Short Workplace Messages and Digital Media eet a tg Learning Outcomes ‘After studying this chapter, you should be able to do the following: and format of e-mails and memos in the digital era workplace 2 Explain workplace mes saging and texting includ ing their liabilities and best practices 3. Identify professional applications of business podcasts and the profes: sional standards underpin hing them. 4. Describe how businesses = = Use blogs to connect with = e ¥ internal and external audiences ~ Sloe errerterret ere eral rd 6 Pec areal eee ete ( Jsers create, edit, as well as media, The ur virtual and real-life ‘ime, our reliance on between online and offline is bec s intertwine. As we engage es ancl other electronic device nmIn many businesses ever-smaller laptops, netbooks, smartphones, and tablets are making desktop computers obsolete, Powerful mobile devices largely access data and applications stored in the cloud—in remote networks—not on individual computers in an office. Virtual private networks (VPNs) offer secure access to organizations’ information from any location in the world that provides an Internet connection. For better or for worse, businesspeople are increasingly connected 24/7, Even if you are Internet and social media savvy, you may need to know how businesses use communication technologies to transmit and share information. This chapter discusses short forms of workplace communication, beginning with e-mail, which many workers love to hate, and memos, which are fading away but still necessary in many organizations. Furthermore, you will learn about workplace messaging, intero‘fice chat applications, and comprehensive internal communication platforms. You will study business podcasts, corporate blogs, and professional sacial media use before exploring many contemporary cyberthreats. Familarizing yourself with workplace technologies and best practices can save you time, reduce blunders, and boost your credibility as a professional 8-la E-Mail: Going Strong at Fifty Workplace e-mail is unlikely to go away. Roughly 50 years after the first e-mail was sent, ‘otal e-mail traffic keeps growing 4 percent a year worldwide! Office workers receive on average 120 messages a day; globally, 125 billion business e-mails are exchanged daily” Despite chat, texting, and mobile messaging of all kinds, most business messages are stil sent by e-mail Moreover, when it comes to marketing, e-mail is very much alive and kicking, as we will see in Chapter 8. Tech expert Alexis Madrigal is one of many staunch defenders of e-mail. “You can't kill email!” he claims. “I's the cockroach of the Internet, and I mean that as a compliment, This resilience is a good thing." Neither social media, augmented reality, and video chatting, nor phishing, hacking, and spam have diminished the high importance of e-mail in the workplace, Not even popular workplace applications such as the team communication and collaboration tool Slack are likely to replace e-mail anytime soon.* One e-mail proponent argues that e-mails technologically far superior to social media, messaging, and collaboration platforms; he offers advice on turning e-mail into the biggest, “least-distracting,” and most sophisticated social network, but one thats offering greater privacy. E-mail has replaced paper memos for many messages inside organizations and some letters to external audiences. Most businesspeople (85 percent) now first open their e-mail on mobile devices Because you can expect to use e-mail extensively to communicate at work, it's smart to learn how to do it expertly. You may have to adjust the messaging practices you currently follow for texting, chatting, and posting on Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook, but turning out professional e-mails is an easily attainable goal 8-Ib Common Complaints About E-Mail Although e-mails recognized as the mainstay of business communication, it's not always done well. Business journalist Suzy Welch is emphatic that sloppiness and mistakes are not an option: “You may like to write off-the-cut, tvain-of thought messages, because it’s fast and easy," she says, "but no one wants to receive them, (OK? No one.”” Author Vicky Oliver insists that more than one typo per e-mail is. unprofessional, She also complains about impersonal “one-line emails that are so transactional they sound like an automaton is responding.” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is eager to hire graduates with liberal arts backgrounds because writing skills in general are increasingly harder to find, he laments. Chapter 5: Short Workplace Messages and Digital Media LEARNING OUTCOME Examine the professional usage, structure, and format of e-mails and memos in the digital era workplace lide ae INSIDER Fz adem “T can see email lasting tens of thou- sands of years, as preposterous as that Sounds. IF email ever killed, it will be replaced with some- thing that has alts virtues and ll its problems as wel. 1's an open system that anyone can partici pate in and that has 2 global namespace It’s a protocol that’s decades old and has thousands of clients. that support it” Stowart Butorild, EO of Slack Technologies 13OFFICE*~| E19 “Email never goes away, ever, ever, ever The rule of thumb is if you wouldn't say it to your mother, don't put it in an email. Emails are archived like crazy. They are fon servers you have never heard of.” Judith Kallos, etiquette expert 14 E-Mail Overload. In addition to the complaints about confusing and poorly written ‘e-mails, many people are overwhelmed with too many messages. Workers report that they spend about five hours