Email ETIQUETTE

Because email is so new, we have no hard and fast rules about what may be said in a message. These rules are evolving because of our increased use of email, as well as the advent of new technology that continually affects how we apply it. However, since this correspondence is owned by the business, some general rules of etiquette should be observed.

Be brief and to the point.

A long email message, just like a long letter, is hard to wade through. Most email messages are short. One line may be enough; two pages are usually too much.

Some people write long messages in an effort to avoid being misunderstood. However, this may produce exactly the opposite effect: people will skim the message and pick whatever point catches their attention.

Edit with an eye toward brevity. Cut every word that adds nothing to the meaning of the message.

Organize the message.

Facilitate the reading of the message by stating its main point early (in the first sentence or paragraph) and placing details in the middle. For those rare messages that are quite lengthy, include an overview, headers, and a summary.

Use a descriptive subject line

If you use a descriptive subject line to tell the readers what the email is about, you will get the interested readers to open and read the rest of the email. Try to give the readers enough information in the subject line for them to act upon it. However, don't write too long a subject line, as most email programs limit what will show up in the inbox window.

Format text for ease of readability

How your words look can be as vital as what they say. What your readers see at first glance will either turn them on or off. If the sentences and paragraphs appear too hard to read, people will not want to struggle to get the message.

With the rapid increase in the number of email messages, text must be formatted in a way that facilitates reading.

• Use paragraphs.

  Paragraphs define coherent units of thought and make the text more readable. Separating paragraphs with blank lines (not indentations) eases the quoting of a single paragraph in a reply.

• Use headers.

  Use headers in lengthier emails to help the readers quickly and easily locate the information they want.

• Don't use all uppercase letters.

  All uppercase letters are hard to read. Strings of capitals may be used sparingly to indicate SHOUTING, but shouting is seldom the best way to get a point across.

• Don't use only lowercase letters.

  Don't use all lower case letters because this sends a very unprofessional message. The keyboard has a shift key. Use it.

Format text for professional appearance.

Fonts and colors are a nonverbal component of an email. For most business email, use a simple font and black text. Colored text and script fonts create a less formal feeling, so use them wisely with careful consideration of the reader and of the message you want to send.

Be friendly and courteous.

Because email developed as a casual form of communication, we tend to be less careful about what we write. We actually need to be extra careful because email lacks body language and speech inflection, which provide valuable communication clues in a face-to-face conversation.

Extra care should be taken to make email friendly and courteous. A seemingly neutral message may be received more negatively than you would like. Therefore, you should use common courtesies, such as please and thank you

As a receiver of email, always be sure to give correspondents the benefit of the doubt when unsure about their mood. If a message's meaning is ambiguous, ask for clarification before jumping to conclusions.

Edit the text.

Incorrect spelling, punctuation, and grammar are just as unprofessional in a business email as they are in a business letter. Edit your email before you send it so it doesn't convey a negative nonverbal message about you.

Be wary of legal issues.

Your business owns the content of your email. Don't ever write or forward anything that you don't want broadcast to everyone in your company or that you don't want used in a court of law as evidence against you or your company.

Restrict messages to those who "need to know".

Limit the recipients of an email message. Define and narrow your audience to those who truly need the information you are sending.

Identify yourself.

Make up a signature block that contains appropriate contact information and append it to your emails. The signature block should include your full name and may include your organization, title, telephone number, fax number, or postal address.

Respond promptly or use a vacation message.

Common courtesy dictates that if you aren't going to be able to respond to your emails promptly, you should let the sender know. Use a vacation message if you are away for a few days. Or if a lengthy answer is required and you aren't able to get to it immediately, send an email to the sender when you will reply.

Attach wisely and sparingly.

Attachments can be a source of frustration and even destruction when not used properly. When sending an attachment, try to use a platform that allows your recipient to open the attachment the first time. Don't send a large file without warning the recipient first.

Be careful with icons and graphics.

Icons and graphics can also be sources of frustration because they can trip up servers. If you use them, be sure they are clean, simple, and well-designed. If your message is professional, your icons and graphics should look the part.

Use a priority setting when sending important email.

A priority setting is very helpful when you want to be sure your email is considered first. But use this setting only when the email is important. Remember the boy who cried wolf!

Use return receipts sparingly.

Asking for a return receipt for every email you send can annoy the receiver. Use this option only when you really need to know that your reader received the email.

Use the reply function.

Automatic quoting is a unique capability within email that enables maintaining a record of conversations without retyping anything. This feature allows you to include the context from previous messages to facilitate picking up the thread of the conversation.

Sometimes, typing your response after each quoted question is helpful. Other times, confining all of your responses to a single paragraphs is a more appropriate strategy. You may want to preview your strategy to a reader so they don't miss any important information.

However, remember to quote only those elements of that message that will facilitate the understanding of the reply. Delete any portions that are not relevant.

Also, use the reply function only when you are actually replying to the message you have received. Don't use it as an easy way to enter an email address when you intend to discuss a completely different topic.

Be careful with tone and with humor.

Because email is less formal than paper mail, we tend to be less careful about what we write. The message may be easily misunderstood because words cannot convey body language or speech inflection.

So, when sending a tone-sensitive email, try this: Write it, wait a day, then edit and send it.

If the topic is emotional, you may want to choose a communication medium that allows more nonverbal cues than email allows. You may need to speak with the person face to face.

Do not use email to let off steam, chastise people, or say anything derogatory.

As for humor--when in doubt, leave it out

Be careful with jargon and abbreviations.

Abbreviations of common phrases may be used only when the correspondents understand the "jargon."

IMHO (in my humble opinion) OTOH (on the other hand) FAQ (frequently asked questions)

BTW (by the way) F2F (face-to-face) FYI (for your information)

Don't use emoticons.

Emoticons are symbols put together to look like sideways smiley faces, sad faces, etc. In business communication, use emoticons only when you know the correspondent well enough to be informal.