别在办公邮件上出丑

 　　Just because e-mail is an everyday part of life in the office doesn't mean it's something you don't have to think carefully about. 因为用工作邮箱接收和发送一些不怀好意的或是不合适的信件可能导致各种不堪设想的后果。

　　Of course, your email gaffes¹ (出丑) are most likely not going to turn you into a global laughingstock. But office email, when used improperly², can undermine your efforts to get ahead in your career. Following are some tips to help you use email to your advantage rather than detriment³.

　　1. Keep it short and sweet. Email is not a form of communication that lends itself to long missives (信件). If you do send a long e-mail--if you send a product description to a potential client, for instance, or if you send a clarification of departmental policy to your colleagues - make sure you go over the details in person as well as in your email, since relying on your email to communicate all the details often fails. 切记，信的内容一定要分段。读者们可以忍受长长的信件，但没人爱理会那些内容混乱成一团的信。

　　2. Avoid discussing sensitive information. Despite the seeming harmlessness of email, it is not really private. It's way too simple for the recipient⁴ of your email to forward it to others. And remember that your company can access any email going into or out of your account. Rule number one for emailing sensitive information: 假定你的邮件会被既定接收者以外的任何一个人收到。

　　Another reason to avoid including sensitive information in e-mail is that you might change your mind about whether you want to let that information be known. Michael Eisner, for instance, once sent financial information about Disney to journalists without realizing it had not yet been publicly released. Rule number two for emailing sensitive information: 三思之后再决定要不要发送。

　　3. Know when to use email, and when to have a discussion in person or over the phone.

　　These days people like to use email for all kinds of purposes for which it is usually not ideal. If you want to brainstorm⁵, or to manage or critique others, it's usually best to do so in person - or, failing that, over the phone.

　　There are a number of reasons for this. For one thing, email does not communicate unspoken nuances the way personal communication does. For another, people are often not as "present" when they read email as they are in a real-time meeting. 仔细想想看：你什么时候用email完全清楚明了的处理过一件事情？最后还不是要直接与人交流？

1 gaffes   

n.失礼，出丑( gaffe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网

2 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

3 detriment   

n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源

参考例句：

• Smoking is a detriment to one's health.吸烟危害健康。
• His lack of education is a serious detriment to his career.他的未受教育对他的事业是一种严重的妨碍。

4 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

5 brainstorm   

vi.动脑筋，出主意，想办法，献计，献策

参考例句：

• The women meet twice a month to brainstorm and set business goals for each other.她们每个月聚会两次，在一起出谋献策，为各自制定生意目标。
• We can brainstorm a list of the most influential individuals in the company.我们可以集体讨论，列出该公司中最有影响的人员的名单。