a day reading and writing e-mail—approximately three hours on work e-mail and two hours on personal messages Social computing expert Gloria Mark says that e-mail use is about being in control, stressing out workers wno struggle in vain to bring down their clogged inboxes to zero. For a study Mark cut off participants from e-mail for a week and found significant reductions in stress levels.” Each dlay more than 4 billion glabal e-mail users exchange almost 310 billion e-mails." Some of those messages are unnecessary, such as those that merely confirm receipt ‘of a message or ones that express thanks. The use of Reply allads ta the inbox, irritating those who have to skim and delete dozens of messages that barely relate to them, Others blame e-mail for eliminating the distinction between wark life and home Iife—now more than ever in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic because employees working remotely feel an urgency to be available 24/7 and respond immediately. ‘The Scary Permanence of Digital Messages. Still other e-mail senders fail to recognize how dangerous e-mail can be. After deletion, e-mail files stil eave trails on servers within and outside organizations. Long-forgotten messages may turn up in court cases as damaging and costly evidence—for example, BP engineer Brian Morel's e-mail to a colleague be 1e disastrous explosion of the Deepwater Horizon cil platform off the coast of Louisiana that killed 11 workers: "This has been a nightmare well which has. ‘everyone all over the place.” This and ather incriminating e-mails prompted BP to agree to a decade-long compensation process totaling $65 billion to settle 300 lawsuits." Organizations can legally monitor their staff's personal e-mail accounts too if the workers access them on the company’s computer network, Moreover, if employees set Up their company's e-mail on their smartphones, they have given their employer the right to remotely delete all personal data on that mobile device.” Even writers with nothing to hide should be concerned about wh: best bet is to put nothing in an e-mail message that you wouldn't post on your office door. Also be sure that you know your organization's e-mail policy before sending personal messages or forwarding work-related information to your personal e-mail account. Estimates suggest that almost 20 percent of bosses have fired an employee for Internet or e-mail-related misuse" Despite its dark side, e-mail has many advantages and remains a prime ‘communication channel. Therefore, it’s to your advantage to learn when and how to use it efficiently and safely. ‘ay come back to haunt them. Your 8.lc Knowing When E-Mail Is Appropriate Short informal messages mostly travel by text, instant message, or chat. In comparison, ‘e-mail is appropriate for longer, more invelved, and well-organized messages that may provide or request information and respond to inquiries. Itis especially effective for messages to multiple receivers and messages that must be archived (saved), An e-mail is also appropriate as a cover document when sending longer attachments, E-mail, however, is not a substitute for face-to-face conversations or telephone calls. These channels are much more successful if your goal is to convey enthusiasm or warmth, explain a complex situation, present a persuasive argument, or smooth over disagreements, One expert advises delivering messages in person when they “require a human moment”—thatis, those that are emotional, require negotiation, and relate to personnel” Researchers have found that people are 34 times more likely to comply with in-person requests than those sent by e-mail; the scholars also established that most office workers overestimate the persuasiveness of e-mail” 8-ld Composing Professional E-Mails Professional e-mails are quite different from messages you may send to friends. Instead ‘of casual words tossed off in haste, professional e-mails are well-considered messages ‘Chapter 5: Short Workplace Messages ane Digital Media‘that involve all three stages of the writing process. They have compelling subject lines, appropriate greetings, well-organized bodies, and complete closing information. The following writing plan will help you create information e-mails quickly. Information E-Mails SUBJECT LINE: Summarize the main idea in condensed form OPENING: Reveal the main idea immediately but in expanded form (complete sentences) Bopy: Explain and justify the main idea using headings, bulleted lists, and other high-skim techniques when appropriate CLOSING: Include (a) action information, dates, or deadlines; (o) a summary of the message; or (¢) closing thought. Draft a Compelling but Concise Subject Line. A crucial part of an e-mail sits subject line—not surprising when writers can expect that their messages will be viewed on mobile devices by busy people, Avoid meaningless statements such as Help, Urgent, or Meeting. Summarize the purpose of the message clearly and make the receiver want to open the message. Try to include a verb (Need You fo Attend Las Vegas Trade Show). In some instances the subject line can be the entire message (Meeting Location Changed to Conference Room I) Also be sure to adjust the subject ine if the topic changes after a thread of replies emerges. Subject lines should appear as combination of uppercase and lowercase letters—never in all lowercase letters or all caps, ened nc ace renee Budget Report Need You to Prepare a Budget Report Division Meeting Middle Atlantic Division Meeting Rescheduled for April 22 Important! Please Schedule Your OSHA Safety Training Parking Permits New Employee Parking