Index. Is the right choice for your message? Planning effective s. Using proper tone in

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2 Index Is the right choice for your message? Planning effective s Using proper tone in construction Subject line Salutation First sentence Body Closing Proofread Signatures Design Attachments Event notification s Meeting requests Voting Categories Category folders in your inbox Quick Steps for easy filing Rules for filing Turning off the dinger Time for Dealing with each Tasks Staying within 800 MB inbox limit Improving student use of 12 2

3 writing better s Is the right choice for your message? If your communication cannot be achieved in one cycle, use the phone or write a highcontent message. (Cavanagh, 2003) Avoid: High-Content message: - Can we meet in the next few days? - Sure, what time is good for you? - How about this Thursday at lunch? - No, I m booked. I have time at 3 p.m. - Sorry, I m not available then. Would 10 a.m. work? - No, I m off-campus then. How about next week? - Could we meet in the next few days? I m open this Thursday or Friday for lunch or in the afternoon. - Sure, I m not available for lunch either day, but would 2 p.m. on Friday work? - Yes, I ll see you in your office. Thank you. Face-to-face or phone is preferable when: 1. it s urgent 2. the seems difficult to compose 3. there is a last-minute change 4. it s complex 5. it s sensitive 6. the person works near your office Planning: Take time during the planning of your s. Keep each to one topic. Organize your thoughts: 1. What you want the reader to do after reading your ? 2. What the reader needs to know about the subject? (Lamb, 1999) Know your audience: 1. Who are they? 2. How much do they know about the situation? 3. How much do they need to know? 4. How do you think he/she will respond? visualize yourself in a conversation with your readers and anticipate their questions and needs. To = the recipient who should expect to take action. CC or BCC = the recipient will assume no action. 1. CC is a function that is too often abused. 2. Remember that CC and FYI s take time for our recipients to read, sometimes up to five minutes each. (Cavanagh, 2003) 3. Reply All only if All need to know 3

4 Tone: By its very nature, communication encourages senders to be curt, brief, and sometimes Inadvertently abrupt. (Seshandri and Carstenson, 2007) tone should not be too casual or too formal. Be confident, courteous, and sincere. (Dumbrava and Koronka, 2008) Conflict escalation is more likely in than face-to-face or phone. (Seshandri and Carstenson, 2007) Phrases that can come across as angry: 1. You don t understand 2. You state that 3. You forgot to 4. You claim that 5. How dare 6. If you had called 7. You can t do that 8. From now on A slight edit can change how your tone is construed: 1. Rather than - I want to meet with you (!) Try - Could we meet (?) (Cavanagh, 2003) 2. Rather than - You didn t read the instructions carefully, thus your system has shut down. Try - The system may automatically shut down if installation errors occur. (Dumbrava and Koronka, 2008) Be polite by using words like please and thank you. Avoid using ALL CAPS, bold, and red print in messages. Construction: Subject line - a vital part to the effectiveness of s, like the headline of a news story 1. Short 2. Interesting 3. Explain the message 4. Use a verb is action is required 5. Most important words first 6. Revise reply subject lines examples: 1. Pls consider attached budget request 2. 3 questions about May graduation 3. Pls help with student data for deadline Salutation - provides a courteous greeting 1. Hello Dr. 2. Good afternoon Joe, 3. Joe, 4

5 writing better s first sentence - follows suit on your subject line with most important info. first 1. If you are requesting action 2. If you want a reply 3. Explain if/why there are attachments 4. Forecast multiple points, requests, or steps to be taken and number them BODY - be concise and make every word important 1. Use the inverted pyramid (news) style of writing. Tier info. from most important to least important. 2. Short sentences and short paragraphs. 3. Structure for readability a. White space b. Bullet points c. Headers d. Paragraph breaks closing - be polite and thank them in advance when appropriate 1. Regards, 2. Cheers, 3. Sincerely, proofread - read to see if every word has a necessary function or if it can be cut (Lamb, 1999) 1. Use a simple word if it works 2. Don t hit Send if: a. You are angry or emotional b. You would feel uncomfortable with your coworkers, boss, or a reporter reading it 3. Lastly, fill in the To box. By doing this as the final step, you avoid sending premature s. Signatures: Signatures can be created for various types of s, but should be easily legible and should include all pertinent contact information 1. You can hyperlink items in your signature by clicking the hyperlink icon in the signature edit box a. hyperlink your name to your online SAU directory page b. hyperlink to SAU s homepage or your departmental page 2. Avoid inserting images, such as the SAU logo or Mulerider, as they show as attachments Creating or editing signatures File >> Options >> Mail >> Create or modify signatures for messages. You can make multiple types of signatures, even some that include text you commonly have to . For instance, some have a directions signature with directions to their office. 5

6 Design: Structure for readability 1. Use white space 2. Use bullet points 3. Use headers 4. Use an easily legible font, avoiding scripts. 4. Use paragraph breaks Avoid decorative backgrounds for work s Attachments: Only send attachments is they are necessary, because they add to recipient s time investment and to their inbox data size. 1. Give attachments appropriate file names: 2014 SAU Stater Cover Proof.jpg 2. Mention the attachment and briefly describe it in the first sentence of your 3. Limiting attachment size is important. Keeping total attachments less than 2 MB is preferred. 4. Send multiple attachments: a. Put files into one folder b. Right click folder >> Send to >> Compressed (zipped) folder >> 5. Send large files using an online file sharing service, such as Hightail.com Event Notification s: Answer the following questions as clearly and quickly as possible: 1. What? 3. Where? 2. When? 4. Why? Attachments/graphics are usually not necessary, but if using them use guidelines above. Avoid using graphics without text. Text is always needed because some programs do not automatically download attachments or inserted graphics. 6

