How am I coming across?
Image: Hans (public domain)
Do you ever read the comments that follow many online newspaper articles? Neither do I. Although whenever my eye catches a block of text ALL IN CAPS I am strangely drawn to it, because I know that the author will ALWAYS prove to be either mad, rude or both. It’s an iron law.
It may seem obvious to say it, but how often do you check your own business correspondence (especially email) for similar lapses in decorum that may be slipping through?
If you’re emailing a public utility it may be advisable to adopt a more formal, 'strictly business' tone. A brief list of dot points will make it easier for the recipient to attend to the matter quickly and get it off the table.
On the other hand, if you’re relying on the goodwill of a recipient not bound by KPIs or appeals to the Ombudsman, a more open and conversational tone might be more effective in greasing the wheels.
Are you calling your correspondent by his or her correct name? Have you spelled it correctly? Dale Carnegie said that ‘a man's name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.’ Remember the name, and get it right. It seems like a minor detail, but few things niggle more over the long term than this common slip.
And one-word replies? Rude. Why irritate people unnecessarily? I heartily advocate a rapid and succinct response, but there’s a line between ‘prompt’ and ‘curt’. Even if you just add a ‘thanks very much, Bill Bloggs’ at the bottom, your correspondent won’t feel taken for granted.
Finally, do they have a sense of humour? That’s a trick question. Whether they do or not, don’t put jokes, puns, sarcasm or (above all) irony into an email. It might be funny in your head, but it may not be when it lands in somebody else’s inbox.
