By Thomas Davis, DNAP, MAE, CRNA

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Effective communication in the workplace is an essential foundation for high-performance teams.   Being on the same page eliminates confusion, creates accountability, and promotes collaboration.  Team meetings, workshops and retreats are ideal for ensuring that the message is delivered and understood, however, in a hectic workplace it is difficult to schedule group meetings without disrupting the workflow.  Therefore, over the past two decades email has emerged as the primary vehicle for communication within workgroups.  Now, more than ever, writing robust and effective email messages is a fundamental leadership skill that must be mastered.

Reinforcing the importance of email in the workplace, the editorial team at indeed.com note that email enables immediate delivery of information to everybody regardless of their current location.  In addition, email creates a record and allows for tracking of messages that are sent to include identification of those who opened and read the email.  Email is essentially free and can target individuals or groups with a common interest. 

Balancing the positives, NIbusiness.co.uk cautions email users to be wary of threats generated by email such as viruses, spam, and sending the message to the wrong person.  In addition, email must be supported by a server which may be operated by a third party and create a risk for hacking.  Training staff regarding email security is an important safeguard to protect information.

Do and don’t when writing email

Mistakes to avoid

The first step toward writing effective email is increasing your awareness of things that irritate and annoy most email readers…the people who will receive your message.  When you read through the list, you likely will nod your head and agree that these things bother you too.  Therefore rule #1 is to never send an email that you would not like to receive yourself.   From the Forbes.com and Inc.com, here are some of the most common mistakes that people make when writing email.

• Poor subject line.  The subject line should give a tip as to the purpose of the email.  The subject line “from (your name)” does not pique curiosity and may not compel the person to open the message.
• Overuse of reply all.  Messages that are sent to large groups often ask for information about a specific issue.  The person sending the message needs the information, not everybody in the group.  Only use reply all if your response needs to be shared with the entire group.
• Poor or absent greeting. Use the first sentence to give a cordial hello to your email recipient.  Do not use nicknames unless you know the person well.  For example, don’t assume that William goes by Bill. 
• Too long of a message.  Nobody likes or fully reads a long email that is overly verbose or redundant.  Excessive length causes people to skim the message and they may or may not pick up on important points.
• Overuse of BCC.  When you send a message and blindly copy someone else you are not being fully transparent with the recipient.  Once discovered, the person will never trust you again.  If you must copy the message to another person, do it openly so that the recipient knows everybody who receives the message.
• Poor grammar or spelling.  In addition to being distracting, poor grammar and spelling leaves the recipient wondering about your competency.  The person may question your message if you are not capable of spelling or communicating in structurally correct sentences.
• Emotional responses, particularly anger.   When emotional issues are addressed via email it can quickly digress into an online shouting match.  Be very careful because every angry and hurtful remark that you make can be forwarded to hundreds of people instantly.   For disagreements, a face-to-face meeting or a phone call is much better than trying to resolve an issue via email.
• Bad mouthing others.   Just as gossip is a killer in the break room, negative talk about colleagues via email is equally destructive.   Online gossip can be forwarded with the click of a mouse and hateful words will come back to haunt you.  Never say anything about a person via email that you would not say to their face because it could easily be forwarded to their inbox.
• Annoying signature block.  Finish your email with your name and contact information.  Adding banners, emojis, videos and other cute items is distracting and makes your message appear unprofessional.

Creating strong email messages

Writing effective emails requires a thoughtful and organized process where you map out ahead of time the key points that you want the recipient to take away from your message.  Here are some ways to enhance the effectiveness of the messages you send via email.

• Slow down.  There is a big difference between spontaneous free-flow texting with a friend and sending a purposeful email.   Emails create a permanent record so take your time and make sure that you are not sending knee-jerk messages.  This is true whether you are creating an original message or responding to a message sent by another person.
• Prepare a draft, keep it short.   Start a new word document and write a draft of your message.  Outline the key points that you want the recipient to take away from the message and make sure they are incorporated into the message.  Keep it short…long messages are not read, and short messages demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and present them concisely.
• Maintain an upbeat and collaborative tone.  Use positive, empowering language and focus on the resources that you have and what can be accomplished with them.  Leave the recipient thinking that the goal can be achieved.
• Use bullet points.  Bullet points draw the eye to the key points of the message and are quickly seen by those who scan rather than reading the message word for word.
• No exclamation points, abbreviations, or emojis.  Things that are fun and useful when texting have no place in a professional email.  Save LOL for your friends and keep the cutie emoji out of your email.   Avoid exclamation points because they are interpreted differently by individual readers…is the sender excited that the goal will be achieved or is he/she using the exclamation point to denote anger?
• Subject lines are important.  Give some thought to the subject line.  It should capture the reader’s attention and give a hint as to what will be found in the email.  The subject line could be the difference between a person opening versus trashing the message.
• Have an opening, body and ending.  While keeping it brief, the opening should let the reader know why the topic is important, the body should explain plan and the ending should be a call to action.  Highlight the call to action so that the reader knows what he/she is expected to do.
• Proofread and fact check.   Walk away from your draft and come back later to review your message.  Have a trusted colleague proofread your message before sending it.  Ensure that spelling/grammar are correct and make sure that your statements can be supported with data.

Avoiding common pitfalls and giving thought to your professional email will increase the probability that it will be read and generate the desired response.   Remove emotional overtones, maintain an upbeat theme, and ensure that the message is both structurally and factually correct and you are more likely to earn the response that you desire.

Always consider that what you write in a personal email message could potentially become public.  Off the record thoughts should be shared face-to-face or via a private phone call.

Tom is an experienced leader, author, and requested speaker.  Contact tom@procrna.com and request him to speak at your next meeting or to teach as adjunct faculty in your program.