CHAPTER 5: ELECTRONIC MESSAGES & MEMORANDUMS

BS 150

COMMUNICATING AT WORK

People exchange information externally and internally In today’s workplace, you will be expected to collect,

evaluate and exchange information in clearly written messages

Written messages fall into 1 of two categories: paper-based and electronic

Paper based messages include business letters and memos

Electronic messages include email, instant messaging, text messaging, podcasts, blogs, and wikis

COMMUNICATING WITH PAPER BASED MESSAGES

Uses: business letters, interoffice memos

Employees use memos primarily to convey confidential info, emphasize ideas, deliver lengthy documents, or lend importance to a message

COMMUNICATING WITH ELECTRONIC MESSAGES

Email: involves the transmission of messges through computers and networks; users can send messages to a single recipient or broadcast them to multiple recipients

Email is most appropriate for short messgaes that deliver routine requests and responses

Instant messaging: More interactive than email, IM involves the exchange of text messages in real time between 2 or more people logged into an IM service

COMMUNICATING WITH ELECTRONIC MESSAGES

Text messaging Podcasts: a podcast is a digital media file that is

distributed over the Internet and downloaded on portable media players and personal computers; podcasts can be syndicated, subscribed to, or downloaded automatically when new content is added

Blog: a web site with journal entries usually written by one person with comments added by others

Wikis: a web site that enables multiple users to collaboratively create and edit pages

ORGANIZING EMAIL MESSAGES & MEMOS Perform critical tasks such as informing

employees, requesting data, supplying responses, confirming decisions, and giving directions

Email is not a substitute for face-to-face conversations, telephone calls, business letters, or memorandums

COMPONENTS OF EMAIL MESSAGES & MEMOS

4 parts: 1) an information subject line that summarizes the message, 2) an opening that reveals the main idea immediately, 3) a body that explains and justifies the main idea, and 4) an appropriate closing

In emails and memos an informative subject line is mandatory

It summarizes the central idea, thus providing quick identification for reading and for filing

Messages without subject lines may be automatically deleted

WRITING THE EMAIL

Subject lines summarize the purpose of the message in abbreviated form

Explains the purpose of the message and how it relates to the reader

Direct emails and memos open by revealing the main idea immediately

The body provides more info about the reason for writing; it explains and discusses the subject logically

WRITING THE EMAIL(CONT’D)

Generally close an email message or a memo with 1) action information, dates and deadlines; 2) a summary of the message; or 3) a closing thought

Email messages and hard copy memos are similar in content and development but their formats are slightly different

FORMATTING EMAILS

Email greeting- shows friendliness and indicates the beginning of the message

When keying the body of an email, use standard caps and lower case characters

Email messages are most helpful when they conclude with the writer’s full contact information

FORMATTING INTEROFFICE MEMOS

If you are preparing a memo on plain paper, set 1 inch top and bottom margins and left and right margins of 1.25 inches

Provide a heading that includes the name of the company plus “Memo” or “Memorandum”

Begin the guide words a triple space (2 lines) below the last line of the heading

Key in bold the guide words: Date:, To:, From:, and Subject:

PREPARING MEMOS AS EMAIL ATTACHMENTS

To deliver a long or formal document, send a cover email with an attachment

Be sure to include identifying info, including the date, sender, receiver and subject

USING THE WRITING PROCESS TO CREATE EFFECTIVE INTERNAL MESSAGES

Internal email and hard copy memos usually carry direct messages that are neither sensitive nor persuasive

They require careful writing to be clearly and quickly understood

Use the 3 phase writing process to analyze, anticipate and adapt (what am I writing and why am I writing it? How will the reader react?)

Research, organize and compose- gather background info; put it in an outline, compose your message, and revise for clarity, correctness and feedback

Revise, proofread, and evaluate

EMAIL BEST PRACTICES

Compose your message offline Get the email address right Avoid misleading subject lines Apply the top of screen test (When

readers open your message and look at the first screen, will they see what is most significant? Your subject line and first paragraph should convey your purpose)

CONTENT, TONE AND CORRECTNESS

Although email seems as casual as a telephone call, it’s not

It produces a permanent record Be concise Don’t’ send anything you wouldn’t want

published Don’t use email to avoid contact Care about correctness and tone Resist humor and tongue-in-cheek comments

NETIQUETTE

Send emails only to people who really need to see a message

Consider using identifying lables (Action, Re, REQ)

Use capital letters only for emphasis or for titles

Don’t forward without permission and beware of long threads

READING AND REPLYING TO EMAIL

Scan all messages in your inbox before replying to each individually

Print only when necessary Acknowledge receipt Don’t automatically return the sender’s

message Revise the subject line if the topic

changes Provide a clear, complete first sentence

PERSONAL USE

Don’t use company computers for personal matters unless your company specifically allows it

Assume that all email is monitored

OTHER SMART EMAIL PRACTICES

Design your messages to enhance readability, and double check before sending

USING INSTANT MESSAGING PROFESSIONALLY

People like instant messaging because of its immediacy

A user knows right away whether a message was delivered

It avoids playing phone tag and eliminates the downtime associated with personal telephone conversations

It saves money

BEST PRACTICES FOR INSTANT MESSAGING

Learn about your org’s IM policies Make yourself unavailable when you need to complete a project or

meet a deadline Organize your contact lists to separate business contacts from

family and friends Keep your messages simple and to the point; avoid unnecessary

chitchat Don’t’ use IM to send confidential or sensitive info Be aware that instant messages can be saved Show patience by not blasting multiple messages to coworkers if a

response is not immediate Keep your present status up-to-date so that people trying to reach

you don’t’ waste their time Beware of jargon, slang, and abbreviations which may be confusing

and unprofessional Use proper grammar

WRITING INFO & PROCEDURE EMAIL MESSAGES & MEMOS

Information and procedure messages distribute routine information, describe procedures and deliver instructions

They typically flow downward from mngt to employees and relate to the daily operations of an organization

You have one function in writing these: conveying your idea so clearly that no further explanation is necessary

Procedure and instructions are often written in numbered steps using command language (Do this, don’t do that)

Visit www.meguffey.com for more info on how to write instructions

WRITING REQUESTS AND REPLY EMAIL MESSAGES AND MEMOS

Use the direct approach in routine requests for info or action, opening with the most important question, a polite command, or a brief introductory statement

If you are seeking answers to questions, you have 3 options for opening the message: 1) ask the most important question first, followed by an explanation and then the other questions, b) use a polite command (Please answer…) or c) introduce the questions with a brief statement (“Your answers to the following questions will help us…”)

REPLYING TO EMAIL AND MEMO REQUESTS

Much business correspondence reacts or responds to previous messages

When replying to an email, memo, or other document, be sure to follow the three step process: Analyze your purpose and audience, collect whatever is necessary and organize your thoughts; make a brief outline of the points you plan to cover

NEXT TIME…

We’ll cover Chapters 6 and 7. Homework: Prepare for Oral Presentation 3- Group

Prepare for your oral presentation (group) on the following topic:

  Health care reform.  Is our country headed in the right

direction with healthcare?   BE SURE you do enough research and discussion as a

team to develop a solid 10-12 minute team presentation.  You are required to use visual aids for this presentation (Power Point, poster, or handouts).