This final posting of excerpts from The Art of E-Mail Writing appears in Chapter 6. In this concluding chapter, the book steers from writing quality to e-mail management. It covers 37 tips for filing, attaching, copying, forwarding, and other e-mail moments. Three of those tips, separated by daggers, appear below. The Art of E-Mail Writing is available from First Books (www.FirstBooks.com)
CHAPTER 6: MANAGING THE E-MAIL CHALLENGE
Don’t copy everyone. Many people do not always need to be in the loop. Transmit group messages sensibly (e.g., blind copy group messages to spare your readers the wasted time of scrolling past the entire list of recipients).
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Attach documents thoughtfully. Attaching lengthy unsolicited documents can frustrate your readers by requiring them to print numerous pages—many of which they might not need. Use non-electronic means of transmitting lengthy documents when the situation calls for it.
†††
Help your reader understand forwarded e-mail. A reference to the part of a forwarded message to relate it to your purpose and your readers’ needs will quicken the communication process. Mention why you have forwarded the message.
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/.
Showing posts with label Excerpts: The Art of E-Mail Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Excerpts: The Art of E-Mail Writing. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Saturday, September 01, 2007
The Art of E-Mail Writing, Part 5
Chapter 5 of The Art of E-Mail Writing is concerned with writing style: issues of courtesy, clarity, conciseness, and correctness. These two excerpts from that chapter, separated by daggers, provide tips on clarity and conciseness. The Art of E-Mail Writing is available from First Books (www.FirstBooks.com)
CHAPTER 5: STYLE—COMING ACROSS PROFESSIONALLY
Keep the subject and verb closely connected.
Unclear: When an employee applies for a new position in the Company, factors such as professional credentials, employee appraisals, manager and peer recommendations, project involvement, training completed, educational achievement, and interview responses must be considered.
Clearer: When an employee applies for a new position in the Company, management must consider all factors, including professional credentials, employee appraisals, manager and peer recommendations, project involvement, training completed, educational achievement, and interview responses.
†††
Keep sentences as short as practical.
Unclear: Marie’s position is that, while her manager has the primary responsibility of making purchasing decisions for her unit, she, as the assistant manager, is obligated to conduct adequate product research, including the identification of the most suitable model of the product, best purchase price, and most qualified product vendor and service contractor. (1 sentence, 52 words)
Clearer: Marie’s understands that her manager is responsible for ultimately deciding on purchases. She also believes that as the assistant manager, she should do product research. Her criteria should include the most suitable model, best purchase price, and most qualified product vendor and service contractor. (3 sentences, 44 words)
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/.
CHAPTER 5: STYLE—COMING ACROSS PROFESSIONALLY
Keep the subject and verb closely connected.
Unclear: When an employee applies for a new position in the Company, factors such as professional credentials, employee appraisals, manager and peer recommendations, project involvement, training completed, educational achievement, and interview responses must be considered.
Clearer: When an employee applies for a new position in the Company, management must consider all factors, including professional credentials, employee appraisals, manager and peer recommendations, project involvement, training completed, educational achievement, and interview responses.
†††
Keep sentences as short as practical.
Unclear: Marie’s position is that, while her manager has the primary responsibility of making purchasing decisions for her unit, she, as the assistant manager, is obligated to conduct adequate product research, including the identification of the most suitable model of the product, best purchase price, and most qualified product vendor and service contractor. (1 sentence, 52 words)
Clearer: Marie’s understands that her manager is responsible for ultimately deciding on purchases. She also believes that as the assistant manager, she should do product research. Her criteria should include the most suitable model, best purchase price, and most qualified product vendor and service contractor. (3 sentences, 44 words)
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
The Art of E-Mail Writing, Part 4
This excerpt from Chapter 4 of The Art of E-Mail Writing offers tips for efficiently organizing e-mail. The Art of E-Mail Writing is available from First Books (www.FirstBooks.com)
CHAPTER 4: STRUCTURE—ORGANIZING YOUR IDEAS
People who write well … know two powerful truths:
1. Creativity without structure is chaos.
2. Structure without creativity is pointless.
Those apologists for feeble expression or weak organization miss the point of quality e-mail writing. They are not writing a provocative Aristotelian treatise or a lurid Kafkaesque novella; they’re simply communicating information to people who need it to perform their jobs effectively. Even great writers have discovered their best structure through the expressiveness of their story line, while other greats have cultivated their style based on the narrative foundation they laid. So if you are of the structure vs. style mindset, forget about it. You’re better off thinking that you cannot be good at one without being good at the other. This chapter offers quick, useful tips for improving your structure, and the next chapter focuses on helpful hints for style.
