E-mail Etiquette
To start with, this document is intended to offer the guidance to the user on the official e-mails. Personal mails vary from person to person, so it is better to leave them personally to the reader.
In our office culture vocal communication is an important part. It is easy for us to convey any message to other person who is in front of us or on the other end of a telephone.
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E-mail Etiquette
January 14, 2007
Proprietary and confidential
Prepared By Anupam Dutta
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Version Author Creation date
1.0 Anupam ([email protected]) 14 October
2005
Email Etiquette
To start with, this document is intended to offer the guidance to the user on the
official e-mails. Personal mails vary from person to person, so it is better to leave
them personally to the reader.
In our office culture vocal communication is an important part. It is easy for us
to convey any message to other person who is in front of us or on the other end of a
telephone.
But problem arises when your message is delivered and read when you are not
there to interpret. There comes the necessity of proper written communication. It
includes mainly two things 1) express the “thinking” in the “writing” 2) abide by
the rules and guidelines of writing an official letter. Missing the first point will
make your letter purposeless, aimless and by missing of the later one, you may land
up with any kind of legal risks.
So it is necessary for you to acquaint the guidelines for the written
communication. Written communication may be letter, fax, telegram etc. But after
the invention of the E-mail and with the explosion in use of the Internet and
personal computers, the E-mail is the one which has become the most important
mean of written communication. It is not just a quick, easy and relatively cheap way
to keep in touch with others, it has also become an essential tool in business, a
fundamental part of the way in which we work.
• Why Needed?
E-mail use has become one of the highest-risk activities facing businesses today.
E-mail misuse can lead to loss or theft of intellectual property, confidential
information, and claims for harassment, loss of data or trade secrets, lost
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productivity through inappropriate use.
E-mail encompasses a potential cocktail of calamity for businesses: from privacy
issues, to harassment issues, to online libel, theft of confidential information and
productivity-loss.
Over threequarters of all employers report employee abuse of email and / or the
Internet.
Practicing “Safe E-mail” is as important for organizations today as any other risk
management issue they face.
Legal RISKS
E-mail is a business communication tool and users are obliged to use this tool in
a responsible, effective and lawful manner. Although by its nature e-mail seems to
be less formal than other written communication, the same laws apply. Therefore, it
is important that users are aware of the legal risks of e-mail:
If you send e-mails with any libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene
remarks, you and [Company] can be held liable.
If you forward e-mails with any libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or
obscene remarks, you and [Company] can be held liable.
If you unlawfully forward confidential information, you and [Company] can be
held liable.
If you unlawfully forward or copy messages without permission, you and
[Company] can be held liable for copyright infringement.
If you send an attachment that contains a virus, you and [Company] can be held
liable.
By following the guidelines in this policy, the e-mail user can minimize the legal
risks involved in the use of e-mail. If any user disregards the rules set out in this E-
mail Policy, the user will be fully liable and [Company] will disassociate itself from
the user as far as legally possible.
A company needs to implement etiquette rules for the following three reasons:
Professionalism: by using proper e-mail language your company will convey a
professional image.
Efficiency: e-mails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly
worded e-mails.
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Protection from liability: employee awareness of e-mail risks will protect your
company from costly lawsuits.
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• E-mail etiquette tips
In personal relationships the conventions of behavior are called etiquette. In e-mail
we have netiquette – a set of rules for e-mail that have evolved over the years.
Effective communication gives a professional impression of you and of
your organization.
There are many etiquette guides and many different etiquette rules. Some rules
will differ according to the nature of your business and the corporate culture. Below I
am listing what I consider as the most important e-mail etiquette rules.
Use of ‘To’, ‘Cc’ and ‘Bcc’:
The addresses in the 'To' are for the people you are directly addressing
Putting one e-mail address in the ‘To’ field is absolutely ok, nothing wrong
in it, but problem starts when someone places all the e-mail addresses in the
‘To’ field.
In that case (1) the recipient knows that you have sent the same message to a
large number of recipients, and (2) you are publicizing someone else's e-
mail address without their permission.
