Email Etiquette
Email is like sending a postcard. Anyone could end up reading it so keep
it courteous and leave out any libellous, sexist or racially discriminating
comments even when meant as a joke.
Using email correctly will convey a professional image, get your
point across more efficiently and avoid unnecessary disagreements.
Here are my tips for making your email courteous and more
effective.
- Subject Line. Clearly summarise your message in the
subject line. This helps the recipient prioritise their mail and avoids
being mistaken for SPAM.
- To. Use -To- for the person you are sending the
message to.
- Cc. For other people who need to receive the
message - think of them as receiving a FYI and if they don't need to
receive this email then don't Cc it to them.
- Bcc. Use when sending an email where you don't want
the recipient to see that you have sent a copy to someone else. Remember
to use the -Bcc- field when sending to a large list of people;
it is very bad manners to display the email addresses of half your
address book when you do a mass email.
- Spelling, grammar & punctuation. Use them
correctly.
- Signatures. Set up a standard signature and use it
on all outgoing business email. Your signature should have your full
name, your company name, email, address , telephone, fax and maybe your
mobile number. Make things easy for yourself and set Outlook options to
put this signature on all outgoing emails - you can always delete it or
change it on the very few emails where you might not want your full
contact details known.
- Delivery and read receipts. They are one of the
most abhorred features of email so don't use them.
- Attachments. Don't attach unnecessary files. Keep
your file attachments to less than 1Mb when the recipient is on a
dial-up line and less than 5Mb when they are on broadband - unless you
have agreed beforehand to sending a larger attachment.
- High Priority and URGENT!!!. Don't use these at
all. If anything is high priority then use the telephone.
- CAPITALS. Don't use capitals, it feels like you are
SHOUTING.
It's always nice to have good manners - they don't
cost us anything and make the world a better place.
© Spiral Web Design Limited
March 2008
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