2. Em@il Etiquette
Know the definition of email
Understand the importance of email in today’s
Era
Know when to use email at the best interest
Know how to be efficient and effective with
the use of email
Know the Email Etiquette and Understanding
their importance
Conclusion
Nidhi Baichoo
3. Em@il Etiquette
Electronic mail, most commonly referred to as email or e-mail
since 1993, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an
author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the
internet or other computer networks.
Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient
both be online at the same time, in common with instant messaging.
Today's email systems are based on a store-and -forward model.
Email servers accept, forward, deliver, and store messages. Neither
the users nor their computers are required to be online
simultaneously; they need connect only briefly, typically to a mail
server, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages.
Nidhi Baichoo
4. Em@il Etiquette
Email is a quick and easy way to stay in touch with
family, friends, business contacts, and strangers.
It doesn't cost the price of a stamp and you don't
have to wait for days to get a response or answer.
In the business world, it is an easy, fast way to keep
in touch with co-workers and employers.
Emails keep us from wasting valuable time being
placed on hold when you need to contact someone
regarding business or pleasure.
Nidhi Baichoo
5. Em@il Etiquette
Email is a form of one-way communication, meaning it
does not allow for an immediate exchange of ideas. If
you plan to use email as your communication tool,
consider its limitations and your strategy for getting
feedback. Aside from using email as a logistics
coordination tool, it’s best used as follow-up to meetings
or conference calls to recap concepts, agreements and
gain alignment between groups.
As with all communications, emails must be planned and
considered to get the action you want.
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6. Em@il Etiquette
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DO use email to:
Provide one or multiple audiences with a brief
status update in the body of a message
Deliver a longer message or information as an
attachment to your intended receivers
Give timely information consistently to a group of
receiver(s)
Prompt the receiver(s) to view web-based content
or other content that’s attached
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Nidhi Baichoo
DON’T use email:
To give bad or negative news
To give complex, detailed or lengthy information or
instructions
When the receiver deserves an opportunity to give
immediate feedback or response
When there might be nuance or context that can’t
be understood by written words; to express
feelings
8. Em@il Etiquette
Nidhi Baichoo
Allocate specific times of the day to read and
respond to your e-mail
If you don't stay in control of checking your e-mail, you may end up wasting
too much of your work day checking it. Try to respond to emails immediately.
Organize your email whenever you are in it
Effective use of work email includes deleting emails you know you won't need as
you read them and filing those that you will need in specified folders. If you
organize your e-mails on a regular basis, you won't clutter up your inbox,
thus causing anxiety every time you open it
9. Em@il Etiquette
Nidhi Baichoo
Make sure you create a signature for your
messages that includes your title, department,
and important contact information
This way you won't have to keep adding it manually, risking the
possibility of misspellings or even forgetting the information
altogether.
Remember that to use email at work successfully
you need to keep email messages brief and to the
point.
Just like most website content, paragraphs should contain approximately 20 words
for easier reading on the part of the recipient. Long emails can be daunting and
exhausting to look at, never mind read
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Nidhi Baichoo
Learn the rules of Email Etiquette.
For example, typing in all capitals is considered yelling in email
language. Try to stick to one color, preferably black, a plain text, and
an easy to read font. This will ensure that your recipient will be able
to read your emails without problem.
Be professional when emailing a formal
correspondence.
Refrain from using emoticons such as smiley faces and always re-read and
spell-check your message before sending it. Your credibility is behind every email
you send
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Use email only when appropriate.
Even in this Internet age, there are times when email is just not appropriate and
writing a formal letter the old fashioned way or even calling the person you wish to
communicate with is more suitable. Confidential letters and documents should
always be written in letter form, whereas emails should be reserved for shorter
correspondences.
Remember to include a reference in your subject
line that will inform the recipient of the email's
content.
By doing this, the recipient will know what your email is about and will be able to file
it accordingly, and find is easily at a later date, if necessary.
12. Em@il Etiquette
Nidhi Baichoo
‘ETIQUETTE’ is defined as the rules governing
socially accepted behaviours.
Similarly Email Etiquette means virtual behaviour
applied to chat and messaging
13. Em@il Etiquette
1. Greetings and Send-offs
I never start an email with the contents.
