Writing effective emails

So much of our leadership communication is done via email, we need to be careful that our messages are clear. Our online discussions today rely on email "netiquette" such as providing context in emails, avoiding ALL CAPS (it's considered shouting), and limiting the use of "smileys."

Along the same topic, another problem we all have experienced is the too-long email. Overly-long emails can cause communication "burnout." Who wants to read a small "book" just to glean a few key points? I'd rather you kept the email "short and sweet." Get to the topic at hand, share only the necessary details, or ask your question. Then, get on with it. Avoid these common mis-steps:

Doesn't edit.

Rather than getting it straight before sending the email, the author sort of "works through the problem" while composing the message. Instead, take a few moments before sending to go through your communication to make sure your points are clearly stated and that you have everything in order. Don't make the recipient figure it out.

Long signatures.

Gone are the days when people looked at your email signature as a personal touch. In years gone by, when we used text terminals to check email on servers, the email signature was a way to express individuality. And we viewed signatures as such; some email signatures were quite long and sometimes clever or cute. Today, we don't want to look at your long email signature; many email programs (including Gmail) will de-emphasize the signature anyway. Just your name, title, and organization should be enough.

Wrote a book.

Be careful when sending long email threads to someone else. Do they really need to see everything in that discussion, or only a small part of it? Again, this comes down to editing. Take a few moments before sending to go through your email to remove unnecessary details. Less really is more.

Shouldn’t have been an email.

Is your message best delivered via an email, or would an in-person discussion be better? Perhaps this topic would be a good discussion topic in a larger meeting, or a brief phone call with a single person. For those items that are truly "For your information," consider sharing in some other way rather than sending your email to a large group.

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This article is adapted from Effective communication at Coaching Buttons, an open community about Leadership (and our "sister" website). Follow Coaching Buttons for more articles that help everyone on their leadership journey.