Effective Email -

How to communicate powerfully by email

When you're trying to locate some information in an e-mail someone sent you a few
weeks back, what helps you find it quickly? If the sender included the information you
want in a long message covering lots of points, the chances are that it will take you time
to find it. Worse, if the sender is someone you communicate with regularly, and he or she
ust pressed !eply to a previous message about a different point, the heading of the mail
you need won't actually be related to the information you want.
"here are a few simple rules to ensure that your emails are read in the first place and stay
useful to the recipient.
Subject Lines are Headlines
"he headline in a newspaper does two things# It grabs your attention and informs you
what the article is about so you can decide whether you want to read further. $mail
subect lines need to do the same thing. %se the subect line to inform the receiver of
$&'(")* what the email is about in a few well-chosen words. *ou might include a call
to action such as +,lease respond by - .ovember+, and if your message is one of a
regular series of mails, such as a weekly proect report, include the date in the subect line
too.
/ecause everyone gets emails they do not want 0spam1, appropriate use of the subect line
increases the chances your email will be read and not deleted without so much as a
glance.
2f course, ust as it would be ridiculous to publish a newspaper without headlines, never
leave the subect line blank.
Make One Point per Email
"he beauty of email, compared with letters, is that it doesn't cost any more to send several
mails than it does to send one. 3o, if you need to communicate with someone about
several matters, write a separate email on each subect. "hat way your correspondent can
reply to each one in the appropriate time-frame. 2ne topic might only require a short
reply that he or she can make straight away. 'nother topic might require more research.
/y writing separate emails, you get clearer answers.
4owever, as with traditional business letters, the email should be clear and concise, with
the purpose of the email detailed in the very first paragraph. 3entences should be kept
short and to the point.
"he body of the email should contain all pertinent information 0see our articles on
Writing 3kills and on "he !hetorical "riangle1 and should be direct and informative.
Specify the esponse !ou "ant
5ake sure to include any call to action you desire, such as a phone call or follow-up
appointment. "hen, make sure you include your contact information, including your
name, title, and phone numbers. 6o this even with internal messages# "he easier you
make it for someone else to respond, the more likely they are to do so.

#e a $ood %orrespondent
If you regularly correspond using email, make sure to clean out your email inbo7 at least
once each day. "his is a simple act of courtesy and will also serve to encourage senders to
return your emails in a timely manner.
If a lengthy response is required to an email, but you don't have the time to pull together
the information required now, send a holding reply saying that you have received the
message, and indicating when you will respond fully.

