Everyone knows "less is more," says Alexandra Samuel in the Harvard Business Review; but masters of brevity can sound loutish on line.
And one ill-thought-out email can jeopardize a career.
When writing an email or social media post, Samuel suggests you:
- Use a conversational tone
- Start with your key point
- Avoid profanities, acronyms, bragging and kvetching
- Exercise caution with humor
- Be 30% nicer than you are off line
- Adapt your tone to the platform
No matter the topic, "if you write it down, you should be prepared to see it on the front page of a newspaper," Samuel says.
"That doesn’t mean you can’t email your colleagues about confidential business dealings, but be sure that you can live with whatever you’ve written—so don’t write down anything that would sound small-minded or unethical (particularly if taken out of context). And when you’re posting on social networks, which are out in the open, assume that anyone can see anything—including your boss, your mother, your clients, and your kids."
