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When
e-mail isn't the best alternative
In
this electronic era, the whole world seems available
right at your fingertips. Forget Mother’s Day?
You can have flowers and candy delivered before you
get home from the office. Planning a trip? A few clicks
of the mouse and your entire itinerary is mapped out
for you and automatically charged to your credit card.
Arranging company meetings can be just a click away.
But
sometimes e-mail just isn’t the best policy, says
Nancy Flynn, executive director of the ePolicy Institute
in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, there are times when nothing
beats a good old-fashioned face-to-face meeting. Here
are Flynn’s tips on when not to send e-mail:
- Your message is extremely important or confidential,
and you can’t risk a breach of privacy.
-
You need to deliver unpleasant news and don’t want
to appear cold or indifferent.
-
There is a chance your written message will be misunderstood
or misconstrued.
-
You need an immediate response. E-mail may be the best
way to deliver news fast, but it is not necessarily
the best route to a quick reply.
-
You want to conduct negotiations or hold a give-and-take
conversation.
-
You need to conduct a lengthy interview with a long
list of questions that call for detailed answers.
-
You seek an immediate response from someone who may
not check e-mail regularly or who has a tendency to
procrastinate.
-
You want to involve a number of people in your discussion.
-
You run the risk of intimidating or turning off the
reader with a written message.
Data:
(C) 2001, 2002, Nancy Flynn, executive Director, The
ePolicy Institute, www.epolicyinstitute.com, Author,
The ePolicy Handbook and Writing Effective E-Mail.
Return to Virginia Business - September
2002
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