Chapter 5

Electronic Communication

Electronic communication has greatly increased our ability to keep in touch and the speed with which we can share information. However, with voice messages, fax, e-mail (electronic mail), pagers, and regular mail (dubbed “snail mail” due to it’s relatively slow delivery in relation to e-mail), we often feel overburdened by the responsibility of responding to so much communication quickly.

The average businessperson sends and receives a total of about ninety messages a day. The same message may be sent several ways to make sure it gets through. Interruptions and the demand for an immediate reply are becoming overwhelming. E-mail, fax, phone, and postal mail messages pile up. The idea of saving time by using quick forms of communication has, in a sense, backfired. The timesaving speed of electronic communication has significantly added to our workload.

A public relations director lamented that while she was at lunch, she had twelve phone messages. It took over forty-five minutes to listen to the messages and even longer to respond to them. To listen, read, and respond to so much correspondence could take the entire day to the exclusion of any other work you need to do! Although business is conducted electronically at an incredible pace, the same rules of etiquette apply. E-mail and faxes should be written in memo or letter form. Keep in mind that you are communicating with busy people who do not wish to have intrusions, who may not have time for idle chitchat, but who may enjoy knowing that you were thinking of them and are working on their project.

Being on-line is being connected to other computers and users via communication lines: telephone lines, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line, a telephone line), cable, or wireless. On-line communication occurs when you work on an inter-office network or access the Internet or World Wide Web from your computer. All successful and growing businesses use computers in some way and generally have access to the Internet. Email, fax, and instant messages are important business tools that are becoming standard as people become more technologically literate. Business documents are frequently transmitted via e-mail or fax, including:

Memos

Meeting agendas

Proposals and contracts

Brochures

News or research articles

Newsletters

Résumés

Many business relationships are no longer conducted in person. Communication is by fax, e-mail, and pager. Regardless of the communication form, there are guidelines of good business and courtesy that must be followed. Because the communication is not in person and because e-mail is fast, informal, and accomplished via electronics it lacks the common communication cues that come from voice inflection, facial expression, and body language. Your choice of words becomes an even more critical part of your communicating.

Electronic communication is fast. In many cases speed is essential to get the contract submitted and signed. Increasing use of electronic communications has significant impact on our business skills.

Consequently:

You will need a strong vocabulary as words are often misinterpreted.

Proper grammar is more important than ever. You must construct sentences correctly to accurately convey your meaning.

You must develop the skills to express yourself clearly and concisely, both verbally and in writing.

NETIQUETTE

Netiquette, or net etiquette, comprises the courteous guidelines for communicating on-line via the Internet, also known as the World Wide Web. We need guidelines because more and more of us communicate using electronic means. University programs have been designed to address this newly emerging area of communication. With the use of e-mail comes a new language and a set of rules and responsibilities known as Netiquette.

E-MAIL ETIQUETTE

Although e-mail is a fast, convenient way to keep in touch with many people, it has a drawback: it is impersonal. E-mail users have developed ways to express emotion with capitals, abbreviations, and character combinations. For instance, the three punctuation symbols :-) are read as a happy face; LOL means laughing-out-loud; HEY or any word in all capital letters is the equivalent of shouting. E-mail has a language of its own, and you don’t always know whether your receiver will understand it. By keeping your use of e-mail specific language to a minimum, you can avoid confusing your recipient. Use the same proper English, grammar, and spelling you would use in any business correspondence. Make e-mail messages simple and as brief as possible so the recipient can read them quickly and respond accordingly.

According to the Forrester Research Group (reported in the Claris Guide of E-mail Etiquette) “By the year 2005 users will be sending more than 5 billion personal messages a day.” On-line communication is fast, efficient, and timesaving. Anyone with access to the necessary equipment can communicate by e-mail regardless of which service provider they use or where they are located.

Your e-mail should be concise and to the point and should reflect the same courtesy and common sense as your other business communications. Spontaneous thoughts or reminders are good subjects for e-mail. Avoid “flaming”—sending an angry or faultfinding e-mail message. Asterisks (*) are used in some e-mail systems to highlight a key word or for emphasis; don’t overuse them. Some e-mail programs allow you to use boldface, italics, and even colors, but the recipient’s e-mail program may not support such formatting. Letter forms used for standard forms of correspondence can be used for e-mail.