One way to get round this is to place all addresses in the ‘Bcc’
(Blind Carbon Copies) field. However, the recipient will only see the
address from the ‘To’ field in their e-mail, so if this was empty, the ‘To’
field will be blank and this might look like spamming. So it is not at all
encouraged to write any official e-mail by putting the recipient’s names into
‘Bcc’. You could include the mailing list e-mail address in the ‘To’ field, or
even better, if you have Microsoft Outlook and Word you can do a mail
merge and create one message for each recipient. A mail merge also allows
you to use fields in the message so that you can for instance address each
recipient personally.
Except these ‘To’ and ‘Bcc’ there is another field, ‘Cc’ which some times
gives no clue to the sender about it’s purpose.
The addresses in the 'Cc' are for the people you are indirectly
addressing. They are the FYI-ers or CYA-ers. Copy only those who
need to be copied, not your entire universe of contacts.
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Try not to use the ‘Cc’ field unless the recipient in the ‘Cc’ field knows why
they are receiving a copy of the message. Using the ‘Cc’ field can be
confusing since the recipients might not know who is supposed to act on the
message. Also, when responding to a ‘Cc’ message, should you include the
other recipient in the ‘Cc’ field as well? This will depend on the situation. In
general, do not include the person in the ‘Cc’ field unless you have a
particular reason for wanting this person to see your response. Again, make
sure that this person will know why they are receiving a copy.
For clear cut understanding “To” line is for someone who needs to
directly respond to an e-mail and the “Cc” line is an “fyi” courtesy; usually,
“Cc” recipients needn’t feel obliged to reply.
Do not overuse Reply to All:
The 'Reply to All' button is just a button, but it can generate tons of
unnecessary e-mails. For example, if I send a dozen people an e-mail asking
if they are available at a certain time for a meeting I should get a dozen
replies and that's it. However, if each person hits the ‘Reply to All' button
not only do I get a dozen replies, but so does everyone else for a total of 144
messages!
Some times earlier one corporate trainer in Toronto, Mr. Stratten, worked at
a manufacturing firm where employees seemed addicted to trading ‘reply to
all’ e-mails. ”Every comment, every ‘I agree’, every ‘uh-huh’ was sent to
very staff member”, he says.
Use Reply to All if you really need your message to be seen by each
person who received the original message.
Use a meaningful subject:
Try to use a subject that is meaningful to the recipient as well as yourself.
Clearly summarize the contents of your message in the subject line. Properly
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titled messages help people organize and prioritize their e-mail. Style of
using short and descriptive subjects always been appreciated.
The mantra to compose a SMART subject is:
S pecific
M eaningful
A ppropriate
R elevant
T houghtful
Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT. Even more so than the high-
priority option, you must at all time try to avoid these types of words in an
e-mail or subject line. Only use this if it is a really, really urgent or
important message.
What you put in your subject line can often mean the difference
between whether your message is read right now, today, tomorrow, next
week or never!
Careful regarding attachment:
Regarding the attachment there are mainly two important
things to be considered 1) Size of the attachment and 2) secured and safe
attachment.
Back in dial-up days it was recommended that all attachments be held to
1MB in size. However, in today's ever expanding broadband world, things
are a little different. For users on dial-up, the 1MB limit still applies. For
users on broadband or a direct connection, the size may exceed up to 5 MB.
HOWEVER, this is not a blanket recommendation to send attachments of
this size. Even if user is on broadband or a direct connection, there is no
guarantee that their mailbox can handle it. With limits this small you can see
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that sending someone a 5MB attachment will quickly fill their mailbox and
cause other e-mails to bounce. Generally, the only time one send
attachments of the 5MB size is when he/she knows the other party is
expecting it. But it is always better to compress the attachment if its size
exceeds the normal size of attachment recommended by the company. By
sending large attachments you can annoy customers and even bring down
their e-mail system. Wherever possible try to compress attachments and
only send attachments when they are productive.
Moreover, you need to have a good virus scanner in place since your
customers/mail recipients will not be very happy if you send them
documents full of viruses!
