E-mail Etiquette For The Discerning User

by Kristy Schnabel

So you've been sending e-mails for several years now, and you've seen more than a few e-mail etiquette top-ten lists. Maybe you've clicked on this page just to make sure that you're not committing any cyber-faux pas, and to reassure yourself that "I don't do that."

Let's assume then that you already check your spelling and grammar, and that you read your e-mail at least once before sending it. You don't spam, flame, or use all capital letters to emphasize a point. Even if you didn't follow the Microsoft anti-trust suit, you know that e-mails are public, not private, and that pressing the delete key doesn't erase e-mail from your hard drive: You learned that much from Law & Order.

Before we get to the top 10, let's remember that our goal is to be clear, not annoy, and to look like we know what we're doing. With that in mind:

10 E-mail Tips

1. Use the phone for difficult issues. If you have bad news to deliver, be courteous and call the person or see the individual in person. If the tone of e-mail exchanges grows tense, be courageous and call.

2. Respond below the edited message thread. Ever get an e-mail from someone saying "yes," and you have no idea what they are talking about? Set the example by editing their threaded comments (to remind the person what they said), and then respond below. Use the angled bracket (>) feature of your e-mail program, or add one manually at the top of the thread. Here's an oversimplified example:.

E-mail sent:
Hi Jane,

How are you? I'm fine. The weather has been so great lately. Do you want to get together for lunch?

John

E-mail reply:
Hello John,

<How are you?
I'm great.

<Do you want to get together for lunch?
You bet. I'll check my schedule and give you a call tomorrow.

Jane

Please notice that Jane edited out the excess and just responded to the questions. This takes a little time, but is a courtesy to your recipient. By replying below the text, and using the angled bracket, it is clear what's being addressed, and who is making the comment.

3. Use a clear subject line. In these days of people receiving dozens, if not hundreds of e-mails daily, a clear subject line may mean the difference between your e-mail being read or discarded. It's best to stick to a single subject if possible.

4. Use the "bcc" field for large mailings. Your recipient may not appreciate getting a mass e-mail to begin with, and revealing his e-mail address to all the recipients exacerbates that. Instead, use the "bcc" (blind carbon copy) field" for the e-mail addresses. Leave the "to" field blank or send the e-mail to yourself so that none of the recipients' e-mail addresses are revealed.

5. Use ASCII plain text to be universally compatible. It may be plain, but if you want everyone to be able to read your e-mail, stick to formatting your e-mails with ASCII plain text. If your e-mail recipients complain that your attachments are winmail.dat files, or your e-mail converts to a text file, use plain text: Every e-mail client can read it.

6. Cleverly emphasize and format text. If you're using ASCII plain text, you'll notice that you've lost a few bells and whistles, namely bolding, italicizing, bullets, underlining, and more. Instead,

• Use *asterisks* to emphasize a word or phrase.
• Use a variety of characters for bulleting (e.g., ++ -=- <x>).
• To underline, _Just_Do_This_, especially for book titles.

Be creative to make your point. And, by the way, leave a blank line between your paragraphs to increase readability.

7. Spell out the month. Avoid people misunderstanding your dates by spelling them out: Jan 01 2003. We've crossed the century mark, and we're sharing work internationally. Don't ask your recipient to guess what you mean by 01 03 (January 3rd? The first of March? January 2003?).

8. Use a signature line. By using a signature line, you've created an electronic calling card that makes it easy for people to know who you are and how to call you, if necessary. But don't get carried away. If you exceed 5 or 6 lines, you'll start annoying people and they'll disregard it your e-mail altogether.

9. Request delivery and read receipts sparingly. Don't annoy your readers before they even read your e-mail. Some e-mail programs allow recipients to override this feature anyway. Instead, ask your reader to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail, if necessary.

10. Assume the best of the sender. The written word often fails to impart our tone, and sometimes the message says something different than we intend. Give your sender the benefit of the doubt. And when you make a mistake, admit your error or impulsive response, and you'll be judged the better for it.

I may have left your pet peeve out such as overuse of acronyms (IMHO, BTW, TTFN) and high priority settings, or the sending of really large files (Aunt Jane got a new digital camera). But I assume that you know better. Happy e-mailing out there, and don't send anything that you wouldn't like to receive yourself.

Resources

AssistU (www.assistu.com), Virtual Assistance Program, E-mail Tips (used by permission, not available to the general public).

Dynamoo.com. Dynamoo's Email Etiquette. dynamoo.com/technical/etiquette.htm. Accessed: 10/4/2003.

Emailreplies.com. Email etiquette. www.emailreplies.com/. Accessed 10/4/2003.

Yale University Library. Email Etiquette. www.library.yale.edu/training/netiquette/. Accessed 10/4/2003.

Kristy Schnabel has a B.A. in Economics, a M.B.A from the University of California, Irvine, and a Certificate in Technical and Professional Writing from Portland Community College. She owns It's Virtually Done, a virtual assistance practice (www.itsvirtuallydone.com). She may be reached at kkschnabel@hotmail.com