You have probably heard the story of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov’s pooches salivating at the sound of a bell. You may not, however, have heard of his other slobbering dogs. I find that experiment more memorable, and you might, too, so let us go with the other canine study.
Pavlov originally served his canine subjects gourmet meals coated with chili powder. After a while, he denied them their epicurean delights and just sprinkled some chili powder around. Yet, for a long time, his dogs continued to drool at the smell of chili powder. It’s called “being conditioned.”
You needn’t condition your e-mail recipients to drool when they see the message is from you, but nor do you want them to shudder.
A few years ago, I took care of my two young nieces for a week while their parents took a long-awaited and much deserved vacation. I had to leave for an overnight trip, but a reliable friend, Fiona, offered to stay with them at my place.
The next morning, at the hotel, just before my speech, I received an e-mail from her. The subject line was “Accident.”
!!!!!!!!
My fingers shook so violently, I had trouble opening the message. It read, “Oh, Leil, I feel so awful. I knocked over that beautiful green vase you have in the living room and it shattered. I tried to glue it, but it will never be the same again. . . .”
Nor would my feelings for Fiona. Not consciously, that is. And not because of the vase, but because of the jolt she’d given me. She obviously didn’t predict my emotion—the terror I would feel after reading her subject line.
Now, every time I see Fiona’s name in the “From” field, I involuntarily shudder. She inadvertently conditioned me to feel fear just seeing that the message is from her. Didn’t she realize that I’d freak out just reading the word accident when my precious little nieces, Allison and Julia, were in her care?
Think about it. How would you feel getting an e-mail from your boss with the following subject line? “Meet me in my office at nine tomorrow morning.” Even if Boss’s message said he wanted to give you a raise, the momentary jolt would have already done its damage.
No matter what good tidings your messages bear, predict the emotions of recipients reading the subject line. The fleeting pain pricks you gave them are hard to erase.
Little Trick #72
Avoid Scary Subject Lines
Be careful that your subject line couldn’t be misunderstood and inadvertently foreshadow something negative. No matter what pleasantries follow in your message, it’s too late. Your recipient has subconsciously anchored you to unpleasantness. Forever after, just seeing your name in the “From” field reinvokes that painful jolt.
Conversely, the subject line “You got a raise!” translates into warm feelings for Boss.
Always anchor yourself to pleasure by writing upbeat subject lines. For example, if someone has given you a gift, write “Fabulous gift!” as the subject. If you are writing someone to say how much you enjoyed her party, write “Great Party!” Why make your recipients wait until they get into the message to get a smile?
When I sent the manuscript of this book to my editor, her first message back was “Love it!” Unfortunately, it turns out she had only read the table of contents. But Judith’s subject line thrilled me so much that I kept it going on our messages for months—even when she was scolding me about a part she didn’t like!
If the same ol’ subject line has been going back and forth, leave it as is. When appropriate though, add an upbeat comment after it in parentheses. Let’s say your team at the office has been working on a project for the Patton company and the e-mail thread has been “The Patton Project.” Now it is successfully over. Keep the original subject, and add the make ’em smile part: “RE: The Patton Project (Great job everybody!)”
Do you ever watch reruns of the classic sitcom “Seinfeld”? Kramer’s scenes are so funny that audiences laugh the second he skids in the door—before he even says a word. Do the same thing with your subject lines. Check your “Sent” mailbox now, and scan your old subject lines. How many of them would make your recipient smile before opening the message?
Little Trick #73
Write “Make ’em Smile” Subject Lines
Starting today, write only upbeat subject lines. If the subject is already established, season it occasionally with something pleasant in parentheses. After you send a few of these make ’em smile subject lines, you have conditioned people to have a warm response to just seeing that a message is from you.
I’ve often heard people say that e-mail is impersonal and that you can’t tell much about someone just from their written words. I beg to differ. Naturally, your messages don’t reveal as much as your voice or your body language. But your words are like a lighthouse signaling everyone about your self-image.