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Business E-mails and E-mail Etiquette





Helpful hints:


E-mails are increasingly replacing interoffice memorandums as the primary means of business communication. All too often, however, writers do not follow the same commonsense rules with e-mail as with printed memos. In fact, business e-mail should be even more carefully written than paper mail because e-mail can easily be forwarded, attached to another message, or kept indefinitely in an electronic filing system. E-mail records are increasingly being subpoenaed for use in both civil and criminal legal proceedings. Here are the basic points of e-mail etiquette in the workplace:

Respond promptly. Not responding promptly to incoming business e-mail that requests some sort of action, such as an answer, an attachment, a phone call, etc., can leave an impression that you are disorganized or that you do not consider the sender's e-mail important. You should always acknowledge an associate's action e-mail with at least a quick response, even if you cannot get to it right away.

Include a short and meaningful subject line. Many people determine whether to open an e-mail by reading the subject field. The subject line of business e-mails should always be short and clearly indicate the topic of the e-mail. Subject lines that are too long will end up being cut off by the recipient's e-mail program. It is important that the main point be clear and at the beginning. For example:

Change: Subject: Wondering where the latest report on the Wesson, Inc., account is

To: Subject: Wesson, Inc., report status

Use a different subject when discussing separate topics. This frequently happens when you e-mail an associate weeks later about a new topic, but you reply to the same e-mail from two weeks ago without changing the subject line. Not only will that surely confuse your recipient, but it will leave you looking lazy and disorganized. Also, if you are regularly e-mailing someone; keeping separate topics in the e-mail strings will help both parties to keep on the same track.

Begin with a greeting. You should always begin a business e-mail with a greeting, such as "Hello" or "Good day," followed by the recipient's name. However, if you are sending the e-mail to several people, then it is okay to omit the names and just use a greeting. An introduction is a staple of professional business communications and should not be overlooked in e-mails.

Be brief and concise. Business e-mails are designed to get a result: to communicate information or to get a response. You should get to your point as quickly as possible. If you find yourself typing paragraph after paragraph, perhaps a phone call or printed letter would be a better idea. If you absolutely must be wordy because of critical information, you may want to apologize for such a lengthy e-mail at the beginning of the message.

Write as if you are typing on company letterhead. You should use the same professional guidelines as you would when writing a printed letter. Remember, a business e-mail helps to create an image of you and your company. Here are some simple rules to follow:



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