EmailEtiquette

1. Beinformal,notsloppy.Yourcolleaguesmayusecommonlyacceptedabbreviationsinemail,butwhen
communicatingwithexternalcustomers,everyoneshouldfollowstandardwritingprotocol.Youremail
messagereflectsyouandyourcompany,sotraditionalspelling,grammar,andpunctuationrulesapply.
Useshortparagraphsandblanklinesbetweeneachparagraph.Whenmakingpointsusenumbersor
bullets.
2. Keepmessagesbriefandtothepoint.Justbecauseyourwritingisgrammaticallycorrectdoesnotmean
thatithastobelong.Nothingismorefrustratingthanwadingthroughanemailmessagethatistwiceas
longasnecessary.Concentrateononesubjectpermessagewheneverpossible.
3. Usesentencecase.USINGALLCAPITALLETTERSLOOKSASIFYOU'RESHOUTING.Usingalllowercase
letterslookslazy.Foremphasis,useasterisksorboldformattingtoemphasizeimportantwords.Donot,
however,usealotofcolorsorgraphicsembeddedinyourmessage,becausenoteveryoneusesanemail
programthatcandisplaythem.
4. Usetheblindcopyandcourtesycopyappropriately.Don'tuseBCCtokeepothersfromseeingwhoyou
copied;itshowsconfidencewhenyoudirectlyCCanyonereceivingacopy.DouseBCC,however,when
sendingtoalargedistributionlist,sorecipientswon'thavetoseeahugelistofnames.Becautiouswith
youruseofCC;overusesimplycluttersinboxes.Copyonlypeoplewhoaredirectlyinvolved.
5. Don'tuseemailasanexcusetoavoidpersonalcontact.Don'tforgetthevalueoffacetofaceoreven
voicetovoicecommunication.Emailcommunicationisn'tappropriatewhensendingconfusingor
emotionalmessages.
6. Rememberthatemailisn'tprivate.Emailisconsideredcompanypropertyandcanberetrieved,
examined,andusedinacourtoflaw.Unlessyouareusinganencryptiondevice(hardwareorsoftware),
youshouldassumethatemailovertheInternetisnotsecure.Neverputinanemailmessageanything
thatyouwouldn'tputonapostcard.Rememberthatemailcanbeforwarded,sounintendedaudiences
mayseewhatyou'vewritten.Youmightalsoinadvertentlysendsomethingtothewrongparty,so
alwayskeepthecontentprofessionaltoavoidembarrassment.
7. Usethesubjectfieldtoindicatecontentandpurpose.Don'tjustsay,"Hi!"or"FromLaura."Agreeon
acronymstousethatquicklyidentifyactions.Forexample,yourteamcoulduse<AR>tomean"Action
Required"or<MSR>fortheMonthlyStatusReport.It'salsoagoodpracticetoincludetheword"Long"
inthesubjectfield,ifnecessary,sothattherecipientknowsthatthemessagewilltaketimetoread.
8. Becarefulusingreplytoall.Unlessyouarecommunicatingwithaspecificgroupforabusinessneed,
dontreplytoallespeciallyifdocumentsareattached.Anemailsenttoyoucouldhavehundredsof
otherrecipients.Ifmanyofthosereplytoall,itcansaturatethenetworkandgreatlyslowemail
delivery.
9. Rememberthatyourtonecan'tbeheardinemail.Emailcommunicationcan'tconveythenuancesof
verbalcommunication.Inanattempttoinfertoneofvoice,somepeopleuseemoticons,butusethem
sparinglysothatyoudon'tappearunprofessional.Also,don'tassumethatusingasmileywilldiffusea
difficultmessage.
10. Useasignaturethatincludescontactinformation.Toensurethatpeopleknowwhoyouare,includea
signaturethathasyourcontactinformation,includingyourmailingaddress,andphonenumber.
11. Answerpromptly.Eachemailshouldberepliedtoasquicklyaspossibleandpreferablywithinthesame
workingday.Iftheemailiscomplicated,justsendanemailbacksayingthatyouhavereceiveditand
thatyouwillgetbacktothem.

12. Donotoverusethehighpriorityoption.Ifyouoverusethehighpriorityoption,itwillloseitsfunction
whenyoureallyneedit.Moreover,evenifamailhashighpriority,yourmessagewillcomeacrossas
slightlyaggressiveifyouflagitashighpriority.
13. Dontleaveoutthemessagethread.Whenyoureplytoanemail,includetheoriginalmailinyour
reply.InotherwordsclickReply,insteadofNewMail.Somepeoplesaythatyoumustremovethe
previousmessagesincethishasalreadybeensentandisthereforeunnecessary.Ifyoureceivemany
emailsyouobviouslycannotremembereachindividualemail.Thismeansthatathreadlessemailwill
notprovideenoughinformationandyouwillhavetospendafrustratinglylongtimetofindoutthe
contextoftheemailinordertodealwithit.Leavingthethreadwillsavetherecipienttimeand
frustrationinlookingfortherelatedemailsintheirInbox.
14. Adddisclaimerstointernalandexternalmails.ThiscanhelpprotectyourAgencyfromliability.
15. Readtheemailbeforeyousendit.Alotofpeopledontbothertoreadanemailbeforetheysendit
out,ascanbeseenfromthemanyspellingandgrammarmistakescontainedinemails.Apartfromthis,
readingyouremailthroughtheeyesoftherecipientwillhelpyousendamoreeffectivemessageand
avoidmisunderstandingsandinappropriatecomments.

TheAuthorofmostofthisdocumentisLauraStack,MBA,CSP,TheProductivityPro

http://office.microsoft.com/enus/outlookhelp/12tipsforbetteremailetiquetteHA001205410.aspx