Here in Part 11 of the Using Your "SEND" Glands? arc we're getting close to the end of our deconstruction and analysis of an email signature file. Part 1 gave some examples of typical signature files and part 2 introduced the concept of psycho-social distance between sender and receiver of an email. Part 3 expanded on the concept of psycho-social distance as the "Six Degrees of Separation" and Part 4 introduced my business signature file as a working model going forward. We started analyzing how the research's findings explain what's in my and others' signature files in Part 5 and Part 6 continued that analysis.
Part 7 explained that gender plays a role in how signature files are laid out. Part 8 gave clues as to whether the individual at the other end of the email is a team player or not and Part 9 explained what messages the use of bold and italics convey. Part 10 dealt with priorities and affiliations and Part 11 dealt with the most obvious and direct communication in the entire signature file, the demonstration of knowledge and expertise.
The last item to consider is the disclaimer that usually appears as the last item in an email signature file.
The last item in most email signatures, the "you have to be this tall to get on this ride" piece, is the disclaimer.
This email message and any attachments are confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify NextStage by replying to this message or by sending an email to support@nextstagevolution.com and destroy all copies of this message and any attachments. Thank you.
Being at the bottom of the signature file is an indication that the sender doesn't believe this is a high priority item. This is also indicated by the even smaller font size than the rest of the signature file.
However, we must note that it is included, therefore the sender does believe it has some, albeit little, value.
Okay. We've deconstructed the heck out of this signature file. In the next post in this arc we reconstruct the signature file so that it plays a better role in the author's professional marketing arsenal and consider the question, "Does anybody actually look at those things?".
More to follow...
Please contact NextStage for information regarding presentations and trainings on this and other topics.
Links for this post:
- Online Anthropology blog posts
- Online Identity blog posts
- Online Privacy blog posts
- Online Trust blog posts
- The Using Your "SEND" Glands? arc
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