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/.
CHAPTER 4: STRUCTURE—ORGANIZING YOUR IDEAS
People who write well … know two powerful truths:
1. Creativity without structure is chaos.
2. Structure without creativity is pointless.
Those apologists for feeble expression or weak organization miss the point of quality e-mail writing. They are not writing a provocative Aristotelian treatise or a lurid Kafkaesque novella; they’re simply communicating information to people who need it to perform their jobs effectively. Even great writers have discovered their best structure through the expressiveness of their story line, while other greats have cultivated their style based on the narrative foundation they laid. So if you are of the structure vs. style mindset, forget about it. You’re better off thinking that you cannot be good at one without being good at the other. This chapter offers quick, useful tips for improving your structure, and the next chapter focuses on helpful hints for style.
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
The Art of E-Mail Writing, Part 3
This excerpt of The Art of E-Mail Writing includes 2 of 21 premises that lay the foundation of the book. They appear in chapter 3, which discusses reader awareness and completeness. The Art of E-Mail Writing is available from First Books (www.FirstBooks.com).
CHAPTER 3: SUPPORT—ADDRESSING THE ISSUES
Premise 12: Some questions are statements. Have you noticed that some questions aren’t questions at all? For instance, if you showed up five minutes late to work, your boss might say, “Do you think that you can get in on time?” In this context, that question sounds like a demand. What if you looked around the office and noticed that no one else was in yet. You might respond,
“Am I late?” You are implying that everyone else is later than you are, so your boss should hold everyone to the same standard, or you are insisting that you are not late relative to everyone else.
Conversely, we don’t always frame our questions as questions:
Premise 13: Some statements are questions. For instance, if someone said to you, “I don’t know how to get onto the highway,” you would assume that you have been asked to provide driving directions. If a child stated, “I’m hungry,” you would hear the question, “Would you give me something to eat?” If an adult made the same statement, you might hear the question, “Where is the company cafeteria or the nearest restaurant?”
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/
CHAPTER 3: SUPPORT—ADDRESSING THE ISSUES
Premise 12: Some questions are statements. Have you noticed that some questions aren’t questions at all? For instance, if you showed up five minutes late to work, your boss might say, “Do you think that you can get in on time?” In this context, that question sounds like a demand. What if you looked around the office and noticed that no one else was in yet. You might respond,
“Am I late?” You are implying that everyone else is later than you are, so your boss should hold everyone to the same standard, or you are insisting that you are not late relative to everyone else.
Conversely, we don’t always frame our questions as questions:
Premise 13: Some statements are questions. For instance, if someone said to you, “I don’t know how to get onto the highway,” you would assume that you have been asked to provide driving directions. If a child stated, “I’m hungry,” you would hear the question, “Would you give me something to eat?” If an adult made the same statement, you might hear the question, “Where is the company cafeteria or the nearest restaurant?”
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Art of E-Mail Writing, Part 2
This excerpt of The Art of E-Mail Writing focuses on purposefulness in e-mailing. The Art of E-Mail Writing is a 110-page summary of best practices in writing e-mails and managing the e-mail system. It is available from First Books (www.FirstBooks.com).
CHAPTER 2: STATEMENT—GETTING TO THE POINT
Open the message with a clear purpose statement. Do not imply the purpose; state it explicitly. Today many of us write e-mails on the fly in our personal digital assistants (PDAs) during our taxi, bus, train, or plane commute. Or in elevators, restaurants, and coffee bars. Or seconds before or (perish the thought) during meetings. This relatively new method of communication brings a fresh meaning to the expression “you’re all thumbs”! Instead of it meaning that we’re clumsy, it now means that we navigate through our PDAs and write our message with two thumbs instead of ten fingers on the keyboard or one hand on a mouse. This innovation puts even greater pressure on us to get to the point immediately. The assumption is that we all operate in a 24-7 environment.