Allow the recipient an opportunity to receive and respond to your message. In these days of instant messages, we often expect an instant response.

Sending E-Mail Messages

Provide a personal name in the top address.

Always include a subject line in your message.

Keep the message brief. Focus on one subject.

Use correct spelling and grammar.

Replying to E-Mail Messages

Include enough of the original e-mail message in your response to provide continuity. Avoid the temptation to add your response after each original e-mail statement. For example: Did Mary Smith from Myers Co. phone you last week? Yes, she called Thursday. I think we should plan a meeting with her to discuss the project. Let me know when you are available and I’ll call her. April 4 will work for me. Have you reviewed the copy of the plans? Yes.

Do not send an angry message.

Be aware of where and to whom your reply is addressed. It may seem efficient to select an automatic “reply” or “answer” but your return message may not reach the sender. The return address attached to the original message may not be the sender’s and your response may go to all the e-mail addresses the original message was sent to, not just to the sender.

Many firms use e-mail to advertise their business. Other unsolicited e-mail invites you to visit web sites of different types. Unsolicited e-mail or e-mail advertising is like junk mail and is annoying to most e-mail users. Unsolicited e-mail of this type, known as spam, is generally sent to thousands of e-mail addresses at once, a practice know as spamming. Service providers often offer methods to restrict the kinds of e-mail you receive. Many e-mail users also receive jokes and chain mail. Jokes can be fun to receive and to send to friends, but be aware that sending them to others may be perceived as frivolous and unprofessional, not to mention a waste of time. Don’t e-mail jokes to business colleagues or clients; chain e-mail should not be forwarded.

Many warnings of viruses sent via e-mail are hoaxes and fall into the same category as chain e-mail. Some virus warnings are simply efforts to stop a particularly bothersome chain letter. If you are unsure about a virus warning, check the Computer Incident Advisory Capability (CIAC) Internet Website maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy: http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html. You can learn how to identify a new hoax or a valid warning.

It’s easy to send duplicates of the same message by mistake, be careful what you send, particularly if you send the same e-mail to multiple recipients. Many e-mail providers offer shortcuts to e-mail one message to several addresses, often referred to as a distribution list. This is particularly useful if you wish to distribute an e-mail memo or other document to several people at once. You can minimize the appearance of a long distribution list by using a blind courtesy copy (BCC). Each recipient in the distribution list then sees only his name at the top of the message. E-mail software packages vary. Not all features are available with all providers. Check with your provider to learn more about the special features they offer for e-mail.

You can also develop your logo for your e-mail messages. You can write a “signature,” which includes your name, title, e-mail address, postal mail address, phone, fax and other information you wish. Some people include a business slogan or a favorite quote. Your signature can be designed to be inserted at the end of all your e-mail messages or inserted by the push of a key. Your signature adds your personal touch to your electronic correspondence. Consider the length, number of words, spacing, and line length of your signature. Keep the signature lines close to your name and limit yourself to five lines because the receiver may not see the lines below your name. Again, check with your provider to learn if the signature feature is available to you.

The following is a sample signature. The closure would follow the text of the e-mail message with the name and address following:

For best results in using a specialized signature on your e-mail, keep your signature short, use your business slogan or choose a quote that is meaningful to you, and keep line length to sixty to seventy characters. Some e-mail programs do not accept lines of more than eighty characters.

The growing use of e-mail, which allows us to be connected with friends, family, clients, and colleagues, also enables us to reach the otherwise unreachable. You can locate almost anyone from an old college chum to the Queen of England. You can also locate hundreds of businesses and other resources. If you’ve ever wanted to write your senator, there will be an e-mail address you can use. In general, the address for our senators is: [email protected]; for example, to e-mail Senator Diane Wise, use the address: [email protected].

E-mail has many advantages over regular mail. You can send your messages at any time of the day or night, on weekends or holidays, and recipients can read them at their leisure. E-mail does not use any of the receiver’s office supplies, as standard fax does. Longer documents can be sent via e-mail rather than by fax, saving the recipient the expense of having to print many pages on special (thermal) fax paper.