7 writing better s Meeting Requests: Calendar meeting requests are the best way for organizers to schedule meetings. In Outlook Calendar, click New Appointment in the top left Click Invite Attendees Attendees s (or names on SAU network) Subject Location Date and time Event details Attachments can also be included by dragging files into the body of the meeting request Voting options via Outlook You can poll recipients easily using e-voting. In a new message, click Options tab >> Use Voting Buttons You can choose between 1. Approve; Reject 2. Yes; No 3. Yes; No; Maybe 4. Custom; It is very important that you use the subject line and the opening of your message to ask recipients to recognize and use the voting capability. 7

8 Inbox Management The Inbox: The goal should be to see the bottom of your inbox without scrolling. Inbox is not: 1. A to-do list 2. A tickler file that reminds you of work 3. A calendar with meeting notices and reminders 4. A database with addresses and phone numbers 5. A filing system for unfinished projects Start by categorizing your work. Click Categorize >> New >> Name it and select a color The great thing about Categories is they work across all of Oulook with , Tasks, and Calendar organizing. Create Inbox folders. Right click your Inbox folder and create a new file folder for each of your Categories. An advantage to having s in folders under your Inbox is that you can access these s from off campus. A disadvantage is that all s in these new Inbox folders will count toward your 800 MB account limit. Put numbers in front of your Categories and Folders to list them in priority order rather than alphabetically. iphone screenshot of Inbox folders Category folders in my Inbox 8

9 Inbox Management Set up Quick Steps to quickly file Category s: You can establish Quick Steps to make filing s quick and easy with one click. 1. Click the small icon at the bottom right of the Quick Steps block in your Outlook window. 2. Click the New dropdown menu. 3. Name your new Quick Step. 4. Use the first dropdown menu to select the folder you want the to be filed into. 5. The next dropdown menu is for selecting the corresponding Category. Set up Rules to automatically file specific incoming s: You can create Rules to auto-file incoming s that do not need immediate attention. 1. Click Rules >> Click Create Rule 2. If you are creating a rule for you have selected, check the From... box >> check the Move the item to folder >> click Select Folder... and choose the appropriate Category folder. You may also click Advanced Options for additional choices. Schedule time with your inbox: Turn off the dinger. Your productivity is greatly reduced if you respond to s as they arrive or too often throughout the day. Turn off any noise and visual alerts for new s to reduce the urge to check too often. 9 Click on the File tab >> click Options >> click Mail >> under Message arrival, uncheck all the boxes to disable all alerts.

10 Peak times for . Studies show that there are four peak times for workers checking 1. First thing in the morning 2. Before lunch 3. After lunch 4. End of the day (Jackson et al., 2003) There is no one rule, you should decide what times are best for you to work with your . Deal with each immediately: 1. Just do it if it takes less than two minutes to complete. (ie - answer a quick question or a document) 2. File it quickly with Categories and Quick Steps. 3. Delete it. 4. Schedule it by simply click and dragging the to the Calendar tab, then updating the Subject and Location, Start time, and End time as needed. Task options: 5. Create a new Task for requests that will take more than two minutes to complete. Simply click and drag the to the Tasks tab. 1. Categorize 2. Assign Task to a fellow worker 3. Reword the Subject for better filing 4. Set a Due date to determine where the task is originally placed in your To-Do List 5. Add notes for yourself/others 6. A great function is the ability to reopen the Task at any time and add additional s pertaining to it, more notes, documents or other attachments. When you are ready to do the Task, all the s and information is together in one place. 10

11 Inbox Management Keeping your inbox size within 800 MB limit: Remember maintenance musts: 1. Archive or delete Sent Items folder 2. In your Deleted Items folder, select all s and permanently delete them 3. Use Archive folders outside of your inbox for extended storage Creating a new Archive: 1. Click on the File tab 2. Click on the Account Settings button >> Click Account Settings from dropdown menu 3. In the Account Settings dialogue box, click on the second tab, Data Files. 4. Click Add Give your Archive a name and save it on a network drive (ie. - your Z drive) 11

12 Managing student use Be understanding of student misuse Student misuse may stem from the following issues: 1. Seemingly erased boundaries that traditionally kept students at a healthy distance 2. A more relaxed attitude of this generation toward stylistics 3. An influence of modern technology s communication characteristics, such as texting and social media 4. Students lack of understanding about etiquette and a lack of training (Biesenbach-Lucas., 2007) Consider guidelines Establishing verbal and/or written guidelines about use improve their use of this medium An example from Inside Higher Education (2006) of a faculty guideline used in a course syllabus: When you send messages to me this term, I will expect you to have proofed it for spelling, grammatical accuracy, for use of vocabulary, and for composition. If your message does not pass my test in all four respects, it will be returned to you with a message stating, This message is inappropriate for review. Please revise it... Although this example may be a little harsh, guidelines could include: 1. Expectations about message tone and format (students should show appropriate respect to professors no matter the form of communication) 2. A realistic timeframe the students can expect a reply, remembering that is an asynchronous form of communication (immediate replies should not be expected) 3. The types of issues that can be handled via (basic inquiries, scheduling a meeting, etc.) versus issues that should still be handled with an office visit The Best Practices for a Brighter Outlook guidebook was produced by Aaron Street, SAU assistant dean for integrated marketing and media relations in Spring