Are You An Email Thug?

In a time of over communication it always surprises me when I get an email that, had it been communicated in person, would be offensive and downright rude. You know you’ve gotten one of those emails, the ones that make you think, “Is there an actual human on the other side of this because what the f*&%?!”

There is a cadence and common courtesy behind email best practices. Thousands of articles have been written about it, and yet, there are still days when you open your computer and BAM you’ve been hit by an email thug. I’m talking to you…yeah you! Maybe you don’t know if you’re a hit man or woman or if you’re a victim of a late night drive by, so here are 5 indicators that you may be an email thug.

1. You say things in email you would never say to someone’s face. There’s a rule your mom and dad taught you when you were very young and that is, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all.” That goes double for email in my opinion. Think about it. Someone can’t hear your tone or tempo and therefore, usually take anything negative in the absolute worst way possible. So make sure that if it even sounds slightly rude, to have a third party read it over before hitting the send button.

2. Your emails are all business. I had to learn this one the hard way, too. After being trained as an attorney, my belief was that everyone just wanted to get shit done in the most effective way possible. Well, in the real world, this is just not true, especially when you may never meet the person on the other side of the computer.

Taking the time to slow down and write a small personal note softens the reader and makes you look, dare I say, human. Remember, you’re still communicating with a person.

3. You email in stream of consciousness, but don’t edit. There is a right and a wrong way to email, especially in a day and age where people’s attention spans are less than 7 seconds (shorter than a goldfish).

Don’t be that guy who emails paragraphs and paragraphs of copy and expect that the receiver will get the meaning and punch list out of it. We don’t need to know how you got there, just tell us what you need and be concise, otherwise that’s when things slip through the cracks.

4. Your emails come at off business hours. Now…I do this to my team all the time, but I’ve prefaced it with the caveat that I DO NOT expect a response until business hours the following day. As long as that has been a part of the conversation, emailing in off hours is fine, but just because you can’t sleep and e-mail bombed your team or agency at 2 in the morning, don’t expect a response that night or even first thing the next day, especially if the matters aren’t urgent.

The average person receives over 100 emails a day, so be considerate of the response timing when they’re sent during non-standard hours.

5. You CC everyone and their mother. I get it, you want EVERYONE to know what’s on your mind, but you’re probably just slowing down the process. Unless everyone on the team needs to know every in and out of the conversation or project, be respectful of people’s inboxes.

On the other end of that, we are in the 21st century. There’s no excuse not to reply all when it is important that everyone be on the chain. This is email etiquette 101 stuff people.

Remember most relationships are built on trust and are a joint effort. The golden rule always applies, even in email, so if you don’t want an inconsiderate response coming back to you, make sure you get a second opinion on any emails you’re not sure about. Communication and relationships are complicated; do your part to keep crime off the web.