Email Etiquette

E-mail is a great communications tool when used properly, but when used incorrectly it can become a hindrance to effectively working with others spread across the state as we are. Here are some basic rules for effective communication using e-mail.

There are three types of recipients on a standard e-mail message: To, CC, and BCC. When sending an e-mail message, only add direct recipients to the To field. That shows the message is directed to those recipients and they alone should act upon it. Recipients in the CC, or Carbon Copy, field are those who should not directly act upon the e-mail but simply be aware of what it contains. You could consider it an "FYI" field for e-mail.

BCC or Blind Carbon Copy, should only be used when sending e-mail to large distribution lists, and the only other recipients listed in this case should* *be* *in the To field. Those recipients will not be able to see each other's e-mail addresses, only the sender's address in both the To and From fields of the message. It is considered unethical to include BCC recipients on a message with other recipients listed in the To and CC fields since they will not be aware this message was sent to others.

Good e-mail is concise and covers only a single subject. Make sure the subject line effectively describes the point of the message. If you need to cover multiple topics, it is best to send multiple e-mails, so the recipients will see multiple subject lines.

Also, if the recipient should take a specific action or provide a response, it is best to prompt them. Use an "If-Then" format, such as, "I am available for a meeting tomorrow at 10:00 and 2:00. If one of those times works for you, please reply with that time and where you would like to meet. If not, please let me know a couple of times that would work for you." That will let the recipient clearly know that he or she must respond to this e-mail with specific information.

Look for more e-mail tips in the weeks ahead.

Russell Feldhausen

Email Etiquette

Writing for the Web

Many web surfers scan online articles looking for important items, rarely reading an entire story. Here's some tips to make sure your information doesn't get lost when people come to your Website:

• Summarize. Make your key points in the first paragraph.
• Use bulleted lists for important items or points.
• Write in short, clear sentences.
• Keep pages short. Readers don't like scrolling through a long page to find information.
• Place headings on articles. Bold-face, if appropriate.
• Link to more information.

Learn more about this by clicking the links below:

Web Teaching Articles: Writing for the Web

Web Content Tutorials: Writing for the Web

By Carrie Blaes

Writing for the Web

HIDE AND SEEK -- THE GRAMMAR EDITION, PART 2

The "Communication Minute" below contained five hidden grammatical errors. Examples of correct usage appear below.

Like all grammatical "rules," these five usage suggestions have exceptions. Context, audience, and purpose will determine correct usage. And sometimes, there may be a better word choice altogether.

1) Because of/due to: Because of means as a result of; due to means attributable to.
CORRECT: "Because of our experiences..." "The participants' increased knowledge is due to their workshop experiences..."

2) Based on/on the basis of: Using based on at the beginning of a sentence can be problematic because the phrase is often a dangling modifier. For simplicity, use based on following a "to be" verb and on the basis of as an adverbial phrase.
CORRECT: "On the basis of my experience..." "Our conclusions were based on..."

3) While, since/although, whereas: While and since indicate time; although or whereas indicate conditional relationships.
CORRECT: "Although it's sometimes useful..." "Since last year, my writing has improved..."

4) Over/more than: Over is generally used to describe spatial relationships and passage of time; more than is used with numerals, figures, and amounts.
CORRECT: "More than half of the manuscripts..." "Over the past 10 years..."

5) Impact/affect: Affect means to influence; impact means to strike forcefully.
CORRECT: "...errors that affect us..." "The raindrops impacted the soil surface, causing runoff..."

For more resources and information on grammar tips, please contact Jennifer Alexander at jennalex@ksu.edu

HIDE AND SEEK -- THE GRAMMAR EDITION, PART 2

HIDE AND SEEK -- THE GRAMMAR EDITION, PART 1

Even if your job title isn't "writer" or "editor," you probably are, at least part of the time. Due to our experiences, we each develop pet peeves - usage errors that impact us as much as nails screeching on a chalkboard. While it's sometimes useful to browse style manuals, dictionaries, and other references to learn about the finer points of grammar, we usually just need a quick, straightforward answer. But correct usage of some terms is hard to remember. Over half of the manuscripts I edit contain the same common errors. Based on my experience making the same edits repeatedly, I think a quick review is in order.