Permits Available From HR Include a Greeting, To help receivers see the beginning of a message and to help ‘them recognize whether they are the primary or secondary receiver, include a greeting, also called a salutation, The greeting sets the tone for the message and reflects your audience analysis. For friends and colleagues, try friendly greetings (Hi, Lara; Thanks, Lara; Good morning, Lara; or Greetings, Lara). For more formal messages and those to outsiders, include an honorific and last name (Dear Ms. Ingram). When a given name is gender-neutral (unisex), andl the gender of identity is not known, omit the honorific. Use the full name of the recipient instead (Dear Robin Gray) Organize the Body for Readability and Tone. In the revision phase, ask yourself how you could make your message mare readable. Did you start directly? Did you group similar topics together? Could some information be presented with bulleted or numbered lists? Could you add headings—especially if the message contains more than 2 few paragraphs? Do you see any phrases or sentences that you could condense? Get rid of wordiness, but don't sacrifice clarity. Ifa longer sentence is necessary for comprehension, then keep it. To convey the best tone, read the message aloud. Ifit sounds curt, it probably is. Chapter 5: Short Workplace Messages and Digital Media sears aN) usOFFICE*~| E19 The difficulty of expressive writing ist new... but what's relatively recent isthe over- whelming amount of electronic exchanges we have with people whose personalities we only know digi- tally. Without the benefit of vocal inflections or physi- cal gestures, it can be tough to tel e-sar- castic from e-serious, or e-cold from e-for- mal, or e-busy from e-angry.® Erie Jatt eitr and author 16 Close Bifectively. At the end of your message, include an action statement with due dates and requests. Although complimentary closes are unnecessary, you might include a friendly closing such as Many thanks or Warm regards. Do include your name because messages without names become confusing when forwarded or when they are part of a long thread of responses For most messages, include full contact information in a signature block, which your ‘e-mail application can insert automatically, Medel Document 5.1 illustrates a ‘ypical information e-mail that starts directly and displays proper formatting, It also illustrates how a draft can be revised to improve readability. 8-le Keeping Your Inbox in Check Instead of letting your inbox consume your time and crimp your productivity, you ‘can contral it hy observing a few time-management strategies. The most important strategy is checking your e-mail at set times, such as fist thing in the morning and again after lunch or at 4 p.m. To avoid being distracted, be sure to turn off your audio and visual alerts. No fair peeking! If mornings are your best working times, check your ‘e-mail later in the day. Discuss with our boss your schedule for responding and share it with your colleagues. Another excellent time-saver is the two-minute rule. you can read and respond toa message within two minutes, then take care of it immediately. For messages that require more time, add them to your to-do list or schedule them on your calendar. To be polite, send a quick note telling the sender when you plan to respond. Blogger and podcaster Merlin Mann suggests that "Your job is not to read an email and then read it again.” Instead, he recommends taking one of five steps right away: delete, delegate, respond, defer, or do.” 8-1f Replying Efficiently With Down-Editing When answering e-mail, a useful skill to develop is dewn-editing, This involves inserting your responses to parts of the incoming message. After a courteous opening, your reply message wil include only the parts of the incoming message to which you are responding. Delete the sender's message headers, signature, and all unnecessary parts, Your responses can be identified with your initals if more than one person will be seeing the response. Another efficient technique is to use a different font color for your down-edits I takes a litle practice to develop this skill, particularly formatting the e-mail, but the down-edited reply reduces confusion, saves writing and reading time, and makes you look professional. Figure 5.1 shows additional best practices for managing your e-mail 8-1g Writing Interoffice Memos In adcltion to e-mail, you should be familiar with another workplace clocument type, the interoffice memorandum. Although e-mail has largely replaced memos, you may still be called on to use the meme format in specific instances. Memos are necessary for important internal messages that (are too ong for e-mail, (b) require a permane record, (@) demand formality oc) inform employees who may not have work e-mail, such as those in manufacturing or construction. Within organizations, memos deliver changes in procedures, official instructions, and reports The memo formats particularly necessary for complex, lengthy internal messages Prepared as memos, long messages are then delivered as attachments to e-mail cover messages, Memos seem to function better as permanent records than e-mail messages because the latter may be cumbersome to store and may contain a long thread of confusing replies. E-mails also may change the origination date whenever the file is accessed, thus making it impossible to know the original date of the message. ‘Chapter 5: Short Workplace Messages ane Digital MediaModel Document 5.1 Creating an Information E-Mail ‘Angel Fuentes From: Harley Domine Inco intonnatve From: Harley Dominic subject ine ‘Subject: