Email boo-boos -- ADVICE from SANS - latest OUCH

[j_M007]

Sage advice from our friends at SANS regarding email (and posting on ISC2^ boards!):

"Emotion

• "Never send an email when you are emotionally upset. The email could harm you in the future, perhaps even costing you a friendship or a job.  (my comments -- or a career!)
• "Instead, take a moment and calmly organize your thoughts. If you need to vent your frustration, open up a new email (make sure there is no name or email address in the To section) and type exactly what you feel like saying. Then get up and walk away from your computer--perhaps make yourself a cup of coffee or go for a walk. When you come back, delete the message and start over again.
• Or better yet, pick up the phone and simply talk to the person, or speak face to face if possible. It can be difficult for people to determine your tone and intent with just an email, so your message may sound better on the phone or in person.
• Remember: humor (especially dry humor) does not always translate well in emotional emails; people  (may not understand your message.)" 

 --- They're talking at ME! 😉 ---

[dcontesti]

Good advice but on the third bullet point, I prefer face to face.  The issue with the phone is that you do not see the person's body language nor do they see yours......tone and intent are also difficult to understand.

Once had a gent fairly well placed in the company (C-Suite) call me and beg me to delete an email he had just sent to his boss.........(and no I did not delete it.....).  

Just shows that it can happen no matter who you are.

And no James, they are talking to me.....which is why when annoyed and writing emails, I now write once, read twice, re-write and then sometimes sleep on it LOL

Regards

Diana

[j_M007]

More sage advice! Thanks Diana,

If there were more face to face discussions, we would likely have fewer problems socially and security-wise, on the job and in our personal lives.

Handwriting, speaking face to face, diplomacy and courtesy seem all to be casualties of the so-called "smart" phone. Machines are being made smarter; humans are being made dumber.

Best regards!

[Shannon]

I can relate this to an experience I had some years ago. I was implementing a project to secure our network, when one of the team-members sent me an email --- with management in CC --- claiming I was going about it the wrong way.

To say the least, I was enraged that he was questioning my approach & immediately typed out a message to  everything, also pointing out that he wasn't providing a timely response for project deliverables. I replied to all, so that everyone he had CCd would get it.

Few minutes after sending this, I began to have second thoughts, but by then it was too late to recall it. The email included factual info, with no remarks / sarcastic language --- but my immediate reply probably meant that all the recipients heard what I had to say as a shout, & not a calm voice.  

Apart from what SANs provided, I would recommend changing the Undo Send period in the Google Settings to the max of 30 seconds...

[j_M007]

I think it hits the viscera when we feel aggrieved. Kind of like road rage. I remember what a kindly VP told me though -- if you see a message as unfair and untrue; others see that, too. There is a proverb that goes, "Revenge is a dish best eaten cold." 

So as we get older and wiser, we can learn from our boo-boos and those of others.

Kind regards.