When Not To Use E-Mail.

Question:

For many people email has become the preferred method of communication. It is a fast, efficient way to share ideas and information across the office or the world, but some situations still merit a phone call or face-to-face conversation. Here are 7 situations when you should avoid using email.

1. A message is extremely important or confidential, and you cannot risk a breach of privacy. Never use email to communicate proprietary corporate information. With millions of hidden readers and dastardly hackers lurking in cyberspace, email simply is not secure.

2. You want to conduct negotiations or hold a give-and-take conversation.
Whether you want to negotiate a price reduction with a supplier or persuade your supervisor to give you a pay raise, dialogues that call for back-and-forth discussion are best be held on the phone or in person.

3. You need to conduct a lengthy interview with a long list of questions that call for detailed answers.

4. You want to deliver bad news or discuss an emotionally charged matter.
Without the benefit of facial expressions, intonation, and body language, hurt feelings could ensue and flame wars could erupt if you deliver bad news electronically.

5. You seek an immediate response from someone who may not check email regularly or who has a tendency to procrastinate.

6. You run the risk of intimidating or turning off the reader with a written message.

7. You suspect your written message may be misunderstood or misconstrued.

Excerpted from The ePolicy Handbook ©2001 and Writing Effective E-Mail © 1998
©Copyright 2002, 2001, The ePolicy Institute™. All content is the property of The ePolicy Institute