Monday, September 13, 2010
Email Etiquette (Dos and Don'ts)
Using the information that you learned last week, I would like everyone to post (and explain) one do and one don't regarding email etiquette. There are plenty of dos and don'ts to consider, so there should be no duplicates throughout the entire class. Any posts that do not include an explanation for each do and don't (even though some may be obvious) they will not be considered for credit.
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ReplyDeleteDo:
ReplyDeleteRe-read your email at least once after it has been composed to make sure that you do not convey a tone other than the one that was meant to be conveyed; sarcastic & comedic tones are hard for the recipients to understand and are easily misinterpreted.
Don't:
Send an email before using spell check.
Inkorekt spelling not only make you look stoopid, but detrakts from the credebility of what you're siying.
This is precisely why Outlook has a spell checker.
~Sacha Lacerda
Do:
ReplyDeleteUse a clear and descriptive subject line. Most people receive a ton of email each day and tend to scan through. A vague subject line can easily be overlooked or deleted by the recipient.
Don't:
Use text short hand, such as BTW, IMHO, etc. These terms are are not appropriate for business emails. They make you look unprofessional.
- Krystel Sobreiro
Do:
ReplyDeleteDo be careful with formatting your text. An example is color of font. Please keep in mind the color of font chosen as it compares to the background. You would want to choose a color that is easy to read.
Don't:
Don't use all CAPITALS. This creates the tone of shouting in your email.
Do not use bold to emphasize your whole letter. Bold is to used in special occasions to bring attention to specific wording - In most cases, the use of bold can avoided as it is attention grabbing
ReplyDeleteDo reply promptly and answer any and all questions one may have in all Emails - This will assist in successful communication
DO:
ReplyDeleteAddress the person in an appropriate manner an example of that is: Dear, Mr., Sr. This show respect and it's also more professional.
Don't:
Don't send an email without filling in the subject line. If you do not write on the subject line the person you are writing to might think the email is a spam or that your computer has a virus.
-Antonio Statkus
Do:
ReplyDeleteDo be concise and to the point. It is not necessary to make an email longer than it needs to be. A long email may be discouraging to read.
Don't:
Don't include confidential information. If you do not want your email to be displayed to all, don't send it. Never make any sexual, racially or discriminating comments in any emails.
-Kristin Cunha
Do: Make sure the addressee in the “To” and “CC” fields when sending email are as intended in the body, make sure the CC is not expected to reply.
ReplyDeleteDon't; send one word responses, “Thanks” in a response may be polite, but not required.
Do: Use proper structure and page layout. This allows the person receiving the email to read it easily.
ReplyDeleteDont:Forward Chain letters, this could send a virus, and chain letters are very annoying and unprofessional.
-Sarah DeSilva
Do: Do remind the person you are emailing to ask them if an large email attachment is OK to send.. or if the format of the attachment you are about to send is OK if it's not Microsoft word file types. Because the person might not be able to open any other file other than Microsoft office.
ReplyDeleteDon't: Don’t open or forward an email virus that has been sent to you. You should delete it immediately because it could delete everything from your computer, cause many pop ups and attack your computer. A way you can tell is if the email says something like WARNING this this is not a virus.. you should delete it right away. If you forward the virus it could cause the virus to the person you are sending the email to.
Do observe Your Company, School, or the Recipient’s E-Mail practices
ReplyDeleteIf you write in the same style and/ or tone the recipient is used to, there is no way that the recipient could get confuse or take anything offensively because they will already be accustomed to the practices and tones used in your E-mail.
Don’t say anything you wouldn’t want to be made public
-An E-Mail can always be forwarded or printed out meaning that the recipient has the power to show the E-mail to anyone.
-Don’t say anything too personal and don’t talk about any co-worker or bosses in E-Mails.
Do: Avoid over using words like important and urgent in the subject line.
ReplyDeleteIf the recipients of your emails constantly get "important" or "urgent" messages that are not really important or urgent, when you actually have something important to write they may not respond as promptly as they should if at all. Using these words properly can ensure a quicker response.
Don't: Do not send or forward emails with offensive, racist, or obscene remarks. If someone is offended by what you write then they could take action against you or your company resulting in large financial penalties.
Hope Renaghan
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ReplyDeleteDo:
ReplyDeleteClean up emails when FWD them especially if they contain a lot of ">" in them because they have been FWD quite a lot
Don't:
Don't set defaults to "Reply All" that way you can Reply to only those you choose and not everyone the email was sent to
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ReplyDeleteDon't use colors in an e-mail such as red to get points across because it can be taken the wrong way and looks unprofessional.
ReplyDeleteDo make sure you send your e-mail to the correct person and not a general address that many people can view especially if it contains confidential information.
Do:
ReplyDeleteWhen sending an attachment, always check to be sure you have actually included it. Many times people will write the body of the email and forget to include the attachment. They will receive a reply from someone saying "there was no attachment". It seems like an obvious thing, but this happens quite often.
Don't:
If you are using a program that is not common, do not send an attachment that the recipient may not be able to open because they don't have that program on their computer. In this case, you should save the file as a PDF and email the PDF.
Do:
ReplyDeleteWhen sending an email, you want to start with a friendly greeting making the email easy to type and comfortable to read.
Don't:
Don't insert smiley faces into the email. It makes your message look unprofessional and the reader will not take you serious. It will look like a joke.
Do: Use proper grammar
ReplyDeleteDont: Use bold flashy text as it intimidates the reciever.
-Caryn McEndarfer
Do:
ReplyDeleteClean up emails before forwarding them.
If you don't clean up the email my be hard to read.
Don't:
Do not send sick jokes or indecent photos marked MUST READ. You never know who will open email or see what was sent.
Do:
ReplyDeleteUse gender neutral language. Avoid using he or she and find another way to say what you want without these pronouns.
Don't:
Do not add too many attachments. It can be annoying to have multiple attachments to open, and it may cause a problem with the recipients email system.
Do be sure to answer all questions asked of you in an email. You will avoid insulting the sender by obviously not reading their message in its entirety. You will also avoid the need for future follow-ups which are an inconvenience.
ReplyDeleteDon't reply to a message that you were BCC'd on. Doing so will let others on the email distribution list know that you were included on the original message despite their knowledge. This will create an awkward situation for the sender.
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ReplyDeleteDo:
ReplyDeleteMake sure you respond to emails to let the sender know that you received the email. In todays day and age with spam and virus protection it's very courteous to let the people know who sent them email that the recipient received it.
Don't: Write anything in an email that you would not like copied or forwarded. After you click send the email is out of your hands and the person can do anything they want with it. If it's not nice don't send it!
Daniel Clark
CIS 111 22w
DO: be clear and direct in the body of your communication. Email can be interperted incorrectly at times by the reader so it is important to be clear.
ReplyDeleteDont: use phrass that could be taken the wrong way. A reader could be insulted or get angry while reading your email because it lacks the human elements of voice tone and facial expressions.
Do
ReplyDelete1. Reread the email being sent to make sure that it sounds professional, clear and consise because it is unclear what tone of voice a person is typing, so by making it clear and to the point that is avoided.
Don't
1.Don't use vulgar language to try and get a point across because it makes the person sound unprofessional. It also makes the person reading the email feel that person is angry,upset when the sender could be joking around.