A Gentler Kind of Email

In our current digital age communication through text based channels like email has become increasingly important. But increasingly we have become lazy and discourteous in our email communication.

Email as a form of communication has changed the way we do business, the way we communicate with our friends and our family. Emerging digital communication channels are now replacing phone conversations, letter and face-to-face communication. Over 165 billion emails are sent each day along with 50 million tweets, 900,000 blog entries and billions of text messages.

With all of this written digital communication it can become commonplace to write lax unthoughtful and rude emails and messages. Unlike verbal communication that transfers both linguistic, tone and body language cues written emails often lack both tone and context leading to a high probability of miscommunication.

So next time you are writing an email take that extra few seconds to show common curtsy and ensure that your message is being communicated clearly with out communication break down from the receiver.

Here are some simple ways to give your email an attitude adjustment:

Proper Capitalization: Be sure to properly capitalize all names and places. Nothing is more offensive and lazy than failing to capitalize the receivers name in the email. Also avoid lowercase the “i” it subtly communicates a lack of confidence.

Greeting, Salutations and Closings: Once a commonplace in written letters these simple courtesy’s have disappeared in our hustle bustle fast paced email world. A simple greeting and a thoughtful closing can make all the difference when it comes to communicating a friendly professional tone.

Spell-Check: Use spell check on all emails, nothing stands out more than eyesores in the form of misspellings and typos.

All Caps: Turn of the caps lock, all caps is considered yelling or adding emphasis to what you type. All caps is hard to ready and it is frustrating to your receiver. So please NO CAPS.

Subject Line: Always fill the subject line with a brief pertinent concise description of the content of your email

Tone Adjustments: Be sure to scan your emails for tone and words that can be interpreted as harsh, angry, or offensive. Also be sure to check for subtle forms of aggression. Leave out words like Hell and damn and be sure to not over use words like “you” or over use of sarcasm, which can easily be misinterpreted.

For those of you that want an easier option to friendlier email check out the ToneCheck plug-in for Microsoft Outlook. It is a program that scans all of your emails for tone and content and helps suggest revisions that will make your emails friendlier.