Email Etiquette

The business world has progressed along with the rest of the world in regards to technology. We rarely receive letters in today’s world— a FedEx package from time to time may be the most we receive in the form of a tangible business document. Email has become the prevalent form of communication, and why shouldn’t it be? It’s efficient, fast and reliable. Time is money after all.

TEXT TABITHA HANST

The business world compels us to write our emails in a professional way; this is not always easy, but it is important. What would your impression be if you opened an email with a business proposal from another company and found it overflowing with informal language and riddled with grammatical errors? Writing professional and presentable emails are essential and they can very well determine the success, or failure, of your business. How do you make sure that your email adheres to the etiquette rules of the business world? Following are some tips:

• Don’t use informal language: Of course when you are sending an email to your close colleagues you can disregard this rule, but when you are sending an email to professional colleagues you must use formal language. Starting an email with: “Hey Buddy,” is not appropriate. You are representing your business; represent it well.

• Know your audience: Always keep your audience in mind. Communicating with another business in the same industry is very different from communicating with the average customer. Use the language and terms appropriate for your targeted audience. When you are communicating with the average person, for example, keep in mind that he/ she may not understand the technicalities of your business; if there are technical terms that you must use, be sure to put the simplified definition beside the word in parenthesis.

• Re-read: We’re all busy and sometimes we want to write an email quickly so that we can get back to work; however, it pays to take the time to re-read what you have written. Your email gives an impression of you and you want to make sure that it is professional. It’s all about impressions; be sure to make a good impression on your respective audience through your emails. It is quite possible that customers or business associates may only know you via email, so represent yourself well.

• Check the spelling, punctuation, and grammar: If you are part of the business world and you know what you are doing, show it. You and your company are represented in the email and you want people to know that you are well educated and well versed in your field. If you do not have spell-check on your email program, copy and paste the text into a new Microsoft Word document to verify the spelling and grammar.

• Get to the point: We’re all busy and we don’t need to be spending more time than necessary reading an email. Keep it brief and to the point.

• Write the subject in the “subject” field. The “subject” field is there for a reason. Make sure that you clearly write the subject of your email in the field so that the recipient is aware of its contents even before opening the email.

• Answer questions completely. If a customer or co-worker sends you an email requesting answers to a few questions, make sure that you answer all of the questions. Additionally, you must make sure that you answer the questions in a concise manner to avoid further emails containing more questions that should have been answered in the first place.

• Reply to sender: We often receive emails that are directed to others as well (a group email). If you need to reply, think about whether you need to reply all or just reply to the sender. There’s nothing more annoying than to receive numerous emails from a group email that don’t pertain to you. When you reply all, make sure what you contribute is something worthwhile to everyone who will receive your email. If you simply want to inform the sender that you have received the email, or you want to address the sender privately, make sure that you just click “reply.”

• Attach the document: Make sure that you attach the document( s) that need to be attached to the email to avoid having to send another email containing the document(s). At the same time be careful not to send the wrong documents to your co-workers or customers. It would be wise to open each attachment before you send it to do one last check.

• Avoid emoticons and abbreviations: Text makes it hard to convey a specific emotion or tone, but reserve emoticons for chatting with your friends; they give an impression of informality. If you need to convey a certain tone or emotion, it may be better to pick up the phone and call. Abbreviations should also be avoided. Many people may not know what the abbreviations stand for, so it’s best to leave them out.

• There is no such thing as privacy: It is very important to remember that sometimes your company monitors the email of its employees; don’t play into a false sense of security that they don’t only to find yourself in a precarious predicament later. Also, sometimes emails can get sent to the wrong person or be forwarded to someone else without your knowledge. It’s better to be safe and make sure that your emails are respectable and professional.

The tips listed above are simple, but they are important, nonetheless. Workdays are busy and email can be a big time waster. Simply being more efficient and conscious about your email activity can make your correspondence at work more fluent. You are selling yourself and your business through your emails. Professional, well thoughtout and well-written emails will ensure that your customers and business associates put their trust in you and your company.