Personal e-mail messages may be sent quickly between errands, while on the phone, or as quick hellos. Poorly prepared messages can cause misunderstandings, therefore poor grammar and misplaced informality must be avoided in business. Because e-mail is so fast, painless, and easy, one needs to be acutely sensitive to the possibility that the receiver has dozens of messages daily. Keeping your message short is the key, unless this is a personal friend with whom you have virtual chats rather than voice conversations. Those messages, of course, should not be written or read during business hours!

E-mail to or from a corporate address may be monitored, whether it is personal or business-related e-mail. Corporate monitoring of email and Internet access is a controversial issue. Be aware that many companies believe it is in their best interest to monitor on-line use by their employees. Deletion of e-mail after it’s read does not necessarily render it immune to such monitoring. Clandestine business deals, romances, and unauthorized divulgence of corporate secrets have been exposed by e-mail monitoring.

You will need to be on-line frequently to send, receive, and respond to e-mail in a timely manner. Many are not techno-literate; they are business professionals nonetheless and deserve respect. Be considerate and accommodate those who do not use e-mail; some of your business may depend upon it. Be sure all parties involved in any negotiation are kept informed, even if they are not on-line.

E-Mail Memos

Interoffice e-mail memos are common because most computers or terminals are connected via an office network. Many coworkers communicate by e-mail because they are always connected to the network. Sending e-mail to busy people is nonintrusive and considerate of the other person’s time. They don’t have to stop whatever they are doing to acknowledge or respond.

When you send an interoffice memo via e-mail, include all recipients’ names, listed by corporate hierarchy. Keep all memos brief. Send memos only when necessary.

Many e-mail programs offer a “read receipt” feature that returns a notice or “receipt” when the e-mail message is displayed by the recipient. The receipt feature is useful when you are sending time-critical information or when you need confirmation your memo has been received. Message recipients may choose not to send a receipt even if one is requested. If your memo is especially time-critical or is expected, a brief phone call alerting the recipient may be necessary.

Instant Messaging

Instant Messaging (IM) is a feature that enables you to communicate instantly with another on-line user whenever you are both on-line. Some IM programs can alert you when users you select are on-line.

IM users may send instant messages directly to other on-line users, engage in one-on-one chat, and bypass the common delays and server problems in sending e-mail. An IM user may send an instant message rather than an e-mail message to alert friends, colleagues, or important professional sources their communiquE has been received. There will be times when a short phone call may be more time effective than an instant message chat simply because the IM must be typed and not all users are speedy typists!

Instant messaging is part e-mail and part on-line chat. An instant message is received immediately, whereas e-mail may take thirty seconds, a few minutes, an hour, or possibly even longer before it is received.

Not all business professionals are receptive to interruptions while they are working on-line, the prime time for instant messaging. Instant messages may interrupt other important on-line work. Exercise thoughtful judgement in using instant messages. Your colleague several doors down may welcome the occasional instant message, but your client across town may find your instant message intrusive. Some IM software includes options to block incoming messages.

Features of IM software vary. In addition to blocking unwanted IM or alerting when other users are on-line, IM software can also be used for multiple-party conferences in private chat rooms. Check with your service provider for more detailed information.

Some IM and chat programs require all participants have the same software. Many of these may be downloaded free of charge from the internet or are available from your service provider. Be cautious as downloading programs to your computer can introduce unwanted computer viruses.

The Special Language of E-Mail

E-mail language symbols, known as emoticons, are appearing even in some business e-mail. There are too many emoticons (like the smiley face,:-) ) and related symbols to list here. Be aware that they exist and use them sparingly, if at all, in your business communications. They are not always generally known or accepted as proper etiquette.

Acronyms are made up of the first letter of words, capitalized and put together to shorten a frequently used phrase, such as FYI for For Your Information. Many other acronyms commonly used in e-mail or chat rooms are less well known and not necessarily proper in terms of etiquette. Don’t mystify your client with an acronym like TTFN, Ta Ta for Now.

