E-mail How to get out of the mess

E-mail How to get out of the mess! THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

E-mail - How to get out of the mess! THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL A Learning. Byte. TM by dr. eddie_obeng@pentaclethevbs. com This presentation is best viewed as a slide show. It lasts just under four minutes. You can advance at any time using your mouse. PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Data data everywhere …but not a drop of information! Cyberspace gives us more opportunities to communicate at the speed ofand data are not. . . remember information light. And also to mis-communicate expensively and the answer the same thing. . information is annoyingly at the speed of light. to the question asked. . . data+question=information… It’s a good idea to get people to rethink how they use e-mail and when. THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Eddie’s rules of communication 1. Communication must serve the purpose of the person being communicated with, (not your purpose - think about the questions that they need answering to help you). THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Eddie’s rules of communication 2. You must select the right level - or you aren’t communicating. 3. On the next slide, pretend that you are answering a question you’ve been asked. 4. Select the right level to match the needs of person with whom you are communicating. THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Eddie’s rules of communication Which Level is right for this person? Level 1, 2 or 3? Team Member = Colleague = New team Member= Confident End User= Happy Boss= Unhappy Boss= Project Co-ordinator= VP form another Division= Level 1. Big picture: It’s going well. Level 2. Issues: It’s going well. . . . . . but we are having problems with x, y &z. Level 3. Full detail: It’s going well. . . . . . but we are having problems with x, y & z The problem with x. . . > THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Eddie’s rules of communication 3. Anticipate thoughts and actions you expect the person being communicated with to carry out. 4. Make these explicit to them. If it’s for fyi (for your information) why do they need to know – what do you expect them to do, retain, feel, etc. THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Eddie’s rules of communication 4. The method and style must mirror the message (i. e. don’t send a boring, three page message about how exciting an opportunity is). Use THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL images if the people you are communicating with speak many different languages PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

When not to use e-mail Guess what? Communication is required to share used to E-mail is notagree messages which are simple & share & best for all communication! factual or complex & convoluted. They are ‘Face-to-face’ meetings can handleemotion. range of non-emotivein these busy with it thebest saved for or charged days is full messages but complex - emotive situations and messages. E-mail works best in non-emotive - simple factual situations. Remember, it is easy to start an argument by e-mail but very difficult to resolve one using it. Usually you end up resorting to a face-to-face meeting. THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

When not to use e-mail factual THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL Notes Collaborative tool e. g. Groove Video. Conference Audio. Conference Web-site 1: 1 Meeting Team Meeting Board Meeting Presentation Phone call e. g. Glance, Web. Ex Audio. Conference with Screen share non-emotive. Voicemail delayed e-mail SMS TEXT simple complex convoluted immediate emotional PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Types of e-mail 1 The one liner- • The whole message is written in the title line and is ended with e. o. m. or EOM - meaning ‘end of message’. This method saves the recipient the time and hassle of opening it. It’s just like receiving a text message • This method is useful for Level 1 communication. For example, “The project is going well and on target. EOM” THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Types of e-mail 2 The ‘bash it out’: • This type is useful if you want to convince someone that you have responded quickly and informally. It is written colloquially without appropriate grammar punctuation and with a few obvious typos addded : -) THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Types of e-mail 3 The well structured: Title line; Level 1 (Big Picture) communication. You can add a code of prioritisation e. g. q 1= will bring money in faster, etc - (Click to read Money Making Machine) First paragraph; Pleasantries plus Level 2 (Issues) communication. Rest of mail; Level 3 (Full Details) communication ending with short joke or humorous remark if appropriate. Using this format allows people to stop reading when they have learnt what they need. THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Types of e-mail 4 The Chain e-mail: • Used for canvassing opinion. You send the message to one person with an instruction to add their comments and forward it to the next person on the list you have placed at the bottom of the text. By the time the e-mail returns to you, you have all the answers in the same place (one e-mail rather than twenty!) THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Communicating Emotion It is difficult to guess the tone of a text based message. So you may need to clearly describe your intention. • You can use the colour of your text to signal your mood; red = angry, green = conciliatory, yellow = suggestion only. • There are widely recognised symbols created from combinations of keystrokes (smileys)- : -) : -o ; -) : -( meaning: happy or joke, surprise, wink and sad etc. • There are the acronyms such as LOL - laughed-out-loud • And descriptions of your facial expression, like my favourite, . THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

When to use attachments • Attachments should only be used when you are sure that the person receiving your mail has the software in the right version to open your attachment. You should always state in the body of the main e -mail the software and version of the attachment. • If more than one person needs access to the attachment you should probably use a shared drive or some form of Group. Ware to host/ serve the attachment and simply mail a URL (intranet/ web address). THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Stop being drowned in data Do you get more messages than you would like? Do you find yourself deleting hundreds of them, often without reading them? Why do people send you messages which you don’t find valuable? • Filter out e-mails where your name appears on a long list of cc’s. Most e-mail packages allow this. Tell people when you are out of the office for a long time to stop out of date messages accumulating or set up an automated reply. THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

Stop the rot Provide disincentives for others who deluge you with data. • Never send CYA (cover your anatomy) e-mails. • If you receive a CYA e-mail you must reply with a terse message saying something like, “Why have you sent me this? ” Never ignore or just delete it. Feedback is essential to change. • Alternatively, engage in some constructive 'spamming' by sending a reply with an enormous attached file using a package they don’t have. THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

‘…and remember, in cyberspace no one can hear you scream!. . ’ I believe e-mail and cyberspace exist to help us get more out of our time and our lives - not to waste them. Please ‘infect’ your organisation with this Learning. Byte. TM. Pass it on to your colleagues perhaps it will stop them deluging you with email in future. THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL Kindest wishes, Eddie Obeng PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING

E-mail - How to get out of the mess! A Learning. Byte. TM from dr. eddie_obeng@pentaclethevbs. com Fun & Learning I want to take the Test to see if I have learnt anything Pentacle The Virtual Business School NEW SOLUTIONS FOR A COMPLEX WORLD _______________________ UNITED KINGDOM THE NETHERLANDS FRANCE SOUTH AFRICA Burke Lodge, 20 London End, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire HP 9 2 JH United Kingdom Pentacle House Nightingale Straat Hoofddorp The Netherlands Chateau Ballay Les Ardennes France Pentacle House 1 Martingale Avenue Hout Bay Cape Town 7806 South Africa PROVOKING- INSPIRING- EDUCATING- FACILITATING- ENABLING _________________________________________ What's New Telephone E-mail Web Maps History Book a course http: //www. pentaclethevbs. com/soundbyte_of_the_day. htm +44 (0) 1494 678 555 Pentacle_Team@Pentacle. The. VBS. com http: //www. Pentacle. The. VBS. com/map. htm http: //www. Pentacle. The. VBS. com/heritage. htm http: //www. Pentacle. The. VBS. com/bookonline. htm www. pentaclethevbs. com THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS SCHOOL PROVOKING - INSPRING - EDUCATING -FACILITATING ENABLING