2. The four questions the PASS
process asks are:
P for Purpose – What is the purpose of your
email?
A for Action – What action needs to result
from your email? Does it have a due date?
S for Support – What supporting
documentation needs to be attached to your
communication?
S for Summary – Have you successfully
summarized your email message in the subject
line?
Ray
Roberston
3. P – What is the
purpose of your
email?
Ray
Roberston
4. Does your email correlate with a
meaningful objective or task?
If it does not, you may need to ask
yourself whether the email needs
sending at all.
Ray
Roberston
6. Try to summarise you’re
message in the first paragraph.
If you do this the reader is able
to read the rest of the message
in the right context.
Ray
Roberston
7. A – What action is
required as a result
of your email?
Ray
Roberston
8. The 3 most common email
actions:
Task: The recipient has to complete an actual
physical task (for example, order report
copies or call Jack Doe).
Respond: The recipient needs only to
respond to the email with the information that
you requested. )You did clearly state the
information that you needed, right?)
Read: The recipient needs only to read the
email for their benefit.
Ray
Roberston
9. Eliminate any confusion about your
expectations by clearly stating the
action you need the receiver to take.
Make sure you include any
necessary due times / dates for the
actions you requested..
Ray
Roberston
10. S – is any supporting
documentation
required?
Ray
Roberston
11. Make sure you have identified and attached any
supporting documentation required.
You cannot expect somebody to read the monthly
sales report if you have not attached the monthly
sales report to the email message.
Ray
Roberston
12. If you are sending an attachment,
remember lots of people get their
emails on the go on a smart
phone so help them by including
the content of the attachment or a
summary of it, in the body of the
email as well where appropriate.
Ray
Roberston
13. S
–
Summary
in
the
subject
line?
Ray
Roberston
14. Use the "Subject" line to give a
clear indication of what the email is
about.
Receivers can then make a quick
decision about whether to open
the email now, and both the
sender and the recipient can find
the email later.
Ray
Roberston
15. Very common to get emails from people
which come as a reply to something you
sent them last week or last month.
Although they are introducing a new
subject, they've simply clicked on the
last email and haven't changed the
subject line.
The result is that the subject line doesn't
reflect the content and this confuses
everyone.
Ray
Roberston
17. Only send your mail after you have checked
PASS. If you do:
• There will be much less sending messages
back and forth since you’ve ensured your
message is clear.
• Your expectations will more likely be
accomplished.
• You will be sure the recipient has everything
necessary to get the job done.
• And you can be confident that the true
meaning of your message will be received
within its subject line.
Ray
Roberston
18. Consider including an automatic signature for
your email messages that states what time of
day you will be reading your
messages
And
that
(if
appropriate)
provides
some
alterna7ve
contact
info
Ray
Roberston
20. Re-read message for spelling and
grammar errors.
Re-read what the message says
and how is said.
Think about any possibilities of
misinterpretation.
Ray
Roberston
22. Blurt a message impulsively.
Say something electronically
which you would not say face-to-
face.
Use e mail to vent
your emotions
Ray
Roberston
23. And
Always
Remember
Some situations / communications
do require face to face or telephone
conversations and e mail is not an
effective substitute.
Ray
Roberston
25. Be
careful
what
you
write
Email
is
neither
private
nor
secure.
Do
not
use
email
to
discuss
confiden7al
or
sensi7ve
informa7on.
An
email
is
a
permanent
record
and
can
be
easily
forwarded
to
others
or
intercepted.
Double
check
all
addresses
and
content
before
you
send.
Ray
Roberston
26. Don't
send
your
email
to
people
who
don't
need
to
know
about
it
Think
carefully
before
clicking
"Reply
to
all"
-‐
did
you
really
mean
to
reply
to
everyone,
or
just
the
sender?
Replyallgate
Ray
Roberston
27. Don't
mark
emails
high
priority
or
urgent,
Similarly
don't
use
the
words
URGENT
or
IMPORTANT
in
the
subject
line
of
an
email.
If
your
message
really
is
urgent
or
important
email
is
not
the
correct
communica7on
method
to
be
using
in
the
first
place;
the
telephone
is
probably
be?er.
Ray
Roberston
28. Don't
request
a
read-‐receipt
This
will
almost
always
annoy
your
recipient
before
they
have
even
read
your
message.
Ray
Roberston