Do not copy a message or attachment belonging to another user without
permission of the originator.
Correct time and date:
It can be very confusing if your computer doesn’t have the correct time and
date set. Help to keep a track of your messages and help everyone else too,
by setting the time and date correctly.
Greeting and sign off:
Many people dislike receiving messages without these courtesies. There are
mainly two reasons for a greeting (Hello Bhaskar, Hi Vidya, Dear Mr
Gagan). Firstly it is mainly just plain courteous, and secondly it’s
confirmation to the reader that the message is for them and not just a cc or
‘Bcc’.
For a sign off also two good reasons firstly again for courtesy, and secondly
it is confirmation that the message is finished.
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Writing the context of the mail:
Here comes the art of combining the beauty of letter writing and
professionalism in same place. Although some of the readers will not agree in this
point. They can argue on the point that official e-mail writing is totally separate
from the style of earlier letter writing. It is better to drop the point and concentrate
on some of the basic guidelines which should be followed while writing the official
e-mails.
Be concise and to the point: Do not make an e-mail longer than it needs to
be. Remember that reading an e-mail is harder than reading printed
communications and a long e-mail can be very discouraging to read.
Remember your ABC
A ccurate Check facts carefully, Include all relevant details, Proofread
thoroughly
B rief Keep sentences short, Use simple expression, non-technical
language
C lear Use plain English, write in an easy, natural style, Avoid formality or
familiarity
Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation: This is not only important
because improper spelling, grammar and punctuation give a bad impression
to the receiver, it is also important for conveying the message properly. E-
mails with no full stops or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes
even change the meaning of the text.
Use proper structure & layout: Since reading from a screen is more
difficult than reading from paper, the structure and lay out is very important
for e-mail messages. Use short paragraphs and blank lines between each
paragraph. When making points, number them or mark each point as
separate to keep the overview.
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Do not write in CAPITALS: IF YOU WRITE IN CAPITALS IT SEEMS
AS IF YOU ARE SHOUTING. This can be highly annoying and might
trigger an unwanted response in the form of a flame mail. Therefore, try not
to send any e-mail text in capitals.
Be careful with formatting: Remember that when you use formatting in
your e-mails, the sender might not be able to view formatting, or might see
different fonts than you had intended. When using colors, use a color that is
easy to read on the background.
Take care with rich text and HTML messages: Be aware that when you
send an e-mail in rich text or HTML format, the sender might only be able
to receive plain text e-mails. If this is the case, the recipient will receive
your message as a .txt attachment. Most e-mail clients however, including
Microsoft Outlook, are able to receive HTML and rich text messages.
Do not use e-mail to discuss confidential information: Be careful
regarding the sharing of confidential information.
Avoid long sentences: Try to keep your sentences to a maximum of 15-20
words. E-mail is meant to be a quick medium and requires a different kind
of writing than letters. Also take care not to send e-mails that are too long. If
a person receives an e-mail that looks like a dissertation, chances are that
they will not even attempt to read it!
Remember the KISS principle: Business people today have many
documents to read. A message that is direct and straight to the point – while
retaining courtesy – will be appreciated. As you work on developing your
writing ability, you should constantly practice your KISSing skills. KISS
stands for:
K eep
It
S hort &
S imple
Kiss means instead of long or complex words use short ones:
Instead of Say
regarding about
require need
advise, inform tell
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assist help
kindly please
terminate end
dispatch send
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Use a smiley to make sure that a statement is not misunderstood: Smiley
is typically used in personal e-mail and is not considered appropriate for
business. They should rarely be used in the office. If your message needs a
smiley for better understanding, most likely you should not be delivering it
via e-mail. Even with a smiley, someone may
misunderstand you. Smiley should be used to
support a statement. It's rude to write something mean
or derogatory, and then place a happy smiley at the end
of the sentence. Refer to the Smiley article for a list of commonly used ones.
But if you are not sure whether your recipient knows what it means, it is
better not to use it.