An email always begins with a sound introduction
or with the recipient’s name. This will, in the
beginning, let them know to whom they are speaking
with. When you begin by acknowledging them
by name (e.g. Hello, John Doe), you will let them
know whom you intend on talking with. When you are done with an email, always
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finish by saying “Thanks” or “Cheers”, to practice good etiquette and respect.
2. Know When to Call
Not all communication has to occur through email. Once conversation begins to
mention specifics, it may be wise to schedule a phone call—this can prevent
misunderstandings and can even expedite your correspondence. It is also
respectful to pick up the phone when a meeting, scheduled by email, is cancelled.
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Nidhi Baichoo
3. Mind Your Punctuation
Professionalism involves knowing how to mind your punctuation. In a standard
email correspondence, you should use periods and question marks about 95% of
the time. Leave exclamation points to when your conversation is light-hearted,
and you’re familiar with the recipient.
KILL HIM NOT, WAIT FOR ME V/S KILL HIM, NOT WAIT FOR ME
4. Chekc you're speeling adn grammer
Grammar and spelling should be two considerations when emailing in a professional
environment. Even though the content is the star of the email, ensuring that your
grammar is in check allows the business acquaintance to know that you are
taking the conversation seriously. Most email clients have spelling and grammar
checks, so use them!
ONE MORNING I SHOT AN ELEPHANT IN MY PAJAMAS.
HOW HE GOT INTO MY PAJAMAS I’LL NEVER KNOW.
Take advantage of the fact that the same sentence can have two different structures. This famous joke from GrouchoMarx
assumes that most people expect the structure of the first part to be One morning [I shot an elephant] [in my pajamas].
But another possible, and perfectly grammatical, reading is One morning [I shot] [an elephant in my pajamas].
15. Em@il Etiquette
Nidhi Baichoo
5. The Clock is Ticking
When dealing with business, never keep them waiting. As the saying goes, “time is
money”. You should never let a recipient wait more than two days for your reply.
Just like a phone call, waiting on an email can hold up progress on whatever
project you are attempting to establish. After all, isn’t that why you’re emailing
and not using snail mail?
6. Cc V/S Bcc
Don't use BCC to keep others from seeing who you copied; it shows confidence when
you directly CC anyone receiving a copy. Do use BCC, however, when sending to a
large distribution list, so recipients won't have to see a huge list of names. Be
cautious with your use of CC; overuse simply clutters inboxes. Copy only people
who are directly involved.
7. Consider The Privacy of Others
There will be instances when you’ll have to send business emails to multiple
recipients who may not know each other. The recipient’s email address is added
to the “To:” section in average emails, but in multiple recipient emails, you
should add the addresses to the “BCC” or Blind Carbon Copy section, to prevent
others from viewing recipient addresses.
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Nidhi Baichoo
8. Engineer the Perfect Subject Line
The first thing your recipient sees is the subject line. Frankly, they will discern the
importance of an email by a subject line before reading its contents. Make sure
you leave a great impression by being mindful of capitalization, being concise,
and to the point.
9. Reply vs. Reply-All
Nothing is more embarrassing than sending a mass email that was intended for only
one recipient. This is the result of an email that began with multiple recipients.
When replying, you will have the option to “Reply”—which emails the sender—
or “Reply-All”, which sends your message to everyone the original message was
sent to. Double check before sending, or you’ll be sorry.
10.Don't send chain letters, virus warnings, or junk mail
Always check a reputable antivirus Web site or your IT department before sending
out an alarm. If a constant stream of jokes from a friend annoys you, be honest
and ask to be removed from the list. Direct personal e-mail to your home e-mail
account.
17. Em@il Etiquette
11. Tailor a Signature
Unlike a greeting or send-off, an email signature is automatically added to the bottom
of a message, where you can add a small biography and contact information. This
doesn’t replace a quality greeting, but it does allow a new acquaintance to learn
more about you and to know where to get in contact with you.
12. Go in Vacation Mode
Several times a year, during vacation, I usually find myself separated from my email.
As seen in tip #4, time is of the essence, and it’s rude to leave an email in your
inbox unanswered. To alert individuals of my absence, I add an auto-responder
(through Gmail, but also available on other clients) mentioning of why I’m gone
and when I will return.
