Email - Your Face In The World

March, 2008
by Denise P. Kalm, DPK Coaching and CA, Inc.

About the Author
Denise P. Kalm, CA, Inc. formerly Cybermation

Denise Kalm has 30 years experience in IT including application programming, enterprise systems management and performance management/capacity planning at Pacific Telephone and Bank of America. She moved to vendor land in 2000, spending 5 ½ years with BMC on the EPA product line, then recently became the senior product marketing manager for enterprise job scheduling products at CA, Inc., formerly Cybermation. She is a regional officer of CMG, has held many volunteer positions within that organization and is a frequent contributing author. Prior to entering the IT profession, she was a biochemical geneticist. Her hobbies include flying, Jazzercise, writing and scuba diving. Her book, Lifestorm, on the Oakland Hills fire, is available on Amazon. She is an executive and personal coach as well, offering phone and in-person coaching.

With hoteling, virtual offices and colleagues around the world, most of us don't know or see our co-workers and the management team all that often, if ever. So how do people view you? How do they form that long-lasting impression that can come from a first contact?

Email has replaced chats around the water cooler and the long, in-person meetings of the work world of yesteryear. Email has also negated the need for the "dress for success" look - I have the luxury of wearing bunny slippers to my "office" without fear of violating a dress code. People form that first impression from the emails you write. How careful are you with those many quick missives? Many people inadvertently have blocked career advancement and new jobs with poorly constructed emails. And even when the damage is not as great, poor email communications can just make people think less of you. Could this be true of you? Do you know of someone who might need to hear this?

One colleague once told me that she was promoted with a caveat - she had to be more professional in her communications. Her emails were chatty, but had problems with grammar, contained too much slang and were basically too casual for her corporate culture. But you don't always get the opportunity - people just make a judgment call about you and you never know the reason why.

Here are some things to consider when you hit the keyboard, especially when the communication is important or will be sent to people you don't know well. These casual "notes" are actually letters and should be treated as such. They can and will be saved and printed, and can be used against you or against your company in a court of law.

The obvious:

  1. Spelling - Get it right. Do not rely on spell check - it cannot distinguish between your and you're or they/they're/there.
  2. Avoid IMisms - Not everyone texts and even those who do expect real words in an email. Only use abbreviations and acronyms that are in common use in your industry.
  3. Avoid slang - Emails get forwarded. And outside this country and even between regions, slang may be misunderstood.
  4. Use complete sentences - This is a reflection of your ability to communicate clearly.
  5. Make your point clearly - Unless this is a very short email (1-2 sentences), reread it before you send it. Would you understand this if you received it hours later? Is the context clear?
    Useful tip: Leave addresses off until you are satisfied with the note - then it will never accidentally send itself before you are finished
  6. Who, what, when, why and how - When you make a request, test it for the 4-W's and sometimes, the How. A clear request saves time, endless emails back and forth and also avoids disappointment with the result.
  7. Use humor with care - Where a spoken sentence might work well, without your facial expression, body language and intonation, humor may fall flat or just offend.
  8. Use SEND ALL or RESPOND ALL with great care.
  9. Remember your "P's" and "T's" - please and thank you.
  10. Make your key point or call to action in the subject line. The more clear you are in the subject line, the easier it is for someone to remember your request and to find it later.
  11. Don't assume - write it down. Even if you have just finished a telephone call with someone, write down your understanding so they have a context for the email. It should stand on its own, without the recipient having to remember the call or link it to other emails.

The Not So Obvious

  1. At work, consider the legal implications of an email. Don't say it in writing if it might be used against you or your company. Use the following test - would you be okay if your email showed up in tomorrow's paper?
  2. Praise in email, criticize by phone or in person. Use the same rule with good or bad news.
  3. Express emotion by telephone or in person, unless you can be very clear. Just as with humor, strong emotion reads differently in text.
  4. Be cautious with the use of the words "all", "none", "always" or "never." As with verbal communications, absolutes do not leave room for negotiation.
  5. Craft a professional signature line with email and phone information, company name, etc. It can be helpful to include information regarding time zone for those multi-national companies. This helps set expectations regarding availability.
  6. Pick up the phone - When the email thread gets long enough and you can't really follow where it is going, call your correspondent.

For a special situation - a big request, a big thank you, or other important item - consider opening up Word and writing a real letter. And print it. Not only will practice in the fine art of letter writing improve your emails, it sets you apart from others and underlines your professionalism. And everyone likes getting a personal letter - we all get too much impersonal mail.

When people talk about the importance of soft skills in the market, communication is the most requested skill. Emails are a major portion of communication today; you can't afford not to get it right.

Stay tuned next month for another edition of "Your Career Coach." If you would like additional information or personal coaching for your life and your career, contact me at or see my web site: www.DPKCoaching.com.