How to Improve Your Email Etiquette

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HomeArticlesCommunityMy Profile WH.translationData = {'es': {'msg':"\u00bfTe gustar\u00eda saber Como mejorar tu etiqueta de email? \u00a1Lee acerca de eso en espa\u00f1ol!"},'it': {'msg':"Ti piacerebbe sapere Come Migliorare le tue Maniere Quando Scrivi una E mail? Leggi come farlo, in italiano!"},'pt': {'msg':"Gostaria de aprender Como Melhorar sua Etiqueta ao Escrever Emails? Leia sobre o assunto em portugu\u00eas!"}};WH.mergeLang({'navlist_collapse': '- collapse','navlist_expand': '+ expand'});EditHome » Categories How to Improve Your Email EtiquetteEdited by VideoJug.com, Edge, Travis Derouin, Manchurian President and 35 others

Pin ItArticle EditDiscussOpening your email inbox can be like opening a Pandora’s box of inadequate grammar, poor spelling, and bad taste. Consider what impressions your emails make on others; it's always the right time to set your emails apart from the pack. Follow these steps and improve your email etiquette.

Edit Steps1Keep your email concise, conversational, and focused. It is harder to read letters on a computer screen than on a sheet of paper, so keep emails short and to the point. While there is no ideal email length, keep sentences short, about 8-12 words and leave a space between paragraphs.

In a work email, get straight to the point: "I'm hoping you will..." "I think we should...." etc right up front, making the case in the following lines. Many people only read the first few lines before deciding to respond or to save for later. Those line should give enough of the "meat" to allow an informed decision. For personal emails, it's often a nice idea to open with a brief personal note before getting into the main point of your email.2Avoid fancy formatting. Changing fonts and colors, inserting bullet lists, or using HTML can make an email look bizarre or render it unreadable for the recipient, even if the formatting looks fine on your computer. Keep it simple.



3Limit attachments. Don't add an attachment unless really necessary. Keep attachments as small as possible. Most email applications can send and receive attachments up to 1 MB, but anything over that can be a hassle for you or the recipient, and even smaller files can take a long time to open if the recipient's email connection is slow. If you need to send a larger file, compress or zip it or use online services that will help you send large files such as YouSendIt.com. If you need to send multiple pages, such as meeting plans or large text corrections, send a fax or a typed set of pages in a letter.Don't zip email attachments unless necessary. Unless an attachment is too large to send otherwise, you risk wasting your recipient's time and possibly hinder them from accessing your attachments. Many mobile devices are unable to uncompress zip files. Additionally it's redundant since many common files like .xlsx, .docx, .pptx (MS Excel, Word and Powerpoint) are already in a compressed format.Keep in mind that many people or businesses will not open attachments from someone they don't know, and some email accounts are set up to automatically send emails with attachments to the spam folder, so if you're applying for a job, for example, make sure you follow the recipient's instructions regarding attachments. If no instructions are given, send another email to let the recipient know you'll be sending an email with an attachment.4Think before you send. Don't send e-mails when you are emotional. Feel free to write the subject and text of the email, then save it. Only add the recipients and send it after you have had time to think about what you are sending; you might change your mind and be better off for it.Email has also become a tool to ask or tell people things that you would normally never say face-to-face (ever wonder why you become a different person instinctively online?). If you are sending someone anything, reread it and ask yourself if you would say this to them if they were right next to you, or face-to-face. If it's on a touchy subject, read it twice.5Be careful using abbreviations and emoticons. This may be acceptable in an informal e-mail such as with a friend. However, in a formal letter you wouldn't have to tell someone that you're "laughing out loud," people may find it inappropriate, and could feel you are being frivolous.

Some abbreviations, such as "BTW" for "By the Way," are commonly used in emails and are generally acceptable except in formal, professional emails.

Writing New E-mails1Use the recipient fields correctly. Addressees in the "to" field are expected to take action, and those on "CC" are for keeping colleagues or bosses informed.

