E_Mails_Analysis

1 Date : April 16, 2012 To: All Employees Cc: Board of Directors Subject: Thank You for All You Do! First of all let me once again thank each and every one of you that participated in and donated to our Relay for Life campaign last year. Thanks to all your hard work and sincere dedication we were able to reach our goal. This is a very special charity for our organization and we really appreciate all of you. May will be here before you know it and it will be time to do this again, so we are scheduling a meeting for April 25, 2012 at 2:00p.m. I hope to see everyone there ready to work hard and have yet another successful benefit. If for any reason you are unable to attend please notify me as soon as possible. Thank you, 2 To: All employees, Cc: Board of Directors Subject: Relay for Life Cancer Benefit As all of you know, May is fast approaching and it is time for us all to start preparing for Relay for Life Cancer Benefit. I am sure all of you are aware of the importance of this charity This year all employees will be expected to participate. A list of tasks will be sent out and everyone is expected to choose at least two of those tasks to complete. We will have a mandatory meeting May 8, 2012 at 7:00 pm to finalize these plans. Anyone unable to attend is expected to present me with a valid excuse for not participating. Thank you, 3 Email Analysis When writing an e-mail, personal or professional, there are certain principles that are necessary in order to convey your message. When an individual receives an e-mail, typically he or she scans the subject line to determine whether or not this e-mail is urgent or can wait for another day. With this being said, no matter the content of the e-mail, if the subject line does not catch the recipient’s attention, it may be disregarded. A subject line should also be to the point. When e-mailing about a specific topic, include this in the subject line to draw attention to the content of the e-mail. The direct content of the message should be focused to the direct point of the e-mail because the majority of people would rather receive the information and be able to respond in the quickest manner possible. For the purposes of e-mails that I send, it is important to remain professional throughout the body. Capitalization and spelling are of utmost importance and can change the way of professor, boss, or college views the professionalism of an individual. Words that are all capitalized can come across as shouting and is often taken offensively. Finally, it is important to avoid overly large or small fonts, and those that can be difficult to read. The intent of the e-mail is to convey a direct point, not to make the reader question the business skills of the sender. Identification of the sender can often be a difficult task if the sender is not listed in a contact book. For this reason it is important that the e-mail address identify the sender in a direct manner. E-mail addresses also show professionalism, for example, e-mails such as “hotmamma00@hotmail.com” or “southernbelle@yahoo.com” is not appropriate. If the sender 4 Cannot be directly identified by the e-mail address, or the two have not communicated by e-mail previously, it is necessary to sign the e-mail using an identifying name. Because of text and the inability to decipher sarcasm, e-mails are often misunderstood. This makes it important to proofread extremely carefully in order to catch errors in grammar, spelling, or anything else that could jeopardize the message of the e-mail. One letter being incorrectly placed, such as “angel” and “angle,” can completely change the tone or intent of the message. Errors such as this can yet again make someone question the professionalism of the sender. Finally, when sending an e-mail, it is of utmost importance not to assume privacy. When sending an e-mail it can quickly be sent to whomever and at that point the message becomes public. As one writes an e-mail it is good practice to review the e-mail and ask, “If this were published in my hometown newspaper, how would I feel'” E-mails are an excellent addition to the communication network of our society, but must not be taken lightly. They can establish professional relationships and destroy them. By following these guidelines, an e-mail can be sent that will assist and often expedite the communication process. References: http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/email/ 5 In both of my e-mails I used what I would consider a meaningful subject line. (1) This is very important because it can sometimes determine if the remainder of the e-mail is read or if it is trashed. (1) Relay for Life Cancer Benefit is a charity for cancer that all of our employees are aware of, and in my second e-mail I sent out a big thank you which we all need to hear. On both e-mails I tried to remain focused about the subject. (1). I did identify myself in both e-mails,(1) and all of my employees are aware of the importance of this charity to me, because they know I lost my father and husband recently to Cancer. I did try to show respect and restraint (1) in my first e-mail, I did however want all employees to be aware that this is mandatory. I tried to make my e-mail as personal as possible. (2) I also even though I am aware, and they know who they are, did not call names or embarrass (2) any of the employees that did not participate or donate in any form last year. That would have only caused hard feeling and tension at work. I did want all employees to know that copies of both e-mails were being sent to the Board of Directors so they realized the seriousness of the message. I know personally from years of experience, I had much rather receive a memo or e-mail telling me what a great job I had done in the past, rather than an e-mail that said it was mandatory that I participate in a charity in which I would not be monetarily rewarded and not be recognized for my hard work I had previously done. For me personally, I have found it is much easier to get someone to donate their time if you simply make them feel appreciated 1. http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/email/ 2. http://email.about.com/od/netiquettetips/Email_Netiquette_Tips_Tricks_and_Secrets.htm