Not the post I have been working on or intended to add to the site, but after seeing a number of emails lately written in a way that wanted me to reach through the screen and apply a ninja choke hold to the sender, I hit pause on the post about Service Delivery models and their evolution in the time of all things "digital transformation" and took inspiration from an angry cat to look at what is now out main source of communication - email.
Have you ever received an email that made you look a little like either of these on reading it (shocked/angry);
Now I'm not against email, emails are great for a number of reasons - you can spell and grammar check them, you can send them any time, they provide an audit trail and best of all, you get the chance to read them before you send them!! Even in anger, the heat of the moment, when in a verbal conversation you might just say something you later wished you hadn't, with an email you can actually pause, save it to drafts, think about it, edit it later and then send it or even delete what you were going to say before you send it. Its the filter you brain always wished your mouth had. Emails are great.
But just like a verbal conversation where tone and emphasis can change EVERYTHING about a sentence, an email can be constructed in a way that can enrage or break you before you even reach the second line and like I said, it's auditable, its pretty much there forever even if you hit delete.
So, lets take a look at some tips for constructing emails in a positive way with a little help from my very angry ninja cat using the MEOW principles (I'll explain later). These tips are for you to either apply yourself or for you to provide in a polite and constructive way to someone who sends you an email that brings about the reaction at the top of this post, we'll focus purely on language and structure, not formatting.
Exhibit A - Email From Cat.
There are 5 very simple things wrong with this email which once the cat re-writes will likely get a more positive response from the dog! Let's go through them;
1. Greeting
How many times have you shouted at the computer screen "are you so important you can't start an email off with hi". Its crazy isn't it, but I have heard myself and many many other people say it time and time again. Starting an email off with just the recipients name reminds of when my mum used to stop me mid-sentence by saying my name sternly (usually trying to explain my way out of something id been caught doing that i shouldn't have been). It sets the tone for the whole email and its not a good tone. Really simple to solve this one, even if you don't want to exchange pleasantries just put a flipping "Hi" at the start and lets set off on the right foot.
2. Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical questions belong in a lecture, a presentation or a written paper/ post etc. They are designed as a precursor to further investigation, to get the reader or listeners brain engaged on the topic in question prior to moving into further detail or providing the key message. Its great in marketing but unless it is a marketing email you are sending what is the point of putting a rhetorical question in your email? (can you see what I did there). If there's no action, output or response required in your correspondence - don't use rhetorical questions. Normal questions, requiring a response, interaction or further engagement are great.
3. Orders
Now it's not a blanket NO here, there are a couple of points on using orders in an email - the military often issue orders via a text transcript often, clear, blank and white, no room for interpretation "do this", so they're not always bad.
Giving an order "en masse" i.e. a corporate communication/ notification email to all employees about a new process or policy is a great way to ensure the message reaches everyone the same way and doesn't get diluted or altered via multiple team briefings but like here, on an individual 1-1 level an order should really only be relayed on email if it's already been verbally directed previously, therefore making it an auditable confirmation. This is especially true with orders like this one which require "immediate action", these should never be initially issued by email - what if the reader didn't get it? deleted your email because you didn't even bother to open it with "hi" etc etc. If something requires "immediacy" then pick up the phone, confirm it later with an email for audit purposes.
4. P.S.
Emails, especially if used to confirm or relay an important point should be specific i.e. one email, one point. Now there are of course exceptions, email updates/ bulletins, newsletters, holiday handovers etc will always contain multiple points, but here, the cat is trying to make one point (all be it badly). Keep emails to the topic in question, keep them to the point and don't throw secondary bombs. If the first point is an important one and especially if the point of the email isn't exactly a favourable or comfortable topic - don't throw a secondary bomb in at the end. You'll either devalue the second point by throwing it at then end under P.S. i.e. "by the way" or you will make the reader even more upset as they're still not too happy with the first point. It's like getting an email saying your "your tax return is due..........p.s. your last ones are being audited".
5. The sign off.
Something I used to do for so long because I though it made me sound cool until a friend pointed out that actually it just made me look like a bit of a .......fill in the blank yourself, but it wasn't a good comparison). Putting just your initials on the end of an email makes you look like your trying to be all cool, high power, the big cheese etc etc, especially if like at the top, you can't even be bothered to add a sign off like "thanks" or "regards" etc. If your name is David, John, Sarah etc then put David, John or Sarah at the bottom not D, J or S. It doesn't make you sound important, and whilst your at it, throw in at the very least a "regards" or other appropriate sign off, its just polite and makes the whole email read much better, add your signature too so the reader can call you if they want to and don't have to trawl through the directory to find your number.
So, having had a sit down with the cat and given him some constructive feedback about his email to the dog, I'll use my remaining 7 fingers to try and show you just how much better his email could be
Exhibit B - A Better Email From The Cat
Now let's take a quick look at this and see if the cat has taken the feedback on board.
Greeting - We've got a Hi, it already seems a more pleasant email to read.
Questions - No rhetorical questions - good. The use of a question here is far better, its asking for a response which is confirmation of a meeting to discuss the email topic further.
Orders - No orders, actually here the cat has used a statement to propose the question underneath. It's neither a positive or negative statement, it is to the point and on topic - full marks so far.
P.S. - No P.S used - fab
Sign Off - A regards and the full name - top marks.
A much much better email all round. I hope this helps you to think about the use and construction of your emails or if you are in receipt of an email that drives a negative reaction in you due to these points, I hope you can use the reasoning and explanations above to help you provide constructive and practical feedback to the sender.
So how do you write an email like the cat?? You use the MEOW principle;
Make an effort - Use Hi, Dear or other polite greeting to open your email
Enquire - Use specific questions requiring a response, no rhetorical
questions add a proposing statement for background.
One email one topic - Don't use P.S. or throw secondary bombs in an email
Who are you - Sign off with your name and signature - not an abbreviation
P.s. Yes the dog does still sniff his butt (this is a blog not an email so its absolutely fine to use P.S.)
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