I’ve seen countless blog posts, magazine articles and comment pieces from people complaining about the impersonal nature of the email. Well, I think I may have found the culprit.
How many times have you received a one or two word email - “Thanks” or “Sounds Great!” - followed by 10-15 lines of Name, Job Title, Address, Contact Information etc. etc. Some may even go so far as to add legal information, or request that you refrain from printing the email in order to save trees. I receive countless numbers of these emails, not just professionally, but from people I have known for years, and for whom I have all the information in the signature block memorised.
Google recently announced that signature blocks and company logos make up more than 40% of all storage on gmail. That’s a ridiculous amount of data for something that rarely even gets read.
The problem is, now that signature blocks have become so commonplace, that we forgo important facets of human interaction when emailing people.
Take this for an example: if you were to meet someone in a bar would you introduce yourself straight away, or hand them your business card at the end of the conversation? On the telephone, would you finish talking, exchange salutations, and then spend a few minutes reciting your contact information?
If someone is emailing you directly, chances are they already know your name and job title; they certainly already know your email address, yet it’s still recited in every message in the conversation. If you’re emailing a stranger, rather than including this information in a footer, begin your message by introducing yourself. Let the reader know who you are and what you do, so that they can get a picture in their head of why you are emailing them and why they should take notice.
The same can be said for those times when you want your telephone or Skype contact details to be available to the recipient. Rather than expecting the person to find this information, add a line into your message: “Feel free to give me a call if you’d like, my number is…” or “Let’s talk on the phone some time”. Leave them in no doubt that you are happy for them to use this method of communication to contact you.
It’s also worth noting that many popular web-based email clients actually hide signature blocks from the conversation, so any contact information that is not part of the message itself is easily overlooked.
The majority of emails could be much more thoughtful messages, and with these added personal touches could become, instead of a necessary burden, a form of communication that harks back to the good old days when it was a joy to receive and respond to them.
I miss those days.
Simon Rood
Jonathan Dallas