Don’t talk to me in
that tone of e-mail!
Ten tips for courteous e-mailing — from not shouting
to keeping it confidential
Love it or hate it, e-mail is here to stay. While using it
is quick and easy, there are some pitfalls. The following
remarks on etiquette are meant as general guidance, and also
apply to other electronic formats including message boards
and chatrooms.
1. Capital letters
Avoid them — it is the e-mail equivalent of shouting.
Capitals are not easy to read either.
2. Spell checking
People are more tolerant of some typing errors in e-mail than
in letters, but a badly spelled or punctuated message will
give a poor impression.
3. Beware of large attachments
Always check with the recipient before you send a large attachment
such as a photo, word document, pdf or video clip. The definition
of ‘large’ is always going to be somewhat arbitrary,
but bear in mind that a 100Kb picture may take a long time
to download over a slow connection. If you have to send it,
use a compression format such as WinZip.
4. Be succinct
Keep it short and meaningful, and include at least some of
the previous message if it is a reply.
5. Give an appropriate subject line
Avoid anything vague like ‘important message’. Similarly,
save urgent flagging of messages for when it really is important.
6. E-mailing the person next to you
Sometimes it is useful to put things in writing — but
don’t forget the art of conversation!
7. Cc-ing everyone
If you point out an error to someone and circulate the message
to all and sundry, you can embarrass the recipient. Would
you like it if they did it to you?
7. Cc-ing everyone part 2
There is a separate issue of overloading people’s inboxes.
This got so serious for one company that it took the radical
step of outlawing e-mail altogether. Admittedly, it was a
phone company.
8 Watch your tone.
You can’t use facial expressions or change your tone
of voice in an e-mail, and a message you see as short and
to the point can be interpreted as brusque or worse. Some
recommend emoticons (smiley faces and the like) though these
won’t be communicated in a text-only email. A simple
please and thank you go a long way, and the odd exclamation
mark lightens the tone.
9. Check your email policy
Your employer may have strict rules on personal messages,
jokes etc. Make sure you know what they are.
10. Confidentiality
Email is about as private as a postcard. Don't send anything
in an email that you wouldn't write on a postcard. Ask yourself,
would you want your boss, your best friend, your partner or
a jury to see it?
Source: www.ivillage.co.uk
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