We all communicate by email, most of us every day. In order to have emails that are effective and efficient, we need to observe some email etiquette rules to cut down on confusion and misunderstandings that could hurt us on the job or in friendships. Here are some rules that I have found helpful in my email writing.
Email Address. Always verify the email address of the recipient. Making sure your email goes to the correct person the first time ensures you look professional and competent. Nobody wants to be known as that person who cannot even address an email correctly. If you cannot even do such a simple task, others will wonder what else you have problems with.
Subject Line. Make sure it is suitable and meaningful. An address line of “Hi” could be spam, or to a friend. In business, the subject line should be short and to the point. You have the body of the email to expand on your point. While you want to be short, you also want to be specific in your subject line. A subject like “Safety Meeting on Monday” is always better than just “Meeting”, or on the flip side, better than “We are having a meeting on Monday re: Safety”.
Message Greetings. Email should always have a personal greeting. Depending on your relationship with the recipient, it may be just the first name or the full Mr., Mrs.. If you are sending to someone in an official position, look up forms of address for them and use them.
Body of the Message. Keep the body of the email as short as you can. Be respectful of other’s time. Unless you are in a technical field, keep the technical jargon down to a minimum. It is always better to refer to an attachment that can be downloaded or printed in proper form than to put too much unformatted information into the body.
Use an active voice rather than a passive one. For example, “The team set dates for deadlines” sounds better than “Deadline dates were set by the team.”
Unless talking about a specific person, keep your language gender neutral. “Salesperson” instead of “Salesman”
Be Polite. Use “Please” and “Thank You”. Do NOT USE ALL CAPS – that is considered screaming in email etiquette. Never put anything into an email that you would be embarrassed to have attributed to you.
Sign off professionally. Sincerely, Thank You for Your Time, etc. Use your name and if appropriate, use your title and include your phone number and fax if needed.
Proofread. Use Spellchecker and then reread it one more time – out loud if you can. Spellchecker does not catch the difference between “form” and “from”.
Respect confidentiality. Do not mindlessly forward emails. Not all information is for everyone, and not only is it unprofessional, it could get you fired.
