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Email etiquette – listen

Michael Einstein of Email Overload Solutions recently wrote about listening properly before replying.   For us at Mesmo Consultancy this so resonated with all we say about think before hitting send we wanted to share it with you (and for which he gave us permission).

Listening is a critical part of communication. It is an activity many people take for granted yet perform quite poorly.  Active listening can help greatly improve your communication with others.

It is very easy to “hear” but can be very difficult to actually “listen”. Have you ever found yourself planning a response to someone before they even finished speaking?

Has listening just become a game of waiting for the time for when someone stops speaking so that you can start talking yourself? This is where active listening can be improve your communication abilities. Stephen R. Covey, author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change”, wisely said:

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply”.

How many time have you hit send before you have really read and thought through what the sender is saying?   Here are Mesmo Consultancy’s top five tips to improve your email listening and communication skills.

Email listening

1. Practice slow and quiet email etiquette. Wait at least five minutes before replying to an email and if needs be re-read the email.
2. Check that you have read to the end of the email.
3. Review your response before hitting send and ensure you have answered all the questions/points raised.
4. Avoid complex words and long sentences which others may not understand.
5. Use the 3S’s of email communications:  Structured: Simple words: Succinct.

Click here to check your personal email etiquette.  For more help on listening well to improve business email communications contact us about our Brilliant Email workshops and masterclasses.

Tags: Business email communications, email communications, email etiquette, Listening, Michael Einstein, Quiet Email, Quite email, Slow email

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