Seven Deadly Email Sins

[Qacer]

Linkified

According to the survey:

• The French have a fervent dislike of long and wordy e-mails and consider sloppy writing disrespectful.

• This means they are likely to have a problem with the Italians, who don't mind spelling mistakes and are often slow to reply.

• The British, however, lie about receiving the mail in the first place -- then apparently worry when it begins to build up into a backlog.

• Meanwhile, the Germans value tone most highly and often become confrontational following a misunderstood communication.

Here are the sins:

1. 
   Ignoring
   Seventy-nine percent of survey repondents said they resented having to chase up e-mail responses. A quarter said they did so for more than half the e-mails they send. Nearly two-thirds felt business decisions were delayed due to a lack of e-mail response.

1. 
   Lying
   This is most marked in Britain, where up to 11 percent of survey respondents said they lie about getting e-mails, more than twice the figure in the other surveyed countries. Denying e-mails breeds distrust because, unlike phone calls and letters, it's relatively easy to confirm whether or not a message has been delivered.

1. 
   Presuming
   Twenty-seven percent of survey respondents said they were annoyed when urgent e-mails were sent without an accompanying phone call to draw attention to it.

1. 
   Waffling
   Being sent pages of e-mail text when a few lines will do irritates one-fifth of office staff, particularly senior management, the survey showed.

1. 
   Blitzing
   This is when the same e-mail is sent to "all and sundry" in a company. More than a quarter of the survey sample expressed frustration at being unnecessarily copied irrelevant e-mails. They said it was "like being spammed by your colleagues."

1. 
   Sloppiness
   Bad grammar, misspelling and disconnected arguments gave 81 percent of the survey sample "negative feelings" towards the senders, while 41 percent of senior managers said badly worded e-mails implied laziness and even disrespect.

1. 
   Tactlessness
   Getting the tone wrong is easy in e-mails. People can't read body language, voice intonation and numerous other cues. Casual comments or humor can easily be misconstrued. Ten percent of respondents said they thought short, sharp e-mails unintentionally damaged relationships. In Germany and Britain, 23 percent and 14 percent respectively admitted confrontations with colleagues because of e-mail misunderstandings.

 

[Kyteland]

So who enforces the "death" part of the deal? I know a few people who have e-sinned according to the article, and I want them eliminated. :evil:

 

[Wahsapa]

go USA #1!!!

 

[acemcmac]

Originally posted by: Qacer

pages of e-mail text when a few lines will do irritates one-fifth of office staff, particularly senior management,

Very True... even when streamlined as much as possible... limit email to management over 2 tiers above you to 5 sentances tops!