Exclamation Point or Not?!
The exclamation point was once reserved for hard selling (Buy now!!!). But today, the punctuation mark has become pervasive, being inserted throughout professional communication as a way to soften a request or add levity to a message.
Critics, however, note that such use can make an author appear inexperienced, immature, or unprofessional, especially in e-mails sent in workplace situations. These tips can help guide young professionals to hit the right tone without abusing a punctuation mark.
- Restrict exclamation points for beginnings and endings: Good morning, Mark!and See you later at the meeting!
- Respond in kind. When replying to a message that contains an exclamation point in the body, match your response to the original.Thanks for the heads up!can be replied to with You’re welcome! whileThanks for the heads up. merits a more measured reply: You’re welcome.
- Avoid the double exclamation point for work-related messages. It’s overkill and unprofessional.
From Business Insider
E-mail Takes on New Role
With Slack and similar apps being used for quick responses and texting becoming the de facto informal communication mode, e-mails are taking on a new role as the more formal communication vehicle—and one that requires careful execution.
However, the ease with which an e-mail can be sent often leads to sloppy or misleading content. Prudent writers may want to remember a few pointers before hitting the send button.
- Wait. It’s tempting to rush through e-mail, but sending without taking a moment to read the message often leads to confusion—and more e-mails to clear up that confusion. Experts advise stopping to edit e-mails for clarity. A good rule of thumb is to wait at least 60 seconds before hitting the send button.
- Edit. Long, meandering e-mails that don’t get right to the point are a recipe for miscommunication. Well written e-mails remove redundancies, fillers, qualifiers, adverbs, and adjectives and are composed using a conversational tone.
- Revise. E-mails that are so brief they lack necessary details can be as bad as wading through wordy prose. Complete e-mails contain all the information necessary for the reader to do what the writer intends.
E-mails written in the workplace should also take the right tone. Researchers suggest reading e-mail aloud to catch words that may convey sarcastic, angry, or offensive language.
From Fast Company
Employers Say College Degree Is Key
A college degree is essential, according to new research published by the Association of American Colleges & Universities. The findings from the report come from an examination of two surveys, one of business leaders and one of hiring managers, with a thousand respondents combined.
Specifically, the report notes that 82 percent of executives and 75 percent of hiring managers consider a college education “important” or “essential.” Nearly 90 percent believe a college degree is worth the time and money spent to earn it.
The results also indicate that business leaders have more confidence in American colleges and universities than the American public, and that any degree produces a “well-rounded individual … prepared to interact with high-level employees.”
Communication skills top hirers most desired qualities in employees, with 80 percent of executives and 90 percent of hiring managers calling oral communication their number one priority, and written communication coming in as the third highest important skill for recent grads.
From aacu.org
