Email Lemonade
  • Home
  • About
  • Programs
  • Articles
  • Contact

10 Ways to Know Your Emails Stink (and What to Do About It)

12/1/2014

 
PictureMake sure YOU aren't the one sending an email lemon!
It’s easy to identify other people’s email lemons, but what about our own?  Are we filling our coworkers’ inboxes with frustration?  Here are 10 ways to find out (and correct the problem):

1.      You send emails without a subject line.  Stop it.  People need subject lines.  It helps them prioritize their inbox and find messages later.  Always make sure you have one – no exceptions.  Keep them short (ideally 5 words or less), specific, and meaningful to both you and the reader.

2.      When you send simple requests via email, the recipient usually writes back with a bunch of questions.  You aren’t giving the recipient enough context for the request.  People like to know why they are being asked to do something.  You also have to put yourself in their shoes by considering their knowledge level on the topic.  What other details might they need to know in order to fulfill this request?  What questions might they have?  Preemptively addressing these details saves a lot of back and forth (a.k.a. distraction) later.

3.      When you send an email to a group, it results in an avalanche of emails.  Either you didn’t give enough context (as described in #2) or you broached a topic that shouldn’t have ever been introduced by email.  Not that meetings don’t have their pitfalls, but they can be a much better forum for kicking off new initiatives, discussing complex problems, or any other topic requiring a healthy exchange of dialogue.

4.      You regularly misspell the recipient’s name.  If you’re this careless with his or her name, you’re probably careless with the rest of your email, too.  Pay attention.

5.      Your emails consist of one long paragraph.  Yes, this depends on how each person pulls up the email, but if your paragraphs are longer than five sentences, you’re probably in the danger zone.  Don’t make your coworkers’ eyes glaze over…make sure you only have one thought per paragraph.

6.      You don’t tell people why you are writing to them…until the end of your email.  Don’t make people wade through sentence after sentence – wondering where it’s all headed.  Tell them why you are reaching out in the first sentence or two and then follow up with the details.

7.      You always use “reply all.”  Just because you have the option doesn’t mean it’s always appropriate to use…in fact, it’s not.  For example, don’t use “reply all” to send personal messages or to point out someone’s mistake.  The key is to be thoughtful and intentional about where you are directing your message.

8.      Your emails have some sort of wallpaper or cutesy background effect.  Get rid of it.  You have plenty of opportunities to show your personality at work – this isn’t one of them.  These effects are distracting to your reader.  Plus, they often screw up the formatting of the whole email trail, which is super frustrating for anyone trying to respond to you.

9.      When you email a group of people, you have a hard time getting a response.  Take a look at one of those emails.  Did you direct it to a specific person, or did you send it to the whole group in hopes that someone would be proactive and respond?  If it’s the latter, you’re setting yourself up for failure every time.  Eliminate the ambiguity.  Address your email to someone.

10.   You’re “too busy” to proofread.  Reading over your email at least once before hitting “send” isn’t optional.  It’s important to give yourself an opportunity to catch potentially embarrassing, confusing typos and grammatical errors, as well as make sure your finished work actually hangs together.  (And did you include your attachments?)

Let’s be kind to our coworkers by minimizing the sour, frustrating “email lemons” we’re putting out there.  This list is a great start in identifying our problem spots, so share it around the office and let me know what you’d like to add to it!


Email Lemon of the Day: The Swoop & Poop

11/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Of all the email lemons, one of the worst is the Swoop & Poop.  These are emails that don’t add value to a conversation and are often sent for selfish or ego-centric reasons.  People swoop in, drop their “gift” in your inbox, and then fly off again.  I’ve observed two varieties:

  1. The Brain Dump:  If you’re asked to do something via a lengthy, disorganized, and unclear message, please see my post on a special kind of Swoop & Poop called The Brain Dump.
  2. The Quick Poop: Email for the sake of email, these are short, unhelpful messages that clutter your inbox.

