Sometimes an email is just an email. Other times, it’s an X ray of someone’s character.
Recently, a friend emailed me. He asked if I would forward the résumé of a friend of his to my clients that have intern programs. I reached out to two.
Both people I emailed replied within a few hours (after all, they work at PR agencies). Yet while they basically said the same thing (“You’re too late”) the tones they used were strikingly divergent.
Here’s what they wrote:
1. “We are full up for this summer (we started reviewing in January as most do) but fall is a possibility. If that works, please apply through website. Thank you.”
2. “Hey Jonathan, thank you for referring [redacted name]. We do have a good intern program. [Redacted], Looks like you’ve been having a good run at [Redacted], congratulations. We have offers out now and should know pretty quickly if we’ll have an opening. If so, I’d be interested in talking with you. Thanks for your interest in [Redacted].”
Think about these two messages the next time you respond to an email. Do you bother with a greeting, or do you eschew pleasantries? Are you curt, or are you friendly? Do you express impatience, or do you express gratitude? Do you take a minute to peek at the document in question, or do you ignore it?
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Fast forward 10 years, as a thought experiment. That potential intern is now a vice president at a Fortune 500 company and is looking to hire a PR agency. Which one do you think he or she will contact?
The situation isn’t entirely hypothetical. I still remember when I first came to Washington 15 years ago. In my job search, a friend introduced me to a friend at a big lobbying firm. I followed-up, but I never heard back.
A few years later, a colleague asked if I knew a lobbyist with connections to the House education committee. Do you think I recommended the guy who had ignored me?
To be sure, how someone emails is not necessarily indicative of their full temperament. I have longtime friends who based on their emails alone you’d think would be jerks, yet in person are generous, thoughtful and kind.
On the other hand, getting to know someone in person isn’t always a practical option. Many PR pros have longtime clients they’ve never met, only corresponding via email, calls, texts, Slack and Asana.
Whether this is a good thing or bad can be debated, but the reality is that we live in an electronic world. You are what you email.
The savviest emailers accept this truth: they recognize that email inherently lacks any kind of tone. For example, when face to face with someone, you can cross your arms, furrow your brow, mutter under your breath or raise your voice. With email, you have only your written words, so it behooves you to add padding or filler that bares your attitude.
As Frank Luntz puts it, “It’s not what you say. It’s what people hear,” and what I heard in that first reply was, “Bug off.”
A little more time now to write a proper reply could be worth years of connections later. Is your reputation really not worth an extra 60 seconds?
Jonathan Rick runs the Jonathan Rick Group, a digital-marketing firm that helps people shape and tell their story. Test his email etiquette at hi@jonathanrick.com.
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