Effective Online Communication

Contributed by Elaine Landau

Good online communication is key in this global marketplace. If you are not comfortable or familiar with e-mail and the Internet, now is the time to educate yourself.

Education is convenient, cost-effective, and you can learn at home. If you have basic computer education the next logical step is to explore basic Internet training. After one free Internet lesson or Internet tutorial, you’ll be ready to log on and open the door to all that the Internet has to offer. Please keep in mind that the door swings both ways. When you log onto sites, they are gaining information about you while you are exploring them. Soon, your name ends up on lists that are bought, sold, and rented for e-mail campaigns. Some are quite legitimate, and are some are dangerous. Before you open your next e-mail, be sure you know who sent it. And before you send your next e-mail, be sure it reflects you in the best light possible.

Does this sound familiar?
As a people person, it has been hard to wean myself off the telephone to start writing emails. At first, I was tentative. I put every communication through spell-check at least five times. I would worry about every comma, every sentence structure, everything. Now, I’ve become more relaxed. I much prefer typing a quick e-mail. It’s fast. It’s fun.

And that kind of thinking can get you in trouble. Now don’t get me wrong, when you are whipping off an e-mail to a close friend, you can be as relaxed as you please. But when you are communicating to a client, prospective customer, or anyone in the workplace, start to worry about comma placement again and continue overworking your spell-check. Why?

Being too familiar is not too smart
When you are writing to someone you have never met in person, it is likely that you do not know his/her national origin, religion, personal preferences, or customs. Does their religion prohibit them from working on certain days? Do customs prevent them from eating certain foods?

Your e-mail communications should be restricted to the business at hand. If you have a gnawing need to become friendly and funny, use it on the guy in the next cubicle, not in your e-mail communication. The person on the other end is counting on you to keep a professional demeanor and to keep communication clear, concise and on target. Wasting time with jokes or personal asides can be viewed by some cultures as a sign that you do not take the business relationship seriously. It can be an affront to some beliefs. You could be sabotaging your most promising account by just being you.

Many of us have work friends who include a favorite site referral in a business e-mail to lighten the office mood or brighten your day. Again, if the recipient is strictly a business associate, do not risk a site referral. Again, you have no way of gauging their response. The site could be completely offensive to their belief system and you would have no idea. Chances are they would simply stop communicating with you. If they wanted to continue doing business with your company, they would probably ask your superiors for another company contact. You may never know what you did, but you managed to sabotage your own career.

Keep communication clear and concise
Slang phrases and pop culture hip words are inappropriate for your online communication. The term “hot” means many different things to many different people. Avoid stereotypical assumptions in your messages. What is commonplace in your culture may be completely opposite in another. Do not assume English is the recipient’s first language. Only 7% of the world uses English as its first language.

Real time may not fit their time
When you use online communication, the message is sent as soon as you push the button. Remember, the recipient doesn’t necessarily read it in your time frame. Allow for people to have lives. If you need a response by a certain time or date, specify that in the subject line of your e-mail and make it evident in the body copy of your communication. Do not leave anything to assumption. Miscommunication is common online. Avoid costly mistakes by making expectations clear, deadlines solid, and assumptions nonexistent.

You are your communication
When most of your communication is online, you are your communication. Your messages, thoughts, comments, and observations make up your profile to your online client or customer. Make a great impression with every message. Even when you are tempted, don’t get too relaxed with your online communications. You’ll find out too late, that computers have toes and they can be stepped on easily.

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