When good email goes bad…

When good email goes bad

When good email goes bad

Electronic mail, e-mail and finally "email:" Modern email has only existed since the 1980s, but look how popular this method of communication has become!

We depend on email at our office computer and when traveling with our handheld devices. It is a wonderful tool that is fast, economical, earth-friendly, and permanent. (We all know email never really goes away.)

In my company we tend to extend our work hours into the evenings and weekends. So email is a convenient way to move the ball forward - send a message that promotes business, even if office hours have ended. Well, if email is all these good things, when is it bad?

Let's go back. Way back to ancient times when primitive man had no electronic mail - say 1970. How DID the ancients communicate in business?

1. We wrote letters (yes, I'm one of them) and sent them by regular U.S. mail (Crazy!!!). Maybe you used carbon paper to make an easy copy, mailed the original, and in no less than a week you might receive a written reply.

2. You could call. Now this was good. It was immediate. The person got your message right away. In addition, you had a rapid exchange of ideas during the conversation. There was give and take and usually there was a mutual understanding by the end of the conversation.

So now we come to my criticism of modern email. Don't get me wrong, I love it and use it extensively, about 200 per day. But here is the dark side of email:

Email is IMPERSONAL. Even if you sign your email with "Cordially" or "Best Regards" it cannot convey the warmth that goes along with hearing your voice. It doesn't ever say uhhh, ummm, or ya' know. Email doesn't have that cute Long Island accent of yours that everyone loves. It doesn't convey your personality effectively.

Email doesn't give you the opportunity to pick up on the other person's feelings and state of mind. Are they tired, angry, or exasperated? Email doesn't know. So my point is that email is good unless it replaces direct personal contact such as "face to face" or a phone call. We should have direct contact, then use email to confirm the discussion or memorialize an agreed strategy. Make a phone call your FIRST choice.

Teleconferencing will be the next great step. It's here today, but has not yet replaced the phone call. I expect in the not too distant future people will say "remember when you couldn't see the person you're talking to?!"

Technology marches forward and we have an insatiable appetite for all that is new. But remember, in business success is built upon your relationships with people, and you must cultivate them in the most effective means possible. So dust off that handshake and sharpen up your eye contact and body language. Listen to your phone voice to be sure it is pleasant and convincing. Work on vocabulary and grammar.

Use email as your second choice after pursuing real human contact. Technology will never beat it.

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