What NOT to Say in Your Work Email
The Public Speaker has 3 tips to make sure your emails don’t get you into hot water.
Lisa B. Marshall
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What NOT to Say in Your Work Email
You’ve heard of the Miranda warning (“anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”). But today I’m going to teach you the Marshall warning: Everything you say in an email can and will be held against you by everyone at work!
By now, it’s common knowledge that at most companies email is stored for long periods of time and can be searched and read at any time. Email can even be used as evidence in a U.S. court of law.
Still, it seems some people manage to get themselves in trouble. The problem is that we tend to feel less vulnerable when communicating in writing than when communicating face-to-face. I call this keyboard bravery! We’ll often email something we’re too timid to say in person.
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For me the biggest reason that I prefer to pick up the phone is to have a voice-to-voice conversation. We transmit and interpret a tremendous amount of information in our tone of voice and body language. Besides, when you are having a conversation, you can adjust what you say along the way. If you put something in a message or social media update, it’s a done deal! It’s part of your permanent record (remember when that was just a silly threat?)
So what exactly should you avoid when it comes to email? Here are 3 Quick and Dirty Tips to help keep you out of hot water:
Tip #1: Keep it Positive
Don’t bash the people you work with. This applies to co-workers, vendors, bosses, clients. Even though Suzie, your co-worker is a big pain, it’s not a good idea to share that opinion in a work email. Always assume that everyone in the entire company, including Suzie and your boss, will see and read your email.
You never know, someone might forward your email either by accident or even on purpose. Or worse, that someone may be you when you might accidently hit “reply all” revealing all the nastiness for everyone to see. Keep in mind this “keep it positive” rule applies to social media and online forums, as well. In general, public negativity is usually not a good idea and putting that negativity in writing is guaranteed to come back at you.
Tip #2: Watch Your Word Choice
Even though many people already know that rule, it still seems that I read and hear about people who have found themselves in hot water because of something they wrote in an email. Sometimes we are so pressured at work that we take the path of least resistance and crank out an email instead of picking up the phone or meeting in-person. As a guide, I thought you might find it helpful to hear some of the search terms used back in 2010 when lawyers were trying to figure out what happened at the collapsed Lehman Brothers.
These are definitely words you’ll want to avoid in your email correspondence:
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Stupid / dumb
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Huge mistake / big mistake
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Trouble / big trouble / serious trouble
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Highly sensitive/ very sensitive / highly confidential
And my personal favorite…
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Delete this as soon as you read it
Tip #3: Don’t Share Personal Information
Don’t share any of your personal or medical information via email. Don’t write, “I’m not feeling very good. I’ve been throwing up all night. I’ll be in late.” or “I just found out that I was diagnosed with a heart condition.”
Ask yourself, “Is it really necessary that I share the details in the email?” Instead, pick up the phone and if possible, speak with your boss directly. And better yet, share only what is absolutely necessary to share. Oddly, I learned this from my father—before email even existed. When I was growing up, every absence excuse note sent to my school read exactly the same, “Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was unable to attend. Sincerely, Paul Boehm.” He felt very strongly that it wasn’t necessary to share with the school why I was out.
Also, if someone else doesn’t know this rule and decides to share personal information with you, always treat it as confidential information not to be shared. Just because someone shared it with you doesn’t make it public information. Oh, and resist the temptation to ask follow-up questions. (“Throwing up? Really? Were you out drinking? Did you eat something unusual?”).
So there you have it, 3 Quick and Dirty Tips to help keep you out the hot water when it comes to email. Keep it positive, watch your words, and don’t share personal information. This is Lisa B. Marshall, passionate about communication; your success is my business.
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About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.