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Free Newsletter How much would you pay for an email newsletter each month jam packed with tips & action plans to help you solve ALL your communication problems? $50? $100? More? How about FREE! A $99.95 yearly value Free right now! Yes, you can subscribe to Communication Insights FREE. NO advertising. Your address will never be sold. It really is FREE! AND you get to request coverage of any communication problem you desire. Just email Priscilla! Sample issues below the subscription form. To subscribe, simply fill out the form below. Welcome to Communication Insights! Here’s a sampler from two issues. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ The <<<Easy>>> way to avoid humiliation! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Exact quote from the Fincastle (Virginia) Herald for July 21, 1999:
<<After a surprise honeymoon for the bride to the Caribbean Islands, the couple will make their home in Virginia Beach.>>
Do you think she went on that trip alone? That really would have been a surprise. Of course they meant to say the trip for both of them came as a surprise to the bride. Now her treasured keepsake wedding announcement is an embarrassment.
How do you avoid such embarrassment? 4 Communication Action Steps:
1. Proof Read! Read for sense & usage.
2. Proof it after your words grow cold. Many good writers let something sit for 24 hours before proofing.
If you haven’t got that much time, change what you’re thinking about for a few minutes, maybe an hour. Then proof.
3. Don’t confuse spell checking with proofing for sense and usage. Some grammar checks on computer programs work well and can help you. But no program yet substitutes for your brain.
4. If it’s really important -- your career depends on it? it will be printed at high cost? it will go out to thousands of people? then read your piece out loud. Any place you stumble needs a rewrite! Takes more time, but it works.
It’s amazing what mistakes even good writers make. Don’t share yours & be embarrassed!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Higher Productivity with Email $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Do you ever complain about backed up email? Or about how email takes so much time?
4 Action steps to help you capture greater productivity from email:
Action step 1. Take care of each workday’s business email by the end of the day to reassure important senders.
Some quick ways: If you don’t have the information but others do, send them a copy with directions to take care of it. Then send a copy of that note back to the person who wrote you. This way, you’re seen as taking care of business. And your boss/customer/client sees her interests getting priority.
If the message asks you to do something, hit reply and say when you’ll be able to do it, even if you can’t do it now. Then put it in your calendar. Another reassurance method.
When the email has something you asked for, just hit reply and write "thanks." More reassurance. This daily system slashes the message pile up.
Action step 2. But don’t start your day dealing with email messages. Early in the morning when most of us are full of energy should be reserved for your most daunting tasks.
Do email during breaks, or after lunch when you have that drowsy feeling. This turns around otherwise barely productive time.
Action step 3. To prevent mailbox clog, use your office email address only for business matters. Have another email address, a personal one, for your joke-a-day and other nice-but-not-essential stuff.
Since your boss/customer/client doesn’t know that personal address you don’t have to rush to deal with it. And you can safely delete a backed up pile.
Action step 4. More clog prevention: Use your personal address, not your business one, when you surf the Net. Some Web site owners (such as I) are careful about not pestering people who leave addresses. But others sell your address. Endlessly.
There you have it: a four-way productivity action plan you can start using today!
OTHER BACK ISSUES
June 2000 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Block that 5 Dollar Word --- when the 5 Cent One is Right! (plus your personal action plan) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ by Priscilla Richardson $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 193 words to help you sound even more intelligent than you already are.
Have you ever felt the desire to impress others? Well, Douglas Daft, the new head of Coca-Cola, did. But he didn’t impress anybody.
When asked by a Wall Street Journal reporter about the goal behind his recent European activities, he said <<Every problem we have had can be traced a singular cause: We neglected our relationships.>> He also neglected something else: sense.
In an effort to sound, one assumes, serious and very CEO, Mr. Daft replaced what he meant, the word single, with a word that sounds a lot fancier, the word singular.
It sounds as if it is the 5 dollar version of single. It is not. Single means one only, one, and no more. Singular, on the other hand, means individual, separate or remarkable.
Sherlock Holmes used singular a lot. Watson, have you noted the singular importance of the dog that did not bark in the night? Watson never did, of course. However, Holmes was using the word correctly. Daft was not.
So here is your action plan for writing or speaking. Before your mistake appears on page one: Block that 5 Dollar Word when the 5 Cent One is Right! CITE: Page one, June 23, 2000, Wall Street Journal
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ March Feature Article: Write Like a Pro, part 1
Your Personal Action Plan: 271 words to help you sound even more intelligent than you already are. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ by Priscilla Richardson $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Your Action Plan #1 Go on a Which (and That) Hunt Example 1 That complaint from the New York office that we worked on yesterday is about the factors which count toward retirement pay. Example 2 We left enlightened on the opportunity that being published presents. OK, two sentence without any grammatical errors. But are they any good? Are they good professional writing? No. Why? Too much <<that>> or <<which.>>
Instead of letting such awkward sentences throng your writing, go on a <<Which Hunt.>> Put <<which>> in your <<Find>> box on your computer word processing program.
