Page 177 - The Voice of Authority

3. Bonuses or salary issues (If positive plans fail to ma-
terialize, the writing seems like “proof” that they are
deserved.)
4. Racial or gender slurs (Surely not in this century.)
5. Product or service liabilities (Opponents can sub-
poena your e-mails as evidence that you were aware
of problems and ignored warnings.)
6. Competitor untruths (See you in court.)
7. Gossip about colleagues (Even the most innocent
“news” can strike people the wrong way. If they
want it told, they’ll tell it.)
8. Sloppy writing (Clear writing reflects clear think-
ing. The opposite is also true. Your image may de-
pend on daily informal e-mail more than on formal
documents.)
9. Humor—particularly sarcasm and tongue-in-
cheek (What comes across well with proper inflec-
tion, a smile, and a slap on the back frequently falls
flat on the screen.)
10. Anything about your personal life you’d be embar-
rassed to have printed on the front page of your
newspaper (Your love life, your weekend adven-
tures, your political views. Nada.)

Pay Attention to Punctuation and Grammar

Consider the sad fate of the toothless tiger who zaps an e-
mail like the following into your in-box:

Its come to my attention that several employee’s have
been parking in the Visitor Parking Lot in spite of reg-

Does Your Communication Make You Look Competent? 165