1. Facebook Ruins an Executive’s Career  

The Problem: A key executive of a large federally funded corporation posted a sarcastic (and racist) comment on Facebook about the wife of a popular government official. It was forwarded to a major newspaper and as a result, the executive was fired and the corporation lost federal funds.
 
The Solution:  Worried that someone in their organization might commit a similar faux pas, my clients hired me to speak at their annual convention in hopes of preventing further “spontaneous” behavior like this on facebook, twitter, and inside emails.
 
I specifically addressed the problem of ‘unconscious’ texting, and I showed them how to control and repair a culture far too dependent on off-the-cuff remarks. I also made the audience aware of serious liability issues that could not only cost them their job, but their careers.
 
The chairperson of the conference said, “I loved the frightening examples of how social media can destroy the reputation of a corporation. The activities you included in the keynote made us re-think our behavior on the Internet.  Everyone went away with a new-found understanding and knowledge of what we must do to put some teeth to our policy so that we avoid humiliating incidents like the one we had recently.”

2. Badly Written Emails Jeopardize School System’s Reputation 

Admin assistants and various front line employees were making embarrassing mistakes in emails sent directly to parents of elementary school students. Not only did the emails have glaring grammar errors, but the tone was often combative and defensive.
 
Solution: I spent half the day helping the staff refocus their energies on the importance of gracious, kind, clear emails, devoid of emotion.
 
In the afternoon, we covered the most important grammar and punctuation mistakes and how to fix them.
 
Participants remarked, “The class taught me writing skills I had long forgotten but needed to know.” “The Email Template you shared will save me hours of time.” “The brain storming techniques and mind mapping will help me avoid including emotions in my email.”
 
“A real eye-opener. I had no idea how my writing was perceived, and I know now what I have to do differently.”

3. Hostile Email Turns Customers Away

Faced with a number of complaints from clients, the training director of a large insurance/pension company sought my help to teach front line employees the art of writing clear, error-free emails, free of disparaging remarks.
 
Main problem?
 
The employees would express their anger and frustration at clients and say things like,
 
“Obviously, you need to follow the deadline.” Or, “I’ve answered all your questions. What more do you want?”
 
Solution:
 
In a two-hour workshop, I taught the staff specific skills for keeping the tone and structure of their emails consistently professional.
 
The HR director said, “The feedback was so excellent, and most important, our clients are calling us less frequently with questions. Employees seem to be writing clearer, more concise emails that are getting understood the first time.”

4. CEO’s Terse Emails Cost Him $17,000

Recently, I coached a corporate client who used to let his inner jerk out every morning when he wrote his emails or spoke with his colleagues.
 
He claimed he had a stupid switch installed in his brain that caused these mishaps, and he was too old to change. “This is just the way I am. Why can’t people have thick skin?”
 
The Problem: Unfortunately, one of his emails cost him a $17,000 job, and his job was on the chopping block. Only then did he seem open to new ideas.
 
The Solution: I showed him (and the entire staff) how to carefully craft emails, quickly and effectively.   No more ‘venting’ or endless carbons copies that waste time and lose customer business.  He and the staff learned my five-step process for what goes in and what goes out of any email.
 
My client wrote these words:
 
“I thought I was too old to learn new tricks, but Gary showed me how to put a lot of the emotions into my back pocket. We are a very email-centric office, and now I have a clear appreciation what belongs in a conversation and what I can put in writing.
 
It’s not easy, but it’s vital in this age of e-communication.”

5. Accounting Manager of a City Government Miscalculates Employee’s Reaction

Jake’s problem: He sends in reimbursement claims for mileage that are inaccurate and lack back-up invoices.

Margie’s Response: As an accounting manager, Margie sends back belligerent, cold retaliatory emails insisting on correct numbers and figures
 
Jake’s reaction: He takes Margie’s emails to HR and blames her for his stress headaches and high levels of anxiety.

Gary’s Solution: Say it right the first time and avoid the office politics.
 
In this half day event, we focused on how to persuade almost any one – even Jake – to produce accurate expense reports the first time – no follow-up email or phone call necessary.
 
And expense reports are just one of many documents people need and want. Every day millions of business professionals waste time and loads of money writing blah blah blah.  The emails often include extraneous information that doesn’t get read, or they rely on terse remarks that cause readers to fight back.
 
In this workshop, I showed staff members how to use language, procedures, bullet points, and structure effectively so that the documents achieve a clear outcome right from the start.  No clean up or follow-up conversation necessary.
 
You can learn to say it right the first time and achieve exactly the outcome you want.