Another step towards being completely out of touch

[kranky]

I'm watching a webinar for project managers on improving communications techniques.

Item 1 was to edit emails to keep them short
Item 2 was to use more bulleted lists instead of long paragraphs
Item 3 was to use memes and gifs to add humor to the message.

I'm asking my ATOT family whether people at work are actually using memes and gifs in their work-related emails. Because where I work, I have never seen it.

 

[lxskllr]

My office is small, so I find cursing, hyperbole, and sarcasm delivered in person to be more effective.

 

[Rallispec]

#1 and 2, sure. Never see #3 here though. I wouldn't do it in any professional communication.

 

[cbrunny]

I've started changing my subject lines to things like:

12 Things that must be changed in the last report. Number 3 will make you cry!

 

[sdifox]

I'm watching a webinar for project managers on improving communications techniques.

Item 1 was to edit emails to keep them short
Item 2 was to use more bulleted lists instead of long paragraphs
Item 3 was to use memes and gifs to add humor to the message.

I'm asking my ATOT family whether people at work are actually using memes and gifs in their work-related emails. Because where I work, I have never seen it.

shutup and start calculating your communication channels.

 

[kranky]

Now, the webinar is recommending things that I used to think were bad.

For example, be sure to use multiple communication methods and don't use email for everything. Tweet, text, blog, video, FB, SharePoint...

This is for project management. Is it really expected that I have to monitor 8 different sources in order to follow what's going on?

 

[sdifox]

Now, the webinar is recommending things that I used to think were bad.

For example, be sure to use multiple communication methods and don't use email for everything. Tweet, text, blog, video, FB, SharePoint...

This is for project management. Is it really expected that I have to monitor 8 different sources in order to follow what's going on?

It's called hound the workers to no end to justify your value

 

[purbeast0]

every time our timesheets are due the HR lady will email out an email reminding us with a meme in it. some of them are pretty great.

 

[lxskllr]

Now, the webinar is recommending things that I used to think were bad.

For example, be sure to use multiple communication methods and don't use email for everything. Tweet, text, blog, video, FB, SharePoint...

This is for project management. Is it really expected that I have to monitor 8 different sources in order to follow what's going on?

There's a time and place for everything. Informal communication can be quicker, or more useful than something like email.

 

[SearchMaster]

I've started changing my subject lines to things like:

12 Things that must be changed in the last report. Number 3 will make you cry!

LOL!

I did it (item #3) occasionally when I worked in a corporate environment. It was a relaxed tech company though. Items 1 & 2 were crucial though - I used to hate long-winded emails that were not easy to quickly scan for important items. I used to get 60-100 emails an hour (seriously) so if they took too long to read it wasn't going to happen.

 

[zinfamous]

I've started changing my subject lines to things like:

12 Things that must be changed in the last report. Number 3 will make you cry!

 

[CraKaJaX]

We have a designed who is awesome with photoshop. He'll send stuff out for different events (ie, Mets in World Series, Christmas, etc.). Not really a meme though.....

 

[SunnyD]

My last three emails in order, subject lines (verbatim):

Close Out Tasks - Time to hate me!
Close Out Tasks - Time to hate me (Again)
Close Out Tasks - Time to hate me (The "I swear I didn't say this before" Edition)

 

[gorcorps]

A few of us around the office use #3, but it's usually in personal emails for a laugh... not really for communication. Like if somebody did something stupid, we might send a facepalm pic to a few select people that would find it funny (but not to everybody, as that'd be unprofessional).

Another staple is the "The More You Know" shooting star which can get sent whenever somebody brings up some crucial piece of info about some equipment we didn't know before. Or the quote from Anchorman "boy, that escalated quickly" when people get pissy over email. That one can actually be good to defuse an otherwise tense exchange.

 

[DigDog]

LOL #3

sure, why not. and start your emails with "Yo". dear sir or madam is so last year.

