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Posted: 2016-03-29 03:04:20
Tailored email communication will get you in with these powerful people.

Tailored email communication will get you in with these powerful people.

Keen to shoot off an email to the Prime Minister? Looking to cold call Google for a job? Stay ahead of the auto-email robots with these tailored communications tips.

 Using all of a person's open social media channels, a Chrome extension app called Crystal Knows develops of a profile of that person, and offers tips on how to best communicate.

Malcolm Turnbull - Prime Minister of Australia

Feel free to keep it cool. Perhaps not "Hey M-dawg", but definitely use casual greetings in your communication and maybe tell a few jokes. Turnbull is social, creative, trusts feelings and gut instinct more than rules or logic and loves talking about ideas, says Crystal Knows.

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The Prime Minister is focused on developing relationships and it comes naturally for him to make quick decisions. So if you're hoping to set up a meeting, keep your tone light-hearted and act is if the event is a social gathering, even it's a formal business event. That may be tough if you're running a conference on complex derivative variation instruments, but perhaps let him know Messina is catering the event.

Also feel free to throw in an emoji. One can only imagine what his communique with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is like.

If you're looking for the PM to hire you or asking for a raise, emphasise the future and Crystal Knows suggests use self-deprecating humour. In other words, don't take yourself too seriously. But make sure you set a reminder the day before the meeting, it's likely he'll be in a whirlwind of engagements and things might get lost.

If you've managed to score time with the PM, he responds well to case studies and stories rather than a list of points of features and gets excited by hyperbole. This is the best product in the world! It's going to rain! This really is an exciting time to be an Australian!

David Thodey - former CEO of Telstra

No emojis for this executive. If you're keen to drop Thodey a line, keep it to the point and don't infiltrate your message with details, in fact try and keep the whole communique to three sentences or less. According to Crystal Knows, Thodey is a short, sharp shooter. He's direct in communication and takes decisive action, but lacks patience and tends to ignore details.

If you manage to bump into Thodey outside the CSIRO headquarters, where he is now Chair after running Telstra for six years, or meet him while he's on one of his hikes, make sure you've practiced what you want to say. Crystal Knows suggests you keep the conversation brief, use words like "done" and "absolutely" and don't get offended if he ends the conversation abruptly.

If you're looking for a raise, don't beat about the bush, just ask him. If you'd like some advice? Ask for it. This executive is focused on the "what" rather than the "how". One last hint, he responds well to the term ASAP. 

Julie Bishop - Foreign Minister of Australia

Don't interrupt. If you're speaking to the Foreign Minister, let her finish her sentences before talking and appeal to her sense of fairness. Bishop is very diligent, steady, detail-oriented, and might seem risk-averse, so provide her with a clear expectations and a step-by-step plan.

If you're hoping to compose an email, state your purpose for the email in the first sentence and use non-essential but friendly lines like "hope you're doing well". She's particularly goal focused, so display steadiness and consistency. And despite having a reputation as the "Emoji Queen", she will respond well to formally constructed communication and will be put off by poor grammar.

She's a patient sort, so if you're working for her, take your time to finish one task before starting another and point out personal connections like common friends or interests.

If you don't get a quick response to a query or a pitch, bear in mind it takes time for Bishop to trust people and needs you to work around her schedule, not the other way around. And if you're trying to invite her to an event, instead of saying "let me know if you can make it", give Bishop a more direct call to action. Otherwise, she probably won't let you know and it might be quite a shock to have an unexpected Foreign Minister appear at your event.

Maile Carnegie - Executive Digital Banking of ANZ, former Google Australia director

Slow and steady. The devil is in the detail when it comes to the new Digital Banking head of ANZ. Carnegie is meticulously detail-oriented, skeptical of change and likes to accomplish one goal at a time. So if you're drafting her an email, throw in terms like "the consensus is…", "the safest bet is to…" and use a sentence to express appreciation for her time.

Carnegie is naturally outgoing, empathetic and enjoys group consensus before acting. So if you're asking her for something try and position Carnegie to feel like she's in this with you, on your side of the table, rather than negotiating from the other side. And keep the tone warm, she won't respond well to an abrupt call to action.

If you'd like to invite Carnegie to an event, perhaps drop some hints about who else will be there and don't get bogged down in the logistics. And if you get into an argument, for whatever reason, perhaps quizzing her on just what Google does with all of our data, be considerate of her feelings. Keep it classy.

And while Crystal Knows scrapes a lot of data from all social corners of the internet, there are some leading Australian business people the app seems to have a curious perspective on...

Clive Palmer - Federal Member for Fairfax and owner of Minerology

Palmer is dependably accurate and a non-confrontational sort. If you're hoping to shoot an email to the leader of the Palmer United Party, Crystal Knows suggests it best to project politeness and respect (even at the expense of boldness) and if you find yourself working with him, offer gentle and objective criticism.

He prefers conservative language, so avoid using 'incredible' and perhaps settle for 'impressive'. 

If you're hoping to get a raise from Palmer, make sure you emphasise your loyalty and commitment to the company. But don't sound too pushy. And judging by recent events, perhaps pick your timing. Palmer will also be riled up by terms such as "obviously" or "as you may already know". Especially if he perhaps doesn't already know. And don't try and copy/paste the email you've already sent to Malcolm Turnbull, it comes naturally to Palmer to get offended by a borderline joke.

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