Tuesday, October 11, 2011

People always tell me how stressful it is just to open their inbox and see dozens of new emails. What most people don't realize is that by making a few minor adjustments to your outgoing mail you can greatly reduce the volume of email you receive. With this in mind, here are eight surefire ways to write and send emails so that you receive less of them.

1. Be very clear. Make sure that the content of your email is concise. Put the main point in the first sentence and use "If/Then" statements to reduce back and forth messaging.

2. Make the subject line detailed. By including additional information in the subject line, your recipients will be able to sort and respond to your message with the right priority.

3. Use only one subject per email. The reality is that most people skim. If you put two requests in one email, there is a strong likelihood that only one of the requests will be responded to.

4. Copy only the people who need to read the message. For every extraneous person copied on an email, you have potential to receive an extra response.

5. Send less email. While this may seem a no-brainer, email begets email. Sometimes it is better and easier to pick up the phone.

6. Have a detailed signature line. Make sure that all of your contact information is in the signature line of every email you send. This way, anyone who needs to contact you won't have to email you asking for your address, fax number, etc.

7. Keep emails short. When you send short, easy-to-read messages, people will respond in the same manner.

8. Avoid controversial or argumentative emailing. When you engage in an emotional discussion via email, the messages will fly. Emotional issues should never be handled by email; a phone call or person to person handling of the situation is best, both for the sake of your inbox, and the health of the office dynamic.

Email is here to stay; the sooner you develop productive habits regarding its use, the more time you will have for what is really important in life.