Communication
Elective 1
Denise Radaker
SLM 521
E-Mail
Introduction: As a college student, you need to learn (if you haven’t already) that there are different types of communication appropriate for a variety of situations. For example, when you become an associate at a business, the memo you sent via e-mail to your boss will be more formal or professional than the e-mail to your parents begging for money to cover your rent. E-mail is a common mode of communication in today’s world, but there are still some items that need to be considered regarding e-mail structure and writing.
Professor Radaker’s Top Ten List of E-mailing:
#10 - Know your audience/recipient. You may need to think about:
Is the person a friend/professor/employer/stranger?
Will the message impact some decision or outcome? (i.e. grade change, raise)
Have you received an email from that person? What format or language did he or
she use?
Will it bother you if the person makes an assumption about you by your language
or format?
#9 - Watch your language. Depending on the person receiving the message, you
may want to use your grammar check/spell check to set the tone of the
seriousness or professionalism of your message.
#8 - Save certain <e-mail> language for your friends and family.
For inner thoughts / private thoughts, use double parentheses around the words
ex. He was angry with me ((I think)).
Smileys and animations are for fun and friends and family. Keep them there.
Pauses (weeeeeeelllllllllllllll hmmmmmmmmmmm errrrrrrr) should be used in
casual conversations with those you know well.
Creative punctuation such as several ??? and !!! should be used to
express your confusion or amazement / scowl. Together they
would express your astonishment ?!?!?!?! in casual conversations.
(Imagine receiving the following e-mail from your professor about a
project you completed:
>Just received your project via e-mail!!!!! How did you get it
done?????? Need to talk with you about it ?!?!?!?!<)
#7 - When creating subject line, think of using a prefix:
RE: means that you are responding to a certain topic
URGENT: means that a response or action is time critical
REQ: means that a request is being made by you
FYI: means that no response is needed and it is non-urgent
#6 - Attachments: Be careful. With all the different versions of programs and computers,
some people may not be able to open or read your attachments. Also be careful
of the length of the attachment.
#5 - Keep it simple. Fancy text and backgrounds and clip art of fun but like stated in #7,
some people may not be able to see all of your ‘fun’ stuff because of the program
they are running. Eliminate those items unless you know that the person has the
capability to see the graphics.
#4 - Watch your intonation signals.
Mild emphasis: Use asterisks around the * word * that needs emphasis or Capitalize the first letter of the word that needs emphasis.
Strong emphasis: Use all CAPS and toss in some extra exclamation marks.
Note: Do NOT use all CAPS throughout an entire e-mail.
>>EXTREME!!!<< emphasis: Use asterisks **, >><<, !!! and all CAPS
#3 - Keep it short. Trying to read a long e-mail is tedious, and soon your brain is saying
‘blah, blah, blah’ ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’. Sweet and simple is the motto.
#2 - Always give a subject in the subject line that pertains to the e-mail and gives the
recipient a short clue what the topic is.
>>AND THE #1!!!!!<<
Be careful sending e-mails in SPANISH. Some foreign language characters do not transfer from program to program. I would love to receive all e-mails from students in Spanish. However, I would first like to understand the email. Save the special characters for completing assignments tuned in on paper in class.
Ex. In Windows, code 241 is the q. But on Mac programs it is s as a capital letter.
Safety Tips:
1. When you receive a message and wants to forward, protect your friends’ email addresses. Do NOT simply click on forward. Instead, copy the email and paste it to a new message.
2. When sending a bulk mailing of a message, keep the email private if all the recipients do not know each other by using BCC (blind copy) so each recipient cannot see all the email addresses.
3. When completing assignments / memos/ important messages, send yourself a copy USING the blind copy (BCC) so you have a record. Then when it shows up in your inbox, save it to a folder for that specific purpose. This is a way of protecting yourself. (Imagine: You have made several attempts to take a test you missed through email communication with the professor. When you want to appeal your low grade, you have proof that you did send the messages. You cannot fake a time and date stamp on a message.)