Nidhi Baichoo
13. Be Mindful of Links
Hackers have found ways to add viruses and malware to attachments and links.
When forwarding emails, ensure that the links and attachments are safe. Also,
reduce the number of chain messages you forward and never send any from an
unknown recipient.
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14. Ask Before Attaching
The reason companies don’t like large attachments is because companies are given a
specified storage space they pay for. Your large attachment eats up their storage
allowance. Before sending a large attachment, or multiple ones, always ask for
permission from the recipient.
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15.Use sentence case.
USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS LOOKS
AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING. Using all lowercase
letters looks lazy. For emphasis, use
asterisks or bold formatting to emphasize
important words. Do not, however, use a
lot of colors or graphics embedded in your
message, because not everyone uses an
e-mail program that can display them.
19. Em@il Etiquette
Nidhi Baichoo
16.When is Irony Appropriate?
Irony is a popular form of comedy for most people. However, in a business setting,
you should shy away from it. Irony in any written form can be misunderstood at
best, and at worst be taken as offensive. Save the irony for emails within your
company.
17. Rethink Your Font
A company email isn’t a PowerPoint presentation from your sixth grade English
project: leave the fancy fonts for another time. Not only does it come off as
unprofessional, some companies may not have the email clients that can present
such fonts. Besides, who wants to read Edwardian Script font anyway?
Professional Fonts to Use
• Times New Roman
• Georgia
• Veranda
• Arial
• Book Antiqua
• Calibri
20. Em@il Etiquette
18. Documents Open for All
Obscure file types can prevent companies from being able to open the attachments
you send, which can slow down business operations and projects. Leave
attachment file types to PDFs, .doc, .txt, or .jpeg. They usually are of a reasonable
size and can be opened on most machines and operating systems.
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19. Separate Work from Play
It’s not wise to use your company email to send personal messages to friends and
relatives. Use your business email for colleagues and business acquaintances
only, for two reasons: to maintain the professional nature of your inbox, and to
limit wasteful use of email storage space.
20. Ensure Your Email Wasn’t Trashed
If you haven’t heard back from a receiver, chances are that they are busy. Inquiring
on whether or not they got your message could make it worse, but there are
times when emails are quite pertinent. Wait a week to a week-and-a-half if time
allows, and if you still don’t have a reply, call them or dispatch another email.
21. Em@il Etiquette
21. Make Your Intentions Clear
When recipients only have a minute or two to read an email, you should make your
message as concise and to the point as possible. Provide an outline in the
beginning of the email of what you expect from the recipient before going a bit in
depth.
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22. Connect Email to Your Phone
To prevent recipients from waiting, connect your business email to your phone to
ensure that you are able to reply to them in a timely manner. In the settings of
most smart phones, you are able to adjust your signature.
23. Inner Company Acronyms
While acronyms are ill-advised to new acquaintances, creating company acronyms
between co-workers can be a clever way to ensure that they understand the
importance or intent of the message. Acronyms like “NRN” (No Reply Needed)
can allow colleagues to know what messages are urgent and what can wait.
22. Em@il Etiquette
24. Extend What’s in Email
It’s easy to blame forgetting or misunderstanding a meeting request given through an
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email. Most email clients don’t have alarm systems. This means it’s your
responsibility to apply outside the inbox what is relevant (creating calendar
alerts for meetings, etc) to be productive.
25. Consider Time Differences
It can be aggravating to request a call or meeting through email and not hear back
within a timely manner. It is necessary, however, to ensure that this isn’t due to
time zone differences. If you are requesting a call from an Australian
acquaintance and you’re in New York, ensure time zone differences are worked
out.
26. Check Your Calendar
To prevent unnecessary back and forth emailing, it is wise to be mindful of traditions
and holidays in the culture or religion of your recipient. If you are in a country
where Christmas isn’t widely celebrated, it may not be wise to schedule a
meeting for December 24th when the rest of your location is on business as
usual.
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Nidhi Baichoo
27. Don’t email when you are angry
Wait for yourself to cool off, before you write anything. If you write in anger you
might write what you will regret! Wait until you think cleared, then read what
you wrote before sending the email
28. Always reread the email
Keep the good habit of reading or re-reading your email before clicking the send
button for any error, bad word use, wrong tone ….