INTERNATIONAL E-MAIL

International communications via e-mail save the expense of international phone calls (both fax and voice) and overnight mail delivery, the long waiting for correspondence to cross the world, and the need to make and accept phone calls at inconvenient hours. E-mail cuts across the world’s cultures and spans the time zones. However, it does not eliminate cultural nuances that must be respected.

International e-mail requires some additional considerations. E-mails may arrive during off hours, on holidays, or during vacations. It should not come as a surprise that other countries observe different holidays and customs than we do in the United States. Some international businesses close for a month during the summer or winter solstice. Just because e-mail is fast and inexpensive, it doesn’t guarantee a speedy reply or even a reply at all whether in the United States or abroad. Technology is not nearly as advanced in other parts of the world as it is in the United States. I have friends in Europe whose e-mail server shuts down whenever it rains!

Do not re-send an e-mail message until you have allowed ample time for it to be received and reviewed.

Remember that weather or other circumstances may render phone lines inoperable from time to time.

Remember also that the equipment to receive e-mail may not be as accessible as it is at your home or office, and this may contribute to a delay in response.

Include date and time appropriate to your country when you send your e-mail.

Include contact information with your complete international telephone area codes, address, and postal zip code in your signature. Include your country as a part the address.

Be cautious of using humor or sarcasm. They do not translate well.

Note that currency figures should be indicated by country or the financial terminology used for financial transactions. U.S. dollars are generally used to monitor the exchange rate. Indicate U.S. for U.S. currency, yen for Japanese money, pesetas for Spanish money, pound (£) for English money, etc. Be accurate where you place your decimal point and commas in currency amounts.

FAX ETIQUETTE

Proper etiquette requires that you send a cover page when you send a fax. The cover sheet should include the recipient’s name, sender’s name, date, and the number of pages being transmitted. A brief statement describing the purpose of the fax may also be included on the cover page. Use a standard, easily readable font set in a 12- to 16-point size. The larger type size calls attention to your fax and is easily readable. Just don’t let it get too big! I personally prefer the recipient’s name and other information in 16 point and the text in 14 point. If you prefer, you can use bold to emphasize the recipient’s name.

The cover sheet should include a line describing the subject of the fax. The receiver’s name should appear clearly and boldly on the cover sheet. In rare instances, a cover sheet is not necessary. If you are speaking with the recipient immediately before you fax, ask if they need a cover sheet. As a fax recipient, if you don’t need a cover sheet, ask the sender to omit it. Omitting the cover sheet can save paper and the time to print it. However, proper fax etiquette requires the cover sheet; if you are not certain, include one. Also, as a courtesy, never send more than five pages without notifying the recipient prior to sending.

Materials you send by fax should have ample margins, as much as one- to 1½-inch margins all around. Fax machines are notorious for cutting off information that extends too close to the edges of the page. Some faxes actually reduce the document by 5 percent or more to avoid this problem. If the fax is urgent, call to confirm receipt of the fax and verify that it was received by the intended person. Use this opportunity to ask if there are any questions about the information sent and to confirm that all the pages were received.

As with e-mail, many businesses use faxes to advertise their products and services. Since the receiving business bears the cost of printing the fax, usually on expensive thermal paper, many businesses consider the advertisements to be expensive junk mail, also known as junk fax. Unsolicited faxes are not appreciated; don’t send them. In fact, in some states it is illegal to send unsolicited faxes!

Electronic Signatures

Digital Signatures, also known as Electronic Signatures, are becoming more widely used in business and in internet commerce and transactions. On June 30, 2000, President Clinton signed The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. The E-SIGN Act gives an online “John Hancock” the same legal validity as a signature in pen and ink. Some of the legal reforms that will be needed to advance electronic signature technology and its acceptance fall under the jurisdiction of individual states, and many issues are yet to be resolved.

Presently, there are a number of internet companies offering verification and signature services to positively identify senders, recipients, and sources of information by digitally encoding and thereby both protecting and restricting access to electronically transmitted material. Questions as to whether an electronic signature is legally binding remain. Often, a duplicate of the electronic document is printed and signed by pen and ink to satisfy the need for a legally recognized document.