Here’s an updated 21st-century version:
No one thinks they send annoying e-mails.
Plenty of us do.
Consider these findings from the Pew Internet and American Life Project report, culled from Princeton University research
conducted from 2000 to 2002:
o 23 percent of Americans who use e-mail at work say
e-mail has added a new source of stress to their lives.
o 22 percent of work e-mailers say e-mail has caused
misunderstandings.
o 16 percent of work e-mailers say e-mail encourages gossip.
E-mail has revolutionized communication. But it’s still very
much an untamed frontier. Welcome to the E-mail Offender
Rehabilitation Program. We’ll get you straight before you hit
"Send" and offend again.
Here are some common e-mail infractions identified by "netiquette" experts:
oDo you send out jokes and "you gotta see this!"Web sites to a wide range of people?
PROBLEM! You’ve just distributed your friends’ e-mail
addresses to people they don’t know, exposing them to spam and viruses.
o Do you send out cute e-mails to your entire office or
department?
PROBLEM! You’ve just required your co-workers to siftthrough more e-mails and made it difficult for them to know what interoffice communication is important.
o Do you load up your e-mails with elaborate personal signatures
that include favorite quotes or even graphics?
PROBLEM!You’ve just burdened your readers with superfluous information that wastes their time.
Around 31 billion e-mails are sent globally each day,
according to "How Much Information 2003," the fact book sent out by the University of California at Berkeley. How many of those e-mails would have benefited from adhering to appropriate tone or structure?
THE PUBLIC E-MAIL
Occasionally we have to send out e-mails to all the parents of the soccer team, or to everyone in the homeowners association. If possible, you might try writing your public e-mails with a who, what, when, where structure. This can be extremely helpful to readers.
WHO: All members of soccer team.
WHAT: Team photo.
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 4, at noon.
WHERE: Playing field 2.
QUESTIONS? Call Coach Lombardi
ItÕs often a bad idea to include personal statements in a mass public e-mail.
Experts say there are three types of e-mails with distinctly
different rules — the close friends, office and public
e-mails.
THE CLOSE FRIENDS E-MAIL
Your spouse, your closest friends, your siblings,
your parents: These are the people to send jokes
and Òyou gotta see this!Ó e-mails to.Hard as it may be to believe, not everyone shares your sense of
humor.Even this small group of people will not enjoy
everything you send them.
THE OFFICE E-MAIL
DonÕt add to peopleÕs workload.
ThatÕs the main rule of e-mails sent out to a
group of co-workers. Keep them short, sweet
and to the point. Follow these tips:
o Make the subject line factual and brief.
o In clear, concise sentences, deliver the pertinent
information within the e-mail.
oIf you donÕt have an electronic signature on your e-mails, provide
your name and phone number.
o Proofread the e-mail several times before sending it out.
ANGRY RESPONSES
Studies show that one attribute of email
that most distinguishes it from
other forms of communication is its
ability to evoke heated emotion.
Misinterpretation can lead to rapid-fire
exchanges known as "flaming." Here
are some tips for avoiding a flame war:
o Think before you write. If you’re
angry, DO NOT put an address on your
e-mail. Simply compose an e-mail that
is addressed to no one and save it that
way. This can be therapeutic and prevent
you from firing off something
regrettable.
o If you receive an e-mail that
makes you mad, read it again. Make
sure you’re not overreacting.
o Separate opinion from fact while
reading an e-mail so you can respond
appropriately.
oWhen communication is tense or
unclear, pick up the phone — or better
yet, go see the person.
o Be concise in your messages.
Flaming tends to happen when you
write to excess.
HANDLING ‘THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY’
OK, so what happens when you do write something mean and send it off? Admit it, right away. If possible, apologize in person or at least on the phone. This will help to break the chain of aggressive e-mails, and will convey to the other person that you took the transgression seriously.
Source: Katherine Reynolds,
Yale University
BEFORE YOU HIT ‘SEND’
Complete this mental checklist
when you send an e-mail:
o Is this e-mail a "flame"? Never
send an e-mail in anger. It could stay
around forever, and haunt your professional
or personal life.
o Check the "To" field. Is this really
who you want to send the message to?
o Have you spell-checked the message?
Does it contain any error that
could reflect badly on you?
o Is the message too informal for
the people you’re e-mailing? Does it
waste their time?
oAre you insulting or criticizing
someone who could see this message
later? Is the e-mail simply unfair or unkind to that person
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