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Woe is I (11): How to e-mail (revised)
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Based on P.T. O’Conner’s Woe is I
Chapter 11: E-mail Intuition
One thing good about this book is you can read it backward. Chapter 11 is the last chapter, but I read it first: I wanted to check out if O’Conner is really good. Yes, she is!
(revision) Now, if O’Conner’s book is so good, why am I “re-writing” it? Well, I was told that the book may be too much (fun) for Chinese who is not English major or does not live in an English-speaking country. I think this observation is quite correct. Besides, “revising” is the key to any good writing. The title for chapter 11 does not make any sense, does it? If it’s intuition, then one does not need to learn.
Use different tones when you e-mail different people
Do you talk to your professor the same way as you talk to your buddy? I hope not. Do the same when you e-mail people. Write good English when you email your professor, but use casual English with your buddy.
Use the subject line PLEASE
I have only one “soul mate” when it comes to using e-mail’s subject line religiously. She is a Chinese who teaches Physics at Weifang College. Yeah, you may know who I am talking about.
To make my point, I have a short story to tell. One day, I received an e-mail with the subject line, “Re. invitation letter for your visit.” I was very puzzled, because I had no plan to visit this institute any time soon. It turned out that was the last e-mail exchange I had with the sender nearly one year ago. He just grabbed it and hit Reply…
O’Conner has four points in the book, and I will only list the two I like. (Yes, one should always read the original book, instead of a “filtered” one.)
1) Be specific. Instead of putting down “meeting at 3 pm,” use “meeting at 3 pm on how to lower oxy5 in the Arabian Sea.”
2) Hold the hype. “Your lucky day!” This might “quality” your e-mail as junk mail.
Keep it short
The author uses a nice little story as an example. “Imagine that Aunt Dahlia sends Bertie an e-mail about” her upcoming trip. Aunt Dahlia goes on and on and on about where she will be visiting. Bertie is busy, so the e-mail is only half-read… A few days later, Aunt Dahlia shows up at Bertie’s doorstep, with her four pets… It turns out that long e-mail mentions pet-sitting at the very end, but Bertie never got that far in time…
Hi and bye
I am like O’Conner who feels uncomfortable reading an e-mail “without a hello or a good-bye.”
Read it again before hitting Send
“If you haven’t given your e-mail a second look, you’re not ready to click Send.” It’s as simple as that!
A civil tongue
Use “please,” “thank you,” and “I’m sorry.” in e-mail as you would in person.
Don’t click Send when your blood is boiling. (Save it as a Draft, and tune it down...)
There is no privacy when it comes to e-mail. I have been told again and again: “Do not write anything in an e-mail if you don’t want to see it on the front page of the Washington Post.” (Yes, the newspaper is still alive as of today.) Oh, maybe I should ask: "Remember the Climategate?"
Don’t let e-mail bring out the beast in you. You are a real person writing to another real person, even in the virtual world.
https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-306792-350844.html
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