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E-Mail Etiquette You Should Follow

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E-mail is a very widely used tool of communication these days. Understand that you need to convey the intended meaning only through text.

So, whether you’re writing to your colleagues, your boss or a dear friend, you need to keep certain things in mind to avoid confusion and send out a clear message.

· A sensible E-mail ID:

The First tip on the list is the most important one. Have a professional Email Id and get rid of the funky Id’s which are full of adjectives. (coolboykartik@xyz.com or tanu432gupta22@abc.com type!) Keep it simple and just try including your name in it.

· Using the Reply All:

Be careful while clicking on the ‘Reply All’ button. If you have received a forwarded mail or a mail sent to multiple people including you, send a reply only to the sender. Most people get irritated when their inbox is full of unwanted messages/responses. So, make sure you check the ‘To’ box before sending the e-mail.

· Bcc:

It stands for ‘Blind Carbon Copy’. You use Bcc only when you have to send an email to a large chunk of people without disclosing their email ids to the rest. Also, it portrays to the receiver that the mail has been sent out to him/her only.
But, in case you’re sending an email consisting of some private and confidential information to your boss and you Bcc it to you friend, it is against the ethics even though no one would figure it out.

· Be careful with the attachment:

It happens in many cases that you forget to attach the file, for the purpose of which you’re writing the mail. It gives out a wrong impression to the receiver. Imagine that you have written: ‘Please find attached the document.’ and there is no such document attached. Therefore, confirm if you have attached the file or not before hitting the ‘Send’ button. Also, it isn’t advisable to attach numerous files at once.

· A ‘Must have’:

You’re working. You write and respond for the purpose of work. Ensure that you have a signature which primarily includes your full name, designation and contact no.

· Writing Tips for an effective E-mail:

1. Consider the fact that the person you’re sending the mail to will not welcome long messages. Write a brief message and keep it to-the-point. Don’t indulge into long, unnecessary chit chats.

2. Work e-mails might consist of a lot of information. So, make use of bullets or bold headings while sending these. It makes it easy for the reader to go through the content without getting confused and focus on the most relevant part.

3. Avoid incomplete sentences and words, especially when you’re emailing your boss, colleagues or any one at work. For instance, sentences like ‘vl get bk 2 u’ leave a terrible impression on the recipient.

4. Avoid using unpopular acronyms. Understand that not everyone knows that ‘AAMOF’ means ‘As a matter of fact’. Using words like ‘ASAP’, ‘PFA’, ‘FYI’, ‘W.R.T.’ are still acceptable and well-known.

5. Don’t write sentences or your entire mail in Caps to stress on a particular word. It portrays aggression and creates confusion respectively. Rather, use asterisk (*) to highlight the word.

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