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[C538]Check My Email Messages

by Mike Mccoy, Mik

Whether these emails are cheerful notes to friends or just another boring business update, each one of these messages carries a personal impact. Even this newsletter, which is mailed to 82,000 people, touches you personally.

If you're not sure how personal this can be, then consider the continuing controversy over SPAM. I've found it fascinating to watch how upset some people become when they receive unsolicited emails. Clearly, they feel that this is a crime against God and against man. The only fair punishment is death.

See, it's very personal.

Yet, many of these same people who decry the unwanted intrusion into their lives, will send out the nastiest email messages you'll ever see. Miss Manners would be astounded to read some of the things I've received from people I don't know, who don't know me and have no nexus with me.

When people are in public places, we are constrained by two forces. One is the simple fact of being overheard publicly. We know there are certain things you just don't do in public. The other constraint is our inability to be naturally articulate at the time when we need it most.

But, if you give some people the opportunity to carefully craft an email so they can give vent to the vitriol that's in their souls, and it's amazing what some people will do. They will virtually foam at the mouth and spray invectives like they're coming out of a fire hose.

When I speak with other Internet entrepreneurs, they agree that this is a growing trend. What's most interesting is that the vast majority of these messages simply have no basis for the sender to be even mildly upset.

I received a fascinating email this week from an attorney who was apparently venting his own frustrations at the world. This email accused me of being a charlatan and masquerading as an attorney. While this man was clearly upset about something, I could not fathom the purpose of this email.

I sent back a simple request for more information about why he might be so angry. Maybe he was a customer who did not receive a product. Maybe he was a subscriber who didn't like this newsletter and wanted off the list.

He never responded. All he wanted to do was lash out at someone because he is so unhappy with himself. He wanted to make his problem into my problem.

For those of us conducting business online, we have to always remember how personal each email message is that we send. On the other hand, we have to avoid being personally involved with, or offended by, many of the messages we receive.

Jargon is the language you use to discuss issues within your corporation (e.g., XYZ Widget Company), within your industry (e.g., insurance), or within your type of position (e.g., marketing). This language can be made up of technical terms, abbreviations, and acronyms.

The difficulty with jargon is that only those people within the group (whatever the group is) understand it. Technical terms and acronyms that may be fine for interoffice email correspondence wouldn't be appropriate when communicating with someone outside the group, such as customers.

Know the Audience

When determining what, if any, jargon to use, keep the audience in mind. What “group” is this reader a member of? Will he/she understand these acronyms or abbreviations? When in doubt, avoid the abbreviation, and spell it out.

Recognize that jargon doesn't just refer to job-related issues. If you work for a corporation, you use terms that are unique to your industry. If you are sending an email to someone outside your industry, you will need to review the message and remove any potentially confusing industry terms.

Example

Using different forms of jargon, here are a few examples of responses to the same inquiry:

“Where do you work?”

1. (Who is asking): Someone in the same department

(Response): I work in CRT.
[This stands for Customer Resource Team.]

2. (Who is asking): Someone in the same company

(Response): I work for HLICO.
[This stands for Happy Life Insurance Company.]

3. (Who is asking): A working person who is outside the industry

(Response): I work for an insurance company.

4. (Who is asking): A young child

(Response): I help people save money today, so they can buy candy bars and ice cream later.

It's important to remember that the language you use in your everyday work environment is unique. Using this language with the wrong person can cause him/her to become embarrassed or confused. You don't want to appear condescending to a customer or coworker.

Be aware of when jargon is appropriate and when it's not. When you know the difference, more effective communication will follow.

Article Source : Where To Recycle Computers

About Author

Both Mike Mccoy & Kelly Watkins are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Mike Mccoy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cars, Seat Cover and Web Development. If you are interested in rapidly growing your internet business and increasing your website traffic, check out Shawn Casey's proven steps at . Mike Mccoy's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.

Kelly Watkins has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Real Estate and Computers and The Internet. . Kelly Watkins's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.