AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
You are what you write: six ways to ensure that your e-mail makes--not breaks--your career.(SELECTED TOPIC)
Type. Click. Send. We do it every day without a second thought. E-mail has become the most prevalent form of communication in the business world. Professionals are increasingly known by their "e-mail personas" as this medium replaces face-to-face meetings and phone calls. What's more, the "barriers" that once shielded those at the top echelons of business have broken down. Executives who once dictated letters to their secretaries now send their own e-mail from PCs, laptops, and Blackberries[R]. In the space of a decade, all the rules have changed--and what we e-mail is, in the eyes of recipients, who we are.
"E-mail has not only changed the way we do business, it has begun to define how we are viewed as professionals and people," asserts Janis Fisher Chan, author of E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide--How to Write and Manage E-Mail in the Workplace. "We must be sure that our e-mail messages are sending the fight messages about us."
Here are a few tips from the author to improve your email management. Use the journalistic triangle to get to the point fast. Have you ever noticed that the first paragraph of a newspaper article contains the most important information? Here's an easy way to figure out what your main point is: Imagine that your reader is about to go through airport security on her way to an important meeting. You have 15 seconds to shout out your message before she disappears into the crowd--what would you say?
A well-written subject line is like the headline for a newspaper article: it draws the reader's attention and tees the reader what the e-mail is about. Instead of "New Program," write "Accepting applications for flex-time program." Instead of "Changes," write "Health benefits to change next year." Instead of "Dates," write "Kickoff Meeting--Apr. 2, 6, or 9?" Be informative and compelling.
In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, Dr. Edward M. Hallowell said that workers who reflexively check and respond to each e-mail that drops into their inbox--thus failing to stay focused on a single work-related task--suffer from Attention Deficit Trait (ADT). Here are some of Chan's techniques for combating this common problem:
* Turn off your computer's "You've Got Mail" signal.
...
- Write-ins could be wave of future: Thousands cast Tuesday in county as doing so...
- Newspaper article from: Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA) May 17, 2007 700+ words
...Luzerne County voters cast thousands of write-in votes on Tuesday -- so many that...time is needed. The simplicity of casting write-in votes on the new electronic voting...contributed to the increase, Piazza said. The write-in option appears on the screen as a...
- Write-up Lives!: New companies and new functions hit the market.
- Magazine article from: Accounting Technology Scott, Robert W. March 1, 2005 700+ words
...couple of years ago, it looked like the write-up market was going to turn into a one...considered to have the greatest market share in write-up, had devoured a number of competing...Systems, Bass, Microtique's Class, ATB Write-up, UniLink, ProTym, Franklen, WinCabs...
- Why do write-up? These tools help keep write-up profitable. (Write-up).
- Magazine article from: Accounting Today Davis, Tom November 25, 2002 700+ words
...business. This firm performed monthly write-up services for several hundred clients...Well, here we are 20 years later and write-up services are still with us, as are many issues we faced in 1982. Write-up is still considered to be a low...
- Write-Up Is Dead, Long Live Write-Up: The death of write-up is greatly...
- Magazine article from: Accounting Technology Schulz, Wayne August 1, 2007 700+ words
For years, the death of write-up services has been predicted by many...much smaller practitioners. Today, write-up work is alive. And a large part...packages. Many CPA firms have embraced write-up in different ways than in the past...
- Write-up Is Dead-Long Live Write-up: The death of write-up is greatly...
- Magazine article from: Accounting Technology Schulz, Wayne November 1, 2007 700+ words
For years, the death of write-up services has been predicted by many...much smaller practitioners. Today, write-up work is alive. And a large part...packages. Many CPA firms have embraced write-up in different ways than in the past...
- Write-up Software: The Survivor Game; The field has narrowed under...
- Magazine article from: Accounting Technology Davis, Tom C. December 1, 2001 700+ words
...small business financial services, or write-up services--they just do not generate...firms. Like many other areas of practice, write-up requires significant expenditures...and management resources. In addition, write-up has the stigma of being a low-value...
- Write-up Winners: These products go for the gold in the CPA's office.
- Magazine article from: Accounting Technology Knaster, Barry September 1, 2004 700+ words
...professionals. Imagine, for example, a decathlon for write-up software, pitting each vendor against the...out with Best Software for the gold medal of write-up software. Let the games begin! Write-up has been around for so many years that one...
- Write right! Being pro-active in your writing results in clearer, concise, and...
- Magazine article from: Armed Forces Comptroller Kline, John A. September 22, 2005 700+ words
...most important thing most writers can do is to write in active voice rather than passive voice. The...before the action or the thing being done. Don't write: The man was bitten by the dog. Write: The dog bit the man. Don't write: The accounting...
Source: HighBeam Research, You are what you write: six ways to ensure that your e-mail...