ELM Bulletin - January 31, 2006
Email Etiquette
Combining the convenience of the telephone with the power of a fax email has become one of today's primary means of communication. Unfortunately it also lends itself to abuse by spammers, virus writers and...poor email etiquette. With this bulletin we would like to make more widely available some common considerations when initiating or replying to an email message.
1/ Be Concise - Brevity is golden. Your recipient may have neither the time nor the inclination to read a lengthy message when a shorter one would meet the need.
2/ Minimize the Content - Your response to an email usually includes the text of the original message. Any reply to your message will contain everything included in your earlier response. Email messages carried on over time can become quite large. While this may help all involved to remain in context the original messages presumably still exist on each recipient's computer, in which case only the last most recent message needs to be included in your response to inform your recipient(s) of the context. All others may be removed from the body of the message.
3/ Carbon Copy (CC) - In cases where your email should be routed to several individuals, each of whom is aware of the other, you can include additional recipients in either the "To:" field or the "CC:" (or "Carbon Copy:") field. Email addresses included in either of these locations will be visible to all recipients.
4/ Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) - There are occasions (such as with the ELM Bulletin) where you may not wish to reveal the email address of any or all recipients. In these cases you can hide email addresses by entering them into the "BCC:" (or "Blind Carbon Copy:") field. Email addresses entered in this field will not be displayed on any of the recipient computers.
5/ Use Proper Grammar - Abbreviation, acronyms and colloquialisms; lack of capitalization; missing punctuation. We have seen each of these used in attempts to reduce the amount of typing in an email. The success of these devices depends upon the recipient understanding them in the same way as the sender. As these devices can be mis-understood it is often best to type your message in long hand. Proper grammar is as important in email as it is in other business correspondence, just as essential to the success of your communication and also enhances your corporate image.
6/ Capitalize Carefully - It is generally acknowledged that typing entire words or phrases in upper-case is equivalent to shouting. Email readers are slightly more tolerant of improper capitalization than members of chat rooms or news groups but the proper use of capitalization will go a long way to ensuring that you do not inadvertently convey the wrong message.
7/ Reply Promptly - If you receive an email that indicates that a reply is anticipated either reply as soon as possible or send a message indicating that your reply will be delayed and why. By the same token, if you expect a prompt reply to your email it would be a good idea to indicate this in your message.
8/ Respect the Inbox - Don't indiscriminately forward everything you see to everyone on your contact list. This not only floods the inboxes of your recipients but causes your recipients to take your genuine emails less seriously.
9/ Measure Twice, Cut Once - Once you've composed your message wait a short time before sending it. This is especially important if you were angry when you wrote the email as once the email has been sent it cannot be recalled and a spur-of-the-moment venting can cause incalculable harm, both corporately and personally. Be even more careful with email than with letter correspondence.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this or any other issue.
Past issues of the ELM Bulletin are available from our website, feel free to forward them to anyone you wish.
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Peter Rhebergen Telephone |
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