At every stop, reread your sentence. Ask yourself, can I drop the <<which?>> Or recast so I will not need it anymore?
Answer: For the first sentence, you cannot just drop your <<which>> But you can change it to <<the factors counting toward retirement.>>
Now put <<that>> in your <<Find>> box. The first <<That>> at the start of the sentence may or may not be OK. See how it relates to the sentences before it.
When you come to the next ones, ask the same question: Can I drop it? Or recast so I will not need it anymore? Answer: The second and third <<that>> can go. No changes needed. Now look at what you get: 1 That complaint from the New York office we worked on yesterday is about the factors counting toward retirement pay. 2 We left enlightened on the opportunity being published presents.
Action Plan #1 to Write Like a Pro: Eliminate as many <<that>> and <<which>> words as you can. It cleans up your sentences. Makes them read faster and easier.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ February Feature Article: The Secret of Communication Success $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ by Priscilla Richardson $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Ever wondered why, when you have this great plan, nobody wants to listen?
Or why, when you try to get over an idea -- an idea for your boss or even the whole department -- you don’t make the cut? The boss ignores you. Your coworkers pass.
Or you’re trying to sell your services or products and you can’t get much past "hello."
You’re left frustrated and fuming. Why don’t they understand? This could be great if only they’d listen. If only they’d read my memo. If only they’d pay attention to me.
The "if only" problem Ah, yes. If only. Two very sad words. But words that don’t have to be yours after you learn the secret of catching and keeping the attention you want for your ideas. Or your services or products.
Take an imaginary journey Take an imaginary journey into your own mind. Picture the last time you had a bunch of junk mail. You never asked for it. It just came.
You start to go through this junk mail. You take one look at the headline on the envelope or even just the name of the sender. Without giving it much thought, you stand near the trash can and start to toss.
For each piece, it takes you less than one second to decide: this is not for me. You drop it into the can. Zip, zip, zip. Before you know it you’re through even a large pile. Sometimes there’s a piece or two you don’t toss, you open them. You give it your attention.
Continue the mind-journey
Now continue this journey by picturing yourself reading a brand-new issue of your favorite magazine. You open it, and start flipping through. Something catches your eye. Your hand stops flipping. You start reading an article, giving it your attention.
Your personal decision radar What was happening as you made those lightning-fast decision? As you decided to toss or open mail. To read or keep on flipping. Your decision radar was working.
You can just give a glance at something, at maybe just a few words, and your personal self-interest radar swings into action. In effect, you ask yourself, "Do I care about this?" Or "Am I interested in this?"
When the answer is yes, when your radar has caught onto something **you** care about, something **you** are interested in, you give it your attention.
When the answer’s "No," you toss or keep on flipping.
Everybody in the world’s like you! Every person you come into contact with every single day has the same screening radar you have. They all can decide almost instantly: "Is this going to have something in it for me or not?"
But still you need to reach and gain the attention & cooperation of coworkers, bosses, & yes, customers.
What’s in it for me? How to reach them? Hit their what’s-in-it- for-me button. The one for their station WIIFM. Show them how your idea, plan, service, or products can help them look better, be happier, gain personal recognition or move them nearer to their goal. (to be continued next month with your personal action plan!)
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ March Feature Article: The Secret of Communication Success Part II – continued from February Your Personal Action Plan: The most valuable 541 words you’ll ever read $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ by Priscilla Richardson $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ From last month: Ever wondered why, when you have this great plan, nobody wants to listen?
The boss ignores you. Your coworkers pass. Or you try to sell something & nobody buys? We went on to explore everyone’s personal radar. Each one of us is interested in what we want or need. It’s called the WIIFM button, the What’s In It For Me button. This month: How can you push that WIIFM button to get you what you need?
Action plan, step one: Understand how people work. We all want to be successful, attractive to others, recognized for our contributions, and to live an easy and pleasant life.
These are just a few major motivators. All you have to do is make your own list of what motivates you the most and you have a good head start.
Action plan, step two: Figure out how you can show a benefit to the person you’re talking or writing to. What’s a benefit? A desirable result. The result of my request will be something you will like, it will be . . .. You fill in that blank. Don’t take it for granted she’ll understand.
Here are some examples to get you started: Step one: Any boss wants to look good: good to HER boss, to clients, to shareholders. Step two: Show her results. Show her how good she’ll look.
A sub-editor, say, might want the big editor to use her story idea. She should show how stories like hers increased the circulation of other magazines. Or how well the idea worked in a focus group. Or whatever result she can foresee that will make her boss look great.
Yes, it takes more time to research something like this, but do you want your idea to fly or don’t you?
Another example: Step one: Even shrinking violets want recognition for their hard work. It can be a nice note, a gift, or an announcement.
Step two: You want someone to help you with a project. It’s not strictly her job. And she has plenty of other work to do.
Even without a reputation for being scrupulous about recognizing the work of others, you can offer future recognition as the result. Far far better is to have that reputation already. Then all you need do is remind her of the results from the past.
