Clarity is key in communicating, particularly in a time when what you want to say can be limited to 140 characters or less.
But one place I find this miscommunication has no excuse is the common every day email. You know those emails you read once, repeat read, and after several attempt’s you’re still completely clueless as to what the sender is trying to say? Annoying right?
Well if you recognise a terrible email, this doesn’t mean you’re guilt free of sending them.
In order to be understood, particularly online, you need clarity, and even though email is a particularly quick form of communication, this does not give you rights to be quick with what you say. Its simple, when you write your email; read it, spellcheck it, and re read it so you don’t end walking away post clicking send looking the fool.
Here are a few ideas to start you off..
When you’re composing your email, be up front and clear with what you are trying to say. The reader shouldn’t have to get out a dictionary or thesaurus to understand what you are trying to say, don’t muddle your email with unnecessary language. It does nothing but frustrate everyone.
Remember, clarity is better than cleverness, you may fancy yourself a masterful wordsmith like a Mr Stephen Fry in my previous post but like he states, what is the English language if it is not enjoyed.
Don't let your words get in the way of your message
Next time you're composing an email, give some attention to clarity. Can you understand what the email is about by the subject line? Are you burying your message? If not, good for you! If you're not a saint (I'm not), re-evaluate your email miscommunications.
More posts on the subject of Email will follow.
