friday takeout

Writing Tips and Strategies for You, Part 2: Effective Email Communication

Editor's note: All during February, Friday Takeout will devote space to sharing writing tips and strategies for the College community. Whether it’s a simple email or a 25-page report, we can all benefit from a refresher. Today, we have a refresher on writing effective and accurate emails. Thank you to Jim Brimeyer, retired NICC Communications instructor, for sharing key points from the business writing course he teaches for Business and Community Solutions!

Let's Take our Time and Communicate Well in Email Communication ...

• Many editing errors are caused by time pressures rather than lack of writing skill.

• "E-mail is a communication challenge. Designing a good e-mail is even more difficult than designing a

good essay." - Trent Batson, Writing: It Ain’t the Same Anymore.

• The web-based software Grammarly analyzed more than one billion words proofread by its writing app over the course of one month and found: we make an average of 13 mistakes per 100 words when writing email. Spelling mistakes count for more than half of them.

• Focus on your readers. When we write to express, the focus is on our reader(s). When we write to impress, the focus is on the writer’s ego. Develop a journalistic/business writing style vs. an academic style.

• The digital age values short words, sentences, paragraphs and documents that we can read with speed and instantly understand.

• Write a short, attention grabbing subject headline. The subject line determines whether your email gets read because business people receive hundreds and thousands of e-mails in their inboxes.

• Finally, remember that your writing is a reflection on you and Northeast Iowa Community College.

Please Re-record Your Standard Voicemail Greeting

If you have a college phone extension, chances are you've had to change your voicemail greeting several times over the past year. Per the direction of the External Relations Office, now is the time to make sure your voicemail greeting is up-to-date.

Please change your greeting back to your standard, pre-COVID-19 greeting. Make sure your voicemail greeting doesn't say you are working remotely or that the College is closed.

Directions for how to change your voicemail greeting:

Off campus voicemail access

Youtube Video

Written instructions for video

Improvements to the Amount of Paper we Use in our Work: Papercut Company Statistics

Since its implementation in 2019, our printing service Papercut and its paper-usage reporting capability has indicated a steady decrease in the amount of paper we use as a College annually. Although COVID obviously limited the numbers of sheets printed or copied every day, the stats are a good reminder that faculty and staff members can do their work without the need to print as many materials.

The swipe to release feature implemented in January 2019 has also lessened the environmental impact of unreleased jobs - things we would have printed, but were not needed and released by the user. These unreleased projects accounted for 13,387 jobs and 57,845 total sheets of paper. This amount translated into 6.94 trees spared, 734.6 kg CO2 saved and 45,996.4 hours equivalent bulb hours.

Self-Care Tips and Inspiration

by Flannery Cerbin-Bohach, Wellness and Life Stage Program Manager

Self-Care Tip of the Week:

Yes, this is a cold spell, but try to get a little outdoor time every day. A lack of sunlight can negatively affect mood and even just a 10-15 minute walk (bundled up in layers of course) can help lift the spirits. Consider looking into a light box if you’re in a real slump.

If you have input on a upcoming feature, Big Fish, something to celebrate or a suggestion, email us at news@nicc.edu!