This Means This
:-) Smiley face
;-) Wink (light sarcasm)
:-| Indifference
:-> Devilish grin (heavy sarcasm)
8-) Eye-glasses
:-D Shock or surprise
:-/ Perplexed
:-( Frown (anger or displeasure)
:-P Wry smile
;-} Leer
:-Q Smoker
:-e Disappointment
:-@ Scream
:-O Yell
:-* Drunk
Too Much Punctuation!!! Don't get caught up in grammar and
punctuation, especially excessive punctuation. You'll see lots of e-mail
messages where people put a dozen exclamation points at the end of a
sentence for added emphasis. Big deal. Exclamation points (called "bangs"
in computer circles) are just another form of ending a sentence.
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If something is important it should be reflected in your text, not in your
punctuation.
Abbreviations: In business e-mails, try not to use abbreviations such as
OBO (or best offer) and LOL (laugh out loud). The recipient might not be
aware of the meanings of the abbreviations and in business e-mails these are
generally not appropriate.
This Means This
BCNU be seeing you
BTW by the way
FWIW for what it's worth
FYI for your information
Gr8 Great
OBO or best offer
ROTFL rolling on the floor laughing
RTFM read the funny manual
TNSTAAFL there's no such thing as a free lunch
TTYL talk to you later
ASAP As soon as possible
ASL Age,sex,location?
B4 Before
CYA See ya
EOD End of discussion
FAQ Frequently Asked Question
Plz Please
GM Good Morning
Thx Thanks
Y Why
TC Take care
NW No way
KIT Keep in touch
CU See you
Confidential GL Good Luck
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But nowadays abbreviation usage is quite rampant with e-mail. In the quest to
save keystrokes, users have traded clarity for confusion (unless you understand
the abbreviations). Some of the more common abbreviations are listed in the table
above. But it is recommend that you use abbreviations that are already common to
the English language, such as 'FYI' and 'BTW'. Beyond that, you run the risk of
confusing your recipient.
Salutation & Signatures:
In a non-business situation, it is recommended that you bypass the standard
formalities. At most, only include something along the lines of "Dear Virgil"
or just "Virgil".
In the business situation, things are much more
complicated. Each situation will need to be evaluated on its on, but in
general, use the following as a guide: If you normally address a person as
Miss/Mrs./Ms./Mr. Arun then that's the way they should be initially
addressed in e-mail. If you normally call them by their first name then either
omit the salutation or follow the guideline specified in the prior paragraph.
If you are unsure, stick to the formal salutation. It's the safest bet.
If you had to guess what a signature was (the e-mail version), you would
probably be close.
On a paper document (save a tree, send e-mail) it's typical to close the
document with the following:
Anupam Dutta
I Will Follow... Services
Since it's not possible (yet) to sign your e-mail, users will sometimes include
the same information (minus the signature) at the bottom of their e-mail
messages.
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In precise, adding a signature should follow these guidelines:
If your e-mail address is a business address, it should include your
title and company name in the signature
You will sometimes run across a user's signature that contains a
quote (as in "...the secret to life is that there is no secret.") after the
person's name. This has become a fairly common practice. If you
choose this option it is recommended that the quote be something
that is a reflection of yourself. Keep it short. You don't want the
quote to be longer than the message
You should keep the total number of lines for the signature down to
four or less.
Food for Thought
“Thank you!” Why do so many people need to say
‘Thank you’ at the end of a message? Thank you for what?
For reading my letter? If you have been courteous throughout
your communication then why to say ‘Thank you’ over and
over again just because someone read your e-mail?
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Add disclaimers to your e-mails:
It is important to add disclaimers to your internal and external mails,
since this can help protect your company from liability. Consider the
following scenario: an employee accidentally forwards a virus to a
customer by e-mail. The customer decides to sue your company for
damages. If you add a disclaimer at the bottom of every external
mail, saying that the recipient must check each e-mail for viruses and
that it cannot be held liable for any transmitted viruses, this will
surely be of help to you in court (read more about e-mail
disclaimers). Another example: an employee sues the company for
allowing a racist e-mail to circulate the office. If your company has
an e-mail policy in place and adds an e-mail disclaimer to every mail
that states that employees are expressly required not to make
defamatory statements, you have a good case of proving that the
company did everything it could to prevent offensive e-mails.
