blog. Even though emurse is geared partly towards folks who are looking for traditional jobs, the principles in Jeff's post also apply to WAHMs and telecommuters who largely rely on e-mail to communicate with their customers.I have to confess, e-mail makes me nervous. It's that tone issue that bothers me. When you speak with a person face-to-face you can see their expression. You can observe their posture and watch for other body language signals. You can hear the tone of their voice.
When you communicate by e-mail you have none of the advantages of face-to-face communication. Does that short e-mail from your client that says they'll have work for you later really mean that they'll have work for you later? Or, does it mean that they are brushing you off? What about your own e-mails? Are you communicating crisply and effectively or are you coming across as abrupt and rude? Do you know? One rule of thumb that I follow with really important e-mails to people that I don't know very well is to let them sit for a while. Go ahead and write the e-mail, but instead of pressing the "send" button, press the "save as draft" button. Then, go away and do something else for a while. Take your mind off your e-mail.
When you come back to your e-mail try to read it as though you have received it yourself. What would you think if you received this message? Do you understand what the message is trying to say? Is there anything about the message that could be misunderstood? When I wait before sending an e-mail I often find that I need to add or reword phrases in the original e-mail.
If you have time and access to someone else, you can also have him or her read the message for you. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes can make all the difference!
What about you? Have you had any misunderstanding through e-mail? Leave a comment and let me know.
I'm still relatively new at formal blogging, so its very exciting to see my work referenced elsewhere in more established blogs. :)
Posted by: J. Everett | July 25, 2007 7:07 PM | Permalink to Comment