'lways set your 2ut of 2ffice agent when you are going to be away from your email for
a day or more, whether on leave or because you're at meetings.
&nternal Email
Internal email should be checked regularly throughout the working day and returned in a
much quicker manner as it often involves timely proects, immediate updates, meeting
notes, and so on. .onetheless, internal emails, ust like other emails, should not be
informal. !emember, these are written forms of communication that can be printed out
and viewed by others than those originally intended for. 'lways use your spell checker,
and avoid slang.
Presentation Skills
8nowing how to deliver a presentation is as important as knowing the facts about the
landmines issue. 9ood speakers know how to share their information effectively:
Effective Presenters
While every presenter has their own unique style, in general, all effective presenters#
$ncourage participants to present their own ideas;
!ecogni<e that people need time to think before speaking;
5aintain a comfortable pace so that participants do not feel too rushed;
!eserve their own ideas and opinions until others have had time to respond;
'ccept each contribution with a positive comment;
$ncourage everyone to contribute, but keep the session focused;
're sensitive to cultural and value differences within the audience; and,
3et aside any personal biases.
Speak or En'a'e(
Is it possible to stand in front of an audience and ust speak to them about the landmines
issue? (ertainly. Is this the most effective way to engage your audience? ,robably not.
$ffective presenters do more than ust rattle off the facts. "hey spark discussion, include
interactive e7ercises, appeal to a variety of learning styles, and are creative and dynamic:
6ifferent people have distinct ways of learning and absorbing information. 3ome people
learn better by seeing things visually, other by hearing information, and still others by
doing things. 's a presenter your ob is to try to appeal to all these types of learners -to
talk, to use visual aids, and to have e7ercises that allow participants to e7perience in
some way what you are discussing.
5ost times your audience will know something about global issues or the landmines
issue. Instead of ust presenting information, ask the audience questions and allow time
for questions and discussions. If you pose questions to the audience towards the
beginning of the presentation it will help you to gauge the participants knowledge and
feelings about the issue. 'llow participants to share their knowledge and e7periences as
well. ,resenting is not a one way learning process. It is a dialogue between you and your
audience.
2ne way to increase audience participation is to make a question out of the information
you would like to convey. Instead of e7plaining how many countries in the world are
affected by landmines, ask the audience how many countries they think are affected by
landmines? Interactive e7ercises will help to create a positive dialogue with participants
where they have opportunities to share their own knowledge.
"he more senses you appeal to in your presentation the more likely your audience is to
retain the information and take action:
"e retain)
=>? of what we hear
@>? of what we see
A>? of what we hear and see
->? of what we hear, see and talk
B>? of what we hear, see, talk and do:
*now your +udience
*ou should give a different presentation to each different audience. ' presentation for a
church youth group will be very different from a presentation to a group of military
veterans. 'dapting your presentation to each audience may mean small changes to the
introduction or big changes to the order of the presentation. 8nowing your audience is
crucial so you can tailor your presentation to suit the participants.
Whenever possible get background information on your audience.
Who are they?
What is the age group?
6o they know much about global issues?
6o they know a great deal about the landmines issue or very little?
6o they know about the global landmines situa-tion, your local landmine situation,
neither or both?
're participants from war-affected communities?
4ave any participants been personally affected by landmines?
4ave participants taken action on the landminesissue or other social ustice issues
before?
4ow many participants will attend the presentation?
6o any of the participants have any special needs? 0i.e. require sign language
interpretation, wheel-chair
accessible facility1
6o the participants have specific issues they would like you to focus on?
"he more you know about your audience the more you will be able to prepare in advance
and adapt your presentation to meet their e7pectations. "his ensures the presentation will
meet their needs and goals as well as your own.
#ein' ,le-ible
Cle7ibility is crucial to delivering a landmines presentation. While you always want to
cover the basic information about the landmines issue, depending on your audience you
may wish to focus more on particular aspects of the issue. Cor e7ample, you may want to
focus on the landmines situation in a particular country, or you may want to focus on a
theme such as survivor assistance.
!egardless of what you plan to include in your presentation you must always be prepared
for change. ,erhaps more time is spent on discussion and you do not have time for a
planned activity. 5aybe during the presentation you reali<e that a planned e7ercise is not
appropriate for the audience, or maybe a pieceof needed audio-visual equipment is not
available or not working.
!emain calm, have back-up activities planned, and donDt get flustered if your
presentation doesnDt go according to schedule. !emember only you will know if the
presentation is different from the one you had planned beforehand:
Handlin' .ifficult Situations
!egardless of how much you prepare for a presentation, sometimes challenging situations
arise. It is best to think through beforehand how you would handle different situations.
"hen if any difficulties do arise, try and remain rela7ed and handle the situation as best
you can. Collowing are some challenges that may arise and some possible responses.
!emember that the appropriate response will vary for each audience, so adapt
accordingly.
/0 Participant is dominatin' the discussion
3ummari<e the participantDs viewpoint and then move on.
'sk others in the group for their input.
If you wish to discuss the issue further with the participant, ask to wait to continue the
discussion until a break.
10 Participant is movin' off topic
3ummari<e the participantDs viewpoint and move on.
'sk the participant to wait until later in the presentation to discuss the issue.
'ddress the fact that a different topic has been raised - E"his seems to be a different
issue,F - and restate the purpose of the dis-cussion, asking others for input.
20 Private %onversations
%se nonverbal methods to regain the participantDs attention 0make eye contact, move
closer1.
'sk one of them a question 0making sure to say the participantDs name first1.
'sk them to refrain from talking 0privately, if possible1.
30 4okes
,rivately ask the participants to minimi<e okes.
!esume the session after the humorous in-terections 0be as serious as possible1.
50 .isa'reein'
3ummari<e the participantsD viewpoint; ask others for their opinions.
'gree to disagree.
'gree in part, then state how you differ and why.
60 .istractions
%se nonverbal means to get the participantsD attention 0like eye contact1.
Ignore if the behavior is not detracting from the session.
,rivately ask the participant to stop.
70 Lateness
Ignore the behavior.
'dhere to time schedules; do not let every-one suffer for one personDs lateness.
!emind participants of time frames.
,rivately request promptness 0as a courtesy to the rest of the group, not ust to you1.
80 Participant is not actively involved
%se nonverbal means to draw the person into the discussion.
'sk direct but non-threatening questions.
)eave such participants alone 0ust because they are not participating does not mean
that they are not learning1.
90 .ifficult :uestions
If you are not able to answer a question then it is fine to say so:
'sk if anyone else in the group knows the answer.
)et the participant know that you will get back to them at a later date with the answer
- and make sure you get back to them:
*ou do not have to intervene every time a problem arises during your presentation. In
fact, if you are not comfortable you do not have to intervene at all. 2ften in a classroom
situation the teacher will intervene and assist in solving any problem situations. If a
participant is seriously disrupting your presentation and you feel comfortable then you
may wish to intervene if you do not think the individual will change the behavior on their
own. %se the suggestions above or use actions more appropriate in your community for
dealing with such situations.