A seminar based on E-mail Etiquette in Professional English subject

2. • E-mail stands for electronic mail.
• These are digital messages that can be sent through an Internet
connection.
• E-mail has many advantages.
It is fast.
It is inexpensive
It saves paper.
It is convenient
The recipients can read the E-mail message at leisure and pace

3.  Etiquette is defined as the rules of governing socially acceptable
behaviour.
 Socially acceptable behaviour varies greatly depending on who you
are with, your relationship to that person, and the environment that
you are in. If you are writing to co-workers that you communicate with
frequently and have developed working relationships with them, you
can be as flexible as the environment allows.
 If you are corresponding with an instructor, you will need to be more
careful with your behaviour.

4.  Most people in business and education are using email as a form of
communication.
 Just as we follow certain normative expectations when communicating with
different types of people in person, we should also do the same when
writing.
 Not following these types of social standards can often lead to
miscommunication, resulting in the recipient holding a negative opinion or
simply ignoring our email altogether.
 Well written messages will be more effective in conveying our ideas and
building strong relationships with peers, teachers and employers.
 In other words, how we can act in a social environment plays an important
role in how people form their opinions about us.
 In some cases, email may be the form of communication that we have with
an individual. Therefore using good etiquette in your messages is
paramount.

5. 1.Quick Response
People send e-mails because they wish to receive a quick reply or a quick
response. So, it is better to respond to e-mails within 24 hours and preferably
within the same working day.
2. Do not Circulate E-mail to all the people
Very often we see that e-mails are circulated to people who are remotely or
hardly concerned with the information. This tendency often irritates people
who are not concerned with that particular information.

6. 3. Answer the Queries
If we get e-mail seeking clarification in certain issues, we should try and answer
such queries immediately. Besides the queries, we should also answer any other
anticipating queries. This certainly helps the people concerned. It shows one’s
caring attitude for others and strengthens one’s image and the image of the
organization for which one works.
4. Avoid Sexist Overtones
Write your e-mail in a tone and style that is suggestive of gender neutrality on
your part. Therefore, one should avoid sexist overtone on e-mail writing
5. Proper Structure and Layout
Since reading from a screen is more difficult than reading from a paper, one has
to follow proper structure and layout while writing an e-mail. Using short
paragraphs and keeping blank lines between each paragraphs make reading easy.

7. 6. Identifying the Writer and the topic
Use the from line: Write your full name rather than just E-mail address. At the
end of the message, it is better to write your phone number and postal address.
The information in the subject line should be meaningful to the recipient as well
as the sender.
7.Be Concise
The e-mail message should be short and to the point. A long e-mail discourages
the receiver to read.
8. Using Proper Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
As in all forms of written communication, one should be careful while writing e-
mail. The spellings should be correct. Use grammatically correct English. Use
proper punctuation . Wrong punctuation marks will be a cause for
misunderstanding the message.
9. Not to use Capital Letters
Never send any e-mail text using capital letters

8. 10. Avoid Long Sentences
Try to keep sentences containing a maximum number of 15 to 20 words
11. Using Active Voice Instead of Passive
Active voice is more preferred in e-mail messages rather than passive voice.
12.Maintaining Coherence
When we give a reply to an e-mail, we should include the original mail in the
reply. Click “Reply” instead of “new mail”. Connect the e-mail to the original e-
mail.
13. Do not Overuse the “High Priority” Option
Overuse of “high priority” option often becomes aggressive even if flagged “high
priority”
14.Do not Attach Unnecessary Files
A number of attachments often makes the receiver annoyed. Send attachments
files when the are productive and really useful to the receiver.

9. DO
• Review messages before you send to make sure that you are saying
what you really want to say.
• Be as polite as possible
• If it is an official message, make it clear to the recipient
• Try not to make the receiver to assume the worst
• Be patient with inexperienced e-mail users
• Do include a subject line that accurately reflects the subject you want
to discuss
• Do enjoy and use responsibly the e-mail resources available to you.

10. • Don’t send a message when you are angry. Cool down and then decide
whether you really want to send it.
• Don’t send a large message in your response
• Don’t reply to all recipients unless they really need to see your message
• Don’t type the message in capital letters. It is considered to be rude.
• Don’t send off topic messages to mailing lists, especially work-related
lists.
• Don’t send chain letters of messages.
• Don’t edit the quoted messages
• Don’t send criticism in an e-mail