Email Etiquettes

Email Etiquettes

Topics

» Overview» Know Differences» Short and to the point» Subject Line» Formats» Signatures» Attachments» Use of read receipts and priority» Best Practices

Overview

» Email writing has become a large part of modern communication, particularly in business.

» Incredible speed!! » Due to the ease of use it has the potential

to be abused.

Know Differences

» Bouncing (or redirecting) and forwarding

» Bcc : and Cc:

Short and to the point

» Short - limit yourself to five or six bullet points or a couple of paragraphs.

» One topic or action point per email. » Do not send your email to people who don't

need to know about it.» Reply to all ??

Courtesy and politeness

» Responding to heated email.

» Flaming - strongly emotional email.» Use drafts.» Writing in CAPITALS?» Smilies??

Subject line

» Always include it.

» Meaningful and descriptive.» Gives clue about mail.» Finding & prioritising.» While replying??

Formats

» Different mail programs.

» Different platforms.

» Translation becomes a problem. » What to do?» Always think about your recipient(s) and

what they may be using to read your mail.» Solution?

Attachments

» Ask yourself!

» Are they expecting the attachment from you?

» Are you absolutely sure your recipient can read the attached format you are about to send them?

Contd.

» Don't attach files unnecessarily. » Viruses check.» Never send attachments to email lists or to

large groups of people.» Alternative?

Signatures

» A signature is a short piece of text added to the foot your emails usually containing pertinent contact details about yourself.

» 4-6 lines» Separation from main body of message.» Include name, position and affiliation within

the University and possibly an address and phone.

Contd.

» It should be plain text only» No RTF , HTML and certainly no graphics or

images.

» Famous or humorous quotes.

» Avoid religious or political statements or anything people may take offense at, especially in your formal signature.

Use of read receipts and priority

» Don't request a read-receipt - this will almost always annoy your recipient before they have even read your message.

» Don't mark emails high priority or urgent.» Similarly don't use the words URGENT or

IMPORTANT in the subject line of an email.» What if URGENT ??

Best practices

» Don't use credit card information.

» Recommended font - Courier (characters are all the same width).

» Keep your message concise. Remember that the view screen in most e-mail programs shows only approximately one half of a hard-copy page.

» Don't forward ' junk mail'.

Contd.

» Save longer messages and formal reports for attachments.

» Always fill "To" field at last before sending.» Don't forget to personalise email.» Do use spell check and grammar.