Do you write an email to your colleague who’s sitting right next to you? Would you rather email a person to negotiate a deal? How many times do you play email tennis until you decide to pick up the phone to call the person?
I’m an office bound worker, and my work requires me to deal with emails on a regular basis. It can take up at least 20% of my time just to clear my emails, more if I get a lot of email farts. I’ve adopted a Getting Things Done (GTD) system to process my emails, which many have written about e.g. this article on Inbox Zero: What’s the action here?.
So I’ll not venture into GTD on emails today, but will talk about putting into context the conversation that’s being done through emails.
I find it amusing and sometimes rather annoyed by someone who had to email a person who’s sitting just 2 tables away. I’m also annoyed if an issue takes more than 3 emails to resolve but still no meeting/phone call to discuss. So I’m taking this chance to rant, and hopefully there’s some light at the end of the rant.
Email tennis (3-email rule)
This is one where 2 people (normally just 2 but it can be more), who bounces the email through and fro, with a rally time that will put Wimbledon to shame. Wimbledon has a start and an end, email tennis do not seem to have an end. It depends on whose ego dissolves first.
Instead of playing email tennis, adopt a 3-email rule - if it can’t be resolved by the third email (one initiation email, one reply, and one confirmation email), call the person, and follow up with an email noting down what you’ve agreed upon. This will save a lot of email estate on your inbox, and will probably save a lot of headaches too, not to mention the amount of cursing at the screen, which makes us look like an idiot swearing at the computer screen.
Just talk to your neighbour
Promoting neighbourhood friendliness seems like a thing of the past, but it does and still exist. Always talk to the person next to you, around you, on the same floor, anyone whose path meets yours. Please do not email the person next to you. It’s silly, unless you’ve got something to hide, which makes it sillier because emails are not private. You must have heard of some scandal where an email is leaked right? So, please, talk to your neighbour.
Dealing with strangers
For people I don’t know, or have never come across, I would give them a call first to introduce myself before starting an email conversation with the person. This at least places a voice to the email. I would also try to meet the person if possible, so that I can place a face to the name I’ve spoken to. We may not have the luxury to do this all the time, but for people who you need to work closely, it’s essential to meet the person at least once.
Dealing with friend-of-friend
It’ll be good if your friend/colleague provide an introductory email, just to say something to the effect that “Hi John, this is Shang Lee. He’s no expert in emails, but he can help you in this matter.” You may then follow up the introductory email with another email to say “thanks, how may I help” or better still, give John your number so that he can call you or you can initiate the call if it’s important to you.
Why should I call him?
DO NOT rationalise on this question. There’s never an answer. Once you put this thought into your mind, the conversation will never start. Your mind is made up of better things, so don’t poison it with this question. Just make the phone call.
Write as if you’re talking to that person
I’m always perplexed by people who uses language to seem more “professional”. I just do not understand what does that mean. If nobody understands your email, you’ll end up looking like a professional who’s trying too hard to be like a professional, whatever that means. Keep your email simple, in a simple language. Write it as if you’re talking to the person, which is why a phone call will set the tone of your conversational emails with that person.
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