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E-mail Communication at Work

E-mail Communication at Work. Terese Thonus, KU Writing Center Staff Leadership Summit February 26, 2015. Overview of workshop. The big picture How to be effective How to be efficient How to be clear Tips and tricks. The big picture: Writing in the workplace.

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E-mail Communication at Work

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  1. E-mail Communicationat Work Terese Thonus, KU Writing Center Staff Leadership Summit February 26, 2015

  2. Overview of workshop The big picture How to be effective How to be efficient How to be clear Tips and tricks

  3. The big picture:Writing in the workplace • Lacks visual, auditory, or spatial cues • Does not permit “real time” revision • Is “set in stone” – difficult to take deny or take back

  4. The big picture:Alternatives to writing Under what circumstances is it better to… Use the phone? Schedule a face-to-face meeting with an individual? Arrange a meeting of the department staff? Arrange an inter-staff meeting?

  5. The big picture:When to use e-mail? E-mail when your message is… • Brief • Informal • Sent to a number of people (not personal) • Timely • Urgent • Must be documented

  6. The big picture: University policies The University provides email for use when engaging in activities relating to instruction, research, clinical and public service, and management and administrative support. KU also permits incidental personal use provided that such use does not interfere with KU operations, does not generate incremental identifiable costs to KU, or does not negatively impact the user's job performance. The University supports a climate of trust and respect and does not ordinarily read, monitor, or screen electronic mail. However, complete confidentiality or privacy of email cannot be guaranteed. 

  7. How to be efficient:Organize your e-mail Triage messages by importance Use multiple addresses or folders to organize messages Schedule e-mail response times and “times away” Multitasking increases stress and reduces accuracy and productivity by up to 40%

  8. How to be efficient:Create reusable e-mail templates Organize these into folders Share with supervisor and colleagues Update periodically

  9. How to be effective: Know your audience Know primary audience(s) and expectations Recognize secondary audience(s) Organize message to address their needs

  10. How to be effective: Know your audience Style of doing business? Regard for me professionally and personally? Purpose for reading? Interested or involved in the subject? Knowledgeable about the topic? Special concerns or strong views about the topic?

  11. How to be effective:Consider status differences

  12. How to be effective:Avoid the vicious cycle

  13. How to be clear: Write for a diverse audience Think of diversity in language, dialect, nationality, gender, education level, socio-economic status, etc. Define key terms Illustrate with concrete examples Begin or end with a summary Avoid slang, jargon, and other figures of speech

  14. How to be clear: Take advice from PlainLanguage.gov • Use short sentences. • Use the same term consistently for a specific thought or object. • Use must to show requirements. • Minimize abbreviations and acronyms. • Don’t use slashes (/).

  15. How to be clear: Cut the fat Structure sentences around active verbs. Avoid it is … that… and there is/are structures. Avoid very, many, really, and other “empty” words. Never use a five-syllable word when a two-syllable one will do. Use repetition for emphasis only.

  16. How to be clear:Use a readability calculator Available in both Outlook and Word Calculated on average sentence length and average number of syllables per word. FleschReading Ease 100-point scale. The higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document. Target: 60-70. Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level U.S. school grade level. For example, a score of 8.0 means that an eighth grader can understand the document. Target: 8-11.

  17. How to be clear:Format messages for on-screen reading Black on white background Sans-serif fonts (Arial, Calibri, Garamond, Helvetica) Block paragraphs separated by white space Bullets for list items, numbers for steps in a process No digital stationery, colors, highlighting, varied fonts, or emoticons

  18. How to be clear: Combine text and visuals One topic per e-mail Unambiguous subject line (~ 10 words max) Use charts or graphs for complex information Present items for comparison side by side Include pictures and screenshots

  19. Tips and tricks:Observe appropriate use guidelines TO: Implies that the communication is private and will not be revealed to others. FWD: Don’t use unless the person who sent the message TO you knows and agrees. You can also FWD if it’s a broadcast message to the public of which the addressee is a part.

  20. Tips and tricks:Observe appropriate use guidelines CC: Informs additional addressees of the communication. How to decide: Does it affect more than one person? Why do other need to know? The original addressee must know that you are CC-ing and understand why you are CC-ing. BCC: Use when sending to multiple addresses to preserve the privacy of individual addressees or to avoid long lists.

  21. Tips and tricks:Drop the disclaimer E-mails are not considered “private communication” No one reads disclaimers Use e-mail encryption offered through DigiCert (KU IT)

  22. Tips and tricks:Create a variety of signature blocks What information does your reader need? Create different signatures for… • Department internal • University internal • University external

  23. Sources: Financial Times Press Delivers Elements (series), Natalie Canavor & Claire Meirowitz (2010). http://proquestcombo.safaribooksonline.com/9780132159654/Cover How to Measure the Quality of Customer Service E-mail, Leslie O’Flahaven (2008). http://www.digitalgovernment.com/media/Downloads/asset_upload_file122_2312.pdf National Public Radio (2013). The Myth of Multitasking. http://www.npr.org/2013/05/10/182861382/the-myth-of-multitasking Plain Language: Improving Communication from the Federal Government to the Public (n.d.). http://www.plainlanguage.gov/ Relative Importance, Strength of Evidence: Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, Michael O. Leavitt & Ben Shneiderman(n.d.). http://www.usability.gov/guidelines/guidelines_book.pdf

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