Joe’s Tech

When I moved into my office, it came with a small two-shelf bookcase tucked into one of the walls.  On that bookshelf was one shelf full of hardware and software, and one containing a collection of books, including a couple of overdue library books, a few OS/DBS books, and one useful book:  Writing that Works by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson.  I’ll avoid gushing about how good it is and wishing that more people here would use it.  Instead, I’ll publish a few thoughts from it. Perhaps I’ll create a ripple effect that elevates the tone of workplace communication.

Regarding email:

“Cut to the point.  We mean that literally. Cut. Cut ruthlessly.”  Messages should be concise, complete, and coherent.  If you need to provide a lot of details, place them in an attachment.  In my experience as a reader of email, I am most likely to just skim over the first paragraph of a long, drawn-out email, then delete it.  Short messages get read.