Tips for effective email communication - Part III

Mike Peck is the President of Outside Source Design and the chief marketing strategist. This is the third of four articles by Mike offering a few helpful hints toward making your email communications more effective.

Emotional intelligence

In the world of email, the poker face does not exist. That’s right, you can try but you cannot hide. Your message content will give you away every time.

When you send an email, your reader will glean an emotional reaction to your message and draw conclusions on intent. Without the benefit of eye contact, active listening or other interpersonal skills, your email message stands alone. It is subject to the mood and interpretation of the reader. It is subject to the educational frames he/she might bring to every encounter. And, these impressions are immediate and create a lasting filter of understanding.

Does it really matter? It certainly does. Given the speed of communication, the speed of first impressions follows right along. Trust erodes quickly when someone infers something in your message unintended. As trust is eroded, future emails from you are subject to the same filters.

Have you ever written or responded to a message when you were angry? Chances are the reader felt your anger despite your intent to hide it.

How can we be more emotionally intelligent with email messages? First, if you are responding to an email, create a draft and read it one more time after 5 or 10 minutes after writing. Read your response as if you were the recipient instead of the sender. Next, write as conversationally as you can. Avoid jargon or email speak. Write as if you were talking directly to the person. In most cases, this will cause you to engender respect, etc. When in doubt, ask a coworker to read it over. A fresh set of eyes can uncover things you may have missed.

The world of email can easily be place where trust is built and relationships strengthened. The key is to ensure that the message sent is the message received.