Executives would rather be e-mailed.

• Position: YOUR LIFE

As professionals with overflowing in-boxes may attest, people are doing more typing than talking when communicating on the job. Results from a survey by OfficeTeam, Menlo Park, Calif., a staffing service specializing in the placement of administrative professionals, bear this out: Some 65% of executives prefer to receive e-mail over other forms of communication, up from 34% a decade ago.

Conversely, the preference for face-to-face meetings, paper memos, and voice mail has dropped. Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam, notes that, while e-mail offers convenience, this ease comes at a price. "Many professionals receive an overwhelming amount of e-mail, which makes it easier for messages to get lost in the shuffle," she indicates.

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"Two benefits of electronic communication are the immediacy and historical context it provides, including the ability to maintain a record of conversations and obtain project updates from coworkers and business colleagues, but there can be too much of a good thing when in-boxes reach capacity."

To avoid e-mail overload and ensure messages are well-received, OfficeTeam offers these tips:

Make it clear. State the purpose for the message up front, followed by back-up details, so the important points will show up in the recipient's e-mail viewing pane.

Avoid copying everyone. Only forward messages to those who are involved directly with the...