productive communication - Email Because Its Right For The Situation, Not Because It's convenient

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Use the proper transportation tool based on the situation and objectives.

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Sending an email may be convenient at times, but if it is not the right tool it can sell out your productivity and that of others.

Would you use a wrench to pound a nail? Many of you who have done home improvement projects, worked in your carport or even hung a photograph have probably been in this situation before. You need to pound in a nail, but you don't have a hammer nearby. I personally have turned a crescent wrench nearby and given a galvanized 2-inch 8d a few whacks instead of going to the basement to get a hammer. I've also used a shoe, a rock, and my wife's popular vase to sink nails on assorted occasions when I just couldn't muster up the power to get the right tool. At the time, I de facto plan I was being efficient by using what was convenient.

What were the results? In most cases, I was able to ultimately get the nail in without the hammer but often was only marginally successful. I achieved the goal, but not efficiently or effectively. In every case, I had to hit the nail more times than if I had used a hammer. When I used the wrench, I bent the nail. When I used the shoe, I left a dent in the wall when the heel slipped off the nail head (which I had to patch later). When I used the rock, I smashed my finger. And after reading this article, my wife will finally know how the vase got chipped!

What most population don't comprehend is that they make the same mistake practically every day in the business world. They use the wrong transportation tool because it is convenient for them at the time. But really, they are reducing productivity in the process.

What are the typical results of using the wrong transportation tool? In most cases, the message does ultimately get through. But the sender's and other people's time may be wasted in the process, the message may not get through correctly the first time, it may not originate the right results, or it may even cause damage to relationships along the way that need to be later repaired (like the dent in the wall). When these things happen frequently in an organization, the results can de facto hurt productivity.

The most base example of this today is the overuse of email. You're sitting in a meeting, and you receive an email with a list of questions for you and others. The meeting consulation isn't directly focused on you, so you resolve that you can read it on your Pda without missing out on anyone foremost (a likely mistake we'll address in a future article!). The email is from person you'll see tomorrow in another meeting, and it has a 12-person distribution list. The demand asked of you is a bit unclear, but you're pretty sure that you understand what is being requested. It is also a somewhat sensitive issue that population feel strongly about. The sender needs a response with in 48 hours. Only two population on the list other than the sender need to know your response, and they'll be in the same meeting as the sender tomorrow.

What do you do?

What you should do is go in the basement and get the hammer! In this case, this means you should not acknowledge immediately. Instead, you should bring a copy of the message to your meeting tomorrow and invite clarification from the sender to be sure you understand the question. Then, you should acknowledge while paying attentiveness to the others in the meeting to make sure the negative emotional reaction you are concerned about doesn't happen.

But unfortunately, if you were like many population today, you would instead acknowledge to the message right away. You would peck in an acknowledge on your Pda or pound one in on your laptop. With so many emails arrival in, you just don't want to leave this one sitting there. Since it's too hard to sell out the distribution list (especially on the Pda) you just hit the Reply All button, figuring the others will just disregard the message. You're also sure that if you misinterpreted the request, the sender will get back to you and expound (likely also with a Reply All). Finally, you outline that if there's an emotional reaction, you can deal with it in the meeting tomorrow.

What's the worst-case scenario with this approach? First, you missed out on an foremost part of the meeting you were in since you weren't paying attention. You'll end up redoing some work as a consequent of this. Second, you did misinterpret the request, and it took two more emails with the whole distribution list to perform clarification. Third, your response triggered a strong emotional reaction with one of the people. This person will be in the meeting tomorrow, but by that time they'll have repressed their feelings. Since you didn't get the optical or verbal clues from their preliminary response, you'll never know that you upset them. This will hinder your relationship with them arresting forward.

In summary, 45 irrelevant messages were sent to people, an informal network got damaged, you wasted two hours redoing work, and you spent 20 minutes on all of the emails that were generated on the subject. Had you just brought it to the meeting tomorrow, your preliminary response and the required clarification would have taken one minute. Also, you would have observed the emotional response from one person and clarified your position to resolve their concern. Or maybe you would have even integrated their feedback into your response to make it better!

Because Pda's and email systems make it so convenient to use email, mistakes like this are often made. What's worse is that there's a multiplying consequent in an organization since emails beget emails beget emails. The basic rule to remember in this specific situation is to email because you should, not because you can. In a more general case, you should adopt the right transportation tool based on the situation. If you are in doubt of which one to use, use direct verbal communication.

Email because you should, not because you can

Think about what is most efficient and efficient for all parties involved, even if it means slightly more work for you. A voicemail, phone call or a live conversation may be a better way to communicate.
One inefficient email from you can originate a lot of work for others, especially if a large distribution list is used.
If a response isn't needed in the immediate future, consider other ways and opportunities to chronicle the data such as in an upcoming meeting.
This approach will likely save you time because you'll adopt the most efficient way to chronicle instead of the most convenient at the time.
Don't send messages just because it is easy or convenient.

Avoid the urge to send an email on an issue that should be handled with consulation or other means just because email is most convenient at the time. Don't send an email just because you are in a meeting and that is the only way you can communicate. While it may seem convenient for you at the time, it can often slow down the unabridged process and may de facto make more unabridged work for you and others complicated if the issue is not resolved effectively. It can also be distracting and counterproductive for the meeting you are in. Give yourself a task or action item to follow-up in person if that is the suitable response instead of sending an immediate email. Often emails sent on Pdas in meetings are not well written due to the difficulty of typing on the small devices and the partial focus of the person composing the email. This can lead to misinterpretation of the message being sent.

productive communication - Email Because Its Right For The Situation, Not Because It's convenient