Slides for in-person email etiquette workshop at a staff development day for an online public school (7th-12th grade).

1. Email Etiquette
A Small Talk Big Results Workshop
for:

3. Bad Email Exercise

4. What is Email Etiquette?
Email etiquette refers to the principles of
behavior that one should use when writing
or answering email messages.

5. Why is Email Etiquette Important?

7. Number of Emails Received/Sent
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
25 or
fewer
25-50 50-100 100-200 200+
Received
Sent
52%
or 24 people
4 people!

8. Time Per Day on Email
0
10
20
30
40
50
< 1 hr 1-2 hrs 2-4 hrs > 4 hrs
% staff

9. Est. Total Staff Hours on Email/Day
127
Or, 16 employees working 8 hours a day!

10. Time spent
each weekday
Time spent each
year (50 weeks)
1 hour/day = 10 days
2 hours/day = 3 weeks
3 hours/day = 1 month
4 hours/day = 6 weeks

11. 3 Connected Parts to Email Etiquette
Be
Professional
Be
Polite
Be Clear

12. Be Clear

13. On the count of 3, shout out the
name of an animal
Wait for it . . . 1, 2 . . .

16. On the count of 3, shout out the
name of an animal that is:
 A land mammal
 Native to Africa and Asia
 Gray or brownish gray
 Weighs 5-6 tons as an adult
Wait for it . . . 1, 2 . . .

18. Who
What
When
Where
Why
How
Clarify

19. • Compose meaningful subject lines
• Format the message for readability
–Answer all questions/pre-empt questions
–Highlight questions/action items
Be Clear

20.  Write the subject line FIRST
 Keep it short (6-8 words)
 Most important words first
 Be specific (not, “Do you have a sec?”)
 Include a deadline, if appropriate
 Indicate if response is needed (“Please Reply”)
Subject Lines

21. Subject lines
Unclear
• ML’s records
• ???
• What do you think?
Clear
• Need by 4/8: Missy Lane’s
attendance record
• Need explanation: email
protocol 2.3
(confidentiality)
• Proposed changes to E7
Document – Please respond
by Friday

22. Format for Readability
• Short as possible, yet complete
• Short sentences (replace “but” with a period)
• Bullet points, especially for questions
• Space between paragraphs
• Executive Summary for long emails
• Questions and action items in bold

24. Be Polite

25. • Would you say it in person?
• Tone
Be Polite

26. The Tapping Experiment

27. Activity:
1. Individually: 3 politeness rules, 2 min
2. Partner share: Pick 3 (of 6), 2 min
3. Quad share: Pick 3 (of 6), 3 min
4. Double Quad share : Pick 3 (of 6), 3 min
5. Double Quad—Graphic poster, 5 min
6. DQ presentations, 1 min each
Be Polite

28. Be Professional

30. • Proof read
• Don’t send when upset
• Emoticons—Yes or no?  :)
• Level of formality???!!
• Openings and closings (+ contact info)
• Confidentiality
• Response time (24 hours)
• When NOT to use email
Be Professional

31. In-person vs. email
0
20
40
60
80
100
% of staff

32. To, CC, BCC
To = people directly affected, action required.
(good to put in opening line: Hi, Bill, Nancy, Mary)
CC (Courtesy Copy, Carbon copy) = people not directly
involved, who do not need to act or to reply, but should be
informed.
BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) = people you don’t want the
other recipients to know received the email or good for a
large group email when you don’t know if people want their
email shared. BCC recipients won’t receive “Reply all” but . .
.

33. The BCC Reply All Nightmare

34. The Reply Allpocalyse

35. "Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him
nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell
the world how bad we are. He's never flown
us before anyway and will be back when we
save him a penny."
Passenger complaint
regarding a delayed
flight is forwarded to the
CEO of the company
who accidentally
selected “Reply All”

36. Forwarding Emails
• Let people know if someone is added or
deleted
• Summarize quickly for new people (otherwise
it is very confusing)
• Check the email for unintended information, if
adding new people

37. Email Etiquette
Be
Professional
Be
Polite
Be Clear