OK, I need to learn how to take photographs!
Lock Morlich Scotland in acrylics.
I Love Email But
Won’t Answer After Your 4th Reply
Caroline Gaffney
This happened to me, not long ago and I’m sure you’ve
seen it plenty:
I was added to an email thread with some colleagues about
a project we are all working on.
There was a question about a particular point and some
folks went back and forth.
So far, so productive: People contribute ideas and
thoughts and everyone is happy.
And then the inevitable: chaos. A slight disagreement or
confusion about a point
turns into a several-hours-long thread of 10+ emails back
and forth escalating the conversation. Some folks jump in and try to “help”.
But it keeps getting worse, and is painful to watch.
Meaning is lost via email and the asynchronous nature of
the threads leads to more and more frustration and miscommunication. This is
death by a thousand emails.
I complained to some friends and got instant empathy:
“it’s an epidemic,” said one.
“Story of my life,” said another. This was from friends
at a range of jobs: law firms,
consumer goods companies, large media companies.
Email is our friend. I really believe this. It enables us
to work remotely and send information
in a timely manner without much effort (you really want
to go back to fax machines
and voice mail?). But it is also the enemy of direct
conversation.
It is so easy to hide behind your keyboard and shoot off a quick email
that spirals into these
conflicts in the first place.
Instead of being part of the problem, we should all
strive to take these discussions offline
as quickly as possible - before they
escalate. Many of these issues could easily be resolved
in person with a 5 minute conversation, or video
conference if you work remotely.
If possible, you could even meet over lunch or coffee –
and the bonus is
you get to know your colleagues better in person. You might even make a friend.
In case you find yourself part of one of these epic email
exchanges,
here are some quick tips to stop the madness:
1) The Rule of Four: if the email exchange requires more
than 4 responses back and forth,
this means the
conversation is probably complicated and can be handled better offline
2) Distribution lists: if you notice that there are
distribution lists cc’d on the email,
you should use reply-all judiciously.
You
don’t need to conduct your discussion on a stage in front of 50+ witnesses
3) Negative emotions: if you start to detect people on
the email speaking defensively
or with negative emotions, nip it in the bud right then
and there – before it gets worse.
4) Setting the record straight: If you have the urge to
correct or clarify a point
someone else made because you think it will solve
all problems, don’t do it.
More likely than not, it won’t solve the issue
and
it will cause the other person to keep debating via email. Save that thought
for offline.
Good luck and please let me know any other tips you have
in the comments!
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Mark
Thompson
Professional Training & Curriculum Development
These are all good points and I agree.
For me, short, simple questions and answers
or the supply of information are good
reasons to send an email.
Complex issues, areas where
responsibilities overlap, new ideas and such are not.
I think one of the main problems with
the overuse lies in the culture of organizations
that pressure people to respond quickly
instead of accurately or install an atmosphere where you have to cover your
tail with proof that you've responded, regardless of the quality of the
response. Worse still, many people will fire off an email just to prove that
they are addressing a situation; whether or not it can be resolved by email is
often of little consequence.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Anita
Marchesani, Ph.D. 2nd
Executive Coach/Licensed Psychologist | Realistic Solutions to
Increase Your Bottom Line
The rule of thumb I tell my clients is
that email (and text messaging) are good for transmission
of data and information. Generally
email is not great for problem solving or resolving an issue (unless the issue
requires that information is disseminated). I love email, too, but we've started
to use it to replace human interaction.
And we have anthropomorphized email communication, imbuing it with abilities it
simply does not have (communication of feelings, sarcasm, and tone). Thus, the
rise of the emoticon to compensate :).
I do like the 4 email tip - at that
point, emails have evolved far from what the original one intended.
……………………………..
Kamran
Z Mirza
Director, Business Development at Seepex, Inc.
Caroline, You have brought to
everyone's attention some very good points about the etiquette
and proper use of emails, especially
when they are sent to multiple addressees.
I completely agree with you that the "reply
all" feature must be used very discreetly and responsibly. An additional
point I would like to add is that if an email is sent to multiple recipients,
one should be very careful about who
all are on the list. It is equally important to ensure
that the subject matter being discussed
is such that all addressees are entitled to be privy to it.
………………………………………
Julie
Bishop
Executive Administrative Assistant and Business Office
Management
I often have this happen at work
between my boss, my grant coordinators and myself.
I hate the reply all button. They feel
the need to cc each other constantly. I usually just pick up
the phone and call whomever seems to be
misunderstanding the conversation and try to end it. Then, I'll send a NEW
follow up email with the correct understanding from both sides
so we can ALL be back on the same page
without having to argue our way there.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141007132335-406531-i-love-email-but-won-t-answer-after-your-4th-reply?trk=nus-cha-roll-art-title
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