you suck at email presentation by julia roy

YOU SUCK AT EMAILB U T I T ’ S N O T Y O U R F A U L T

I have bad news…

you suck at email.

But…

it’s not your fault.

You were never taught.

To get your driver’s license

you had to sit next to some

guy and prove you could drive

And if you made too many

mistakes, you didn’t get your

license

And if our emailing was like our driving…

We’d all look like this.

And just like our cars are not responsible for the accidents we get ourselves into…

email is not responsible for the disaster that is our

inbox.

We are.

Because we’re using it wrong.

We’re using it for way more than it was

intended to do.

We use email to…

manage our important projects

remind us of what we need to get done

serve as our default task & to-do list

communicate with anyone & everyone

manage everything and anything related

to our work

share & receive all kinds of information

organize a neighborhood

block party

keep up with what’s happening in…

our world,

our industry,

our business,

our local community,

the lives of our friends, family and

aquantinces

& the list goes on*

*and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on,and on, and on, and on, and on, and on,and on, and on, and on,and on, and on, and on and on.

We’re constantly complaining about

our inbox

and yet we can’t stop checking it.

Why?

Because we’re addicted to it.

Seriously.

Email is a drug.

At least, to our brain it is.

It taps into our brain’s natural

dopamine-fueled reward system.

It’s the chemical in your head that

causes us to want & desire things.

It’s stimulated by anticipation and unpredictability.

This is why email is a big dopamine

stimulator.

Because it’s unpredictable.

We don’t know who will email us or when.

So, all day, everyday…

we anticipate the unpredictability of

what might be there that wasn’t there a minute ago

and…

“doing” email gives us a sense

of progress.

A feeling that we’re getting sh*t done.

But it’s an illusion,

because…

there’s a negative relationship between email & productivity.

The more time spent on email throughout the

day, the less productive one feels.

Since turning off, boycotting or

banning email isn’t a (realistic) solution…

let’s get better at it.

really, really goodvlet’s get better at it.

To be

at emailreally, really good

all you have to do…

is follow 7 simple email best practices:

#1 How and when to properly use

(and stop abusing) the “To"

"cc" and "bcc" fields

#2 Exactly what to should think

about before you hit that "Reply

All" button

#3 How to craft awesome and

effective subject lines

#4 Why you should think like

a journalist, not a novelist, when

writing emails

#5 How to expertly use bullets,

numbers and choices to increase

action and responses to emails

#6 Tactics to avoid the vortex of

back and forth replies and long

email threads

#7 The 3 vital pieces of information

that should be in your email

signature

To: cc:

bcc:

1

To: cc:

bcc:

Ask the question:Do they need to take action

or respond in some way?

To: cc:

bcc:

Ask the question:Do they need to take action

or respond in some way? If no… cc them.

When I send an email to one person, there’s a 95% chance I’ll get a

reply. When I send to ten people, the response

rate drops to 5%.

To: cc:

bcc:

If emailing someone with to: OR cc:

don’t put anyone in bcc:

If emailing more than a few friends

put everyone in bcc:(to hide their email)

Give the Gift of:

I’m moving [name] to bcc

when someone doesn’t need to be involved anymore

Reply All:2

Q: When should you use Reply All?

A: Almost never.

Someone transmits good news to

nine people. Do all nine need to see

that you said, “Great news!”?

No, they don’t. Don’t use Reply All.

Meeting organizer asks if everyone is

available Wednesday at 10 am. You have a conflict, but can suggest some

alternatives.  Does the group need to

see your availability?  Or can the organizer collect the responses, and

propose a new time that will work?

Yes, she can. Don’t use Reply All.

The organizer of a party asks if anyone has a conflict with the middle of January.  Does the whole planning party need to know that you

don’t have a coflict? (No.)  If it wont work, would it be useful for everyone to know that

we need to keep looking for a good date?

Yes.

Subject Lines3

How to write subject lines that make doves cry

Bad subject lines:

Try to fit the ENTIRE email

into the subject line.

Bad for storage units. Good for

emails.

Subject: Hey

Body: When will you

be in the office today?

Subject:

When will you be in the

office today? EOM

EOM

(end of message)

NNTR(no need to respond)

[ ]

[ACTION]

[SUBJECT][CONTEXT]

[DECISION NEEDED]

[DECISION NEEDED] Picking the new logo today - do you like A, B or C?

[DECISION NEEDED] [NEW LOGO] Due today - do you like A, B or C?

[DECISION NEEDED][NEW LOGO]

[SCHEDULING] Choose Tues. or Wed. @ 5pm

for meeting w/ Jessica

[SCHEDULING]

EVEN BETTER! [SCHEDULING] [JESSICA MEETING]

Choose Tues. or Wed. @ 5pm [EOM]

[SCHEDULING] [JESSICA MEETING]

[URGENT] [msgNETCONOMY] Review and respond by EOD today

[URGENT]

Fix bad subject lines

Be a Journalist

NOT a Novelist

4

Examples of

Main Points Up Front

“We’re going ahead with the

deal. To close it, I’ll need you to

gather three years of financials,

and have them ready by Friday.”

“Our press release announcing

our joint venture with Netconomy

will be released tomorrow. Do you like the headline below?”

“I’ve got a Fortune 500 client who

wants to discuss staff training.

Can you fly to Phoenix for a

Thursday meeting?”

•Bullets 2.Numbers

& Choices

5

Bullets, numbers and choices are a gift to the recipient.

It makes their response

simpler.

Examples of

Bullets, Numbers

and Choices

The following flavors will be ordered:

• Vanilla • Chocolate • Strawberry • Rocky Road • Peanut Butter Fudge

We will visit the following cities, in this order:

1. New York 2. Washington, D.C. 3. Chicago 4. Minneapolis 5. San Diego

Here are our options. Please choose.

1.End all negotiations and terminate contract. 2.Respond with counter-proposal 3.Execute contract. (If this is chosen, please also email signed contract.)

Close The Loops6

Coffee is

for closers!

(loop closers)

Examples

of Open Loops

and Closed Loops

“Let’s get together for lunch. What day is good? Where do you want to

go? Should we invite other departments or keep it a team

meeting?”

Open Loops

“Let’s get together for lunch. I’m thinking Thursday at 11:30 (to

avoid the rush) at Chipotle. Let’s keep it just a team lunch this time, but maybe next time, we’ll invite

others. Work for you?”

Closed Loops

“Here is the full proposal. PLMKYTASAP.”

Open Loops

Useful Signatures

7

3 critical pieces of

information:

1. phone number 2. address 3. blog / recent article

*Can have different

nuances on platforms

like iOS & Android.

One-click calls

One-click maps

Bonus

Tips!

Get hyper(links)

Bonus #1

Check out our press release in PR Newswire:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-advertising-alliance-daa-announces-your-adchoices-consumer-education-campaign-137749828.html

Amateur:

Pro:

Check out our article in PR Newswire.

Stop saying “Thank You”

Bonus #2

NOT THIS

DO THIS

Now go make email awesome for you and everyone you email!

Because now you know:

1. We can use TO, CC & BCC more effectively 2. That we should almost never Reply All 3. How to write actionable subject lines 4. How to write like a journalist, not a novelist 5. The power of bullets, numbers and choices

6. Several ways to minimize long email threads 7. How to create really useful signatures

yooooou suck LESS @ email

Any Questions?

EMAIL JULIA@WORKHACKS.COM

julia royworkhacks.com