21 May Answer the Question!
People don’t read. How else to explain this behavior:
Email to Dooney from Enware:
Hey, I need to know if you’re running the meeting or if Jengo is doing it. I want to print the agendas.
Also, can we get more copies of the quarterly report?
Email to Enware from Dooney:
Sure, I’ll get more copies made and send them up.
Dooney again:
Who is running the meeting?
No answer, because Enware is out getting more copies made of the quarterly report.
Modan sent an email to a vendor asking what was needed for a project, and giving instructions for parking. The vendor thanked Modan for the parking info and asked if she needed to bring more than one form of identification. No mention of any project needs.
At the time of the project, the vendor expressed displeasure at not having the materials she needed and asked Modan why they weren’t provided.
Are we to conclude that attending to more than one thought is more than one thing too much to ask? Apparently so. Many email guides, including our own class on Effective Email, suggests asking only one question in an email, if the question is an important one.
One wonders what reading material folks are choosing…..