Email has been an essential communication tool since it’s creation in 1988 (yikes!). For most of us, email is simply a quick and efficient way to communicate with one or multiple people at once. With so many resources for both personal and business communications, it’s essential to remember proper etiquette for each situation.
1. Be sure to proofread your email or blog post. With the use of spell checker in all email and interfaces, there’s no reason for messages that contain spelling and grammatical errors. Spell check! Do hesitate and delay sending.
2. Use short and concise subject lines. The subject line should always match the topic you are discussing in the message.
3. Don’t get labeled as spammer. Use proper capitalization in subject lines, avoid using exclamation points excessively. Those types of messages are often tagged as spam.
4. Beware of the “reply all” button. The reply all can have catastrophic effects on your personal life or career if the wrong person receives an unintended message from you.
5. Maintain Privacy. Recipients that are only known to you and not to other recipients receiving the message should have their information hidden. You can use theBCC field to hide private email addresses. Include address in the To: field for those whom you would like to receive a response. Include addresses in the CC: field for those that you are just FYI’ing.
6. Don’t write an angry email. Do not write people with bad news, or a reprimand, or disparaging others. Email is a medium where messages and files can be stored forever, meaning a message can come back to haunt you. It is best to give such news in person or on the phone.
7. Respond in a reasonable timeframe. Unless the email requires immediate attention for mission critical issues, an acceptable timeframe for an email response is anything between 24- 48 hours. Always acknowledge emails in a timely manner as well.
8. Avoid using shortcuts to real words or slang and CAPS. Shortcuts for words such as 2 u 2 for “to you too”, or GR8 for “great” is considered unprofessional in the business setting (as of this writing) and are just hard to read. WRITING INALLCAPS is just RUDE. Unless you’re screaming or writing out a long acronym, use proper form of capitalization.
9. Stop with the one-liners. Messages with just an “O.K.” or “thanks” are big time wasters and unnecessary. You can say, “No response needed” in the subject line if you don’t expect a response.
