This document outlines best practices for effective email communication, including common mistakes, types of emails, and strategies for managing one's inbox. Key points emphasize the importance of clarity, conciseness, and appropriate etiquette in email correspondence. The document provides actionable tips to enhance communication efficiency and professionalism in a workplace setting.

1. COMMUNICATION:
E-MAIL ETIQUETTE
Abu Zafor Md. Shaleah
Senior Executive – HRD
Concord Group of Companies

3. OVERVIEW
• Communication
– What it is?
– How we do it?
– Is there any preferred ways?
– Research findings
• Electronic Mail
– Advantages vs. Disadvantages
– Types
• Effective Communication through e-mail
– 8 Common Mistakes
– 10 ways for Writing Effective E-mail
– Seven (07) things to Think in writing e-mail
– E-mail: Examples and Tips
• Managing Inbox
• Summary

4. GROUND RULES

5. COMMUNICATION:
DEFINITION
(American Heritage)
Com·mu·ni·ca·tion (noun)
• the Act or process of communicating;
fact of being communicated.
• The imparting or interchange of thoughts,
opinions, or information by speech,
writing, or signs.
• Something imparted, interchanged,
or transmitted.
• Document or message imparting news, views, information, etc.
“Communication takes place when one person transfers some
understandable data to another person.”

6. COMMUNICATION:
HOW WE DO IT?
How do we communicate with:
• Colleagues?
• Supervisors?
• Partners?
• Clients?
Do you have a preferred way of communicating?
Preferred way of communication:
• Face-to-face
• Phone
• Business Letter or Print Memo
• E-mail: noun (e·lec·tron·ic mail)

7. THERE IS NO FORMULA
FOR
PERFECT E-MAILING
AUTHENTIC
AND
HONEST MESSAGING WORKS

8. COMMUNICATION:
PERSONAL ETHICS
Communicator is responsible to be:
– Honest
– Clear
– Accurate
– Comprehensive
– Accessible
“Every instance of workplace writing occurs for a specific reason and is
intended for a particular individual or group... Although this may seem
obvious, awareness of purpose, audience, and tone is the single most
crucial factor in determining whether your communication will
succeed.” - George Searle.

9. COMMUNICATION:
RESEARCH FINDINGS
According to Carnegie Mellon Study, an employee:
• Receive 30-50 e-mails per day
• Immediately delete 29%
• Check e-mail 12 times per day
• Spend 2+ hrs. reading and responding to e-mail
• Keep 187 e-mails in their inbox (Some in study with over
500!)

10. COMMUNICATION:
RESEARCH FINDINGS

11. E-MAIL:
ADVANTAGES VS. DISADVANTAGES
ADVANTAGES:
• Fast
• Cheap
• Easy to use
• Digital (saves paper)
• Expands a businesses’
capability to communicate
with their customers
DISADVANTAGES:
• Digital divide
• For legal reasons, some
people need original hard
copies on letterhead
stationary, complete with
signatures.
• Some still PRINT emails
• Not all email formats are
made alike

12. EMAIL:
TYPES
Four common types of E-mail are:
1. Self-fulfilling: You tell the receiver something. There is no
reply.
Example: “Daughter is sick and will be out of the office for the
rest of the day”.
2. Inquiry: You need something from the receiver. The reply is
the desired outcome.
Example: “Request of colleague as to whether they achieved
proper permissions to move ahead on project from marketing”.

13. EMAIL:
TYPES
3. Open ended: Communication lines are open for future
purposes.
Example: “Working schedule about a new procedure or process”.
4. Action oriented: The goal is action on the part of the receiver,
not a reply.
Example: “Complete a particular form for HR and send if you
want to be a part of a new wellness program”.

14. EMAIL: TO ENSURE
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Things to be considered:
1. Personal efficiency
2. Corporate professionalism
3. Protection of potential liability issues
4. Create e-mails that will –
– be read by the receiver.
– be understood by the receiver.
– engage the receiver to achieve the intended purpose.
– not require too much time on the part of the receiver.

15. EMAIL: TO ENSURE
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
“Most people know roughly what they want, but do not
take time to clearly think it through. This is how we end
up with pointless email … our thoughts are
disorganized, and we can easily confuse the reader.”
“E-MAIL ETIQUETTE ASKS YOU TO PUT YOUR READER’S NEEDS
FIRST, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU WANT THE OTHER PERSON TO DO
SOMETHING FOR YOU.”

