A Few Words About Email
Overview: MIT Loves Email
If you didn't know it already, you'll soon discover that MIT relies very heavily on electronic mail to get work done. There will be instances when this strikes you as rather odd, if outright silly, such as when people in adjoining cubicles send each other email. Why this dependence? A couple of reasons come to mind — it's quick, easy, permits you to focus strictly on the business at hand, provides the mechanism (email attachments) to share electronic files, and provides a way to keep track of work, both yours and others'. And, of course, it just seems to go with the territory in a technology-focused environment like the School of Engineering.
The Negatives
You're probably aware of the downsides of email, too. Although it shouldn't be, it is sometimes used as a substitute for in-person communication, and the personal touch that a handwritten note could provide is lost in an electronic message. Also, with everyone using email so widely, there is an expectation that you will get a very quick response, and this has contributed to a stepped-up pace of work. In addition, you can easily and quickly get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of email nowadays, particularly if you don't attend to it frequently. (Some published reports estimated 7 trillion emails were sent in 2000! How many of those were from people at MIT?)
What Can You Do?
Software and systems intervention
You want to avoid letting your messages pile up rapidly in your inbox. You can do a few things through software that can help with the load. Get some help in setting up separate email boxes and folders to assist you in sorting and organizing messages, such as by subject or sender. You can also set up filters that will send emails directly into designated folders, based on your selected criteria, so that they don't even appear in your inbox. (This can be especially helpful in dealing with the inundation of junk mail, or "spam," by sending it instantly into the trash.) Find out which automatic email lists at MIT you are on and remove yourself if you don't want to receive those messages.
Making your email communications more effective
When you think about it, we all wish that people would take certain considerations into mind when writing emails and lessen the load on recipients. Of course, there's almost nothing we can do about the content, style, and format of the messages we receive. On the other hand, there are things we can do ourselves that can increase the likelihood that our own messages will be read and that will respect the value of our colleagues' time.
Here are some guidelines (many of which are useful for other communications media as well):
- Keep your message simple to avoid confusion and wasted time.
- Write clearly and precisely. State your purpose succinctly right up front: "I am writing to you because . . . " or "I am asking you to . . . " or "I want to tell you . . ."
- Use a straightforward, targeted subject line. This can make all the difference between whether or not a busy person will bother to read your message or not. It will also be used in subsequent responses, so it provides the "flag" for keeping track of related emails.
- Select the appropriate recipients. Send your message ONLY to the people who NEED to see it unless the culture of your unit dictates that you copy additional recipients. Also, read the caution about the public nature of email below in "Special Reminders."
- Keep messages as short as possible. Stick to the purpose of your message. Aim for a "screenful" of text, or about 25 lines at most, if you can. Keep paragraphs short and leave white space between paragraphs, so your message doesn't look like a large mass of dense text. Make it as easy as possible for the reader.
- Send single-subject emails whenever possible. It may seem counter-intuitive to the goal of decreasing the overall glut of email to send two short, separate one-subject emails rather than a longer message containing two subjects. However, it will actually keep your recipient more focused and allow for more efficent sorting of the subjects. If you include more than one topic in your message, the other person may respond to only one and you'll have to send additional email on the other topic anyway.
- Use lists in your text. If you have to cover a couple of topics or points, make it easier for your recipient to get through the information by indicating at the beginning just what it is that you're going to cover. Remember, people frequently don 't read all the way through an email, particularly if the message is long. Make it easy for the person to grasp what's in the body of your message.
- Indicate those times when "no reply is needed." You always want your recipients to understand what action you want them to take. Any time you can let people know, either in the subject line or in the beginning of your email, that your message is simply FYI, you are extending a courtesy that will be appreciated.
- Keep the text appearance clean. Avoid unusual fonts. Remember that most people regard text written all in caps as akin to shouting. (However, judicious use of all caps can help with the organization of longer messages, when necessary.)
- Avoid including quotations or slogans in the "signature" of your message. What you may consider profound or amusing isn't always seen that way by others.
- Avoid sending chain letter-style emails that ask people to forward a poem, blessing, or anecdote to many others.
Special Reminders
- It's good practice to reread your message before you send it. You'll be surprised how many times you can catch typos, unclear language, and even fragments from sloppy cut-and-paste moves. This procedure also gives you the opportunity for a final edit.
- Keep in mind that email is "public" in that you do not have control over the path your message will take. Your original recipient may forward it to others, who may also send it along. It might be posted somewhere for broader viewing. If you're about to send an email and think, "I hope so-and-so doesn't see this," then it's probably a good idea to rethink sending it and explore other avenues of communication.
- You may also want to check MIT's Policy on Responsible Use of MIT Computers, Networks, and Telephones.