What Form of Communication Should You Use?
There are many options when it comes to getting your message across. Should you send an e-mail? Write a letter? Visit your client face-to-face? Let’s investigate the specific strengths and weaknesses of each type of communication so you can better match your delivery choice to the situation.
Oral communication allows participants to assess the meanings of the speaker’s words and voice intonations. When speaking in person, participants also use “unspoken” messages sent by body language and facial expressions when interpreting the message. The speaker can adapt his or her message by assessing a listener’s attentiveness. However, oral communication is not perfect. To deliver your message accurately, especially to those with whom you’re not familiar, it is important to offer clear, unbiased language and avoid clichés, negative metaphors, and culturally specific references. For example, using the expression “down to the last out” is meaningful to an American baseball fan but perhaps not to someone from another country.
Written communication has more permanency than oral communication. You can revise it before sending or review it at a later date. In addition, the receiver has more time to analyze the content before responding. On the other hand, the sender has no control over when the recipient chooses to read the message and does not benefit from immediate feedback. Neither is the sender given the opportunity for further clarification. Finally, written communication can lead to misunderstandings because of the lack of face-to-face interaction. Albert Mehrabian from the University of California–Los Angeles, found that 55 percent of meaning in an interaction comes from facial and body language and that 38 percent comes from vocal inflection. The words convey only 7 percent of meaning.2 Therefore, if the nature of a written communication contains anything sensitive or complicated, it might be wise to follow up with a quick phone call or an in-person meeting.
E-mail is perhaps the most used form of digital written communication, although social networks, wikis, podcasts, and blogs are becoming increasingly popular in the business world. E-mail is quick and convenient, and the sender and receiver don’t need to be available at the same time to communicate. Popular mobile devices, such as smartphones, and Internet tablets, such as the iPad, enable people to read and reply to e-mail any time they have a phone signal or Wi-Fi connection.
In the business world, your e-mail is all that many people see of you. It is important to take time to understand the audience to whom you’re sending the e-mail and structure it accordingly. Obviously, an e-mail to a friend will be different from one to your boss or a client. A friend may expect a loosely formatted e-mail—full of slang and spelling errors. However, in a business context, such an e-mail will give people a negative impression of you. Your e-mails represent you and your organization, which is why you need to send clear, organized, and thoughtful messages. The following list has some pertinent tips for effective business e-mail writing.
Tips For Writing An Effective Business E-Mail
Use a meaningful subject line. Subject lines help the reader prioritize and organize e-mail messages. Instead of “Here’s what you’re asking for,” try to be more specific, such as “3/3/13 Client X Update.” Create agreed-on acronyms for use in subject lines that help to better identify messages and/or actions required, such as AR (Action Required) or MSR (Monthly Status Report). Using consistent identifications helps people prioritize and organize e-mail. If possible, condense the entire message into several words that fit in the subject line, such as “2 p.m. meeting on 2/15/13 confirmed.”
Watch slang and offensive or potentially damaging content. E-mails are business documents. Err on the side of being utterly conservative in your language and content. You don’t want to offend anyone by using the wrong words or including something deemed inappropriate. Do not use texting abbreviations.
Proofread and edit. Quickly firing off an e-mail without proofreading can lead to big mistakes or misunderstandings. Make sure the message is free of grammatical and spelling errors.
Keep it brief and focused. Your e-mail may be one of 200 (or more!) read by the recipient that day, so keep the content brief and focused. Organize it with bullets or short sentences so the reader can clearly understand the key points. Be specific. If you send a 20-page attachment, for example, tell the recipient that the important information is on pages 2 and 17.
Consider the format of attachments and their sizes. When you don’t know if the recipient has the right software to view an attachment, use a universal format, such as a PDF. Also, most e-mail servers will not allow an e-mail through if it has an exceptionally large attachment. If large files need to be exchanged, consider placing the information on a firm’s intranet if the person has access to it. Free web services, such as Dropbox and Hightail, can also be used for this purpose. They allow you people to share large files by uploading and downloading them to and from their websites.
Include previous messages in a reply. Even if you copy only a phrase from a previous e-mail, including messages in a reply helps when responses are not immediate. You wouldn’t pick up a phone and say “I agree” and expect the person on the other end to understand what you’re agreeing with if you hadn’t spoken in a day or two. However, be careful when including an entire message if you’re adding someone new to the e-mail. Long threads of e-mail exchanges may contain information that is not appropriate for a new person to see.
Use a signature line. The line should include your title and full contact information.
E-mail has other limitations, so users need to be aware of them to avoid problems. Be considerate of the size for attachments. Apply caution when using e-mail because it is not as private as a regular letter. E-mail is more like a postcard that can be read, copied, saved, shared, and exchanged by anyone. Work e-mails can be legally monitored by your boss and may be subject to review if a lawsuit is filed against your company. In addition, serious mistakes have occurred when users have mistakenly “replied to all” with comments about one of the people on the distribution list or have forwarded the message to the wrong person. Because of its ease of use and access, many users have found themselves in trouble after shooting off an e-mail in frustration or anger rather than waiting to cool off and responding in a calmer and more professional state of mind. The bottom line is that e-mail should be used with care and should not be used to communicate secure, private, or potentially damaging information.
Texting has become part of business in many settings.
Source: XiXinXing/Alamy Stock Photo
Companies are beginning to recognize the problems erupting from the high volume of e-mail employees receive daily. A number of companies are adopting “no e-mail” days in an effort to reduce the e-mail overload and encourage employees to get out from behind their digital devices and actually talk to their colleagues and customers, whether in person or on the telephone. The results have been astonishing. When U.S. Cellular enforced a no-e-mail Friday, two coworkers who had been communicating with each other exclusively by e-mail found out that instead of being across the country from each other, they were only across the hall. Now, their working relationship is much stronger because of their in-person interactions.
Texting
Texting is another popular form of digital communication. Many businesses use text messaging as a means to “push” information to users via their cell phones. For example, airlines use texting to confirm flight information, and real estate agents use it to inform buyers when new listings that fit their specifications come on the market. Advertisers are also finding text messaging a convenient way to alert users to new product information.
When you text to communicate in a business environment, remember that there is a record of what you have said. Texting should never be used to communicate confrontational, sensitive, or confidential information. Do not expect that you have privacy or any level of security! Remember to avoid using informal texting abbreviations in business texts. Texting is not appropriate for official communications but can be helpful when used to convey simple messages, clarify a point, confirm a meeting, and the like.