Email Etiquette

As e-mail continues to proliferate, it’s important to show courtesy and respect, just as in other areas of business etiquette. Here are a few tips.

• Keep your message short and to the point. Lengthy e-mails can become tedious to read, especially if someone receives many e-mails a day.
• For smooth, fast communication, use full sentences (short ones are best) rather than partial thoughts. Write in a manner that shows respect. Pay attention to your grammar and sentence composition. Your e-mail reflects your work product.
• Write responsibly. Everything you write at work is a public document that could be open for anyone to read. Gossiping about someone, especially in writing, is in poor taste and can lead to big trouble.
• Use the same punctuation as you would in writing other business documents or letters. Excessive punctuation, intended for emphasis, looks unprofessional. Stay away from !!!!!!!!!, ALL CAPS, cute abbreviations (such as BTW for by the way), and smiley faces :).
• Keep your formatting simple. Use plain text and fonts. Fancy fonts, colors, or graphics are distracting and may not translate properly on the receiver’s side.
• Fill in the subject line so that the reader has some clue about the nature or urgency of your message. This makes it easier to go back and find an e-mail that you sent or received.
• Jokes can backfire. What is funny to you may offend someone else. Think twice about forwarding a joke. And it can be frustrating to others when you send large file attachments that require special software to open.
• Chain e-mails clog the e-mail system and are annoying. If you feel compelled to send a chain mail, check with your recipient before sending it. It’s better to just delete it and forget about the promises of good fortune and fame.
• The salutation in your first e-mail may be more formal, especially if you have not met someone before. Address your business e-mail as Miss/Mrs./Ms./Mr.  After establishing a relationship, you may start by using “Dear Jane,” or just a first name.
• Try to respond to a business e-mail within 24 hours, and a personal message within 24-48 hours. If you expect a reply, include that in the text of your message, especially if you have a specific deadline to gather information.
• Discuss salary, promotions, or confidential information in person, not e-mail. To broach the subject, send a one-line message to schedule a meeting.
• As a courtesy to others, keep your e-mail addresses confidential by including them in the BCC: field (instead of the TO: field). Or, if your software allows, set up an e-mail group that does not display individual e-mail addresses to others.