachments unless you know and trust the sender and have a fully functioning and recently updated anti-virus scanner.

Some useful links

There are many email-related resources and tools available, often free of charge. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Effective use of email (Excellent resource provided by University of Bath)

Outlook Express Tutorials (Guide to the most widely used email client)

The Guardian Style Guide (One of many online style guides. See also here)

AVG Anti-Virus Free (Reliable anti-virus with email scanning)

Mailwasher (Freeware spam filter)

Fab's Autobackup (Backup Outlook Express messages and settings and more)

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please email dotcomment@businessperthshiremagazine.com