How does the old saying “Garbage Out equals Garbage In“ apply to your email?

In the world of computers and process management, the saying is that “garbage IN results in garbage OUT”. But in the world of email and inbox management, it’s the other way round – “garbage OUT means garbage IN”.

Let me explain . . .

For example, let’s say an email is sent which is unclear on the action required by the reader and also cc’ed to multiple other people. Each person then has to spend several minutes trying to decipher what is meant and what they are expected to do. A few of them reply directly to you seeking clarification. Others do the same but as a Reply All!

So now, one ‘garbage out’ email has generated a dozen or more ‘garbage in’ emails, cluttering numerous inboxes and fragmenting many people’s attention, just to get clarity. And the issue has not even been dealt with yet! It’s not hard to see the staggering amount of time and attention wasted because of a single, unclear email.

Clarity is King!

We all want to be quick, concise and correct when we send email but none of this works if the message is not clear! In fact, recent research shows that the biggest issues identified by email users relate to this aspect of email communications;

  • 30% say too many back n’ forth emails is their biggest issue
  • 26% say it’s Reply All
  • 24% say it’s poorly written or unclear emails
  • 19% say it’s receiving email when a phone call or face-to-face meeting would be more appropriate

As you can see, it’s worth learning how to write short, sharp, concise email that gets attention, engages interest and has a clear call to action. And that’s where our new workshop called The Science of Writing Effective Email can help.

As one recent participant from Mercedes-Benz said, this workshop “was a thorough rebuilding of understanding what email is and how it can be managed and utilised for best effect. I say this needs to be rolled out to more people so that we can get onto the same page with understanding email use”

If you’d like to save yourself (and those around) a staggering amount of time, speed up decision-making and reduce the amount of back ‘n forth email, you can find out more about this workshop at www.emailtiger.com.au/science-of-writing-email

  

All the best!

 

Steuart

Steuart