Email Etiquette That Works For Business Communications

Email, for all its blessings, can also be a source of annoyance and frustration. While hosting a business writing seminar last month for U.S. Dept. of Energy mid-level managers chosen for senior executive training, I saw unmistakable evidence that email has yet to evolve, at least in parts of that bureaucracy, as an efficient form of business communications. Too often, the byproducts are confusion, impatience and resentment.

Two things struck me. First, some people fail to see how email is a vast improvement over telephone voice mail when it comes to getting a timely response after you hit the “send” button. To explain: How many times have you left a voice mail and waited around for someone to get back to you? Have you been tempted to leave another message to convey the importance of what you want? If you have, you know that waiting time can be an awkward and anxiety-inducing interlude.

Now switch over to email. If I ask you for some information, and you can’t get to it right away, all you have to do is hit “reply” and say something to the effect of, “Got it. I’m swamped now, but I’ll get back to you by close of business tomorrow.” So without having to pick up the phone, you tap out a few words and the sender is satisfied, knowing that the original email got through. Fail to send back that simple acknowledgement, and the irritation mounts.

Second, email has a serious limitation. Your notion of the recipients’ immediate reaction is nonexistent when you can’t see their expressions and other non-speaking cues, as you would in a face-to-face encounter or tone of voice over the phone. Lacking those signs, you may not be cautious about injecting too much emotion (anger) or levity (sarcasm about a colleague) into your message. And remember: Email can be forwarded to addresses unknown to you, and it can be stored in someone’s file for a long, long time.

So, we decided at the Energy Dept. business writing seminar, when in doubt get up out of your chair and make it an in-person conversation. Don’t let high-tech electronic communications take the place of the direct give-and-take that has sustained the workaday world for many years.

Dave Griffiths, a former national security correspondent for Business Week, does freelance writing and freelance editing, as well as media training and instruction in marketing messages, business writing, communications skills, presentation skills and business communication. His website is http://www.davegriffithscommunications.com

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