You could then say, **Angelique, you know how valuable your help was on the Zaslow project. It was such a pleasure to introduce you to the client and explain your contribution.** When this is the way you normally work, you can expect more help.
Yet another example: Step one: Klutzes such as I hit our fingers more than the nail when we try to hang a picture. Hitting hurts. I hate it.
Step two: Tell me, using your hammer means I’ll never hit my finger again. That’s the result I want. I don’t care if the hammer’s made out of iron or solid gold, I just want the result: no sore fingers.
For all action plans: Step three: Get in the habit of plotting out a WIIFM strategy before you start any project. At home, at work, in your own business, hitting that button more and more frequently gives you more and more success in getting what **you** want.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ EVEN MORE action steps to help you Solve your Email Problems. & Gain Higher Productivity.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ by Priscilla Richardson $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Action step 1. The Subject Line is all you have between the click of the recipient’s delete button and attention to your email. When writing your business email message, use the subject line with great care so it reflects the content of your message. Accurately.
I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when I was waiting for a contract confirmation. I almost deleted it because the subject line said "Hi." (For those new to email: you’ll find a lot of junk comes in with that subject line.) Your subject line for business email must contain a brief but unmistakable phrase to alert your would-be reader.
If it’s a contract follow-up then use the words "contract follow-up." Or something requested, write "requested material."
Whatever it is, make that subject line to the point so it screams out: Do not delete, this is important! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Action step 2. Email is informal, but don’t insult your readers with sloppy misspelled messages. If you’re a poor speller, write just to get your message down. Then run your email program’s spell checker. Everyone makes spelling mistakes and typos all the time. So if your program does not have a checker, change or upgrade to get one.
Until you get a checker on your email program, here’s a temporary fix. Write your message in your word processing program (such as Word). Spell check it there.
Then highlight it, press copy, go to email, and press paste. Your spell checked email is ready.
And don’t forget words that sound the same but have different spellings for different meanings. You gaze at mountain peaks but a book piques your interest in them. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Action step 3. Email is an informal medium so write informally. It’s faster and far easier to write as if you were speaking to the recipient. And remember you don’t have to repeat the original message if you’re hitting reply. Reply sends the original back. (Except with AOL! You have to highlight the message you want to appear in the reply before you hit reply.)
So, if your answer is simply "no" or "yes" that’s all you have to write. Adding "sorry" or "thanks" is a nice touch.
There you have it: more business email productivity tips you can start using today.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ The Absolutely Final Batch of Action Steps: To help you Solve your Email Problems & Gain Higher Productivity. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Action Step 1 Your paper letters have your name, company, address, telephone number and other information on the letterhead. Emails call for a letterhead substitute. It’s called a signature file. You type it once, then store it, bringing it into each email you send with the press of a key. It should include everything on your letter head including your web site address (URL). AOL note: AOL 5.0 now finally offers this useful feature. If your service still does not, you have to do what we did before: that is, type out a signature file and store it on the word processing program. Then by using cut and paste, put it into each email. Boring, yes. But better than losing business.
Action Step 2 You thought you could have a paperless office? Think again. You have to have records of who wrote what, & when. That usually means a paper copy. Yes, you can save to a disk, especially using a fresh one for each file. But that’s not as accessible to office support people. Nor as fast and easy for you to read when you just need a quick update. Paper is, for now, still the best method.
Action Step 3 If-you-ever-wrote-it-they-can-get-it email rule. Blue jokes, sexual suggestions and other material courts call sexual harassment move around offices on email. And if an employee should complain of harassment, the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) can send in experts to retrieve long-ago deleted emails. And the same goes for job hunting emails, (unless you WANT your current employer to know you are hunting!), personal love notes, memos urging law breaking, and anything else. They can be summoned out of the delete air and brought back to life.
Thus the only absolute email rule: if you wouldn’t say it in front of your saintly grandmother don’t put it in an email. Even if you think the recipient likes it. (Ever heard of breaking up?) And if you don’t have a saintly grandmother, invent one.
Action Step 4 With email, our ideas about contacting people have changed silently. Formerly, if we couldn’t call someone we’d just fire off a quick letter. Now, we email so routinely that if an email doesn’t go through, we assume the person is out of business, has died, or left the country. And give up.
So if you change servers, keep your former server long enough so you can notify every person you’ve ever done business with. Or hope to soon. Your old sever is not like the Post Office: they won’t forward things to a new address. Unless you pay them for it by keeping the old account.
I personally would keep an old account for at least a year, until the word is fully out about the new one.
If you do change make sure you also change your listings in any directories. I recently emailed a speaker whose email address I got from a directory she pays to be in. But the message came right back. She hadn’t thought to change that listing.
Good news: if you have your own Web site you can have email forwarded from it to any account you want. In that case, you still keep the same address as far as any sender knows.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Think Communication Success Free from your partner in success, Priscilla Richardson Success is 1% inspiration & 99% communication.© You are free to use any of this material in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link and email link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. Copyright 2000 All rights reserved. Priscilla Richardson guru@writespeakforsuccess.com |
