Email Etiquette: Keep it Professional and Positive

Email Etiquette

Presented By: Libby Van Vleet

(Wakefield & Wakefield Business Etiquette)

Wakefield & Wakefield Business Etiquette

TODAY’S TOPICS Basic principles of email professionalism Email is NOT private Plan your message Awareness of email tone and language Ensure your emails move agendas forward How to choose the best channel to

communicate

Wakefield & Wakefield Business Etiquette

SMILE! Convey a digital smile with your voice,

whether written or spoken. Word and tone choice. Communicate to others that their well being is

important to you. Begin and end your message on a positive,

connected note.

Wakefield & Wakefield Business Etiquette

Keep email professional.

Who am I in relation to the person I am writing?

Don’t assume instant familiarity. Effectiveness can be lost if too informal. Basic differences between personal and

business.

Wakefield & Wakefield Business Etiquette

Basic principles of professionalism:

Be complete, concise, correct. Check spelling, grammar; proofread text

before you send. Particularly if there are 15 or more recipients. Always creating an impression!

Email is not private!

Backed up and stored, a searchable record. An informational time bomb: subject to

subpoena (inclusive of social media postings). Do not write emails that can get you and your

company in trouble!

Regardless of what you intended, you are responsible for your recipients.

Can be sent to wrong address. Easily forwarded. Beware of reply to all and blind carbon copy

(bcc).

Business email must be discreet: Do not express criticism of a third party or

reprimand your recipient. Be very careful when you convey confidential,

classified or restricted information. Overall, never send an email message that

you would not want others to see.

Write email that is so effective that it cuts

down on email!

Content (I) Provide contact information beyond your own

email address so the recipient has multiple ways to respond.

The subject line: Make your message easy to find and the purpose clear, even if you will cover in

the body:Libby Van Vleet - Lunch - Friday - Noon - Heathman

Content (II)

Place the action you want taken in the first sentence or paragraph.

Keep it short and to the point. Use short paragraphs with spacing.

“Sent from handheld.”

Thumb-typing - Less literate, more abrupt, not always the best

choice.

Attachments - Provide a summary of the attachment. The

recipient may be on a hand- held device that cannot open it at the time.

People aren’t quite themselves… State of dis-inhibition when using email: angrier,

less sympathetic, less aware,

more easily wounded, more gossipy,

too quick on the

draw.Try not to “flame” (express outrage).

Message written without regard to tone

…becomes screen onto which reader projects own anxieties…

“Will you be late to the meeting?”

People use email way too often.

Do not send many short, unimportant messages as it clutters up the recipient’s inbox.

(If you wouldn’t stop by a colleague’s office every ten minutes, you probably wouldn’t

email 30 times a day.)

Return email promptly; it is frustrating for senders to be left in the dark.

When to SEND:The four question checklist -

S – Is the message simple? E – Is the message effective? N – Is the message necessary? D – Will the message get something done?  

Additional Channels of Communication

Additional Channels of Communication Telephone. Conveys emotion. Moves fast.

Private. In person. Being somewhere is the ultimate

compliment. Shows dedication. Texting. Most casual. Convenient, quick, brief. Handwritten notes. (So personal!)

Thanks, special thoughts, sympathy. Silence. More listening than talking can be

productive!

Additional Channels of Communication

Respond in the manner the recipient usually communicates.

Try to match their style. Use all options in concert.

Plan the message you want to send.

Questions to ask yourself about your audience:

What do they need to know? What do they want to hear? What is their preferred way of receiving

information? How will you know they have gotten the

message?

Email Etiquette - Best Practices Make others feel important. SMILE! Keep it professional, yet personal. Never send an email message that you would

not want others to see. Package your message for your audience.