Why do people swoop & poop?  One or more of the following reasons usually applies:
  • They mistake sending the email for doing real, thoughtful work.
  • They believe they are so smart and/or authoritative that the recipients should be happy to have gotten the input – even if it wasn’t actually helpful.
  • They haven’t given any thought to your current workload and priorities.

Here are a few Swoop & Poop examples (I’m sure you can think of more!):

The “hey, I’m here” email
A lot of people do this – especially on weekends – because they think, “Hey guys!  Look at me!  I just dumped another email in your inbox so you’ll think I’m working hard.”  More often than not, the content of the email is meaningless.  Sure, every now and then, you might need to send a strategically timed email to let your boss know you’re working above and beyond, but don’t abuse the tactic.  If you use it too often (and your emails really are meaningless), people will see right through it.

The “let’s look into this” email
Usually sent by a higher up, this email is typically a forward with a short line at the top asking you to dig deeper into whatever messy issue is below.  The problem is that the direction is vague.  There’s no sense of timing, priority level, or the desired outcome, which then causes stress and frustration for the recipient.  The email either gets ignored or results in….you guessed it…yet another email seeking clarification.

We can avoid doing a “swoop and poop” by always asking ourselves, “Does this email add value to the conversation?”  Here are a few ways to tell that you’re adding value:
  • You’re responding to a question or request
  • You’re providing specific direction, including: what needs to be done, why it’s important, and when it’s needed
  • You’re providing new information; e.g. a proposal for next steps or an update on a conversation with a coworker and how it affects the project 

Remember: not every email warrants a response, so please put yourself in the other person’s shoes and think about whether you’d want that message in your inbox.  If you wouldn’t literally poop on someone else’s computer, then don’t do it figuratively either!


0 Comments

Email Skills Your Global Team Needs: Part 2 (Clarity)

10/22/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
As much as I love working with global teams, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s tough.  Language barriers, multiple time zones, and cultural differences on top of heavy email use…as if projects weren’t already hard enough!  Fortunately, there are simple ways we can ensure that our global communication results in success.  I’m breaking it down for you in a 3-part series, so refresh yourself on Part 1, and get ready to layer on Part 2 – Clarity.

Unclear emails result in wasted time (which rapidly adds up if there’s a significant time difference).  Thanks to the above-mentioned challenges, achieving clarity is sometimes more difficult–but even more important–with global teams.  Here are three tactics to help you:

A picture is worth a thousand words, so use the picture. If you are questioning or giving direction about a detail from a document, piece of artwork, web page, etc. and notice that you’re using a lot of words to describe it, mark up a screen shot instead.  (My personal favorite tool for this exercise is Snagit.)  The picture is much more likely to get your point across on the first try.

The bulleted list is your friend.  If you are listing three or more items, you should immediately consider turning them into a bulleted or numbered list.  This tip is especially important if you are requesting information or actions from the reader.  When lists of items are included in the body of a paragraph, it’s almost guaranteed that one of them will get missed.

Watch out for expressions that may not translate.  For example, if you need a ball park idea of when they’ll have the information, dropped the ball on getting that answer, or want a full court press until the end of the week, you might not make your point.  (Writing from a US perspective, it’s amazing how often we use sports idioms!)  Sometimes these phrases are so engrained in our language that we don’t even realize we’re using them, so do this quick check:  Read your email and look for any phrase has a different meaning than its literal translation.  If you find one, replace it with the literal meaning.

Don’t let unclear emails get in the way of your global team’s goals.  Keep these clarity tips in mind, and stay tuned for Part 3 – Tone!


0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Archives

    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Categories

    All
    Attachments
    Clarity
    Email Lemons
    Formatting
    Giving Feedback
    Grammar
    Inbox Clutter
    International
    Mentality
    Out Of Office
    Proofreading
    Reply All
    Save Time
    Signatures
    Subject Lines
    The Right Content
    The Right People
    The Right Responsiveness
    The Right Subject
    Tips
    Tone
    Travel
    Vacation
    Why It Matters

© 2020 Email Lemonade.  All Rights Reserved.
Home I About I Programs I Articles I Contact
Info@EmailLemonade.com