Send Chapter Summaries - Book Report/Review Example

September 5, Send Chapter Summaries and Book Summary Introduction Summary In the introductory section to the book the authors share a few examples about why e-mailing people can be so complicated. Some of the most interesting of these are their back-and-forth e-mails with their editor for the book, including why they were so problematic. Some of the stories they share in this section are very illuminating as to why it is so difficult to write decent e-mails. Of course, at the same time some e-mails are clearly just things that should never be sent. The authors give the key reasons why we e-mail badly, among them including the difficulty of the written word (11), that we send emails without thinking (12), and the lack of “a speedy real-time channel for feedback” which causes us to take things out of proportion and misunderstand (13). Chapter 1 Summary As the title suggests, this chapter tries to figure out when the best time to send an e-mail is and when it would be a better idea not to. First they make the point that e-mail should not always be used, saying that “just because we have email, we shouldn’t use it for everything” (18). The main points in this character are two lists which give reasons when to and when not to send an e-mail. Included on the list of benefits are that email is “an efficient and economical way to communicate with people around the world” (21) and that it creates “a searchable record,” as well as giving you time to think about what you want to write (21). On the negative side, lots of emails are unnecessary and are bad for delicate situations (24). Chapter 2 Summary This chapter describes the various parts of an email. One of the key points the authors make in this chapter is that it is important not only to think of the text in the email when you are writing them, but other fields such as who you are sending the e-mail to and how many people you are sending it to. They mention the danger of using an automatic fill in the to field, so that if “you’re a comedian and you want to send your latest Top 10 List to Letterman, but you don’t look at the screen when you’re typing in the addressee’s name and it goes to Leno. So Dave doesn’t get the list and Jay thinks you’re an idiot” (63). Other tips include CCs (64), how to write a good subject line (88) and attachments (90). Chapter 3 Summary This chapter offers tips on how to write emails well. Most of the tips are pretty straightforward, like making sure you use the right language. This is done through “the delicate manipulation of tone” to be “formal, casual, or somewhere in between” (118). Spelling and grammar are also important, as they can make you seem serious, whereas a lot of misspellings will make it seem as though you do not care about the email at all. However, the authors note that grammar which is technically wrong can still be used well in an e-mail depending on the tone you want to give to your reader (126). Even setting aside all the technical details, it is very important that emails are “a genuine representation of who you are and what you mean” (140). If this is not there, even perfect spelling and grammar will not matter at all. Chapter 4 Summary This chapter just lists six types of email the authors call essential. They include “The Ask,” or an email which asks a question or request (143), “The Answer,” which is how to respond to an ask (157) as well as other situations like invitations, as well as how to send thank-you emails and apologies. Mostly the chapter just gives tips on what to do and what not to do for each of these types of email, and then the authors mention that there are some emails which “exist solely to strengthen or confirm relationships” and move on (163). Chapter 5 Summary In chapter 5, the authors discuss the ways that emotions can cause big problems in e-mails, where the tone of voice is hard to figure out and people might take offense easily. The speed you can send emails with also plays a part in this, as “with email there are few opportunities along the way for your superego and better judgment, self-editing, and cooler thinking to kick in” (178). Sarcasm can be even more dangerous, as it might not even be meant intentionally, or people might read it when it is not there. The book suggests one rule to send unemotional emails: “If you wouldn’t make the comment to the other person’s face and stick around for the response, you probably shouldn’t put it in an email” (205). Chapter 6 Summary Of course there are sometimes bigger problems than just negative emotions. Chapter 6 deals with how you might even be able to get sued or go to jail for an email comment. They list a few examples of emails used in lawsuits, such as one from a medicine company employee who was later sued for wrongful death in a civil suit (206). One thing here to note is that it is actually possible to write emails that sound like they talk about illegal things but aren’t. The authors suggest that you be clear and consistent with emails to make sure you don’t end up seeming like you are breaking the law (209). They close this chapter with advice from a New York governor: “Never talk when you can nod. And never write when you can talk. My only addendum is never put it in an email” (224). Chapter 7 Summary The final chapter gives advice on how to send a good email. The authors use the acronym SEND, which stands for “Simple, Effective, Necessary, Done” (225) as advice on when and how to send emails. This chapter is incredibly short and really only has that information in it, and explanations. For instance, make sure when you write an email that you edit it until it is as simple as it can be to avoid confusion (226). Editing also helps make emails effective, so that they are actually about what they should be about (226). Necessary explains itself. If it isn’t necessary, don’t send the email. And done does not just mean you are finished, but that you should “figure out how you are going to follow up on your email” if something needs to be done about it (227). Overall Summary Overall, the book “Send” offers plenty of useful advice on how to send emails, as well as a lot of amusing stories about what can go wrong. Although they might seem just amusing, I think it is these stories which really make the book effective as a how-to guide. If the authors just provided advice without examples, the advice would not stick, but since you can see examples of things going horribly wrong, you really want to avoid being in that situation yourself. The most important parts of the book are probably the 1st, 3rd, and 5th chapters. These deal with deciding when to send emails, how to write good emails, and why it is important to not let your emotions run away with you when you do send emails. By following the advice in these chapters, readers of the book can learn that it is important to think about many things when writing an email beyond just putting words on the computer and sending the email straight away. For example, the first chapter suggests that if you meet with a colleague every day anyway, it might be better to just talk to them in person instead of emailing. At the same time, if an email is not necessary you should avoid sending it just as you would not send a letter that did not need to be sent. The third chapter offers more practical advice on writing, such as paying attention to grammar and punctuation and the tone of your emails. Finally, the fifth chapter very clearly shows some of the problems you can run into by writing emotional, angry emails which may get you in trouble with your friends or coworkers, or even your boss. Perhaps the most interesting parts of the book, though, are the final two short afterwords. The first of these offers what the authors really want readers to take away from the book: that it is important to “think before you send,” and that, when you do send email, they should be like ones “you would like to receive” (230). These are two pieces of really great advice that will quickly make anybody’s email experience less stressful and more useful. Also, in the second afterword, there is a lot of very practical advice on how to stop your email from completely taking over your life. This seems as if it is particularly useful to business workers and other people who need to send a lot of emails, as they must have a lot of email in their inbox and probably need help organizing and taking care of it. Regardless of whether these last chapters are useful, though, the book as a whole offers clear, consistent, and easy-to-apply advice on how to send great emails instead of making people angry with your choice of words. Works Cited Shipley, David, and Will Schwalbe. Send: Why People Email so Badly and How to Do It Better. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. Print. Read More