Published July 2002

Tips to keep from drowning in communication flood

A few years ago, a national study revealed that the average American corporate employee deals with 178 messages and documents every day. The study by the Institute for the Future, the Gallup Organization and San Jose University showed there’s virtual gridlock when it comes to use of mail, facsimile, telephone, computer, voice mail and e-mail.

“It’s as if communication demands are driving the workday and the conduct of business, instead of the other way around,” said Meredith Fisher, a future strategist with Pitney Bowes Inc., the study sponsor.

Fast-forward to the present, and not much has changed. Although these tools were designed to enhance communications, their overuse may cause the opposite effect.

Managers, as leaders, can play an important role in setting parameters for those that they supervise by ensuring their communication management is impeccable.

We may not be able to reduce your personal message load, but we have searched our files to offer 10 proven methods to ensure your business communications are appropriate, effective and well received:

n Respond in kind. Generally, it’s wise to respond the same way you received an information request, unless instructed otherwise. An e-mail gets an electronic reply. A fax, a return fax. If the request is from an internal source and not complex, responding in person can be the most effective avenue.

n Limit e-mail messages to one screen in length so recipients won’t have to scroll down to get all you’ve said. Use bullets, underlining and bold face to emphasize important points.

n Keep voice-mail responses to a minute or less. The longer the reply, the slower you should speak to allow the recipient to take notes. For complex responses, script your answer so that you don’t forget an important point.

n Treat any written communication — fax, e-mail, memorandum — as you would a formal business letter. Reserve joke-telling or gossip for social gatherings away from work. Consider that anything written at work could be posted on the company bulletin board.

n With that in mind, your spelling and grammar must be impeccable. Avoid using ALL CAPS to emphasize a point; avoid ellipsis for stream of thought consciousness ... it looks sloppy, as if you have not completed your thought process.

n As today’s communication tools allow us to contact people 24 hours a day, anywhere in the world, be aware of time differences when sending messages. Remember that a ringing telephone or a chirping fax machine may be in the home of your recipient and may disrupt sleeping. Time-conversion sites are easily found on the Web.

n Every written communication should have a clearly stated subject. If that doesn’t come easy, rethink the purpose of writing.

n Unsolicited sales messages have no place in e-mail; it’s considered SPAM and is illegal in the state of Washington.

n When leaving a voice-mail message, always provide the time range when you’ll be available to take a return call; slowly and clearly state your number even though you think the recipient has it.

n If away for an extended period (travel, vacation, illness), change your voice-mail message to alert callers immediately of your unavailability. Offer an alternative destination to their call or a clear indication of when you will return.

Eric Zoeckler operates The Scribe, a business-writing service. He also writes a column appearing Mondays in The Herald’s Business Section. He can be reached at 206-284-9566 or by e-mail to mrscribe@aol.com.

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