Computer Mediated Communication, or CMC for short, is a relatively
new field of technical communication. If one wants to keep a job
or at least present a pleasant demeanor when using e-mail, there
are writing techniques to consider while engaging in its practice.
There are all kinds of dangers inherent in CMC, not the least
of which is the danger of any kind of instantaneous communication,
especially on the job or as a member of a large organization.
People also sometimes have a tendency to bond with their equipment--to
think that they are anonymous computer users, and that they can
hide behind the screen, but nothing could be further from the
truth. There is always a paper trail, and there is always an individual
who reads your words.
At most organizations which utilize electronic mail, there is
usually someone who uses the online system indiscriminately. Those
individuals damage their professional credibility, create enemies,
and usually end up being ignored by many people, few of whom tell
them how they are really perceived or why. With very little effort
on the part of the writer, this can be avoided.
Consider that an enormous amount of work is conducted online.
At many colleges, for instance, e-mail is not just used as a communication
device. New policies and procedures are shared, written, and responded
to online. Committee work is conducted online. The faculty have
a teaching group where they discuss new methods of training, teaching,
and assignments. Students have a separate distribution list which
is used to share needed information about courses, scholarships,
academic deadlines, and activities. All of this occurs in writing,
and much of it requires cooperation, timeliness, good manners,
and an understanding of audience.
Therefore, remember the following writing guidelines when practicing
CMC:
Practice style, grace, and good manners. Never
name-call; give people ample time to respond to you, and use
the words "please" and "thank you."
When you receive an e-mail from someone that
you would like to respond to (such as a survey from a fellow
student), do not respond to the entire group. Most systems allow
you to choose "A" for answer, and then may give you
a prompt, such as "do you wish to reply to all addresses
[A] or to the sender only [S]?" Choose to answer the sender
in order to avoid flooding the distribution list with an answer
that only pertains to one person.
Don't attempt to sell anything over e-mail at
your place of employment. Don't announce your yard sale or even
your favorite charitable organization's latest event. Whatever
you do, don't send or answer a chain letter, and avoid sending
out any e-mail of a personal nature or any e-mail about others.
At the very least, your system administrator will strongly disapprove,
but you could also open yourself up to a slander lawsuit.
AVOID WRITING IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE IT SOUNDS
LIKE YOU ARE YELLING AT YOUR READER. AND IF YOU ARE NOT YELLING,
YOU MUST BE SHOWING SOME KIND OF DISGUST OR ANGER OR CONTINUAL
EMPHASIS. IRRITATING, ISN'T IT? SOMETIMES PEOPLE WRITE ENTIRE
POSTS THIS WAY, AND THEY JUST GO ON AND ON AND THE READER'S
BLOOD PRESSURE JUST GOES UP AND UP, BUT THE WRITER HAS NO IDEA
HE OR SHE IS INFLUENCING THE READER IN A PHYSICAL WAY. WHY DO
PEOPLE DO THIS? ONE REASONS IS BECAUSE IT'S EASIER TO MAKE ALL
THE LETTERS IN ONE CASE. ANOTHER IS BECAUSE IT HAS JUST NEVER
OCCURRED TO THE WRITER HOW THE E-MAIL AFFECTS OTHERS. It's unintentional.
Use all caps for headings or emphasis only.
Make your e-mails as short as possible and divide them into
lots of paragraphs. It's difficult enough to read on a computer
screen without the writer making it even more difficult, and
studies have shown that typefaces which are all caps are more
difficult to read in any circumstances.
Use boldfacing carefully. Overusing it is exactly
like highlighting every sentence in a book. The emphasis is
lost and the post becomes difficult to read.
For informal messages, use emoticons :-) or
bracketed expressions <grin>, especially when your meaning
might be unclear. This is a difficult step for many people.
Some folks hate "smiley faces" and have since the day
they first saw one bouncing off a t-shirt with the comment "have
a nice day" beneath it, so they can't imagine using them
on a daily basis. But such expressions go a long way to clarify
your meaning, and bracketed expressions help even more. Inserting
<smile> or <grin> into a few posts, especially when
writers want to make sure they are understood, is useful.
Irony and sarcasm are very difficult to get
across without body language, and you can really hurt someone's
feelings or create anger unless you know this. Avoid using them
or if you must, team them with emoticons or bracketed expressions.
Avoid writing a thoughtless reaction, no matter
how tempting. If someone writes something that you find disagreeable
or that really just irks you, allow time to pass before you
answer. If you answer on the quick, your tone will show that
you're angry, and the situation will almost always escalate.
That might not happen in a f2f (face-to-face) situation, because
when something is in writing, it acts as a permanent reminder
of what was said. It may be printed out and used in your personnel
file, for all you know. Keep your cool.
Don't send offensive language or jokes over
e-mail. For many years, people have circulated written office
jokes or told them. They're usually sexist and occasionally
offensive. But the fact is, those manually circulated jokes
are still circulated to familiar people f2f. If you circulate
them over e-mail, you are bound to genuinely offend someone.
If you're a member of a distribution list and
someone says something you agree with, avoid answering with
a one-liner such as "I agree!" or "Good point!"
Others on the distribution list may receive hundreds of e-mail
messages a day. Not only does your comment clutter up their
mailbox, but they may have no idea to which e-mail you were
referring. Or they may not read your e-mail until several days
later--long after the discussion has gone on to other matters.
Go ahead and agree or praise the writer, but either add to the
discussion yourself or write to them privately.
When you answer an e-mail, it is often desirable
to quote one or two lines from the post you are responding to,
especially when time has gone by. Doing so puts your answer
in context and acts as a reminder of the subject. This is really
useful when you're writing several different e-mails to someone
about several topics. Generally, the quote is preceded by a
> sign, and is at the top or the bottom of your document.
Some e-mail platforms do this automatically when you hit reply.
Others do not.
When you're answering an e-mail, be sure and
answer any questions you were asked by the sender. It's frustrating
to have questions or comments ignored and to have to ask them
again. Avoid putting your foot in your mouth. Don't make blanket
assumptions about everyone in your group.
Avoid discussing religion and politics. Never
attack people verbally, even if they are not reading the e-mail.
They'll probably find out about it, and your words will haunt
you.
Know thy audience. Don't send useless information
to everyone on the distribution list. Don't send copies of your
e-mail to others unless you have a specific purpose in mind.
If you are sending confidential information by e-mail (never
a good idea), clearly mark it as such. And avoid sending blanket
e-mails which are received by people who are not involved in
your topic or don't need the information.
When engaged in synchronous communication, for
instance, talking to others in a web board chat room, emoticons
are used even more. In business situations, most people are
more comfortable using bracketed expressions. In an Internet
chat room, there are all kinds of other expressions which have
become a kind of shorthand. They include "brb" for
"be right back," "lol" for "laughs
out loud," or "btw" for "by the way."
Avoid using those expressions in e-mail (they don't usually
make sense to all your readers and may make them feel left out)
and save them for the correct platform.
Check for accuracy in your e-mail. Not only
should you check spelling and punctuation, but check dates,
times, and locations as well, and make sure you say clearly
what it is you want to say.
Don't discuss sensitive or personal matters
over e-mail. It rarely works.
Be forgiving of people who break these rules.
Almost everyone has at one time or another.
