Top Lawyer Coach, LLC

Save Yourself the Embarrassment of a Technological Faux Pas

Office technology is like a double-edged sword.

You can use it to slash away at a to-do list, saving you a ton of time. But technology, like email and voice mail, also offers plenty of chances to embarrass yourself.

Don't get burned!

Deborah Schneider, author of Office Etiquette Essentials at the American Bar Association, offers some email guidelines that will help you AVOID a technology faux pas.

• Treat e-mail like a letter or memo. Spell check, grammar check, and review all e-mails before sending them.
• Make the subject line as informative as possible.  Going through 20 e-mails from one person where the subject line is only the client or project name can be a waste of time.
• Organize your thoughts, be succinct, and use line breaks literally. Format your e-mail so that it scans well, particularly on a Blackberry. If what you have to say requires more than a few paragraphs, write a memo.
• Don't send snippy or derogatory e-mails, and don't send e-mails when you're upset. Don't type in all caps, either, as that's considered "yelling."
• Don't put anything in writing that you wouldn't want to see published in a newspaper. "Before you send a message, always ask yourself: ‘What if this got forwarded to my boss?'
• Always check the "To:" line before sending an e-mail. Check the "Cc:" and "Bcc:" lines as well to make sure you are copying the appropriate individuals.
• Don't let your e-mail address book automatically fill in a recipient's name based on typing in the first few letters of the address.  You can easily send an email that is intended for a friend to a firm partner.

Many of the mentioned email essentials can be applied to voice mail too.

For example, don't leave a voice mail you wouldn't want forwarded around the office. Messages should also be brief. If you plan on taking more than 60 seconds, send an e-mail or warn the listener at the beginning of the message.

Bottom line: Always exercise good judgment!