When you think of e-mail, what one word immediately comes to mind? FAST! However, fast for whom? Yes, the writer, but what about the reader? That person like you--with too much e-mail coming in and too little time for reading it all--is often neglected. Why?

Far too many people equate:

• composing reports or proposals to dressing in business suits,
• writing letters or memos to wearing business casual, but
• dashing off e-mail to sitting around in an old pair of jeans!

The result is e-mail resembling a screen version of the paper junk mail cluttering mailboxes today. E-Mail Gems is a new half-day workshop designed to help participants communicate electronically so their readers will see their messages not as junk but as gems.

Yes, writing is writing, so many of the techniques used for paper mail apply to e-mail as well. However, because reading on-screen is so difficult, developing Screen Savvy becomes necessary as participants adapt their writing to this powerful, ever-growing technology.

When selling diamonds, fine jewelry experts share this advice about high-quality gems: consider clarity, carats, cut, color, and facets.

These qualities lead to Screen Savvy for more gem-like e-mail messages:

Clarity		Screen Sense		Organized, complete, accurate
Carats		Screen Streamlining		Concise, economical, simple
Cut		Screen Sensitivity		Courteous, caring, positive
Color		Screen Style		Conversational, creative, compelling
Facets		Screen Scannability		Easy to read, follow, understand

A Certificate of Authenticity will help them transfer workshop skills back to the workplace.

The overall goal of this course is to help participants convert e-mail junk to gems!

E-Mail Gems Objectives
Recognizing that a computer screen makes e-mail different from paper mail, you will:

• Share your pet peeves about e-mail.
• Compare its advantages and disadvantages.
• Learn techniques for turning e-mail junk into gems through Screen Savvy strategies.
• Critique sample messages for reader reaction: junk or gem?
• Practice Screen Savvy strategies for transferring workshop skills back to the workplace.

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