 

[ctbaars]

Agree with much said here.
Items 1 and 2 are a must. If you can't keep it brief and to the point, pick up the phone. Or better yet. See the person face to face.
Item 3, memes, is right out. No way. Work environment is a collage of different kinds of people. You never know who is reading and being offended. It is so unprofessional. Never use jokes or sarcasm too. You do those things face to face.

 

[IronWing]

For internal, mundane emails such as meeting scheduling, agendas, and minutes, I add interesting, unrelated pictures to my emails. Coworkers actually read my emails as a result. No memes though.

 

[BurnItDwn]

they love #1 and #2.

Also, people love to simplify complicated and difficult problems into the dumbest possible shit. They "Trumpify" things so to speak.

 

[rcpratt]

I see #3 very, very rarely, but generally only between coworkers at the same level who are relatively close with each other. I sure ain't sending my boss any memes.

 

[OverVolt]

I think i'll have to start using that rule in my posts though.

 

[Brovane]

I'm watching a webinar for project managers on improving communications techniques.

Item 1 was to edit emails to keep them short
Item 2 was to use more bulleted lists instead of long paragraphs
Item 3 was to use memes and gifs to add humor to the message.

I'm asking my ATOT family whether people at work are actually using memes and gifs in their work-related emails. Because where I work, I have never seen it.

How many PDU(s) was it worth?

 

[Jeff7]

I'm watching a webinar for project managers on improving communications techniques.

Item 1 was to edit emails to keep them short
Item 2 was to use more bulleted lists instead of long paragraphs
Item 3 was to use memes and gifs to add humor to the message.

I'm asking my ATOT family whether people at work are actually using memes and gifs in their work-related emails. Because where I work, I have never seen it.

Be sure to use a creative font 2! U should use COLORS!
Use Payrus font if available. Impact is good too.


LULZ LOL OMG BBQ


I try the bulleted list thing from time to time. People still only read the first bullet.

And if you keep the emails short, then details are left out, so there's a constant stream of back-and-forth to wring out the necessary information.

It doesn't help much that I can type out a novel of an email in no time flat. 60-100WPM if I've got my thoughts well organized and am able to really start blasting away at the keyboard.

I've started changing my subject lines to things like:

12 Things that must be changed in the last report. Number 3 will make you cry!

:wub:


"You won't believe how much overtime these people will be asked to put in!"

"5 people who will be unemployed next year. The answer may surprise you."

"2 meetings about things your manager doesn't want you to know about."

"Adorable kitten wants YOU to submit your TPS Report to this inbox."


God damn I feel so dirty now.

I see #3 very, very rarely, but generally only between coworkers at the same level who are relatively close with each other. I sure ain't sending my boss any memes.

And it might not go over well.
I screwed up something with one of our contract manufacturers once that caused a small batch of things to be made incorrectly.
I worked in small joke at some point that referenced Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny.

They somehow did not know of the existence of Looney Tunes, and so completely failed to understand what I'd said, and up thinking I was insulting their intelligence. I was in fact trying to state that I had screwed up and was accepting blame, and that they'd only done what the incorrect instructions had said to do. Didn't work so well.


Some people do not have "humor" as an available emotion during the workday.



.

 

[TwiceOver]

When dealing with China, #3 comes in to play a lot. They send some ridiculous stuff when answering our questions.

 

[sourceninja]

...

 

[kranky]

This really isn't bad advice.

Item 1 is a requirement for me. My executive board will not really read more than 2-3 sentences of anything we write.
Item 2 is basically the only way my CFO will allow me to communicate.
Item 3 is the majority of communication I use to my staff to try to keep light hearted when I'm forced to sell them a shit sandwich.

Yeah, I should have bolded Item 3 in the OP as that's the one that caught me off-guard. I do pretty well with 1 & 2.

Maybe some of my reluctance on memes/gifs is people are notorious for forwarding stuff to the whole world, and I've already seen some situations where something meant in fun caused trouble when it got to a customer or someone in another country. My sense of humor is pretty good but I don't try to be humorous in email because I don't know where it's going to end up. And these days there are plenty of people with their finger on the "I'm offended" button, hoping for a reason to push it.