5. You sent a confidential email to the wrong addressee
The volume of emails we have to process every day forces us to work quickly. This increases the risk of errors: You start typing the addressee and the auto-completion ensures that the field is filled out quickly. It’s just stupid if the email doesn’t go to Sven Meyer, but to Sven Meyer-Holthaus – and he’s also on the board. Also annoying: you click on “Reply to all” and forget that the content of your email may not be suitable for everyone.
Admittedly, our advice for such situations is unsatisfactory. If there is something unreasonable in the email, you can try to recall the email. Maybe you have a good connection with the boss’s office and someone there will help you quietly get rid of the unopened mail.
Always keep your tone matter-of-fact
You may also consider notifying the boss and apologizing. On the other hand, for many superiors there is a high probability that the message was not opened at all. It would be a shame to have drawn attention to this.
Of course, the problem occurs not only occasionally in conversations with superiors, but also with other people inside and outside the company. That’s why the simplest and most important basic rule is to always keep your tone objective and business-like. That makes you invulnerable. It goes without saying that sensitive attachments must be protected with a password. And don’t make the mistake of sending the password along with the attachment in the same email. We wouldn’t be writing it if it didn’t keep coming up.
6. An error in the PowerPoint
The big presentation is coming up, you want to explain the IT strategy to the board and you feel well prepared. But during your talk, you notice an embarrassing spelling or logic error in your presentation. Show that you are a cool sock! Ignore the mistake or, if it’s too obvious, make a little joke about it.
We wouldn’t be surprised if smart presenters intentionally incorporated small errors like this into their presentations. In any case, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. After all, mistakes make us human and give us the opportunity to create a moment of personal closeness to the audience – according to the motto: I am only human.
7. Gossiping about others and not noticing that they are listening
You’re standing in the coffee kitchen and harping on a colleague without noticing that he’s standing outside the door, listening intently. Or after a difficult phone call, you pick up the phone and curse at the person you’re talking to – but unfortunately he’s still on the line. There are plenty of opportunities to embarrass yourself in this way. But how do you get out of such a situation?
In fact, the wisest thing to do is to stand by your words and repeat the criticism in a milder and more matter-of-fact tone. If it was said in the kitchen: “Meyer really has the stupidest marketing idea of all time, we’ll never achieve our goals like this,” you can then say: “Mr. Meyer, please excuse the brisk tone, but we really need to talk about your marketing approach again. The XYZ example clearly showed that we won’t make any progress with it.”
As is often the case, it is best to always criticize in a factual and correct way. Even if your colleague doesn’t listen to you, you have to expect that third parties will pass on your words. So as always: stay professional!
