Five Ways To Unleash Your Email Power
Most people in business today -- from nascent sole proprietors to those in globe-spanning enterprises -- you have one thing in common: you're being deluged with email. Now don't get me wrong, email is perhaps the most useful business tool available, but like anything powerful it demands attention and care -- think of it as the third rail of your office operations.
The crux of what you confront with email is how to turn all that power to your advantage. When you consider that the "average" businessperson must process more than 100 email messages every day, a system to manage that flow starts to look appealing. There are scores of productivity systems available that can ramp up your output (I'd recommend David Allen's "Getting Things Done" to you, but his system extends far beyond the scope of email). Applying the principles of those broader systems, will be a boon to your productivity, but the pain point is email, so let's focus there.
For a salve that soothes quickly, check out the five guidelines suggested by Carmine Gallo, the communications coach and author of "10 Simple Secrets of the World's Greatest Business Communicators." Gallo's recently posted five "rules" for email at BusinessWeek. According to Gallo, you're email will be more effective if you:
- Break it up
- Write like a reporter
- Establish email protocols
- Begin with the results
- Use replies as your cue
Click through to read the full post and the details of all five of Gallo's principles.