With this mindset driving us, we cannot waste time by starting with me-focused messages that create ambiguity, apathy, and aimlessness. We need to jumpstart the reader with a you-focused statement. Note the differences in the two drafts below. Which one captures your attention immediately?
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/.
CHAPTER 2: STATEMENT—GETTING TO THE POINT
Open the message with a clear purpose statement. Do not imply the purpose; state it explicitly. Today many of us write e-mails on the fly in our personal digital assistants (PDAs) during our taxi, bus, train, or plane commute. Or in elevators, restaurants, and coffee bars. Or seconds before or (perish the thought) during meetings. This relatively new method of communication brings a fresh meaning to the expression “you’re all thumbs”! Instead of it meaning that we’re clumsy, it now means that we navigate through our PDAs and write our message with two thumbs instead of ten fingers on the keyboard or one hand on a mouse. This innovation puts even greater pressure on us to get to the point immediately. The assumption is that we all operate in a 24-7 environment.
With this mindset driving us, we cannot waste time by starting with me-focused messages that create ambiguity, apathy, and aimlessness. We need to jumpstart the reader with a you-focused statement. Note the differences in the two drafts below. Which one captures your attention immediately?
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
The Art of E-Mail Writing, Part 1
The next six postings will feature excerpts from my latest book on writing, The Art of E-Mail Writing, which will be released in September 2007 by First Books (www.FirstBooks.com). Each posting will highlight one of the six book chapters. The Art of E-Mail Writing makes a great companion piece to The Art of On-the-Job Writing by applying the same principles of writing excellence to e-mail.
CHAPTER 1: KNOWING THE E-MAIL CHALLENGE
The assumptions that e-mailers make create many problems for readers. E-mail is easy. E-mail is casual. E-mail is fast. E-mail is responsive. E-mail is fun. True, true, true, true, true. But e-mail is also writing. No doubt, executives and administrative assistants alike recognize that e-mail saves business writers time. The New York Times reported that electronic writing can mean an additional one to two hours of productive time daily. But writing requires a certain precision not always required by speaking. Writing cannot replicate speech. Yet, according to Time magazine, e-mail messages numbered 7.1 billion per day in 1997, and that number skyrocketed to 135.6 billion per day in 2005, with estimates of 280.2 billion per day in 2009!
Sending and receiving numerous e-mails every day, the average employee seems to have a lot to write and read. But what exactly are all those messages saying? Not much, says a Wall Street Journal article citing managers who often claim that only 10 of the 100-plus e-mails they receive daily have a purpose related to their needs or job function.
When we open our e-mail account, we have enormous power. The challenge for us is to balance this privilege with the enormous responsibilities accompanying it. We need to safeguard against the consequences of careless writing, and we must ensure that we are consistently presenting our best selves in our e-mails.
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/.
CHAPTER 1: KNOWING THE E-MAIL CHALLENGE
The assumptions that e-mailers make create many problems for readers. E-mail is easy. E-mail is casual. E-mail is fast. E-mail is responsive. E-mail is fun. True, true, true, true, true. But e-mail is also writing. No doubt, executives and administrative assistants alike recognize that e-mail saves business writers time. The New York Times reported that electronic writing can mean an additional one to two hours of productive time daily. But writing requires a certain precision not always required by speaking. Writing cannot replicate speech. Yet, according to Time magazine, e-mail messages numbered 7.1 billion per day in 1997, and that number skyrocketed to 135.6 billion per day in 2005, with estimates of 280.2 billion per day in 2009!
Sending and receiving numerous e-mails every day, the average employee seems to have a lot to write and read. But what exactly are all those messages saying? Not much, says a Wall Street Journal article citing managers who often claim that only 10 of the 100-plus e-mails they receive daily have a purpose related to their needs or job function.
When we open our e-mail account, we have enormous power. The challenge for us is to balance this privilege with the enormous responsibilities accompanying it. We need to safeguard against the consequences of careless writing, and we must ensure that we are consistently presenting our best selves in our e-mails.
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144
Coming Soon! The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, also through First Books: http://www.firstbooks.com/.
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