Are Your E-Mails Sending the Wrong Message?

So “You’ve Got Mail.”

Do you have a headache too?

If you find the pace of your correspondence a bit overwhelming, you are not alone. As the speed of business accelerates with the aid of new technology, so does the communication that goes with it.

In the crush of e-mail, faxes and old-fashioned mail, many of us have taken to dashing off terse letters. Indeed, being curt even seems to be good etiquette, especially in electronic mail. But writing in shorthand can sometimes leave too much open to interpretation, so it’s important to carefully consider the few words you do use.

“With e-mail you need to be more direct--the nature of it is to be quick,” says Pete Senoff, a communications specialist in the San Fernando Valley. “Obviously, if you think about what you’re going to say, it won’t be misconstrued.”

Remember that a recipient’s perception of a message may be affected by several factors. Culture and customs play a great part in in how letters are written and understood. What is good form in one country may seem impolite in another, says George Rimalower, president of Interpreting Services International Corp. in North Hollywood.

For example, it wouldn’t be surprising for a European client to reply as follows:

Mr. Jones:

(1) Yes.

(2) No.

(3) Yes.

Regards,

Mr. Client

That’s not bad manners, it’s just the culture and custom.

“The first time, I thought, ‘Wow, this is rude.’ But it’s not,” says Rimalower. “‘The rules of communication vary greatly from country to country.”

Your response can shape the future of your business relationship, so think it through. Am I reading this correctly? What was the sender’s intent? What are his motives?

Michael Driver, a professor at USC’s business school in the management organization department, points out that you should be aware of the sender’s style of communication as well as your own.

“If you get a 40-page memo from your boss, what are you supposed to come back with? A one-page memo won’t do. On the other hand, don’t respond to a one-page memo with a long one,” Driver says.

Also, know what you are responding to.

“Usually what I do when I get a direct or curt message, I respond back by asking that person to clarify the intent of the original message,” says Sara Elena Loaiza, managing partner for Latino HealthCare Consultants in South Pasadena. “I use phrases like ‘It appears that you view this . . . ‘ or ‘I want to clarify what your understanding is of . . . ‘ “

Conversely, communications from Asia and Latin America tend to pay more attention to pleasantries and protocols.

“It’s not unusual when you get correspondence from Japan to get a little gift--maybe it’s coasters or something small,” says Rimalower. “But it’s part of the culture and it’s very nice.”

Of course, the communication is the point, not the pleasantries. And the cultural differences in communication style sometimes require reading between the lines.

“In Japan, they won’t say no--it’s an issue of respect,” Rimalower says. “They will talk around the subject. I won’t necessarily do the same in my correspondence to them; I have an agenda like they do. If I can avoid saying no, I will rephrase it by explaining the issue and offering a [different] solution.”

Rimalower says he also will make his correspondence to Japanese or Latin American clients more wordy and include more pleasantries than he normally would.

It makes no difference who the addressee is to Loaiza. She says she will always send her correspondence with a pleasant introduction and closing.

“I don’t see my memos being different because I’m a Latina, but it’s probably more touchy-feely because I am a woman.” she says. “You have to be really aware of what you’re writing because things can be misinterpreted.”

Obviously, the nature of the message a writer tries to convey will have a strong influence on the tone of any correspondence.

“Everything depends on the situation, but the primary objective is to get the point across,” Rimalower says. “Because of circumstances, some memos might be very cut and dried. A memo about the company picnic might be an example of a more fun type of correspondence. But if I have to send a memo because people are taking an hour and a half for lunch, there’s not going to be much frivolity.

“But in the business world, there isn’t a lot of time” for niceties, he says. “You do what you have to do and that’s it.”

For better or worse, a person in a hurry is likely to glance over the pleasantries and zero in on the focus of the document. However, Loaiza says it’s important not to forget your role in a business relationship.

“As a consultant, it’s important that my correspondence be somewhat soft and come across as nonthreatening as possible. The company brings you in to complement their existing programs or structure, but you can be seen as a threat to people’s jobs anyway. So it’s important to be attentive to those feelings.”

It is also important because you never know where your correspondence might end up.

It’s easy these days to attaching correspondence to e-mail and forward it, and your message may end up being read by many people for whom it was never intended. Therefore, the corollary of being pleasant with business associates holds true: Be professional with your business friends.

“Even if you are good friends, it still needs to be as professional as possible. There are ways to write a professional memo and still be friendly,” Loaiza says.

Friendly or not, how important is it to respond to correspondence?

“Obviously, if it’s FYI in nature, you don’t need to. But otherwise, I always respond,” Rimalower says.

Senoff agrees.

“With the ‘reply’ button on e-mail, it is easy,” Senoff says. “It might be the laziness of it. But I do three or four times more correspondence on e-mail than I do with other forms of communication.”

It’s just smart business sense to Loaiza.

“People are so busy that voicemail isn’t enough and snail mail is too slow. E-mail is often the most useful. The great thing about it is that it’s a telecom form of communication, but it gives you backup documentation.

“I respond to all e-mail because my business relies on customer service,” she says. “Being appreciative of communication helps define who you are--saying ‘thanks for the info’ or ‘thanks for the update’ generates a good feeling.”

Which brings up the question: How much correspondence, electronic or otherwise, should you keep?

Keep everything, if only for a short time. You never know when you are going to need copies of correspondence, whether for your own reference or possible legal action. Senoff says the sheer volume of his correspondence requires him to dump as much as possible every month or so, but “for someone in risk management or legal professions, it is critical to keep everything.”

You will also feel more secure knowing that you have documented backup.

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CORRESPONDENCE COURSE

1. Write clearly and read clearly. If you do either in a rush, you are more likely to have a misunderstanding. Think about the reasons you are sending or receiving and keep them in mind as you deal with the correspondence.

2. Factor in cultural differences and personal styles. Businesspeople in some countries demand pleasantries in communications; others prefer humility. Some people write long and some write short. Be aware.

3. Are you too nice in your writing? Make sure to keep things professional and get to the point quickly regardless of your audience.

4. Are you too mean in your writing? If you are, you probably don’t know it. But if you hear complaints that you don’t listen to feedback well or that your directives leave no room for discussion, then you may appear mean. If you intend to be authoritative, remember that negative approaches often engender negative responses.

5. Must you reply to everything? Again, know who you are corresponding with. Generally, FYIs or policy memos do not need a response. A “thank you for the information” is always a nice touch--especially if you have useful information to return.

6. Keep copies. At least for a short time.

7. Be aware that your correspondence may be shared. If more than one person may read your document or mail, you may want to reword it.