How to Research, Analyze, and Report on Emerging Technologies
Sometimes we have to write e-mails that cover a number of different issues, aimed at a number of different people. Remember that people are overwhelmed with the amount of e-mail they get: because of this — beyond a certain length — people don’t read e-mails properly. So, if you do have to send something long you need to use special tricks to make them at least read the most important sections. Read More …
The subject lineDon’t just use the subject line of an e-mail you’re replying to. Often, after e-mails have gone back and forth between people for a while, the subject matter changes. People only tangentially involved with the initial subject may have already started ignoring the conversation, and may therefore completely miss a message that is important to both your and their interests. This is less likely to happen if you update the subject line. Read More …
If you are writing to someone you do not correspond with regularly, you need to make sure to provide them with context right at the start. They may not know (or remember) who you are. Even if they recall your name, they may not be aware of the team, department, or company for which you are working. If you’ve corresponded a long while before, but you’re one of hundreds or thousands of people in their network, then they will likely not remember anything about your previous correspondence. Read More …
There are lots of ways to annoy people in an e-mail. One we have already discussed is not writing in a formal-enough tone, or not calling them by their appropriate name or title, or not using capital letters. Another one involves SHOUTING BY WRITING IN ALL CAPITALS, or using emoticons when it’s not appropriate. Read More …
One frustration that we all have at one time or another is that we need someone to make a decision and they don’t do it in time for us to get our work done. There are ways you can use e-mail to help you to break this bottleneck. Read More …
E-mail messages can do a lot for you if you write them properly (and can get you into trouble if you don’t). In particular, they can document your work and your relationship with your teammates in a way that will prevent them (or your boss) for blaming you for others’ failures later. Read More …
In the world of work, e-mail messages are now formal documents. Based on an e-mail, a contract may be won or lost (or its terms altered), a team may be strengthened or shattered, a project may be furthered or set back. Nevertheless most people (not just students) don’t take e-mail seriously enough. We often ask colleagues to do things, report on our progress, and make requests for information by e-mail. If we fail to do this clearly, our colleagues will not do what we want, recognize our progress, or give us the information we need. Read More …