Here are some of the most common email messaging mistakes, and how to avoid them. Some of the ways to avoid them are pretty obvious, otherwise, I’ve included suggestions on how to avoid them:
- Hitting the send button before the message is complete. Proofread before sending.
- Hitting the send button without attaching the referenced attachments. Proofread before sending.
- Copying too many extraneous people on a message. Send to ONLY those who really need to see the message.
- Having vague or general subject lines; the more specific the better. VERY specific is the best practice.
- Trying to have a discussion by e-mail with several people. If you need to have a discussion call a meeting, teleconference, or set up a chat room for everyone to participate.
- Poor grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Proofread before sending. (Oh, and don’t forget spell check!)
- Writing an e-mail message when you are emotional or angry. Don’t
- Crafting an e-mail message in the middle of the night, when you are not on all cylinders. It is much better to save it, and review it by the light of day before hitting the send button
Interestingly, most of these mistakes can be avoided by an added step of proofreading and slowing down just a bit.
What do you think?
Install the O shit rule to prevent mistakes like these.
Set a rule on outgoing message, so they stay in your outbox for 1 minute before sending.
Never heard it called that, but the delay could avoid some inadvertant “sends”. One of the biggest challenges is to remember to attach the item – that rule could help.