16. E-MAIL:
EIGHT COMMON MISTAKES

17. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES
1. Over-copying people on emails (“reply all”)
2. Being relaxed about checking e-mail
3. Vague subject lines
4. Subject lines that don’t match the message
5. Sending one-liner responses
6. Immediately replying to an email but without purpose
7. Overusing the high priority button
8. Not including a signature

18. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES
1. OVER-COPYING PEOPLE ON EMAILS (“REPLY ALL”):

19. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES

20. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES
2. BEING RELAXED ABOUT CHECKING E-MAILS:

21. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES
3. VAGUE OR NO SUBJECT LINES:

22. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES

23. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES

24. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES

25. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES
4. SUBJECT LINES THAT DON’T MATCH THE MESSAGE:
• Replying month long old e-mails (unrelated & confusing)
• Change subject line as soon as the content of the email chain
changes
5. SENDING ONE-LINER RESPONSES:
• Replying as:- "Thanks" or "OK" (not advances the conversation)
• It is not mandatory to answer every email
• Difficult to send an appropriate one-liner response
• To avoid being the victim of one-liner emails, it is good to add "no
reply necessary" at the top of an email if you don’t anticipate a
response.

26. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES
6. IMMEDIATELY REPLYING TO AN EMAIL BUT WITHOUT PURPOSE:
• Similar to One-liner response
• Example: Immediate responses of "Got it – I’ll get back to you later.“
• Overloads receivers inbox (annoying)
7. OVERUSING HIGH IMPORTANCE BUTTON:

27. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES
8. NO OR INAPPROPRIATE SIGNATURE:
No, he did not say that!

28. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES
MORE ABOUT E-MAIL SIGNATURE BODY:
Including own (same) e-mail address in the signature body.

29. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES
MORE ABOUT E-MAIL SIGNATURE BODY:
Including a FAX number: Most people are not living in 1994 or
1894 (riding horses to work)

30. E-MAIL:
COMMON MISTAKES
MORE ABOUT E-MAIL SIGNATURE BODY:
• Not including a phone number (since, it will work as a secondary way of
communication following an e-mail)
• Not including international prefix (country code)
– For example: in Bangladesh
• For telephone : +88 (02) XXXX XXX
• For mobile phone : +88 01712 XXX XXX

31. TEN WAYS OF
WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAIL

32. EMAIL: TO ENSURE
WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAIL
1. USE A MEANINGFUL SUBJECT.
Just as a meaningful title makes a reader read a blog post, a
meaningful subject of your email sets it apart from the crowd. A
meaningful subject saves time as the recipient can grasp your
idea quickly.
For example: If you want to post a guest article at Daily blog tips
and want to contact Mr. X, use the subject line as “Guest article”
rather than “Hello Mr. X”.

33. EMAIL: TO ENSURE
WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAIL
2. SKIP THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS, JUMP DIRECTLY TO THE POINT
• Keep the purpose in focus
• Do not add unnecessary introductions or links
• Avoid boring intros and jump directly to your point
• Save time at both ends
• Your recipient(s) may have dozens of unread e-mails

34. EMAIL: TO ENSURE
WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAIL
3. USE SAVED TEMPLATES FOR ANSWERING COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
• In case of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), make some
templates for further use.
4. ADD A HUMAN TOUCH. MAKE IT PERSONAL
• Do not overkill by making everything automated
• Some emails that will need personal attention
• Spend some time on providing some value, care

35. EMAIL: TO ENSURE
WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAIL
5. NEVER WRITE IN CAPITAL CASE
• WRITING AN EMAIL IN CAPITAL CASE MAKES IT DIFFICULT
TO READ AND THE RECEIVER WILL GET ANNOYED FOR
SURE.
• Avoid writing email in capital letters or else your message
might end up in the trash folder.

36. EMAIL: TO ENSURE
WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAIL
6. STICK TO THE PROPER MESSAGE THREAD
• Including earlier conversations in reply is a good habit
• Helps receiver to recall subject, earlier conversation
• Saves time for searching earlier threads of the
conversations
Gmail/Outlook, automatically includes the threads in “reply”
messages. While replying to an email conversation, its good to
click “reply” instead of composing a new email message.

37. EMAIL: TO ENSURE
WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAIL
7. READ THE EMAIL BEFORE YOU SEND IT
• Before you hit the send button:
• Read what you have just typed
• Check for spelling & grammatical mistakes
• Read it from receiver’s angle
AN E-MAIL CAN MAKE OR BREAK A POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY
SEND AND RESPOND WISELY!

38. EMAIL: TO ENSURE
WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAIL
8. DON’T USE ABBREVIATIONS, SLANG AND EMOTICONS
• Business emails should be formal as they reflect the
posture of the organization/company
• Using unnecessary acronyms/smilies lowers the value of
e-mail & message

39. E-MAIL:
AVOID CHARTROOM ACRONYMS
Avoid abbreviations and acronyms hatched in internet chat room
and other informal context, such as:
BTW : by the way
FWIW : for what it worth
HAND : have a nice day
IMHO : in my humble opinion
IOW : in other word
IRL : in real life
OTOH : on the other hand
TMOT : trust me on this
TTYTT : to tell you the truth
WADR : with all due respect
As with so many aspects of workplace communications, the sue
of acronyms is largely governed by the considerations of
Audience, Purpose and Tone.

