The Berger Leadership Blog

Email nightmares ... are there solutions?

Have you ever received an email like this: “ARE WE STILL MEETING TODAY ON THAT ONE PROJECT?????”

Fun, right? If you are only working on one project and you don’t mind someone yelling a question at you. While most emails may not be as bad as what you see above, it does seem that in today’s busy, rushed world it’s hard to get a decent email that isn’t riddled with errors, lacks focus and seems, well, rude.

I try to avoid these pitfalls, but I still mess up. Daily.

Forbes offers several tips to help us improve our workplace communication. They include: slow down; make sure your email has a beginning, middle and an end; proofread and fact-check your work; and make sure you are OK with the email going public, because no email is private. The Harvard Business Review blog has a similar list.

Google executive chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt adds a few more helpful email tips to the list:

1. Respond quickly.
2. Every word matters in an email. Eliminate words that don’t matter or that cause confusion.
3. Keep a clean, orderly inbox.
4. DON’T YELL. All caps should never be used in an email.

If you’re like me and have a bursting email in- and outbox, Inc.com offers some unique lead-ins to help make your own messages stand out. Beginning an email with “Good news …” or “I have an answer for you …” might spark a happier and quicker response.

However, I encourage you, just as I encourage my staff, if what you are going to say in an email can be better conveyed in person, skip the email. Instead, pay a visit.

Time to hone those writing skills

NAFCU Chief Economist and Director of Research Curt Long hard at work.

From daily emails and memos to the occasional speech or op-ed, most senior executives do some writing as part of their job.

Your written messages – more than your verbal messages – help you to be clearer and more persuasive on your topic. It allows your team to fully understand your mission and where you’re coming from. It also allows for greater accountability – ensuring everyone stays focused on the end goal.

A LinkedIn article on the importance of writing skills notes a tactic used by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The article states, “Jeff Bezos values writing over talking to such an extreme that in Amazon senior executive meetings, ‘before any conversation or discussion begins, everyone sits for 30 minutes in total silence, carefully reading six-page printed memos.’ ” Bezos says writing out this structured of a memo helps promote clear thinking and always addresses the company’s main tenet – its customers.

While we might not have our senior staff write six-page memos addressing current projects or initiatives before every meeting, Bezos’ point is still valid. Writing helps us, as leaders, become better communicators.

Forbes provides some tips to help improve our business writing skills. They include:

• Use short, declarative sentences. Cut words when you can and don’t use a longer word if a shorter one will do.
• Be specific – especially when writing an email.
• Write in an active voice rather than passive.
• Be aware of your grammar. Edit what you write before others see it.

 Have a great weekend. Write on!