1. Select only the people in the cc: list that care about or need the information.  Rarely is it everyone on the carbon copy diatribe.

2. Re-title the message as the theme and topic changes. For the receiver of the message, it keeps the focus on what you are addressing.  For you, it makes it easier if you are searching for a message previously sent.

3. Obvious, but people still do it.  Don’t type in all caps.  It is hard to read and can be interpreted as shouting.

4. If you have a questions that has not been answered in two emails, pick up the phone or walk to other person’s office. This will save you time and build better relationships.

5. If you are upset and sending an email to address the situation, write it and save it as a draft.  Wait at least one hour, reread the message, and you will find that you need to rewrite part of the message and extract the emotion and anger.

6. Be concise and to the point. Think about using bullet points.  Most readers find this much easier to read, especially when you are receiving so many emails every day!

7. Make sure the original message (called a message thread) is included in your reply.  Otherwise the recipient may not have the context of your answer.

8. Use proper punctuation, structure and layout.

9. Do not use email to discuss confidential matters and consider adding a disclaimer to your message.

10. Try to read and proof your email before sending it. (This is one I’m working on!!)

Here a couple other posts on email that will help too!  http://www.decontaminatetoxicpeople.com/category/email/

Todd Davis has a great retort to the media and naysayers trying to dis his Life Lock product. Here is a recap of what he says…

• Last year alone, 3 percent of all Americans were victims of real identity theft, and an astounding one-third of the U.S. population was subject to identity fraud.
• Analysts at LifeLock, which protects the identities of over a million members, statistically would expect to see see 30,000 of those members experience identity thefts.
• However, only 105 out of over one million LifeLock members, or just over .01 percent of those protected by LifeLock, have ever reported their identities stolen — and LifeLock ‘s $1 Million Total Service Guarantee covered everyone of them without any limitations or stipulations.

I signed up using the special promo…
Now here is what it has done for me – ALL the credit card offers have stopped in the snail mail, saving me a ton of time sorting and shredding the stuff I was getting. LifeLock is constantly adding benefits to their product – and I like that. In addition my junk email is not nearly as huge as it was. Did they have something to do with it? I don’t know – but I’m guessing they did.

Here’s another tip about all the cataloges you receive – stop the madness today by registering at www.catalogchoice.org to search and decline. As of April 1, 694,478 people had opted out of 9,181,316 cataloges and I’m sure the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council are breathing a little easier.

Let’s simplify!! Let me know what you do to simplify your life.

Happy Memorial Day!!

Marsha

The good news was I did have my iPhone – which is something everyone should have.

I took my own advice, didn’t get ticked off or mad, went to MacMedia (angels from heaven) Store and am now the proud owner of a MacBook Pro. So here was my lesson and personal development from having to read through over 500 e-mail messages that were delivered from cyberspace:

1. When the topic of the email changes, change the subject line of the email. Now how hard is that????

2. Be sure you send a copy of the email you are answering. Receiving an email that says, “Great idea. Let’s do it” means I have to search out what is being deemed “Great.” Unless of course, you only get three emails a day.

3. Cover one, maximum two topics per email. My preference is one subject. That way I can answer what I want and flag the others for follow up.

4. Don’t babble and ramble! Get to the point – and even use numbers or bullets. (Can you tell what style I am in the behavioral cycle?? MBTI – ESTJ)

5. Just like customer service rule #1 — tell me in a simple message that you are “checking” or “researching” the message so I don’t think a truck has run you down. I think the rule should be 6 hours and get out a response of some kind.

6. If the information is too complex, sensitive or personal, pick up the phone.

If you want more on perception, please check out my youtube video. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fgPaiX7exm4

Do you have any pet peeves about email? Do you have any rules you would like people to follow? I would love to hear from you!

Marsha