How to Improve Our Customer Databace a Angel. ‘States purpose [As you requested, am submiting my recommendations for improving our customer oneisely nthe database. The database has two problems. Fis, contains many names of individu ‘pening and high- ogee ‘als wha have not made purchases in five or more years. Second, the format is nat ‘compatible with the new Access software used by our maling service, “The following three steps, however, should solve both prablems: 1. Start a new database, Erecveimmecitely, enter the names ofall naw customers in anew dalabase using Access sftwa ‘organizes main pals n numbered 2. Determine the status of customers in our old database. Send outa mating ask Fetter readabiy Ing whether reciolents wish to continue receiving our e-mail updates and product ‘announcements, 3. Rokey the names of ative customers, Entr the names of al responding ‘customersin our new database so that we have only one actve database. ‘Closes with key ‘These changes will enable you, as team leader, to send mailings ony to active beret, deacine, ‘customers. Pease lt me know by May 13 whether you think these recommendations aninent action ‘are workable. Io, | wil investigate costs before starting work on our spring campaign, Harley soy Domine | Senior Markstng Mansger dominie@rubych com [316-435-4008 CChapter 5: Short Workplace Messages and Digital Media WwFigure 5.1 Best Practices for a Better E-mail 18 When preparing e-mail attachments, be sure that they carry sufficient identifying information. Because the attachment may become separated from the cover e-mail message, it must be named thoughtfully, Preparing the e-mail attachment as a memo provides a handy format that identifies the date, sender, receiver, and subject. ‘Comparing Memos and E-Mails. Memos have much in common with e-mails. Both usually carry nonsensitve information that may be organized directly with the main idea first. Both have guide words calling for a subject line, a dateline, and the identification of the sender and receiver. To enhance readability, both should be organized with headings, bulleted lists, and enumerated items whenever possible Similarities. E-mails and memos both generally close with (a) action information, dates, or deadlines; (b) a summary of the message: or (e) a closing thought. {An effective memo or e-mail closing might be Please create a slideshow featuring our new product line by April 20 so that we are prepared for the trade show in May. In more detailed messages, a summary of main points may be an appropriate closing Ifno action request is made and a closing summary is unnecessary, you might end with a simple concluding thought (Im glad to answer your questions or This sounds like a worthwhile project. Differences. You need not close messages to coworkers with goodiill statements ‘such as those found in e-mails or letters to customers and clients. However, some ‘losing thought is often necessary to avoid sounding abrupt, Closings can show gratitude or encourage feedback with remarks such as I sincerely appreciate your help, ‘or What are your ideas on this proposal? Other closings look forward to what's next, such as How would you like to proceed? Avoid closing with overused expressions such as Please let me know if| may be of further assistance. This ending souncis mechanical and insincere. In Medel Document 5.2, notice how interoffice memos are formatted and how they ‘can be created to improve readability with lists, tables, and white space. Chapter 5: Short Workplace Messages an Digital Media,Model Document 5.2 Formatting an Interoffice Memo Ane al heading words vt those folowing ‘Subject Leaves side ——+ margins of 128 nenee ‘omits a cosing —+ and signature 41 inch On-Camera Audience Services ¥2 blank lines MEMORANDUM ¥2 blank lines Date: June 10, 2022 41 blank tine To: Avi Alvarado, President 41 blank line rom: Eden Silva, Spocial Bvents Manager 2 41 blank line ‘Subject: Bnhancing Our Website ¥10r2 blank tines ‘As you requested, 1am submitting the following suggestions for improving oar website, Services is growing ata startling rate, we must use ou Website more Stratogieal. Hore are three eugyestions 1. Explain Purpose, Our website should explain our purpose more explictiy, We -—_ specialize in providing customized and responsive audiences for studio prod chions and avrard shows, The website shoud distingvish between auaienee ‘hembere and seat filers, Audience members have a reat for the entire aping of a show. Seat filles sit in the empty seats of celebrity presenters or perfor ‘here co that she front section does no: look empry to rhe home audience. 2. List Bvents. I suggest that our Web designer include a listing such ag the following ee that readers recognize ‘he events and services We provide: ‘Audience Members Fillers and Ushers — Event Provided Last Year Provided Last Veer Daytime Emmy Awards 53 6 Grammy Awards 3 ” Golden Globe Awards 2 2 Seroon Actore Guild Awards 33, i6 3. Answer Questions, Our website should provide answers to frequently asked (questions such as the following: Do audience members or eat flles have to pay to attend the event? How often do seat filers have to move around? Will seat filers be on camera? ‘Our website can be more informative and boost our business remarkably swe Implement tome of these ideas. Are you ffee to ‘alk about these suggestions at iOam on Tuesday, June 18? L provides ters hancwriten| (orelectens) Ina ater Printed name na ite Uses ragzed tne ending—not sted margin L presente data in columns wth heaaings and white space for easy acing Chapter 5: Short Workplace Messages and Digital Media ns