Don't reply to spam.
By replying to spam or by unsubscribing, you are confirming that
your e-mail address is 'live'. Confirming this will only generate
even more spam. Therefore, just hit the delete button or use e-mail
software to remove spam automatically.
These are the general instruction that is sufficient to make your e-mail an
official e-mail. But how many of you think that an official mail doesn’t
mean a hard, boring paragraph sent by some dull person? If you think that
your e-mail should be read by your recipients with interest then put yourself
in the place of the recipient and imagine how they will accept your message.
Never think than you are talking to a computer! There’s a real live
person at the other end. So here come some interesting thoughts to make
your e-mail interesting:
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Informality can be OK in e-mails: Replace formal salutation like ‘Dear
Leslie’ with ‘Hi Leslie’ or even just ‘Leslie’. Similarly, replace ‘Yours
sincerely’ with ‘Best wishes’ or some other informal closing.
Use active not passive voice: Passive voice was preferred by our great-
grandfathers because they didn’t want to show any responsibility in their
writing. It also creates a distance between the writer and the reader. But our
writing today, however should show responsibility and it should be more
personal and natural, more focused.
Instead of Say
The new UTC was developed by our Our staff developed the new UTC.
staff.
The cheque was presented to the The Prince of Wales presented the
charity by the Prince of Wales cheque to the charity
Use appropriate tone: If your message is to achieve its purpose the
tone must be appropriate. The tone of your message reflects the spirit in
which you put your message across.
Instead of Say
We cannot do anything about your Unfortunately we are unable to
problem. help you on this occasion.
This problem would not have The problem may be resolved by
happened if you had given the giving the correct connection sting.
correct connection string.
Write naturally and sincerely: Try to show a genuine interest in your
reader and his/her problem. Your message should sound sincere while
written in your own style. Write naturally, as if you are having a
conversation.
Instead of Say
I have a pleasure in informing you I am pleased to tell you.
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I should be grateful if you would be Please let me know
good enough to advise
Please revert to us soonest Hope to hear from you soon
We do not anticipate any increase in We do not expect prices to rise
price
Careful about the emotion: Emotions are hard to convey in e-mails.
Some people type out exactly what they would say without thinking of the
tone of voice that would be used to signal their emotions. With the e-mails
all we have are words. So without right tone, misunderstanding could easily
happen.
So many long-winded expressions: Long words and long expressions,
long sentences and long paragraph will impress on one – they will only
confuse. Tapping away at the keyboard as you think, it is easy to allow
sentences to become too long. Read through your message carefully and
improve clarity and understanding.
Instead of Say
I should be glad if you Please
would
In spite of the fact that despite
With regard to about
In the very near future soon
Enumerate with numbers or bullets: Present your message
attractively. Use numbers, bullets or sub-headings if possible – this will add
to the clarity of your message.
Besides above guidelines there are some practices which are effective in
official e-mail communication.
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Read the e-mail before you send it.
A lot of people don't bother to read an e-mail before they
send it out, as can be seen from the many spelling and
grammar mistakes contained in e-mails. Apart from this,
reading your e-mail through the eyes of the recipient will
help you send a more effective message and avoid
misunderstandings and inappropriate comments.
Do not forward chain letters.
Do not forward chain letters. We can safely say that all of
them are hoaxes. Just delete the letters as soon as you receive
them.
Do not request delivery and read receipts.
This will almost always annoy your recipient before he or
she has even read your message. Besides, it usually does not
work anyway since the recipient could have blocked that
function, or his/her software might not support it, so what is
the use of using it? If you want to know whether an e-mail
was received it is better to ask the recipient to let you know if
it was received.
Do not ask to recall a message.
Biggest chances are that your message has already been
delivered and read. A recall request would look very silly in
that case wouldn't it? It is better just to send an e-mail to say
that you have made a mistake. This will look much more
honest than trying to recall a message.
Answer swiftly.
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