Administrative Sparkle

What image message are you sending as a professional? I mentioned in a previous writing about “The Suit,” expressing the changes in the workplace that have become much more relaxed. I enjoyed reading the comments that it generated. Some were for and some against. Love diversity. Well, this post is about writing and style.

With technology (i.e., email, texting, IMing, tweeting, etc.), standard USPS mail and even FedEx is not the standard venue to send correspondence. No wonder USPS is having a fit. That’s evolution for you, keep up or die. I still believe that USPS has its value for the “personal touch.”

What’s interesting is that along with the casual attire that we sport to the office, our correspondence has become casual as well. Before all the emails and technology enhancements, letters were sent out on corporate letterheads, with all the elegant style of formatting with the date, salutation, body of the letter, closing, and signature. It was all very formal, courteous, and informative. Notice the difference in business emails that you get today. You will find spelling and grammatical errors, and some even come across kind of “cute” with smiley faces and quick closes with (maybe) a name at the end.

Sending correspondence doesn’t require the date because the date is stamped in your inbox. A name to the sender may not necessarily be required because you are sending it directly to the recipient’s address. And you may not need to necessarily close with a signature line because your email “sender” address is there as well. But didn’t we have this already with regular mail? All that information was included when you sent the letter located right on the envelope, including the date stamp of when the letter was sent.

Sending correspondence is still about the image you represent to the receiver. In most cases, like regular mail, the recipient may not know who you are and your letter signifies the impression you leave. That’s all you get. People respond to you by image of the representation that you send to them.

Sending correspondence can get relaxed as you get to know the person or the company that you deal with. However, because it is electronic, it has a much greater possibility of getting sent around. There are responses to more persons than yourself, forwarding, and finding that message somewhere on the internet. It does happen.

Here are some suggestions for sending business appropriate email:

1. Make sure that your email address is professional. Your personal email address can be mskitty@yahoo.com, but I wouldn’t suggest it for business (unless your business is called “Ms. Kitty”).

2. Don’t forget the “Subject” line. In the letter it was the “Re:” or “Regarding” line. With all the email that comes through and weeding out the spam, it’s nice to know what you are writing to me about. We know how important your email is, but it’s a courtesy and gives me an idea of the urgency.

3. Open with a gracious salutation. Even if it is their name (most people aren’t so formal as to require Ms./Mr. So-n-So).

4. Sign your email. It makes it personal (as personal as you can get without actually signing anyway). Also, under the signature, leave your contact information. It let’s them know where and what (by identifying your company’s name and your job title) the information is relevant to. Also, give them access to your number so they can contact you if they should have any questions without having to conduct a “search and destroy” mission to locate how to get in touch with you.

5. Avoid emoticons and acronyms. Emoticons are not appropriate for business, as well as acronyms such as “LOL.”

6. Pay attention to the tone of the message. If you are upset or angry, it is possible that the tone will come across in the message. Take some time to simmer down, or imagine your boss reading it, or have someone else read it before sending. There is always a way to get your message across without sounding rude or accusatory, especially if this is not a single incident and this situation just seems to be “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” Maybe you are having a bad, hectic, or difficult day and your email comes across hurried, impatient, or frustrated. Pay attention to what the receiver is getting without the knowledge of what is going on with you.

7. Avoid ALL CAPS. In an email that is all your eye will go to and the tone has been set. You’ve already made an impression of the email without the receiver having even started reading it. If you want to emphasize something, use italics or bold. They get your message across better without looking like you are screaming at them.

8. Remember to spell check and grammar check. If you find your email to be somewhat lengthy, compose it in your word processing program such as Word.

This is pretty basic for correspondence, it does not cover content. Even you find yourself falling into the relaxed form of communication and don’t believe that it really makes that much of a difference, maybe you are right. I do hope that you will consider the whole idea of bringing up your communication style. Setting your style and image above the rest. The English language has all the elements to be stylized and elegant. Determine your style and you will see immediately the results in your responses.

I encourage you to send your comments and any suggestions that help us at being the best at what we do.

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