E-Mail This
(Written October 2003)
By Cliff Feldwick
As I write this, former investment banker and owner of half of Wall Street, Frank Quattrone, is finishing a trial on obstruction of justice charges where much of the evidence is, ahem, e-mails. As South American cutie Ollie North once discovered, these can be powerful things. Perhaps this would be a good time to review some simple rules on e-mail.
1) Don’t expect confidentiality. You want to keep something confidential, try having lunch with the person in front of a large outdoor fountain. You want to make it easy for it to be spread to half the world, try e-mail. There are several reasons for this. First, the system itself can be “looked at” by system administrators and/or bosses. Courts have consistently ruled that employers have the right to examine messages that come and go on their equipment. Considering the consequences of office e-mails with sexist jokes and pictures of the boss’s head stuck on a naked woman, it is logical that they protect themselves. So always look at e-mail as a postcard – if the mailman wants to read it, he can.
The larger reason for no confidentiality is that handy thing called the “forward” button. It’s just so simple to pass on the juicy slip-up or piece of office politics. Once it escapes, you can expect it to mushroom faster than candidates for California governor. The facelessness of e-mail makes it too easy to succumb to the temptation of “hey, look at this”.
2) Don’t expect understanding. No matter how clear you think you are, remember that non-verbal signals usually account for 80% or more of our understanding of a message. These include body language, the speed or hesitation in coming up with a response, the tone and texture of the voice. A spouse saying “You’re a nut” while laughing at your keen observations on the world has a completely different meaning than when they’re saying it to the judge. Same words – different response. So e-mails should be used if possible for factual transmission – “Company party this Friday at 7. Formal business dress expected.” Or “The client’s name is mis-spelled on page 6. Correct this immediately.” Don’t say “what a great idea” unless you really think it is a great idea. Cuts down on the fun, but also decreases the chances of having to explain away a mis-cue. And to increase understanding, try full sentences and cut down on shorthand and jargon.
3) Don’t be cute. Because we’re not actually facing the recipient of an e-mail, the temptation to let loose a well-crafted zinger increases immensely. We’ve all done it, so don’t deny it. Apply the “cackle test”: if you ‘re laughing uncontrollably or wondering how one person (you) could possibly be so witty, you’re probably on a slippery slope. Restrain yourself.
4) Don’t hide. Many offices have a rule of “no negative news by e-mail”. Makes sense – see #2 for why. You need to deal with all sorts of human emotions when spreading bad news. Don’t do it blind. This is in addition to having the decency to be face-to-face (or at least on a telephone) with someone so you get their reactions.
5) Don’t spread your entire address book. You’ve seen it – the e-mail where 90% of the first page is recipient’s addressees. These get forwarded a few times, and it cascades until you swear you could find the queen of England’s in there somewhere. Have a long list or don’t want to reveal it to everyone? Sent the message to yourself, and BCC everyone else.
6) Identify yourself. Seems simple, but does your full name (or name and company) show up in the Sender’s box? Did you use a short, understandable Subject? Considering the volume of spam, and people’s practice of flipping through tons of it with the Delete button flashing, you’re headed for the Trash bin unless you do.
E-mail is a wonderful thing – there’s nothing like catching up with friends, making appointments or sending off a finished document in the middle of the night because that’s when you can. But try to think how Miss Manners would feel before you hit the Send button.
Cliff Feldwick is President of Riverside Computer Consultants, Inc., and does troubleshooting, virus stomping and network set-ups for small offices, when not sipping tea with a pinkie extended. He can be reached at 410-880-0171, or at cliff@feldwick.com.