In my previous blog I made it EASY when writing about effective email communication. I decided this time to make it a bit more difficult and even perhaps irritating.  The point:  don’t write email like this one and don’t make your email UGLY!

If you can’t remember, E.A.S.Y. represents Edifying, Accurate, Succinct and authentically You.  Are you kidding me?  You forgot that already!  Come on man! Maybe you will do better this time and be able to remember U.G.L.Y., since UGLY is how many emails get written.  Like one I recently received, and someone told me that expectations weren’t met without even telling me which ones.  And as an aside, I strongly disagreed but chose not to engage in verbal battle with someone who would write such an email. But that is beside my point today.  I am talking about U.G.L.Y. here so “off” I go!

Unplugged: disorganized, not clear, concise, succinct, accurate or relevant to the point you want to make email can be hard to follow, uninteresting and annoying – not to mention ineffective.  i.e. Subject Line:  How to Write Better Letters (boring!).   Body: ‘Today we are going to learn how to do a better job of communicating.  Oh yes, communicating is a big topic I know.  We could talk for days about communicating.  We could talk for days about telephone conversations.  We could talk for days about email conversations.  We could talk for days about business meetings . . .. Blah, blah, blah.  So, what then should we talk about?  I don’t really have a clue.  Can you tell?”

Gouging: attacking the message recipient and trying to gouge out their eyes so that they can no longer see how smart you aren’t, and only can hear how stupid they are, how much better you are than they are and how PERFECT you are and how utterly imperfect (though true) they are can distract from any real meaning or value in an email.  i.e. ‘If I thought you were able to understand what I am attempting to deliver in this message I would do a better job of writing it so that you could understand it . . .. but you aren’t at that level so I won’t.”  Ouch!

Loose: saying things that ought not to be said can be a very dangerous practice that gets all of us in trouble.  Take it from me, because I have been there.  Let me illustrate.   You are emailing a female business associate and I use words like: “sexy, really fun time, our little secret, over a few drinks we can talk about that”, etc. and instantly I am in deep sneakers (trouble) and I am creating an impression that I may later regret.  Another illustration.  You are emailing a guy and using words like: “you are an IDIOT!, I will kick you AXX! “and so on.  Or: “I talked to the CEO and she told me that you were on thin ice with her.”  Take the knife out now, it is plenty bloody!   “Loose lips sink ships”

 Meaning:

Unguarded talk may give useful information to the enemy.

Origin:

This phrase was coined as a slogan during WWII as part of the US Office of War Information’s attempt to limit the possibility of people inadvertently giving useful information to enemy spies. The slogan was actually ‘Loose Lips Might Sink Ships. This was one of several similar slogans which all came under the campaigns basic message – ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’.

The slogan was in use by 1942, as this example from the Maryland paper The News, May 1942 shows:

As Countians [attendees at the local county school] registered in the high school lobby before the opening of the meeting, they were surrounded on all sides by placards bearing such admonitions as “Loose Lips Might Sink Ships”, “Defense On The Sea Begins On The Shore”, “Defense In The Field Begins In The Factory” and other patriotic creeds and slogans.

I’m sure you get the point by now since I have beaten you over the head with it!

Your: personal playground for pounding people, unhealthy ideas using the word or sound including “Y”: REALLY?!?!?. YELLING in email, only you, yes-yes-yes!, yearning (to a fault) to take the message to an inappropriate level.  i.e. This is totally outrageous and ridiculous and not even close to funny!  Be careful of the use of adjectives . . .they can be misinterpreted and project appearances that paint a negative picture of you, your company and your purpose.  Bragging, focusing on “you” versus “them” and being unreasonable in your accusations or requests (for “your” purposes) are all “your” problems with this type of email and that makes the email UGLY!