Be careful about requesting ACTION from more than one person in the "To:" field. This can lead to multiple efforts for the same task, or no effort because it's assumed someone else is handling the request.If sending an e-mail to a list of people whose addresses you want to keep private, put them all in the BCC field and put your own address in the "to" field.If you want to phase someone out of the thread (for example, if they have introduced you to someone else, and now you and that person are working out some details and you don't want to bog down the inbox of the introducer) move the person's address from the "to" or CC field over to the BCC field.2Make the subject line useful. A good subject line provides a useful summary of the email's content, preparing the reader quickly. Email inboxes are frequently swamped, so a good subject line helps the recipient determine the priority of your email. It also helps to prevent your email from being deleted before it has even been read. Since the subject is the first thing your recipient sees, keep it error free, concise, and avoid generic lines such as "Hi," "What's up," or the recipient's name (the latter may be blocked by anti-spam filters).



Avoid prioritizing your messages for the recipient. Get out of the habit of marking every email as "Urgent!” or "High Priority" or your emails will end up being treated like the boy who cried wolf and they'll all get ignored. It is irritating and presumptuous to assume your e-mail request is higher in the queue than anybody else's, especially in a work context. Be gracious enough to give the receiver credit for working out for themselves how to prioritize your message.

Replying to E-mails1Be careful of who you copy on replies. If you reply to a message and then CC: a third-party that the original sender did not include, be certain in your mind that the original sender will not be upset about it. This information may have been "for your eyes only". This is especially important if the original sender is your work supervisor. Be cautious about using BCC:. This can backfire if the person being BCC:'d replies back, not having seen that their copy was a blind one.2Determine to whom you should reply. Emails sent to you solely generally require that you reply only to the sender, but for emails sent to several people, you may need to choose the "Reply to All" option to send your response to everyone. Be judicious; using "Reply All" all the time creates returns in abundance and leaves messages languishing in the in-boxes of many people. Consider the consequences of receiving an email, hitting reply all and it goes out to twenty people and then those twenty people hit reply to all; it can compound very quickly into hundreds of thousands of emails and everyone feels compelled to hit "reply all" as a means of keeping everyone in the loop because nobody knows who is meant to read it and who is not.3Think twice before replying to just say thank you. Some people don't want an email that says "Thanks." This takes additional time to open the email and read it just to read what you already know. Some people include a line that says “NTN” – “No Thanks Needed.”4Summarize long discussions. Scrolling through pages of replies to understand a discussion is annoying. Instead of continuing to forward a message string, take a minute to summarize it for your reader(s).5Be sure to include info that you are responding to. Many people, and companies, write and respond to hundreds of emails every day. Avoid sending an indistinct email that says only 'Yes'. Include the question that the recipient asked so they know what you are responding to. Avoid making the recipient scroll down more than a single message in the history.6Reply promptly. If you need to do some research or some thinking before you respond to an email, or if you're too busy to write a full response promptly, send a short response letting the sender know that you got the email and advising when you will respond.7Be proactive. When replying to an email, you can save everybody some time by anticipating any questions or concerns your reply may elicit. Address these in your reply before somebody has to send a new email to ask about them.

Edit Video

Edit TipsEnd your email politely. Closing with a statement such as "Best wishes," "Good luck," or "Thanks in advance for your help," can soften even a harsh email and can elicit a more favorable reply.Take care with seeking receipts. While there are certain instances when receipt required might be needed for record keeping purposes or proof of receipt, the majority of times this is just irritating and forces the reader to perform additional actions to deal with your email. If something is really urgent, or you really need to make sure the recipient has your message, pick up the telephone and use it instead.

Edit WarningsDo not use all caps. This is an unnecessary practice and it can annoy your recipient, earning you a flame letter in return. All capitals is considered to be the equivalent of "shouting".Don't forward chain emails unless you want to earn the ire of your recipients. These emails clog inboxes and waste bandwidth, and many people don't appreciate them.Do not expect that the contents of your email will be kept private. Be careful what you say or it may come back to bite you.Don't use your work signature for personal emails - it will make you seem unfriendly.

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Edit Sources and CitationsVideoJug A video of avoiding common e-mail mistakes. Original source of this article. Share with permission and appreciation.Article Info Featured Article

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