Your email messages may be less than effective for several reasons. For example, your message may get lost in the sea of competing messages, and lengthy messages may not be read entirely or carefully. Also, written communication lacks the information inherent in your facial expressions and tone of voice. As a result, it is easy for your reader to infer meaning from an email message that is inaccurate, frequently leading to misunderstandings and conflict.
Below are six tips to help ensure that your email messages are effective in conveying what you meant.
Use the Subject Line Thoughtfully
It’s common to use the subject line of an email message to note the subject matter of the message. So a subject line may be comprised of such phrases as “Project Deadline,” “Follow-Up Summary,” or “New Policy Announcement.” These types of phrases are effective if the recipient receives a limited number of messages, and is familiar with you and the context of the message. However, what about when that is not the case?
Consider that some busy individuals may receive hundreds of email messages each day and may not recognize you as an individual. For such message recipients, it is important that your message stand out from the crowd. So, consider putting the recipient’s name in the subject line. People are primed to notice their own name, and such a tactic conveys that this message is intended specifically for the recipient rather than being a mass mailing. Immediately after the person’s name, you might put the subject of the message. So, for example: “Hi Tonya—Meeting Summary.” Of course, if the recipient is a superior or someone with whom you do not share familiarity, you would use a more formal reference to their name.
Compensate for the Lack of Nonverbal Context
We have a tendency to assume that our email messages are read with the same psychological state that we had when we wrote them. However, many times the reader may infer an emotional tone or psychological agenda that does not match what the sender intended. Open your inbox and try reading someone’s work email aloud in an angry tone, then read the same message with a light, pleasant tone. In each case, the inferred “meaning” of the message may be quite different. How can you help ensure that your messages will be read with the inferred emotional tone that you intended?
The value of emojis is that they convey emotional tone in pictorial form, which text cannot. If you are familiar with the person you are messaging, consider including emojis when you want to ensure that the emotional tone of your message is accurately interpreted. The use of emojis in work email messages is controversial but is an option for occasions when their use would be acceptable.
Work Backward in Content
We frequently structure email messages by starting with context or background information and gradually building to the conclusion, directions, or request. This order makes logical sense. However, if the message is rather long, we run the risk of it not being read entirely, or the most important piece being minimized by previous content serving as a distraction. Consider leading off with the conclusion, directions, or request, and follow with an explanation of the context or background. Of course, even then it never hurts to also end with the same concise portion, and be sure to be clear and direct with the bottom-line message.
Use Humor Cautiously
Most people probably appreciate some levity during the workday, and some of us are more prone than others to include humor in email messages. The potential problem was noted above; because text lacks the cues indicative of emotional tone, attempts at humor can be misinterpreted. For example, many instances of humor involve sarcasm or irony. In these cases, the text is not to be taken at face value. For example, the writer might use words that are actually the opposite of how they feel in an attempt to convey their actual feelings sarcastically.
The problem with infusing humor in email messages occurs when the reader takes the words at face value. In those instances, the message may come across as negative or hurtful. The use of emojis may help convey that particular portions of the message are to be interpreted humorously, but there is still the possibility that all of the subtleties involved in successful humor are missed by the reader. Accordingly, use humor cautiously, and before sending such a message, read it carefully with an eye for how it could be misinterpreted.
Address the Issues Explicitly
When all is said and done, one possible remedy for the potential problems inherent in the interpretation of email messages is to explicitly address those concerns. For example, if you sprinkled humorous quips throughout your message, you might end by noting that much of what was written was in jest and not to be taken too seriously. Similarly, if your message describes several problems that require attention, you might conclude by noting that you are not being critical of the person themselves and you hope that they did not read it that way. If you’re simply unsure what emotional tone might be read into your message, you might consider stating that email messages can be difficult to interpret accurately because of the lack of nonverbal information and that you hope your message was interpreted as reflecting [whatever tone you intended].
Consider Alternatives to Email Messages
The primary convenience of email is that we can send and read messages at our convenience, unlike a telephone call, which requests the recipient’s attention at that specific time. Of course, the advantage of speech rather than text is that you include tone, which we see can be very important for accurate communication. What if there was a form of communication that involved the richness of speech and the convenience of email?
Fortunately, there are numerous free websites and apps that allow you to create a voice message or a video and generate an internet link to the recording. This way you can send the link within an email, and the recipient can view it or listen to it at their convenience.
There is potentially a lot to consider when using email messages for effective communication. Beyond the six tips described here, simply being conscious of how your messages might be misinterpreted goes a long way toward helping to avoid problems.