With the state of the art of communication and technology, emails are one of the most efficient forms of communication. An email can be written in a short and sweet manner where questions can be asked and messages can be sent over.
A phone conversation is a two-way communication where everything will get cleared regarding any aspect at once. But when an email is received with just a sentence, it can be tough to get added details about the subject. Cryptic email is one such category where responding to it requires special practices.
Email Enigma – Tips for Replying to Cryptic Email at Work:
1. The “I didn’t read email response” response:
There are many emails which are not clear and lack the right information. A perfect example can be where you email your boss mentioning in a single line that your flight is grounded. For the same email, the boss replies that he would see the employee in a few hours. Mentioning clear details that the flight is delayed is necessary for the above example, by mentioning the appropriate details, emails are read and replied.
2. Giving new subject line:
There are many non-readers who do not read emails which fall into their inbox. For such people the subject line for the above example can be “new information from airline”. “Flight delayed and would not take off until morning, looks like will be spending the evening in Chicago”. Informative emails should be as short as possible with one or two lines making it polite and repeating what you need”.
3. Emails with less priority:
There are few people who consider few emails with less priority. Here are a few examples, when you as your boss about which plan you need to proceed with either approach A or B and you get a reply as good luck. Another example can be when you ask for an appointment with your new contact but you get a reply mentioning she love to, but no date and timing mentioned.
The reader considers the emails as fewer priority ones and does not answer it in the right manner. Every email needs to be given good priority and responding to the mails needs a formula. The information you need is to be provided along with a firm deadline. With these, a firm question is to be used at the end so that the reader needs to answer.
4. Answering for sake:
Certain employees give a one word reply in their emails as they are busy with other work, which should not be appreciated. An example for this category would be Mr.Finkle chief executive officer who sent a one word email reply to Jill Campen a consultant who requested for an approval.
Jill Campen was puzzled and baffled to see a single word reply for an important email. This is because the number of emails received by a corporate employee is more than 100 and may go up to 136 per day by 2017. There are many employees who do not answer at all. It is important to read and give an appropriate reply for any email which is considered important.
5. Snappy emails:
Always make sure to respond to your employee in short, punchy and snappy ways of writing instead of writing long emails. In case you need to write a bit long make use of bullets and numbers rather than clustering up everything.
If you’re required to write in paragraphs make each paragraph to about four or five lines and make more white spaces in the mail. Answer to the question asked instead of beating around the bush. This saves your time as well as the reader’s time. A cryptic email can be set right by following this way.
6. Address all possibilities in your mail:
When you’re answering your boss, make sure to answer all the possibilities for the question. For example, if your boss asks for a venue for any upcoming event, make sure to send all possible details hotels, restaurants, photos, links, address, email, website and more, make your content complete so that they never ask you back anything. This can be a perfect answer for ones who send a cryptic email.
7. Subject line:
For answering any cryptic email make sure to provide a clear subject line. Only a crisp and an appropriate subject line can make the reader read the email rather than put it into trash. By providing a good subject line, the reader can also recollect it in future again to read.
8. Ending up emails:
When over an email conversation, you receive more of cryptic email though you converse and find out that the discussion has no end, then end up email discussion and get a phone contact. By this way, complicated queries are solved and a conclusion for the same issue is obtained.
These are a few ways where cryptic emails can be responded. Since there are a number of emails per day received by any employee, the busy schedule and stress make the employees answer emails in one word or sentence in an unclear manner. In the same manner, the employees should also focus and dedicate a few minutes for writing perfect and appropriate emails. The email need not be detailed but should convey the right information at least in one line. By this way, the reader is clear about the information and proceeds further in the right manner.
Cryptic email is high in number these days and needs to be averted very soon. Those who write or read cryptic email can read through the above tips and start preparing to write a perfect email. This way an employee can learn the importance of writing a perfect email. An email should be perfect with all mandatory details in it so that the employee or boss is satisfied with the reply.
