It's likely no surprise that parents favor email when it comes to school communication. It's easy and efficient, for both the sender and receiver. What's not to love?
Well, the very things that make email so fantastic also pose potential pitfalls. So we've identified three "email habits" to cultivate, to guarantee parent emails that build strong relationships through communication:
#1 Don't hit "send" as soon as you've composed an email. This applies to emails that contain more than a simple communication (like confirming a meeting time). If the message addresses any issue that could be interpreted or construed other than you intend, then compose the email and come back to it a bit later to reread with fresh eyes. Then, proceed with #2.
#2 Review and edit your emails. If you’re sending out an even moderately lengthy message, re-read before sending. And edit. Make sure that the proper tone is being conveyed — or recognize that it’s really hard to convey tone in an email, so make sure your message takes this into account. Consider having a colleague review and suggest edits for any email message of particular import or length.
#3 Don't draft long email messages on your cell phone. This is a recipe for error disaster. It’s too easy to make a mistake on a tiny keyboard. And trust me when I say that parents note the mistakes. And judge harshly. Yes, we’re all human and mistakes happen. But you should strive to ensure that professional emails are error-free. Start by composing on a full-size keyboard. Not a tiny one. (Hint: adding “sent from iPhone - please excuse mistakes” to your signature line for emails sent via mobile only calls attention to the likelihood of errors. It’s not effective at garnering forgiveness for them.)
Read the full post on our blog HERE.
