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June 30 Bosses: 10 Tips for Effective E-Mail CommunicationsBosses: 10 tips for better e-mails
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Use e-mail as one channel of communication, but not your only one. It's fast and easy. It can document discussions. It enables high-impact messages to be sent around the world with the click of a mouse. But it also misleads bosses into thinking they can manage large groups of people through regular group e-mails, Owens says. Use e-mail wisely, but don't manage your company through it. You won't reach everybody you need to reach and your presence won't be felt. |
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Keep it short and sweet and don't allow e-mail threads longer than a football field. Know that e-mails longer than one screen-full often aren't read right away; they get shoved to the end of the day or the next morning. Know also when it's time to put down the mouse and go talk to someone, or pick up the phone. There comes a point when further e-mailing eats up time unnecessarily. |
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De-code your messages as much as possible. Say what you really want to have happen. Start with the subject line: Make it clear and compelling (and be willing to change it when the subject in a thread changes). Be certain about who really needs to be on the "to:" and the "cc:" line. Be clear about action items and priorities. Spell them out, as lists or bulleted items. Include a response button or some other mechanism if you must know that everyone has read and understood your message. |
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Encourage people to respond with questions. That's akin to keeping your office door open. |
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Save your wrath for face-to-face meetings. "Flame mails," or e-mails dripping with criticism or venom, often backfire. Terse e-mails, because they are not accompanied by the writer's facial expression or body language, can easily come across more harsh than intended. You control the message -- and the emotions on the other end -- much better by delivering it in person or over the phone. |
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Likewise, inject humor, but keep emoticons, smiley faces and joke mails to a minimum. The smiley faces do help clarify when you are being facetious. But too many facetious mails will erode at your attempts to write serious ones. What about joke e-mails? Some companies forbid them. Send them or pass them on at your own risk, Owens says. There is usually more downside than upside, but everybody needs a good laugh now and then. Again, too many joke mails will erode your attempts to send serious ones. |
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Consider setting a 5-minute buffer between when you send and when it goes out. Both Owens and Maureen Dolan Rosen, a human resources consultant, see value in managers being able to retract poorly written messages before they even go out. "A 5-minute rule won't hurt anyone," Owens says. In Microsoft Outlook, you can delay the delivery of messages for a specified time through the "Rules Wizard." If you're angry when you're about to write, take a step further. Get up and walk around or do something else before you write the mail. |
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Work in time each day to answer your e-mails, or get help. If you can't keep up during a normal day, build time into your work day or delegate some of the responsibility. When is it too late to respond to someone? Never. Just make sure you have a good explanation. |
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If you can't write e-mails effectively, get some training. Or at least get help from a secretary or subordinate. E-mail should have some role in your communication with employees, partners and others -- there is really no valid reason to avoid it. But know that any remote workers and others who don't see you regularly may judge you largely on your e-mails. |
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Use spell-check -- and a thesaurus. Avoid typos and mangled sentences. They make you look bad. Avoid clichés, too. |
ZoNE-X Awarded Small Business Specialist Certification from Microsoft
(Click here for PDF Version of Press Release)
For Release 10:00 a.m. PDT
June 15, 2006
Microsoft Announces New Small Business Specialist
in Carlsbad & Huntington Beach, CA.
New designation distinguishes ZoNE-X as an expert in small-business solutions and services.
Carlsbad & Huntington Beach, CA — June 15, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. today announced ZoNE-X has become the first Small Business Specialist in the Carlsbad & Huntington Beach metropolitan area. To attain this new designation, ZoNE-X has demonstrated expertise in planning and building solutions for small businesses. As part of the Small Business Specialist Community, ZoNE-X will receive a rich set of benefits from Microsoft, including access to training specifically designed for the small-business industry, small-business marketing materials for reuse, special partner offers, and the ability to use the Small Business Specialist logo in marketing materials, which can help give the company a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
The Small Business Specialist Community, available as a competency-like designation as part of the Microsoft® Partner Program, was developed in response to input from customers and partners that expressed a need to build easier connections that enable small-business customers to quickly and easily identify technology partners best suited to support them.
“Small businesses are looking for partner companies that understand their unique business needs,” said Steve Guggenheimer, vice president of small business for the Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partner Group at Microsoft. “With resources like the Small Business Specialist Community and the partner locator tool on the Microsoft Small Business Center Web site, it will be much easier for Huntington Beach, CA’s small businesses to identify local partners that are best able to address their specific needs. We are confident this offering will help ZoNE-X reach its full potential by creating more visibility, opportunity and demand in the local small-business segment.”
“ZoNE-X is extremely pleased with our status as a new Small Business Specialist,” said Thomas Paquet, Owner at ZoNE-X. “This special designation allows ZoNE-X to effectively promote ourselves to customers as having proven expertise in delivering high-value, strategic solutions for small businesses. For San Diego & Orange County area customers, Small Business Specialist status provides ZoNE-X with early line of sight to new products, services and programs from Microsoft, which can extend the value we bring to our client relationships.”
As one of the requirements for attaining Small Business Specialist status, ZoNE-X had to pass Microsoft’s Small Business Sales and Marketing Skills Assessment, designed to test the company’s knowledge of the dynamics and dependencies of the small-business market, as well as the value to small business of several software solutions, including Windows® XP Professional, Microsoft Office 2003 and Windows Small Business Server 2003. In addition, at least one individual in the company had to pass a certification exam that measures the ability to design and implement solutions for the small and medium-sized business by using Windows Small Business Server 2003 and the Windows Server System™.
The Small Business Specialist Community was announced earlier this month at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2006. To enroll, partners can go to https://partner.microsoft.com/smallbizspecreadiness.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
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Microsoft, Windows and Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information, press only:
Support Team, ZoNE-X, +1 (877) 77-ZONE-X, support@zone-x.com
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