Email has transformed the way we use writing.
Where would we be nowadays without electronic mail? Email technology makes written communication more like everyday conversation. It is rapid, interactive and informal. Email has fewer conventions than traditional writing and, consequently, there is more scope for personal style. It's quick, fun, and powerful. And also now has rivals in the communication landscape in the form of social media messaging, Twitter and chat.
But email continues to play a a major role in workplace writing. Connection to the web and other document sources allows us to copy/paste material into emails with ease. We can use colour, emoticons, graphics, send photos. Using email has become a regular feature of our lives. Indeed, can we now imagine written communication without it?
Email at Work
However, this revolution is not without its drawbacks. The speed and informality of email can sometimes work against effective communication in the workplace. Do you recognise any of these scenarios?
* An email message is forwarded to you or you are included c.c. You have no idea why you have received it.
* An email message is sent with the single abbreviation 'FYI' at the top and a long piece of text pasted from another message.
* An email message is sent to you but it is so unclear that you have to write back immediately asking for clarification.
* An email message is sent with the message thread (archive) removed. You have no idea of the background.
* After a few days' leave you return to an inbox with 300 emails. You delete over half without reading them.
Email is great, but it can make writing imprecise, casual and unstructured. The fast and interactive nature of email means that many messages are sent quickly and unchecked.
Writing and reading emails can also eat up a lot of our time. Isn't it better sometimes to pick up the phone?
More seriously, email can be the death of common courtesy. 'Please' becomes 'pls' and then disappears altogether. It can encourage management styles that are abrupt or evasive. Sending bad news in a quick email on a Friday afternoon or giving sharp commands by email are a common use of the medium by those who use writing to avoid meeting colleagues face to face.
SEND
And then there is the 'send' button. Have you ever pressed 'send' and then noticed a major mistake in your message? Have you ever pressed 'send' and then had an attack of 'message regret' ('I wish I had never sent that email!')?
Maybe you have even sent an email and then had to phone the recipients to explain your message. If you have, you are certainly not alone!
E-mail makes writing easier and quicker. But it may hinder effective communication in work and business, especially when a writer is conveying information or making a request to more than one person. The formal clarity of the memo and the letter can easily be lost in a flood of emails.
Then there are the familiar problems arising from quickfire technology: message overload ('I have had 200 messages today and it's only 11am!'), unnecessary forwarding of messages ('Why have I received this message along with 100 other people?') and of course the dreaded spam.
Emails are informal, person-to-person, interactive, unstructured and temporary.
Memos are formal, organisational, information-based, structured and archived.
Use emails for short requests and for communication with people you know or colleagues in a close-knit team. Use memos for any communication that may be kept or passed on to others.
Even though most memos are sent electronically, they should not look like casual emails. A memo has to be remembered.
Is Numbering Necessary?
Is Numbering Necessary?
The correspondence manuals of many large organisations such as the United Nations recommend numbering of paragraphs in all memos which have more than one substantive piece of information. The numbering makes later reference easier and also encourages writers to draft their memos with more structure. Short requests and emails need not be numbered.
The problems arise when informal emails are used to convey information which should really be in a formal memo. Making a distinction between emails and memos as types of writing helps to reduce this problem.
Even if you do not number paragraphs, it is helpful when drafting to make sure that each paragraph has a specific function in the text.
Email Etiquette
Even when using email between colleagues or members of a team, you should follow some
etiquette. You never know at work when a message may be kept or passed on to someone else.
etiquette. You never know at work when a message may be kept or passed on to someone else.
Indeed, some companies have even introduced email 'etiquette policies' in order to prevent misuse and abuse. A good example is the policy followed at the London School of Economics.
P.S. Don't Write!
Sometimes it is better not to write but to pick up the phone or talk in person. Email can be like having a conversation. But it is not always the best way to share ideas or to plan a document in a team.
Written communication in a team is often more effective after a face-to-face meeting. Also, when writing a memo, remember that consulting with others is often a crucial part of the planning stage.
