Email is a wonderful tool. It allows you to contact someone in seconds, attach documents for review, helps schedule meetings and gather information. It can keep you in contact with people across the hall or across the country. It can be a great resource or a great embarrassment.
Nothing says novice like a poorly worded or poorly written note, full of spelling errors, especially if it is business related as opposed to personal.
Here are a few tips for reviewing your email before you send it out.
1. Is it being sent to the correct person? Some software programs will auto-fill and it is easy to send email to Candice instead of Candy.
2. Should there be a CC or BCC recipient?
a. The CC Field is just for that person’s information, no action is required and everyone knows it’s being sent.
b. The BCC field is for that person’s information; however, no one but you and the BCC knows they were included.
3. Is the subject line relevant? Don’t just put “hello” in the subject line. Chances are it won’t be read. Make it relevant. If you are sending a report for review, says so. Put something similar to “2007 Budge Report for Review.”
4. Does the body have the information I need or did you tell me it is attached?
a. Are you asking for my action?
b. Is there a deadline for my reply?
5. Is spell-check turned on? Did you check for wrong words spelled correctly? (i.e. to, too, two, tow)
6. Is your grammar correct?
7. Are your attachments really attached?
Never send an email in haste, if you are upset save it as a draft and come back to it later. You will be surprised at what you see! And remember, email is forever. Never send or forward and email from a business account that could embarrass the company. Someone, somewhere, may see it and us it in a way you never intended.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Before You Send That!
Presentations
At one time or another most of us are asked to give some sort of presentation. Whether it’s a quick update for a committee or an hour long review of policies, giving presentations can be a challenge. There are some things you can do to make presentations less stressful on your nerves.
Self Check
Start by determining your level of comfort. If you are exceptionally nervous, organizing each step of your presentation should help. Planning the Question & Answer period for the end will reduce interruptions and keep you on track. Be sure to tell your audience that they should hold their questions. Practicing as often as possible will also help you be more comfortable with the subject matter.
If you are reasonably comfortable with speaking, you may take a more relaxed approach. You may want to allow participants the flexibility to ask questions as you go, or have them hold off until the end.
Personal Prep
One of the top rules for presentations is not to allow your personal appearance to distract from your message. This means neutral to dark colored clothing, minimal jewelry and no wild hair. You don’t want your audience to only remember what you looked like, you want them to remember the content of your presentation.
Know your audience. Don’t prepare a fancy, ten-dollar word filled talk for blue-collar workers. Take time to find out a little on the common activities and create analogies based on them.
Start an outline of the main topics you know you need to hit. If you can, limit them to three or five. Draft an introduction that gives a relative quote or anecdote, and touch on the three to five main points you will discuss.
Draft your conclusion with a wrap-up of the presentation and hold the Q&A session, if appropriate.
The Show
In today’s world, software, notebook computers and projection equipment have made it much easier to reach and keep the attention of your audience. The trick is to keep it simple. You don’t want too much animation and sound. Those things can cause a lot of distraction and frustration for your participants.
Font changes should be kept to a minimum and your color use should be minimal. Don’t cram a bunch of text into a slide. It does no good to project something on the wall that can’t be read from 20 feet away.
The Environment
If possible, you should check out the room before your big event. If the room is too hot or cold your audience will be uncomfortable and distracted. You need to know how your presentation will look on the screen, if you can keep some lights on for participants to take notes or review handouts, and you need to check all A/V equipment for B&B (bulbs and batteries). There is nothing worse than hitting the “on” button and find out that the batteries are dead. Which reminds me, always have a plan B. Have handouts to distribute that will allow you to continue if there is a technical glitch. Distribute them either at the very beginning or very end of your presentation.
Show Time
You’ve practiced, written, created and checked from A-Z. Now it’s time for the show. Here are a few things that will help you be successful:
1. Accept that you will be nervous.
2. Accept and be ready for Murphy’s Law.
3. Do your best to make eye-contact.
4. Pace yourself.
5. Just do it, you will do fine.
Short Notice
You won’t always have much time to develop a formal presentation. When that happens you just have to do the best you can. If you have time, jot down a quick list of points. Acknowledge to your audience that you don’t have all the information in front of you and will be happy to provide more information if requested.
The best thing for presentations is experience. It’s like driving a standard transmission vehicle. It takes practice to learn how to use the clutch, let off the gas and shift gears at the same time. And, if it’s been a while since you drove an automatic, you will be a little jerky. But with time, it will become second nature and much smoother.
Self Check
Start by determining your level of comfort. If you are exceptionally nervous, organizing each step of your presentation should help. Planning the Question & Answer period for the end will reduce interruptions and keep you on track. Be sure to tell your audience that they should hold their questions. Practicing as often as possible will also help you be more comfortable with the subject matter.
If you are reasonably comfortable with speaking, you may take a more relaxed approach. You may want to allow participants the flexibility to ask questions as you go, or have them hold off until the end.
Personal Prep
One of the top rules for presentations is not to allow your personal appearance to distract from your message. This means neutral to dark colored clothing, minimal jewelry and no wild hair. You don’t want your audience to only remember what you looked like, you want them to remember the content of your presentation.
Know your audience. Don’t prepare a fancy, ten-dollar word filled talk for blue-collar workers. Take time to find out a little on the common activities and create analogies based on them.
Start an outline of the main topics you know you need to hit. If you can, limit them to three or five. Draft an introduction that gives a relative quote or anecdote, and touch on the three to five main points you will discuss.
Draft your conclusion with a wrap-up of the presentation and hold the Q&A session, if appropriate.
The Show
In today’s world, software, notebook computers and projection equipment have made it much easier to reach and keep the attention of your audience. The trick is to keep it simple. You don’t want too much animation and sound. Those things can cause a lot of distraction and frustration for your participants.
Font changes should be kept to a minimum and your color use should be minimal. Don’t cram a bunch of text into a slide. It does no good to project something on the wall that can’t be read from 20 feet away.
The Environment
If possible, you should check out the room before your big event. If the room is too hot or cold your audience will be uncomfortable and distracted. You need to know how your presentation will look on the screen, if you can keep some lights on for participants to take notes or review handouts, and you need to check all A/V equipment for B&B (bulbs and batteries). There is nothing worse than hitting the “on” button and find out that the batteries are dead. Which reminds me, always have a plan B. Have handouts to distribute that will allow you to continue if there is a technical glitch. Distribute them either at the very beginning or very end of your presentation.
Show Time
You’ve practiced, written, created and checked from A-Z. Now it’s time for the show. Here are a few things that will help you be successful:
1. Accept that you will be nervous.
2. Accept and be ready for Murphy’s Law.
3. Do your best to make eye-contact.
4. Pace yourself.
5. Just do it, you will do fine.
Short Notice
You won’t always have much time to develop a formal presentation. When that happens you just have to do the best you can. If you have time, jot down a quick list of points. Acknowledge to your audience that you don’t have all the information in front of you and will be happy to provide more information if requested.
The best thing for presentations is experience. It’s like driving a standard transmission vehicle. It takes practice to learn how to use the clutch, let off the gas and shift gears at the same time. And, if it’s been a while since you drove an automatic, you will be a little jerky. But with time, it will become second nature and much smoother.
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