Whether you like them or not, emails are still an essential channel of communication in business. Poor email etiquette can ruin your reputation and even your career. Here are some tips that may help.
Have A Clear Subject Line
A clear subject line will help people to properly prioritize their emails. Each email you send must have a purpose. The sooner you make it clear, the better it will be for all the people involved.
The worst-case scenario is sending a very important email with the subject line ‘’Hi”.
Greeting
Always start with a friendly but professional greeting. This will help build rapport.
Avoid Multiple Subjects In A Single Email
Once you have stated your purpose in the subject line, stick to it and be to the point.
Do not introduce or sneak in other topics or subjects. People will track issues based on email topics and if put in multiple subjects or topics in one email, you will just be engineering confusion and crossed wires.
Never Send An Email When You Are Emotionally Charged
If you receive an email that makes you angry, do not reply to that email quickly. Step away from the computer and cool down. If you send a message in the heat of the moment, you are bound to say things which you may later regret. You must also remember that your email will be a permanent record. This may create some unwanted attention and consequences.
Language
For professional and business emails, do not use slang, use only proper words.
For people’s names, use only proper names and not nicknames.
Proofread Before Sending
Sending emails with silly spelling and grammar mistakes is one the quickest ways to get famous for the wrong reasons.
Use Punctuation Correctly
Do not overuse punctuation like putting multiple exclamation or question marks for the sake of emphasis. They are much better ways of emphasizing your points.
Send Email To The Correct Audience
You must send an email to the relevant people i.e. people who need the information. People will get very annoyed to see their inboxes full of emails they do not need. Using the ‘’reply to all’’ option is not a practice to be encouraged. If you have to use it, do so with the highest degree of caution. Use it only when you 1000% sure that everyone in the thread needs to be updated.
Otherwise always double check the email addresses before sending.
Address All The Queries
If you are sending an email in response to a number of queries, double check that you have answered all the queries. This will lessen the frequency of emails going back and forth several times. Such an unnecessary waste of time is very annoying. If you feel that you need more time to respond to some of the queries, you must state this and also indicate the timeframe by which you will answer.
Use A Well Laid Out Format
It is advisable to use smaller paragraphs for ease of readability. Keep your emails clean and avoid the use of distracting elements such as
different font colours
uneven sized font
different font types
As for photographs, videos and graphs, attach them only if they relevant and add value to the subject under discussion.
Summarize Long Discussions
At the end of a long discussion, send an email to all involved to summarize all the key points. This will remind the recipients of all the key points and more importantly any action points for some of the recipients.
Contact Details
Always include your signature and contact details at the end of each email so that any of the recipients can contact you if they require any further clarification.
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