In this era of e-everything, you may be tempted to toss your print communication efforts in the recycle bin. However, focusing only on electronic media may not be the best approach.

Print is not dead. Print and electronic media efforts can – and should – coexist. The two can work together to help enhance the reach and effectiveness of each other. Direct mail, posters, newsletters, calendars, and brochures can lead people to websites, videos, and social media sites — and vice versa.

How much you focus on which efforts may depend on a few factors:

• The age of your audience: Younger people will typically be more comfortable with electronic communication versus older folks who have used printed communication most of their work life.
• Where and how your audience works and lives: If customers have access to and use computers and smartphones or tablets during their daily lives, they may be more likely to look at electronic communications. If customers do not access electronics often, they may be more likely to look at printed communications mailed to them or displayed in locations throughout your community.

David Johnson, a journalism professor at the American University School of Communication, may have summed up the print versus electronic debate best when he wrote: “The smart answer isn’t putting digital or print first, but to put design and usability first, using each product for what they do best and let them do it together.”

Do you proof your emails carefully before you send them? If you’re like most people, you don’t, unless the email is important. Get in the habit of proofing your emails before you hit send.

Here are a few pointers to proofing your email message (or any content really).

• Read it backwards – If you’ve read your message a few times from start to finish, your brain knows what is supposed to come next and fills in the blanks. Read the last sentence first, then the second-to-last sentence, then the third-to-last sentence, and so on. This offers a fresh perspective, and you may catch something that you wouldn’t have otherwise.
  
• Check contractions and apostrophes – People often mix their and they’re, its and it’s, and your and you’re. Look for these in your messages and double check to make sure that you’re using the right one. Also, don’t forget that apostrophes are never used to form plurals.
  
• Eliminate distractions and interruptions – Many people email while multitasking. Try to avoid this practice to prevent grammatical and punctuation errors in your emails.
  
• Make the text bigger – View text at 125 or 150 percent. Bigger text makes it easier to read and can slow your reading so you catch issues that you might not if the text were smaller.
  
• Recheck sentences after you make changes – If you change anything in a sentence, read the entire sentence again to make sure it still makes sense.
  
• Read your message aloud – Reading aloud forces you to say (and hear) each word.

An organization’s greatest assets are its employees. When people can see how what they do is important to the organization and they feel appreciated, they bring their best selves to work, and that’s a win for everyone – employees, employers, and customers. What supervisors say to their team can have a big impact on individual team morale.

Here are some things that supervisors might consider saying regularly to team members.

• I’m happy you’re on my team because …
• You have great potential to …
• Let’s figure out what you’re best at doing.
• The utility is better with you here.
• What do you think?
• You can do it; I believe in you.
• How do you think we can improve?
• You’re awesome.
• Thank you.