Think before you send

Avoid sending a note you’ll regret

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to think before you send an email.
Email is a wonderful tool, Unfortunately it has also been

(00:24):
the source of numerous career disasters. All it takes is
one inadvertent reply all or forwarding to someone who, it
turns out, is mentioned earlier in the thread and not
in a flattering way. Or you might do what I
once did. I was complaining about something to a friend
who unfortunately had the same first name as a person

(00:45):
who was involved in the particular project. I was complaining
about guests, which person the auto Phil put in. Even
emails you meant to send can be problematic. We write
in haste and then repent at leisure. This is especially
true since even neutral emails can be read as negative
in the absence of the smiles and nods that we

(01:08):
use to soften in person communication. But there's a simple
solution to this. Get in the habit of setting yourself
up to think before you send. I'm taking this tip
from Before Breakfast listener Amy. She writes that when I'm
sending an email, I want to make sure I get right,
or if I'm sending from my phone, like now, I

(01:30):
will put in the destination email address only after I've
finished with the body and subject of the email. Sometimes,
like when I'm replying, I'll store the address in the
first line of the email, then cut and paste it
when I'm ready to send. Either way, she writes, this
prevents me from sending accidentally before I intend to. I

(01:51):
think this is a great idea. Get yourself in the
habit of writing the address last, not first. You can
the whole email, but without an address, it won't go anywhere.
Your email program will alert you to the missing address.
This will force you to pause and do one last
check in is this really the note I wish to send?

(02:13):
Is it going to the right person? How might it
be misinterpreted? Should you add a friendly opener a little?
How was your weekend to soften the message. Maybe it's
all good, but there's little downside to taking the moment
to pause, And there's a lot of upside to making
sure that you're not sending an email that you'll come
to regret. It's worth getting in the habit of filling

(02:35):
in the address last. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

(02:56):
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast
p o D. You can also shoot me an email
at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com that
Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before

(03:24):
Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For more
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