Electronic
Etiquette
Minding
Your
E-mail
Manners
E-mail
is
so
simple
to
write
and
send,
it’s
easy
to
forget
its
impact
as
a
form
of
written
communication.
The
written
word
is
a
powerful
medium.
Recipients
of
your
written
message
are
going
to
form
impressions
about
you
based
on
what
and
how
you
write.
Sloppy
syntax
(the
way
words
are
put
together
to
form
sentences)
says
sloppy
person.
Poor
grammar
says
dumb
person.
Misspellings
or
typos
say
lazy,
careless
person.
Even
writing
that
is
grammatically
correct
can
come
across
as
negative
if
it’s
too
curt
or
too
wordy,
too
stiff,
or
too
lax.
Readers
will
naturally
assume
the
quality
and
content
of
your
writing
will
reflect
the
quality
of
your
talents
and
capabilities.
Since
email
has
become
the
pervasive
form
of
our
written
communication
today,
here
are
some
guidelines
to
improve
the
quality
and
professionalism
of
your
e-mail
messages.
Message
Guidelines
•
Always
include
a
specific
subject
line.
This
is
helpful
for
your
receiver
to
know
at
a
glance
what
your
message
is
going
to
be
about
and
also
to
easily
refer
to
it
later.
•
Be
brief,
but
personable.
While
it’s
important
to
keep
your
message
succinct
and
to
the
point,
the
greater
problem
with
email
is
messages
that
are
often
too
brief—they
can
be
perceived
as
curt
and
rude.
Note
the
difference
between:
I
haven’t
received
your
report
yet.
It’s
due
today.
Versus:
As
you
know,
Tom,
your
report
is
due
today.
Will
you
have
it
to
me
by
the
end
of
the
day?
If
you’re
having
any
problems
with
it,
please
let
me
know
how
I
can
help
you.
Notice
the
second
is
longer,
but
also
warmer
and
friendlier
in
tone.
Sometimes
just
making
a
little
extra
effort
to
warm
up
a
message
will
have
a
positive
impact
on
the
receiver.
•
Treat
your
message
like
a
mini
letter.
Use
the
recipient’s
name,
and
sign
yours.
A
signature
line
is
particularly
helpful
for
messages
that
go
outside
your
company.
By
including
at
least
your
name
and
phone
number,
you
make
it
easy
for
someone
to
pick
up
the
phone
and
call
you
if
he’d
like
•
Check
your
spelling
and
grammar.
If
your
e-mail
program
doesn’t
have
spell
check,
and
you’re
not
the
type
to
be
conscientious
about
those
details,
compose
your
message
in
your
word
processing
program
that
does
have
a
spell-check.
Then
copy
and
paste
it
into
your
e-mail
message.
•
When
replying
to
an
e-mail,
refer
to
the
sender’s
text
in
your
reply.
Copy
the
sender’s
text
that’s
relevant
to
your
reply,
and
delete
the
rest.
However,
the
key
word
here
is
relevant.
There
is
no
need
to
re-send
her
entire
message.
•
Never
send
a
message
you
wouldn’t
want
made
public.
E-mail
is
not
private.
Whether
it’s
deliberate
or
not,
forwarding
a
message
is
as
easy
as
a
click
of
a
button,
so
be
careful
what
you
say
in
cyberspace.
You
never
know
where
it
may
end
up.
Usage
Guidelines
•
Use
both
upper
and
lower
case.
All
caps
or
all
lower
case
style
is
difficult
to
read
and
makes
you
appear
lazy.
SEVERAL
WORDS
IN
ALL
CAPS
is
considered
the
same
as
SHOUTING—IT
CAN
BE
A
LITTLE
UNNERVING
TO
READ.
on
the
other
hand,
i’ve
also
received
messages
in
all
lower
case,
and
i
find
those
a
little
nerve-wracking
to
read.
•
Use
emoticons—the
symbols
that
convey
a
happy
face
:-),
frowning
face
:-(,
laughter
:-0,
winking
;-),
etc.—
sparingly.
They
can
be
helpful
to
insure
that
humor
or
sarcasm
is
not
interpreted
as
criticism,
but
you
want
to
avoid
being
“cutesy.”
•
Acronyms
that
abbreviate
some
commonly
used
phrases—BTW=by
the
way,
FWIW
=
for
what
it’s
worth,
IMHO
=
in
my
humble/honest
opinion—can
be
confusing
and
annoying
if
the
receiver
isn’t
familiar
with
them.
Avoid
them
for
business
messages.
E-mail
has
been
called
“the
kudzu
of
communications.”
In
no
time
at
all,
it
can
overwhelm
your
mailbox
and
eat
up
your
productive
work
time.
Technology
and
the
click
culture
have
created
speed
and
ease
in
communications,
but
the
fallout
is
a
sense
of
impersonality
that
breeds
rudeness.
Do
your
part
to
make
e-mail
productive,
professional,
and
a
pleasure
to
read.
|
Barbara
Busey
is
the
president
of
Presentation
Dynamics,
a
training
firm
that
specializes
in
the
dynamics
of
how
people
present
themselves.
She
has
16
years
of
experience
training,
speaking
and
writing
on
different
types
of
communication
skills.
Her
clients
include
Bank
of
America,
Belk,
The
Charlotte
Observer,
McColl
School
of
Business
at
Queens
University,
and
Transamerica
Reinsurance.
She
is
the
author
of
Stand
Out
When
You
Stand
Up—An
A
to
Z
Guide
to
Powerful
Presentations,
and
has
produced
an
audio
CD—The
Compelling
Speaker—and
a
DVD—How
to
be
a
More
Dynamic
SPEAKER.
