Email Best Practices - the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
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This document provides best practices for business email use. It recommends being clear, concise, and including a specific subject line and call to action. The body should cut to the chase by putting important information at the top. Respond to emails in a timely manner by scheduling inbox checks 3 times a day and using the "2-minute rule" to quickly respond. Process your inbox using the "3 Rs" of read, respond, remove and create follow-up tasks. Finally, only cc others when necessary and avoid emotional responses.
Email Best Practices - the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
- 1. Business email best practices the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly Jeff Doubek Content Consultant Doubek Worldwide Media, Inc.
- 2. 110 msgs The average person receives per day. *The Radicati Group - 2010 “Email Statistics Report”
- 3. Quick story... In the days I ran a non-profit, I remember my non-profit community reacting angrily to an email, causing a day’s worth of email volleys. Back and forth. In the end, it was discovered the whole deal was taken out of context, something a quick phone call could have easily prevented. The moral here...
- 4. “Email is a good and bad thing.” So be responsible.
- 5. <Habit 1>
- 6. Be clear and concise
- 7. Examples: Specific subject lines “Inverted pyramid” body Call to action
- 8. Subject examples: Original “Social Media Mastery” Better “Please read: Tips for social media mastery” Best “Useful tips for increasing our social media ROI”
- 9. Message body Cut to the chase
- 10. The inverted pyramid: Put the important information at the top
- 11. State your purpose! “I am requesting feedback today on the attached doc in order to meet tomorrow’s deadline.”
- 12. Support that statement “This is the XYZ product presentation, based on comments from yesterday’s meeting.”
- 13. Two more tips... Give me a bullet... • please! Close with call to action: “Please respond and provide specific feedback – thank you.”
- 15. Don’t thank me Request acknowledgement of receipt Do you need to be thanked? Never copy all on a thank you
- 16. When responding... Answer all questions Pre-empt further questions
- 17. More great tips... cc with care Reply all rarely Avoid email “ping-pong”
- 18. <Habit 2>
- 19. Limit email time Schedule inbox checks: (e.g. 8:30, 1:30, 4:30) Make few exceptions
- 20. Do yourself a favor...
- 21. Turn off the alerts!
- 23. <Habit 3>
- 24. Process your inbox • 3-Rs: read, respond, remove • 2-minute rule: if you can respond in 2 minutes, then do it! • (the key is to make decisions)
- 26. In Outlook:
- 28. They are decision enablers, make labels such as: “Save for reference” “To read (later)” Project titles
- 29. Make flag rules
- 31. The flag routine Blue = unprocessed Red = needs follow-up Check = done “Right click” to change
- 33. “Don’t let the process replace the action.”
- 34. Also... *** The 24-hour Rule *** Wait a day before replying to messages that anger you. Avoid emotional responses.
- 35. Final Story... I once worked for an employer who made a point of dressing down his charges via email, and did it while bcc-ing half the company. It created a horrible culture of mistrust. You never knew if your next note from him was Being broadcast to the entire company. The moral here...
- 36. Be Responsible.
- 37. Takeaways 1. Be clear and be concise 2. Check 3 times only 3. Process your inbox
- 38. Thank you! More tips at: www.doubekworldwide.com
Editor's Notes
- #2: Pleased to be asked because Topic I’m passionate about Underrated communication 1st thing we learn…
- #3: In 2010 a group did a study Transactions @ 30 seconds -&gt; 1 hour Important to learn habits
- #4: Cappy story Non-profit sector Heated debate Better part of our day Group collectively wasted 10 hours clear
- #5: Misuse – damage to your time by unclear messages Requires discipline More than 60% Corp training - Policies = good; habits = better forming positive email habits
- #7: Define “what I mean by this is…” Your time Others time - Matter of etiquette
- #8: Save yourself time creating off-target or unclear email Saving others time
- #9: 2 “U”s : Useful and ultra specific Subject: Define your purpose
- #10: This is all about saving time
- #12: First sentence Lead with your reason for emailing
- #14: Bullet makes your message scanable Call to action – expectations Tell people How to respond
- #15: Thought it was important enough to get its own slide.
- #16: Somewhat controversial If I’m doing my job
- #17: Keep more email from becoming necessary.
- #18: All tips to reduce the aggregate amount of email Keep it from becoming the next snail mail Pick up the phone
- #20: Never check email in the morning??? Avoid compulsive checking Emergencies… really? Sticky notes Have inbox processed before leave work
- #21: Please Distraction Start-stop-start destructive
- #22: Please Distraction Start-stop-start destructive
- #25: Have a Strategy About creating a daily routine Use your preview pane Key: Make decisions
- #26: If you can’t 2 min, then task
- #27: Get to know Outlook features Don’t move to folder Rewrite task name to actionable Set due dates
- #29: Clean your inbox Limit your boxes Use rules Careful not to hide your email
- #31: Don’t hide messages
- #32: Unprocessed means you haven’t made a decision
- #34: Don’t let your routines become a time suck
- #35: It just creates unnecessary email irresponsible
- #36: Mel story Culture of mistrust Moral: be responsible
- #37: Closing like a public service announcement Our responsibility to not create waste
- #38: Key takeaways Subject lines and inverted pyramid Make a time-saving routine Process your email using the 3 R’s: read, respond, remove