6.2.13. Emails

Emails are an invaluable tool for receiving and disseminating informa­tion quickly and easily in today’s rapid paced and global business environment. Electronic communication, due to its speed and broadcasting ability, is different from paper-based communication. Because the exchange of messages can be so fast, email is more conversational than traditional letters. As more and more people are writing emails to supplement tradi­tional forms of communication, an established etiquette is required to help ensure that good manners are the rule, rather than an exception in cyber­space.

The title you give when you write an email should be clear, concise and neutral. Negative words or expressions are best left out. Write a clear, meaningful subject line. It need not be a complete sentence.

Always begin any email (even one that is addressing a problem) with a friendly salutation. Proceed with an informative beginning, that is, explain the reason for contacting the person.

Write concisely, avoid clumsy phrases, complex vocabulary, use short, clear sentences and simple punctuation. Use headings, generalisa­tions, and paragraphs. You need to get straight to the point and keep to it. Keep your sentences short, and include one main idea or thought per sen­tence. Para­graphs should not consist of more than six sentences, fewer if possible. And if you list more than a couple of items, use bullet points.

Email is meant for quick, simple communication. As a general guide, that means roughly four or five paragraphs at most. Due to the limi­tations of formatting and layout, anything much longer than that is probably best sent as a separate attachment.

The possibilities for misunderstanding and misinterpretations abound with abbreviations. Take extra time to write out words or phrases instead of using abbreviations.

Write a cordial, informative conclusion. Just as important as a friendly greeting, writing a friendly closing is essential in your emails. You should always end your email on a positive note, regardless the content of the message.

Finally, proofread your emails.

VII spoken presentations and interviews

7.1. Spoken presentations

Spoken presentations are integral to engineering and science. They are delivered in various situations and for equally diverse purposes. De­pending on the situation, the form of the presentation will vary, but the prin­ciples studied in the chapter on paragraph and essay format are copied onto the organisational structure of the spoken presentation. In other words, the logic of how ideas are structured and connected in paragraphs is the basis of all kinds of presentations (K.W.Houp, T.E.Pearsall, E.Tabeaux, S.Dragga, 1977, E.D.Walters and G.C.Walters, 2002, P.J.Hager and H.J.Scheiber, 1997).

Spoken presentation means public speaking. It is much more than a simple delivery of your scientific knowledge. The preconditions of an effec­tive, but most importantly good spoken presentation are many. Sole mastery of the scientific knowledge is insufficient in this case. The success largely de­pends on judging all the specifics of the situation and responding to those properly, the impression you give as a person, the way you stand, move, the way you articulate your words, the way you look at your audience.

When delivering an oral presentation it is recommended to have the written material in front of you for quick reference during your talk. Yet, bear in mind that the head-down style of reading your report completely and directly from a script means that there is little or no eye contact or interac­tion with the audience and the delivery tends to become dull and monoto­nous which either puts listeners off or is hard to understand.

So when preparing to talk, be it in front of a convention or confer­ence assembly or in front of your class, think of it not as a monologue, but a dialogue in which more than just verbal communication is involved. To communicate means to understand, so think of your audience and look at them. Their reactions will direct you on the spot, you may slow down, add illustrative examples, explanations, you may omit parts which they clearly know enough about. The mastery of your subject topic and the good will to interact with others will allow you to actually enjoy sharing your knowledge in a constructive way both for your audience and you.

This chapter will deal with basic instructions that can help you de­liver a good spoken presentation, apart from those concerning personality. Those need to be worked on and improved all our lives.