How do you answer these six questions:

1. Have you ever written and sent an email in haste?
2. Have you ever sent an email without reading it over first?
3. Have you ever forgotten to attach the attachment?
4. Have you answered only two of the three questions asked?
5. Have you ever sent an email when you’re angry? And then regret it later?
6. Have you ever sent a detailed email that needs follow up on either your end or the receiver’s and you never print it out so as to know how to follow up? And then you have to search through all your sent emails to find it?

I think we all have done at least one or two (or three) of these. I know I have.

When there is sensitive information, what is your process before pushing ‘send?’

Here are six suggestions:

1) Print out the email and read it out loud. I used to read my emails to my dog and watch her reaction as well as hear the words out loud.
2) Read the email to another person and get feedback re your intent
3) Send it to yourself first, and if it reads OK, then send it to the original person
4) Save it as a draft and look at it 30 minutes later
5) Double check that you have
a. answered all the questions asked
b. attached a document if you said you were going to
c. said exactly what you wanted to say
d. have an opening and a close
6) If you need to follow up beyond the email, print out the email so you have the information at hand to know what you need to do next or what is required of the receiver.

The written word lasts longer than the longest memory. Be careful what you put in writing—to be sure it’s not misunderstood, misconstrued, or misinterpreted.

Author's Bio: 

ROSANNE D'AUSILIO, Ph.D., an industrial psychologist, consultant, master trainer, best selling author, executive coach, customer service expert, and President of Human Technologies Global, Inc., specializes in human performance management. Over the last 25 years, she has provided needs analyses, instructional design, and customized, live customer service skills trainings as well as executive/leadership coaching. Also offered is agent and facilitator university certification through Purdue University’s Center for Customer Driven Quality.

Known as 'the practical champion of the human,' she authors best sellers “Wake Up Your Call Center: Humanize Your Interaction Hub,” 4th ed, “Customer Service and the Human Experience,” “Lay Your Cards on the Table: 52 Ways to Stack Your Personal Deck (includes a 32-card deck of cards)—motivational and inspirational readings, How to Kick Your Customer Service Up A Notch: 101 Insider Tips , How to Kick Your Customer Service Up A Notch: ANOTHER 101 Insider Tips (http://www.customer-service-expert.com), and The Expert’s Guide to Customer Service (http://www.customer-service-expert.com/report.htm) as well as her popular complimentary ‘tips’ newsletter on How To Kick Your Customer Service Up A Notch! at http://www.HumanTechTips.com

Rosanne is also a Certified Call Center Benchmarking Auditor through Purdue University's Center for Customer Driven Quality. This certification training focuses on the access and use of key performance data to help better understand benchmarking results so as to advise on practical solutions for improvement.

For 10 years prior to starting her own organization, Rosanne had responsibility for marketing, budgeting, promoting and ultimately producing domestic and international computerized trade shows in the US, London, Belgium, and Frankfurt. She inaugurated, created, trained and directed a telemarketing on-site staff and was one of the first 150 people to attain CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) certification.

She is a columnist for TMCnet.com, Ask the Expert at supportindustry.com, and The National Networker. She represents the human element on the Advisory Board of an Italian software company, authors numerous articles for industry newsletters, and is a much sought after dynamic, vibrant, internationally prominent keynote speaker.