I am an avid Facebooker, Tweeter, and gmail user; but it is still one of the most annoying things when I receive a ton of emails in my inbox- even more when 2 out of 12 are actually worth my time.
I say this an an average, run-of-the-mill, new media user- imagine what a PR rep feels like every 15 minutes when all of their inboxes are full?
Their snail mail
their Gmail
their iPhone mail
their Facebook mail
their text mail
their tweet mail
and all the other mails that I can't even think of right now.
So golden rule is- when composing an e-mail (especially inner-office), a memo or such, be brief. Avoid rambling and/or extra topics.
Basically, stick to the point and let the rest of the office get on with their 2:30 pm coffee break.
However, when necessary communication arises, there are some points to
look out for in order to be effective.
- keep in mind the recipients of the message. Be courteous in doing such.
- keep all messages correct in spelling and grammar- it builds credibility.
- conciseness- like stated before, keep the message short and sweet.
- In short and sweet- include all information necessary for that particular message.
- be sure that all recipients are clear on the message’s intent and the like.
Another topic of concern, is language: not too formal, not to relaxed. Be as brief as possible, while still including all information needed. Not much more than:
subject line (Re: inner-office message)
salutation (Hello,)
First sentence or paragraph (intro to the point)
body of message (the point)
closing (Regards,)
A memo, on the other hand, is specific and straight to the point, as follows:
date: (11-12-10)
to: (Mr. so-and-so)
from: (Ms. so-and-so)
subject: (inner-office memo)
message: (clean up the coffee maker)
Done deal. Simple as that.
All these notes are from Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by Dennis L. Wilcox.
This is a such an awkward thing to do. When emailing my professors and such I've always tried to be brief and to the point. But then so often I feel like I'm coming off rude. Memos are nice, that's what people expect. But I'm always finding myself needing to rewrite for clarity and brevity with emails.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm glad I'm not the only one that is a stickler for grammar.
Thank you for this post. I hope that everyone that emails reads this first. That is one that I cannot stand, when people just ramble on in emails. We even discussed this in class when talking about things that journalist do that make PR people made. People need to learn how simplify their writing and not babble. At the same time, we have to be able to provide enough information so that people are fully informed.
ReplyDelete