Realty Times - Why Hemingway Would Write Great E-mail

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Why Hemingway Would Write Great E-mail

by Bill Koelzer

The joy of using e-mail is its speed and the fact that you have a record of your electronic conversation with another. But these advantages can quickly turn to liabilities. Speed is eliminated when you send verbose messages, and misunderstandings can ensue if you don't watch the tone and the facts within your e-mail. Protect yourself, your broker and your clients by improving your e-mail writing techniques.

To get the most out of electronic communication, take a leaf from Ernest Hemingway's book(s.) His unvarnished writing style created an American legend as well as the launch of the Great American Novel.

Hemingway taught us that less is more and that is certainly true when it comes to e-mail. No one ever said they couldn't understand Hemingway - and the same should be said of your e-mails.

Here are some of Hemingway's well documented writing techniques as applied to e-mail:

Get to the main point quickly. Then add the details. Help your reader absorb the information with the least effort. Use short sentences, each with one idea.

Keep it simple. Choose the common word over its lesser known synonym. Use the word with fewer syllables.

Use short paragraphs. When people read printed words in an extended, gray block of text, the section may appear hard to read. But if you break it up into short paragraphs, even including the use of a double-space between paragraphs, the viewer is far more likely to read all of your e-mail. E-mails are not for impressing people with your vocabulary. They are for clear communication.

Use action words. Make sentences "come alive" by using active verbs. Avoid the passive voice where possible. Why say, "Give consideration to..." when you can say "Consider...." The action verb is always faster, shorter, and more precise.

Speak the reader's language. Fashion your reply using the reader's frame of reference. Is the reader a peer, a client, or a prospect? Use the appropriate language and terms for each of these groups. Naturally you would speak differently to a client than you would a friend. You would use different terms for a client than you would a peer. Then, be consistent. Be specific, but don't elaborate unnecessarily.

Be accurate - Check all adjectives, ensuring none "editorialize," or overstate a quality or feature. You might later have to prove something that you said.

Check facts for accuracy.

Remember that the Web was built on precision. Be certain to re-read your e-mail and web site addresses to ensure accuracy. A comma instead of a dot or slash will render an e-mail address or URL unreachable.

Be clear in your meaning Watch for unintended innuendo. Replace ambiguous terms with words having only one logical interpretation in the context used. Rewrite any questionable statements or words with terms that could not possibly be misinterpreted. Something that you inserted as a joke might fall flat in print and be taken seriously and anger a recipient.

Read and reread. When you finish writing the first draft of your your message, go back to it until it reads well aloud. Cross out words that don’t add meaning. Rearrange words and phrases to improve meaning. When in doubt, turn a sentence around? Does it still make sense?

If you are answering an e-mail message, be sure to read and reread the sender’s message several times before answering it. Take a moment to really "listen to" and understand what the sender is saying. This helps make your response very clear. If you are initiating an e-mail, think first. Then reread your response before sending it.

Beware of copies and blind copies. Use extreme care when selecting who will receive a copy (CC) or blind copy (BCC) of an e-mail. Why? Because when received from you, the recipient’s e-mail message will display the e-mail addresses of those whom you designated to receive CCs. But it will not display for the recipient the e-mail addresses of all those whom you designated to receive BCCs. Only your copy of that e-mail will show who they were. Listing someone as a CC (displayed) when they should have been listed as a BCC (hidden) can prove embarrassing to you or even legally actionable at worst.

The written word is forever. Is e-mail scary? A little, because years from now, messages you send today can still be sitting in a recipient’s computer memory. And, these long-forgotten e-mails can be used as evidence for or against you, as we’ve all learned from many Washington litigations. Just ask Oliver North. So take e-mail seriously.

Remember, Hemingway was the writer who rewrote the final chapter of A Farewell to Arms 44 times to "get the words right."

Taking a few minutes extra to compose and send an e-mail that will improve your business, strengthen a contact or save a client time and money is well worth the effort.

Published: March 9, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Bill Koelzer only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.

Bill Koelzer is a Web marketing consultant to web-proficient agents nationwide. He is co-author, with Barbara Cox, Ph.D., of the Prentice-Hall books, Internet Marketing in Real Estate and Internet Marketing.

Bill is also webmaster of Orange County Real Estate, among the most-awarded known Realtor® sites. Visit his website, Koelzer.com or e-mail him at .

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