13 questions about the use of e-mail. Research included.

1. e-mail
tips

2. Question # 1
How can we
avoid using ”cc”?

3. Every 100 people needlessly copied on an e-mail
results in 8 hours of lost productivity, when
accounting for the time it takes people to read,
delete and return to work.
http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2012/12/28/the-productivity-crushing-power-of-reply-to-all/

4. http://www.wnyc.org/story/everybody-hates-micromanager/
Hi leaders, how important is it for you to want to
be copied on every e-mail that people, whom you
serve, send?
How much in control do you need to be?

5. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Questions-to-discover-your-values-1329394

6. Question # 2
How can we
avoid writing in CAPITALS?

7. IF YOU WRITE IN
CAPITALS IT SEEMS
AS IF YOU ARE
SHOUTING.
http://fusion.net/story/42057/caps-lock/
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eikh45femi/all-caps/

8. Question # 3
How short is your e-mail?

9. If you need to write an e-mail, make it brief.
http://hbr.org/tip?date=052013
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4438.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/technology/25apple.html?ref=technology

10. People are more helpful when they’re given clear
directions on how to contribute.
Example
One student got an answer from then-Google CEO Eric
Schmidt by asking him when in his life he was happiest.
Schmidt responded: “Tomorrow.”
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20130624114114-69244073-6-ways-to-get-me-to-email-you-back

11. Question # 4
How relevant is the
e-mail subject line?

12. Use the subject line to summarize the e-mail.
Sources
http://hbr.org/tip?date=052013
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4438.html

13. When people are busy, the emails that get
read are the ones with practical subject lines.
Example
”How to get to the event location in Beijing.”
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20130624114114-69244073-6-ways-to-get-me-to-email-you-back

14. Question # 5
How can we
avoid abbreviations?

15. Are you sure that the e-mail recipient is aware
of the meanings of the abbreviations you use?
http://www.emailreplies.com/

16. Question # 6
How is the language
in your e-mail?

17. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Dialogue-or-discussion-1567510

18. Question # 7
How well do you
serve the person
you communicate with?

19. Problem: We tend to be overly focused
on ourselves and our own goals.
https://hbr.org/2015/04/the-dos-and-donts-of-work-email-from-emojis-to-typos

20. Question # 8
Do you know where the
recipient of your e-mail is?

21. http://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/
Before writing ”have a good afternoon” in an e-mail, consider
in which time zone the person, you send the e-mail to, is

22. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Globalization-2173145

23. Question # 9
How often do you check
your e-mails?

24. A study shows that regaining our initial
momentum following an interruption can
take, on average, upwards of 20 minutes.
https://hbr.org/2014/07/the-cost-of-continuously-checking-email/

25. Further inspiration
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/769046140

26. Question # 10
How good are you at
keeping your inbox clean?

27. # 1: Delete.
Delete any messages you don't need to read or keep.
# 2: Respond.
Reply to messages that can be handled immediately.
# 3: Archive.
If it’s a task for someone else, archive the e-mail.
3 actions to keep your inbox clean
https://www.good.is/articles/clean-up-your-inbox-pro-tips-from-a-gmail-insider
https://hbr.org/2012/02/stop-email-overload-1.html
https://hbr.org/2009/05/how-to-keep-your-email-under-c.html

28. When executives at a London-based firm reduced the
number of e-mails they sent, other employees did as well.
http://hbr.org/2013/09/to-reduce-e-mail-start-at-the-top/ar/1

29. If you’re a leader, your actions influence the
culture. If you choose to refrain from sending
late night e-mails, people whom you serve
won’t feel pressured to check their devices.
Adapted from
https://hbr.org/2015/09/fixing-our-unhealthy-obsession-with-work-email

30. Question # 11
What would happen if we
reduce the use of e-mail?

31. Sources
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204452104577060103165399154.html
http://atos.net/en-us/about_us/zero_email/default.htm
The companies Atos, Klick, and Exformatics
stopped using internal e-mails.

32. People, who work for https://vynamic.com/,
do not send e-mail on weekends.
https://hbr.org/2015/03/your-late-night-emails-are-hurting-your-team

33. An increasing number of company leaders are banning or
at least restricting email.
Research shows it works: Banning or putting restrictions on
email can dramatically increase individual productivity and
reduce stress.
https://hbr.org/2016/06/some-companies-are-banning-email-and-getting-more-done

34. The most damaging cost of thoughtless e-mail:
It prevents us from doing our best work.
http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2014/11/09/quitting-email-helped-company-team-communicate-better/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/10/25/i-banned-all-internal-e-mails-at-my-company-for-a-week/
http://www.managementexchange.com/hackathon/contribution/big-enemy-good

35. Question # 12
Instead of sending
an attachment,
what about sending a link?

37. Question # 13
What about using social
media instead of e-mail?

38. A 5 minute chat may be more efficient
than crafting a message that adequately
explains the situation.
http://hbr.org/tip?date=011713

39. https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/01/how-messaging-apps-are-replacing-texting/

40. The instant you read emotion in their response, or
feel it yourself - change mediums.
Even a phone call lets you hear nuances in tone,
silences, and other data that help you address
emotions. Skype or video conferencing gives you
even more information.
https://hbr.org/2015/03/you-can-have-constructive-conflict-over-email

41. People, who work for https://automattic.com/
Automattic, the company that runs Wordpress,
rarely use email.
Instead they use internal blogs, chat rooms,
and Skype.
http://blogs.hbr.org/berkun/2013/03/how-wordpress-thrives-with-a-1.html