When sending an email, keep these general rules in mind! They will help you get a timely response with the information you want.
1.
Scouts: Always copy a second adult.
When contacting an Adult in the Troop, always always always copy a second adult (typically your parent or guardian). BSA prohibits youth and adults from engaging in direct communication. If you send an email without another adult copied, your email will probably just be deleted.
2.
Use your name to send email.
This rule is acoutally a two-for-one rule:
First, send emails from your own email account. Your account is tied to your name; information sent from it is perceived as coming from you. If you send email from someone elses account, it brings into question who the message came from.
Second, make sure your name is clearly identifiable in your sender info. This is the name the sender sees before opening the email. If it’s unclear who the email is from, the sender may delete it thinking it’s not important (I typically delete emails coming from names like "Dark Dragon," or "Princess Pixiedust"). A good practice is to use your first and last name in the sender info settings for your email server. If you don’t know how to change these, consult the Google!
3.
Use a clear subject.
The subject should reflect what your message is trying to convey.
Some examples:
The subject “Art work” is not descriptive, but “Work for Art MB requirement 4” is.
The subject "Eagle" is not descriptive, but "Eagle Project Plan for Review" is.
4.
Separate items into different emails, and keep the thread in tact.
It makes it much easier to find emails when they only contain one item. For instance, you send an email for Hiking MB 5-mile plan (subject: "Hiking 5mi plan"), I approve it, then you reply submitting a plan for a 10-mile. I'm going to go back and search for a 10-mile plan and not see it because I won't open an email with the subject "Hiking 5mi plan" to look for a 10-mile plan!
Likewise, if you send multiple emails regarding your 5-mile hike, the context gets lost. It will take longer for me to piece together what we've talked about if I'm not quickly able to see the message history.
5.
Put some thought into your email.
Remember, an email is intended to be a more formal form of communication, similar to a letter. Put some time into writing it! Express your thought completely, and be clear in your call to action! For more information, please see this article.
6.
Have a clear call to action.
Some emails relay information, some emails ask the recipient to do something. Be clear in which yours is, and what you want to recipient to do with your information!
Here are a couple of examples:
Email 1:
Subject: "Art work"
Body: "Attached."
My response: Well, I don't know what you want me to do with this. Deleted.
Email 2:
Subject: "Work for Art MB Requirement 4"
Body: "Hi Ian, attached you'll find the work I did for Art MB Requirement 4. I chose Pen and Ink, Watercolors, Pastels, and Charcoal. Please review and let me know if this satisfies the requirement and you can sign it off!
My response: Awesome. I'll review it!
A little context and background information goes a long way.
6.
If it's important, follow up after 1-week.
If you send an email and need a response (or need to meet with the recipient, or need to get a requirement signed off), and you don't hear back after a week, follow up. Messages get marked as spam, people miss emails, maybe you forgot to copy a second adult, maybe you didn't have a clear call to action. Regardless, if there's something you need, it's your responsiblity to follow up.
Generally speaking, I do not follow up after I ask a Scout to revise some of the work submitted. It's the Scout who wants the signoff, and therefore the Scout's responsibility to keep track of outstanding items.
Not everyone follows these rules, but they do make communication much more efficient!