They Know You Don't Really Care

Email has become such a popular means of communication that, some may argue, we even tend to over use it. If you receive/ send more than five emails a day then this comprehensive list surrounding email etiquette is just for you; 

  • Stay away from openers like; “I hope you are well”- just get straight to the point.
  • Never abbreviate someone’s name if you don’t know them- no matter where you got the contact/ lead from
  • Be respectful of your recipient’s time and keep the message short and sweet 
  • Use the 100 word rule- if you need to go over that, pick up the phone.
  • Subject lines- Never think that the mail is “Urgent” to the recipient, unless it is! Evaluate the importance of your e-mail. Don't overuse the high priority option. 
  • Stop over using exclamation marks- The maximum number of exclamation points in a business e-mail? One! 
  • Use ‘retrieve” option on Outlook or gmail has an option that allows you to delay the mail for 30secs to avoid any awkward mails so do yourself a favor and turn on Google Lab’s “UNSEND” setting for Gmail.
  • Ask before attaching large or high-res files. You may clog someone’s inbox quota, so ask first or attach low-res preview images to start. Or, compress before sending them 
  • Never use “See mail below” and make someone read an entire email thread to figure out what you want- briefly summarise for the late arriver!
  • Don’t write what you wouldn’t want read back to you in court: Email isn’t confidential and is spread more than you’d think. So be sure anything you write in an email to someone is something you’d be ok having your name attached to.
  • Don’t email when emotional or angry: Too upset to think clearly? Don’t email. Step away from the computer and come back when you can let cooler heads prevail.
  • Don't shout in your emails- never use all caps (and all caps is so difficult to read)- It’s just rude and, 
  • Double check: Before you hit send, always spell-check, grammar-check and visually check that you’ve gotten the person’s name, title, company name and email correct. This can prevent the dreaded “Oops, I cut and paste this to everyone and now you can tell” mistake(We’ve all done it). Don’t underestimate spelling,  typo’s can change the tone of your email 

 

  • Professional Nerd and Author Claire Burge chats to Conall about the do's and don't of email etiquette- listen back here  

 

 

@Myra Hayes