Business Comm unit 5

most preferred channel of business messages

e-mail

approx. how many hours businesspeople spend each day on email

2 hours

appropriate use of email

-Longer, more involved, and well-organizedmessages providing or requesting information or responding to inquiries

-Effective for multiple recipients and messages that must be
archived (saved)

-Cover document when sending longer attachments

inappropriate use of email

Not a substitute for face-to-face conversations or telephone calls

components of an email

subject line, opening, body, closing

controlling your inbox

check email at set times

apply the “two minute rule” if you can read it and respond within two minutes take care of it immediately

when is it best to use face-to-face conversations or telephone calls

•Convey enthusiasm or warmth

•Explain a complex situation

•Present a persuasive argument

•Smooth over disagreements

benefits of texting

-you can communicate quickly, convenient, direct, texts can be automated, texts get opened, customers actually respond, creates a paper trail

risks of texting

phishing schemes, viruses, and malware

potential for leaks of privileged information

evidence in lawsuits, subject to discovery

another distraction

inappropriate uses while on company business can expose organization to legal liability

best practices for email

keep tone professional

avoid vague subject lines and keep them descriptive and short

use proper punctuation and practice good grammar

choose email salutation carefully

triple check your recipients name

use ‘reply all’ sparingly

respond in 24 hours or say when you will

think before forwarding

email etiquette

every line should end with a terminal punctuation mark.

use question marks sparingly

if formal use a colon, if casual use comma

appropriate email salutations

down-editing

inserting your responses to parts of the incoming message.