Getting Along in the Office: How to Leave Messages, and Meet and Greet
By Ruth Haag
www.RuthHaag.com
Our modern messaging technology is so nice and quick that we have fallen into a too-casual usage of it, which often makes it difficult for the message recipient.
This casualness has spread to meeting people face-to-face, where an assumption is made that everyone recognizes and remembers the name of everyone else.
Some Bad Message Examples
An E-mail read:
"Just fax the invoice to me and I'll take care of it."
What was the fax number, I wondered? I E-mailed back with the question.
The next E-mail read:
"The fax number is on the bottom of the E-mail."
But it wasn't. I E-mailed this back.
The last E-mail read:
"It was on the bottom of the E-mail that I sent you last month."
Sigh. Why couldn't she have just sent the fax number to me with the first E-mail?
A voicemail message said:
"Give me a call back at my office."
But I was out of town with my cell phone, and did not know their office number.
A voice mail said:
"Hi, it's Jen."
But I couldn't remember who Jen was.
A person sees me coming in the door and calls out:
"Hi, Ruth."
Who could that possibly be? I wonder. I meet many new people each week. Did I meet this person, or did they see my name and picture somewhere?
Polite Modern Communication Rules
There are a few simple rules that will take you from being the annoyance with your voice mails, E-mails, and face-to-face meetings, to being a helpful and polite person.
For Voice Mail Messages:
Always give your complete name, and the name of your company
If it is someone who might not know you, reiterate where you met
Leave your telephone number twice, once at the start and once at the end
Make the message brief but to the point
For E-mail messages:
Always lead off by reiterating the topic that is being discussed
Always attach all of your contact information at the end
Use complete sentences, and punctuate properly.
For Face-to-Face Meetings:
Stick out your hand for a handshake, stating your name, your company name and why the person might know you
Don't use someone's name unless you are sure of it
About the author: Ruth Haag (
www.RuthHaag.com
) helps managers and employees understand the dynamics of the work environment, and how to function smoothly within it. She is the President/CEO of Haag Environmental Company. She has written a four-book business series: "Taming Your Inner Supervisor", "Day-to-Day Supervising", "Hiring and Firing", and "Why Projects Fail." Her enjoyable, easy-to-read books provide a look at life the way it is, rather than the way that you might think it should be. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