40. EMAIL: TO ENSURE
WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAIL
9. BE CAREFUL WITH FORMATTING
• Avoid decorate your email message with lots of colors and
formatted stuff
• Unnecessarily highlighted text or e-mail body gives a spammy
appearance & increases chance to delete/avoid
10. USE SHORT AND SIMPLE SENTENCES
• Email’s should be simple to read and should convey the
meaning as quick as possible
• Never think that, Shakespearean writing will be interested to
the receiver
• Keep the sentences short and simple
• Never write an email when you are angry – it reflects!

41. E-MAIL:
SEVEN THINGS TO THINK

42. 1. THE FIRST IMPRESSION

43. THE FIRST IMPRESSION

44. 2. SALUTATION
• Important for setting Tone
• To value and show respect
• Be careful about Title and name Spelling
• In case of Gender confusion, use first and last name together

45. 3. TONE
• AFR: Approachable, Friendly, Respectful
• “no u didn’t rite ur tchr lyk dis. U r uskng 4 trbl” Bad…bad..bad!
• Avoid unnecessary use of UPPERCASE
• Read again before clicking “Send” button Remember
these ???
1 2

46. TONE: EXAMPLE 01

47. TONE: EXAMPLE 02
Dear Mrs. Crowley
When i was checking on home access tonight, i noticed that you entered a
zero in for the assignment due on 9/3. Although i turned the assignment in
late, i do have a reason that i would like to explain. I understand the policy,
but there were extenuation circumstance that night, and i turned the paper
into the basket later in the day. Could I possibly talk to you about this
sometimes soon? Let me know when you are free and i will come to your
room. Thank you for your time.
Subject: A Concern

48. 4. LENGTH
Too
Short!

49. LENGTH
Too
Long!

50. 5. FONT
• Natural • Easy to convert • Easy to read
Informal

51. 6. WORDING:
NEGATIVE VS. POSITIVE
NEGATIVE:
• We cannot process your claim
because the necessary form
have not been completed.
• We do not take phone calls
after 5:30 PM.
• We closed your file because
we did not receive your
information requested in our
letter dated October 10, 2016.
POSITIVE:
• Your claims can be processed
as soon as you fill-up the
necessary forms.
• You may reach us by phone till
5:30 PM.
• Your file will be reactivated as
soon as you provide the
information requested in our
letter dated October 10, 2016

52. 7. ATTACHMENTS
• Reference attachment in the body of e-mail.
• MS Office 2007 o 2013
• PDF format (preferable)
• JPG or PNG format for pictures
• Name the file clearly

53. EMAIL:
EXAMPLE 01

54. EMAIL:
EXAMPLE 02

55. EMAIL:
EXAMPLE 03

56. EMAIL:
EXAMPLE 04

57. E-MAIL:
TIPS
PARTS OF E-MAIL:
• From : Automatic
• To : Required
• CC : Optional
• BCC : Optional
• Date : Automatic
• Subject : Required
• Opening : Required
• Closing : Required
• Signature Block : Required
• Attachments : Optional
PARTS OF BUSINESS LETTER:
• Date
• Sender’s address
• Insider address
• Salutation
• Body
• Closing
• Enclosures
• Signature

58. MANAGING OWN INBOX
Before expecting GOOD from others, Be good at your own arena!

59. E-MAIL:
MANAGING INBOX
• Schedule a regular time to read, organize, and respond to
your emails.
• Use the “Four D’s for Decision Making” Model
– Delete it (29%)
– Do it (2 minutes or less)
– Delegate it
– Defer it
• Distinguish between reference and action information
– Reference: Not required to complete an action but
should be filed for later use
– Action: Required to complete an action

60. E-MAIL:
MANAGING INBOX
• Find a system for organization and stick with it:
– Filters
– Folders
– Search Functions
• Keep it Simple
– Today/This Week
– Reference/Action
– Payroll
– Personal
– Pending or Follow-up
– Projects
– Classes

61. E-MAIL:
MANAGING INBOX

62. E-MAIL:
MANAGING INBOX
• Pick up the phone or meet face-to-face. If your situation is
going to take multiple e-mails to resolve, call or meet instead
of e-mail.
• Separate personal from work.
– Give friends and family a separate e-mail address and
keep your work e-mail strictly for business.
– Don’t send subscription e-mails to your work address.

63. E-MAIL:
ATTITUDE TOWARDS THIS SESSION
• Did you discover something about your communication style?
• Did you discover something about how you write emails?
• Will you change anything?
• What will you keep the same?
• What three (03) things will you do to keep yourself organized?

64. LET’S SUMMARIZE …

65. THANK YOU!