BLOG | DECEMBER, 2009

My Love-Hate Relationship with Email

December 10, 2009 at 12:06 pm

Chris passed along an article this morning called "10 Proposals for Fixing the E-Mail Glut" by Nick Bilton and it made me think about the issues I have with email in the workplace.

For me, email is like what Winston Churchill said about democracy, "democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." Email, for me, is the worst form of communication, except for all the others.

I dislike instant messaging as I hate being beholden to a digital chime and a blinking taskbar, and knowing that I have to answer that moment, as a real person is also, somewhere, staring at their screen, waiting. My karma score must have been a machine high in a past life, as I do not have a desk phone. And as for Twitter and Facebook, forget about it, we're all professionals here, and we can do better.

This leaves email as the best of the worst, so first off, what do I like about it? For me, I love how email exists in its own timeline. If my house is on fire, the immediacy of an instant message will be viewed favorably, but for the lion's share of correspondance, email is fine. An email comes in and I can read it, leave it, queue it, label it, answer it, forward it, ignore it, or mute it. I am the master of the Technology, and in this information-soaked world, every victory, in however a small battle, counts.

Email also feels more "real" to me. When written well, an email has all of the signs of coming from a real-life human with real-life human things to say. It'll probably have a salutation, followed up by several sentences of actual sentences with words completely spelled out (also known as English), and then a friendly regards ending it. I like writing those and I like reading them.

In Nick Bilton's article, he proposed several fixes to his email problems. He mostly focused on adding new buttons and algorithms to his email client, which is like your doctor giving you painkiller for your broken leg, while not bothering to reset the bone.

The issue, and he touches on this with his reply-to-all example ("Are you super sure you want do to that? Hint: you probably don't."), is to create a sense of decorum and self-awarenesswhen sending an email. Who is my audience? Whose time am I taking away by writing this email (assuming they read it)? Am I packing the most information in the least amount of space possible?

For me the biggest time sink, and thus annoyance, is that last question: Am I saying everything I need to in this email so that my receiver will be able to do something with it? Often, I'll get an email that is a partially-formed thought, or a piece of important information is missing. This turns email into a very slow and inefficient form of instant messaging. I know the answer is coming, and my attention has already been broken, so I'll just keep clicking the inbox link, so I can answer and get on with my day. The frustratingly best emails are the ones that feel like I opened up a James Joyce novel to a random page and started reading. I'm sure this email has some context and meant something to the author, but I'm a little lost. I always write back to get my clue stamp affixed.

For me, the question is not what can my email client do for me, but what can we all do for the art of email. We all know that email is instant. Hitting send makes a bell chime or a link go bold on someone else's computer. This is a lot of power in the hands of anyone that wants to use it, and understanding that and being self-conscious of email habits would solve most of Mr. Bilton's email problems.

To sum up, think while you are writing and think before hitting send and everyone's email boxes will go back to being like real-life mailboxes--what's in there is usually good, deserves to be read, and you can answer it at the soonest convenient time.

And one more note: none of this applies to funny emails. Man, I love those things.

Jillian Kuhn | December 10, 2009 12:00 AM

I'm suddenly very glad that I usually email you instead of IM you! Very interesting post.

Nolan Caudill | December 10, 2009 12:00 AM

Jillian,

I don't want to come off as a curmudgeon in regards to IM!

I don't get angry about IM, per se, but I think it is more my brain gets on a track, picks up steam, and it's hard to switch directions.

Usually when I get brain-deep into something, and get asked a question on a different topic, I feel like I've been drugged. I can feel my mouth moving, hear the words, but I know I'm not making a lick of sense. My IM aversion I think is to the benefit of everyone, honestly.

But, if you need something, please don't hesitate to IM! I won't bite.

Chris Butler | December 10, 2009 12:00 AM

Nolan, This is why I really appreciated the book SEND: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home. At first glance, I thought the book would be somewhat of a joke, or at least gimmicky. But it really had some helpful thoughts that I've put into daily practice since.

I was so enthusiastic about this that I had the entire account management team read the book and I even wrote a blog post highlighting what I thought were the 5 best ways to send better email. My favorite was #4:

4. 'There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.'

Donald Rumsfeld was given a hard time for this quote, but he's actually right. In fact, one of Eric's favorite quotes ('The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.' ) points out that we often assume we know things that we don't, or that others know things that they don't. It's good to know that there are things you don't know- thanks, Rummy! This problem runs rampant in email, so never assume that the recipient of your message will know what you're talking about. Unfortunately, writing a huge email with lots of back-story won't necessarily do the trick either. Because people tend to get so much email now, thorough reading of long emails is not a guarantee. This means that your job is even tougher. You'll need to make sure that your email as comprehensive as needed but also as succinct as possible. Simple tricks like making sure that major points, instructions, or questions have their own line will make it easier for your recipients to pay attention and follow up. Also, if you are sending the email to multiple recipients, try highlighting particular information for them.

- Chris

Nolan | December 10, 2009 12:00 AM

Finding that correct balance of too-much info and not enough is a tough one (at least for me). I probably fall on the side of too much backstory, but I lean that way for fear of getting an email back that says, 'What are you talking about?'

One trick is that I try to make sure that before I use a pronoun in an email that I've stated who that actual person, place, or thing is. 'He got back to me about...' is a bad way to start off an email I'd bet 90% of the time. Who is 'he?'

I realize that every email doesn't have to stand on its own as a literary accomplishment, but the little things, like fleshed-out thoughts, complete sentences, and acceptable grammar goes a LONG way for comprehension and cuts down on the subsequent emails clarifying exactly what the original author thought he was conveying.

Thanks for the comment, Chris.