Five often misused terms occur (incorrectly) in the previous paragraph. Did you spot them?

Examples of correct usage will appear in the next post.

Questions? Please contact Jennifer Alexander at jennalex@ksu.edu

HIDE AND SEEK -- THE GRAMMAR EDITION, PART 1

Elevator Speech

The elevator speech is an overview of your company or organization that you can deliver in the time it takes to ride up the elevator. Now, our campus elevators can be pretty slow, but. brevity is key for this short synopsis of who we are and what we do.

Below is our version of an elevator speech for K-State Research and Extension. We encourage you to personalize this message and use it any time you have the opportunity. This short speech can help us make people aware of the breadth and depth of information available through K-State Research and Extension.

"Hi. I'm ______. I'm K-State Research and Extension's ___________ agent in _______ County or District. I don't know what you know about K-State Research and Extension, but it's a partnership between local government and Kansas State University, with offices in every county. The agents in those offices distribute research-based information and advice on many topics. We cover environmental issues, health and nutrition, crops and livestock, lawns and gardens, 4-H and families, community development and much more.....giving Kansans the knowledge they need to improve their quality of life and standard of living."

More info:
Wiki's definition of elevator speech
The Perfect Elevator Speech from Business Weekly

Elevator Speech

Make the Most of Your 5 Minutes

You happen to catch a key funding source in the hallway and have, literally,five minutes to state your case on why your funding should be maintained, or at least not cut as much as other groups. What do you say and how do you say it?

Times like these are when key messages are essential. Key messages are the short 3-5 points that you want to make when given the opportunity. Whereas an elevator speech will provide the verbatim text, key messages give you the ideas to convey in your words.

K-State Research and Extension has key messages that may help you in this situation:

• K-State Research and Extension provides Knowledge for Life.
• We improve the quality of life and standard of living for all Kansans.
• We are a partnership between local government and Kansas State University.
• We have an office in every county.
• We create and distribute research-based information on topics important to Kansans.

And, when the specific topic of funding does come up, consider highlighting these points, from our 2006 statewide telephone survey:

• 80 percent of Kansas citizens surveyed said that they approve or strongly approve of spending public funds to support K-State Research and Extension.
• Of those surveyed, nearly 75 percent said it is very important to maintain our service of delivering unbiased, research-based information. An additional 23 percent consider it somewhat important.
• More than 63 percent who have participated in our programs rate their experience with K-State Research and Extension as excellent or good.
• 96 percent of those surveyed consider information from K-State Research and Extension as credible or very credible.

For more information on key messages, go to:

• How to formulate marketing messages
• Key messages in presentations
• What is a key message?

Make the Most of Your 5 Minutes

From the workbook “Branding: It’s Everybody’s Business!” created by Elizabeth Gregory North, Texas AgriLife Extension:

Branding: Making Our Mark

A fundamental element of marketing is branding, but there’s a lot more to it than just putting a logo on everything (although you do need to put the logo on everything!).

In Extension, we tend to believe what I call the Coca-Cola fallacy: marketing and branding are only for big business – we don’t have a brand and we don’t need one, because, after all, we’re not Coca-Cola!

But the reality is that we do have a brand and we do need marketing. Branding is a super-hot term in marketing circles these days, but what is called a brand can also be called reputation, and it can include organizational values, a mission, even a creed. A brand includes everything your name evokes in the minds of your customers.

It’s helpful to think of your brand as a promise you make to your customers – a promise that encourages them to enter into or to continue a relationship with
you.

Before you can work on building your brand, you need to understand what it is and what you want it to be.

We think that is one of the best descriptions of branding. It really illustrates the difference between marketing, logo-police, and true branding.

Looking for more information? Here are a few more links:

• A library of brand management articles from marketingprofs.com
• Brand marketing info from Stamats (directed toward higher education institutions)
• What is Branding? (from About.com)

Please add your own branding resources by clicking "Comments" below.