Presented my second speech at Toastmasters this evening. This was Project number two from the Competent Communicators handbook, and the challenge of this one was to formulate a speech that had a clear opening and closing, good transitions from point to point, and a well organized format.
I decided to use one of the ideas that had popped into my head at an earlier meeting. It's a topic I have a great deal of interest in, but had never really thought of it as something that could be of use or interest to others. I'll consider this one of the many lessons Toastmasters will teach me: that no matter how basic and simple you may think something is, there are people who can benefit from the knowledge, and especially from your own unique spin on it.
Judging from the responses I got on the evaluation forms people handed me, and on the formal evaluation I was given by a fellow member, I've improved a little in my delivery and voice modulation since my first speech (probably just because I'm not as terrified as I was the first time!). My strengths appear to be in the writing/language of my speeches, and in the humour I inject here and there. My biggest weakness so far has been my voice. I don't breathe properly when I speak, so I run out of air and it all goes downhill from there. And I guess, this time, I was fiddling with a paperclip that had held my notes together, so I got called on that. I didn't even realized I'd been doing that!
AND! I won another Best Speech award for this one. Unfortunately, it was another tie, so I still haven't won overall for the night. That'll be my goal for my next speech. As with the first time I won, I was presenting on the same night as someone else who had chosen an almost sure-to-win topic. The first time it was a story about a personal experience with the 9/11 World Trade Centre disaster, and tonight it was a different speaker speaking about HIV/AIDS. Both very heavy-duty topics, especially compared to what I was speaking on. I have to admit though, both tying speeches were very good.
So...here's my speech!...
Making Email Work for You
If you're like me, you conduct a lot of your business by email these days. It's a great tool! I love it. It's less intrusive than a phone call, and you can take all the time you want to compose it so that you say what you have to say in exactly the right way.
The only problem is that so many people don't bother to take that time. I call these people "Eds" (Email Dunces). An Ed will shoot off hurried message that I need to read five times to figure out the point. Or he'll write a novel-length explanation of something that I have to wade through with a rake and metal detector just to find out what he wants. At best, I'll phone him for clarification. At worst, I'll just ignore the email.
At the other end of the spectrum are the Eds who don't read or reply to emails carefully. They refuse to read past the first sentence. They only answer one of the three questions I asked. They answer in incomplete, inexplicable ways that force me to make a phone call for clarification.
And then there are those people who show up at the door to your office just as the email they just sent pops into your inbox, and ask you "Did you get my email?" That was Gary.
...I'm not even going to go there.
Of these three scenarios the only one you really have any control over is how you compose your own emails. I've spent a lot of time developing strategies to make my work emails more effective, and judging by the replies I get to my emails, I must be doing something right! So herewith, I give to you, the Patti Principals of Email.
First and most important: Keep it short! No one has time these days to read a newspaper article, let alone a long, rambling email. You don't even need to use proper sentences. Take advantage of point form...it's quick, to the point and easy for the recipient to digest. If you must have multiple paragraphs, keep each paragraph as short as possible, and put an extra line space between them. Nothing is more off-putting to someone who already has too much to do than opening an email and seeing a sea of unbroken text.
TWO: Choose a subject! Never leave the subject line blank. Compose a very obvious subject line - it'll help the recipient find the correct email later on if he needs to. Don't make your subject line "I have a question." Make it "Question about next week's deadline."
THREE: Always be professional! Your work email is no place for jokes, internet shortforms like LOL or emoticons. Remember that the words you write represent you and your company as much as your attitude on the telephone or the way you shake someone's hand.
FOUR: Get to the point! This is not a short story, you don't need to keep the good stuff for the end. Put the most important information right at the beginning of the email. Don't force the recipient to read all the way to the bottom to find out the purpose of your email.
FIVE: One thing at a time! Try to stick to only one subject or question per email. I have found that if I talk about more than one topic or ask more than one question in a single email, I'll usually only get a response about the first thing. I have gotten into the habit of sending separate emails for each topic I want to cover, even if they're all going to the same person. It may be a little annoying to them to get three emails from you in the space of ten minutes, but I can almost guarantee you they will respond to them all, or at least respond to all three emails with one reply that covers all three questions.
SIX: Get answers! If you absolutely must ask more than one question in a single email, make sure you get an answer to all of them by stating up front how many questions you have, and let your reader know that you need an answer to all of them. Then NUMBER the questions. Numbering not only forces you to keep your email to the point, but it allows you and your correspondent to keep things organized when discussing the questions either by email or verbally.
SEVEN: Proof read!! As I said before, your email represents you to those people you write to. You want to make a good impression, so always always always proofread your message at least once before hitting send. A spell check is always a good idea too. If the email is important enough, get someone else to read it over too, before you send it off.
A well-composed, easy to respond to email is a very powerful business tool that can help you build business, strength client relationships, get brownie points with your boss, and make your workday much more efficient and productive.
There are about a hundred more ways to make both business and personal emailing more effective. But there's really only one you need to remember. That is that, as in so many other things, the KISS principle applies: Keep it simple sweetheart.
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