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Respond effectively to e-mail messages
Contributed by McGhee Productivity Solutions
When you send e-mail messages, how often do you get responses
that are:
§ Unclear?
§ Unrelated to what's on the subject line?
§ Missing the information that you asked for?
Unfortunately, you can rarely change other people's habits.
But you can change your own. How do you handle e-mail
responses?
In order to write and direct appropriate responses — and
thereby minimize confusion and maximize effectiveness — it's critical
that you carefully read and understand the content of every message you
receive before you hit "Reply." Taking care with your e-mail
responses will have the added benefit of reducing the amount of e-mail you
receive.
This article discusses the following key concepts:
§ Responsible responses
§ Reply vs. Reply All
Responsible responses
Taking responsibility for creating effective responses to
e-mail is a worthwhile endeavor. We all receive unclear, confusing e-mail
messages and know how frustrating that can be. Make sure that your responses are well thought through, contain all the necessary
information, and convey an appropriate tone. When you demonstrate these
habits consistently, you set a standard for those around you.
Here are a few pointers to help you construct meaningful
responses:
§ Make sure you grasp the intent of a message
before you respond. For
example, understand the scope of a project and the actions it requires before
you hand it off through e-mail. Also, evaluate if e-mail is the right medium
for handing the project over. Would a phone call or face-to-face meeting be
more appropriate?
§ Reread the original e-mail message before
sending your response.
Have you addressed all of the action items that were requested of you?
§ Watch out for "flame mail." Read (and reread) e-mail
responses to remove emotion before you hit "Send." Your impatience
or irritation can affect the tone of the message.
§ Work out disagreements one-on-one, either in
person or by phone.
Handling situations that are emotionally charged via e-mail often escalates
the conflict.
§ Stop runaway e-mail threads. Once an e-mail thread that you
originated reaches four iterations, take responsibility for ending the thread
and call a meeting. If necessary, you can provide a summary of the discussion
or solution afterward for closure.
§ Leave useful out-of-office messages. It's important that
out-of-office messages contain emergency contact or coverage information in
case decisions need to be made during an absence.
Reply vs. Reply All
It's easy to hit "Reply" or "Reply All"
without really thinking through what you're doing. E-mail has become a habit,
and you might not be giving sufficient thought to what you want to say before
responding. When you pause and think about the message, you often realize
that a reply isn't warranted at all or that your reply should go to only a
few of the people on the original distribution list.
Remember, you want to respond only when necessary and then
only to those who truly need the response. The following are some key things
to consider when you're choosing whether to "Reply" or "Reply
All" to a message.
§ Determine if a response is truly warranted. With the proliferation of
e-mail, it's important that you send responses only to messages that require
one. When replying to a message, be sure that you are adding value to the
conversation, truly moving it forward, and not just adding more data —
or worse, creating empty "noise."
§ Reply only to those individuals who need to
know. The
distribution list of an e-mail message should be kept to a minimum to ensure
that the communication supports the meaningful objectives or supporting
projects of all recipients.
§ Include necessary attachments. If you're replying to an e-mail
message that included an attachment and you want the attachment to accompany
your reply, you must forward the message instead of using the
"Reply" or "Reply All" button. Otherwise, the attachment
is not included with the message.
§ Construct your response according to the MPS e-mail P.A.S.S. model. The appropriate use of the Subject, To, Cc, and Bcc lines will go a long way toward ensuring that your response is
clear and effective.
§ Use "Reply All" sparingly. Unconsidered wide distribution
should not be used as a substitute for determining the appropriate recipients
of the response.
§ Use the Bcc line to keep dropped recipients
informed. When
you remove recipients from an e-mail thread, put their names on the Bcc line and indicate in the body of the message who has been
removed from the recipient list. This way, people know who has been removed
and are aware of changes to the recipient list.
§ As a rule, avoid confirmation messages
(including "Thank you"). You should send confirmation messages only to
those who request it.
Think twice, send once
E-mail is an important communication tool, and it's likely
that the volume of messages you send and receive will only increase in the
future. You can keep up with the volume and improve your effectiveness by
pausing for thought before responding. E-mail responses that are thought
through and well written will help ensure a professional, focused, and
successful communication — and in addition, reduce the amount of e-mail
you send and receive. That's worth taking a little extra time for, don't you
think?
About the author McGhee Productivity Solutions (MPS) provides consulting and education
services designed to increase productivity and quality of life.
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