Email Etiquette
Outside of direct conversation, your primary means of communication is going to be via digital email. When writing emails, be sure to be clear and concise.
- Reread your email before sending it. Always check for spelling and grammatical errors.
- If you are sending the email with an attachment, double check you actually attached the file. It’s always slightly embarrassing to get a quick reply back asking if you forgot your attachments.
- Always be polite and courteous in your greeting and send off. Your emails represent you and your image, so be sure to give them a professional look and feel.
- If the email is going to be very long, there is a chance it will not get read all the way through or skimmed by the reader. Try to include a summary at the top or list out your major points in bullet points to get them across to the email skimmers.
- If you are expecting a reply back or require action items, be sure to list them out and tie names and dates to them if needed.
- If replying back to a single person, always double check you did not hit ‘reply all’. If you need to send a sensitive personal message and do not want to risk everyone accidentally being sent the email, take a few extra seconds to create a brand-new email to avoid getting your wires crossed.
- Be sensitive to other peoples’ time. Email notifications can be a large distraction and getting a little chime on your screen every few minutes can really hinder someone else’s productivity. Similar to walking over and tapping them on the shoulder, be cognizant of the distraction an email may cause and only send if really necessary or group a few together if they logically make sense too.
Emails can sometimes work against you and waste more time than they save. If a conversation goes on for more than three emails, ask yourself if it is better to just pick up the phone and have a conversation. Sometimes nothing beats a good person to person conversation.
The Internet is Forever
Somethings in life you don’t get to take back. An inappropriate email sent companywide is one of those things. Onsite at a multinational oil and gas conglomerate, writing some code, I saw a ping from my email informing me that I had received an email to my client inbox folder. Usually, emails to this folder were companywide updates that did not really concern me, but seeing that the subject had a series of forwards and a reference to the sitting president at the time, I decided to open it. The body of the email read a crude joke that hit on race, politics, gender and religion. The ultimate superfecta of office no-nos. I guessed the sender had a friend named Albert or Allister, but she mistakenly sent the email to “All Employees”. This email was soon followed by another message from compliance asking everyone to delete the email and apologizing for the content of the email. I can only imagine the embarrassment the sender felt and would be surprised if that was not her last day on the job.
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