Email Etiquette :
Your (almost)
Complete Guide
•To enhance current skills and provide
new ones to improve your email etiquette
and acumen.
Mission Statement
Goals
• Utilize the basic functions of email to send the correct one, to
the correct person, in the correct manner.
• Convey the meaning the way you want and not leave it to
interpretation.
• Do not allow emotion and moods to affect your meaning.
• Increase your expertise in the areas of when to and when not to
email, spelling, grammar, syntax, tone, and emoticons.
• Become a reliable source of etiquette information to your
coworkers, friends, relatives, and pets.
Ice breaker - Have you ever:
• Sent a personal email to a friend outside of work?
• Used foul language, possibly offended someone, sent an innocent flirt?
• Sent someone a joke, a video, or link to a website?
• Were critical of a person and sent it to THAT person?
• Said something negative about a coworker in an email?
• Replied to the wrong person?
Clinton vs. Bush and Billions of Emails
•2001 (32 billion), 2009 (100 billion)
•Time spent per person = 25% then we
go home
•20 per day = 8,000 per year
Innocent Email and Bad Timing
• What happens when a public figure
sends a seemingly innocent email
to a coworker about the frustrations
of their job?
THE Emails
• Are you proud of me? Can I quit
now? Can I go home?
• If you look at my lovely attire, you’ll
really vomit. I am a fashion god.
Why Email?
• Convenience - you can email almost anyone, multiple people at
the same time, even people you don’t even know.
• Searchable record – You have no worries about what you said.
• You can respond whenever you want – unlike a phone call or in-
person visit. Have time to craft the message you want.
• Attachments – Word documents, spreadsheets, emails, links
from shared drives and websites, charts, photographs.
Why you shouldn’t:
(or at least think about it)
• Encourages brief exchanges to go on and on about benign
issues. Before you know it, you have an email chain of 20.
• Delicate issues – tone is much better conveyed by calling, then
a summary email can be sent.
• Email never sleeps or leaves work – they defy time zone. Don’t
let it define YOUR time zone.
• Forwarding – Your emails can be altered. If it is a sensitive
issue, use a pdf file or another unalterable method.
Things I Forgot to Remember
• Would you send the email if the person was in front of you
(within punching distance.)
• Who is watching and what programs are they using to monitor it.
• Is an email forever after you delete it and empty the recycle
bin...assume it is it forever, so are the consequences.
• Negative consequences of an email you should not send:
Can be embarrassed, reprimanded, people lose respect for you
(offensive or makes no sense,) suspended, fired, jail, lawsuits,
breakups, divorces, death.
Spelling, Grammar, Syntax - A Necessary Snooze Fest
• Use it all of the time – DON’T GET LAZY.
• Don’t use words if you don’t know their meaning.
• Grammar: the study of the classes of words, their inflections, and their
functions and relations in the sentence.
• Syntax: the way in which linguistic elements (as words) are put together
to form constituents (as phrases or clauses). A harmonious
arrangement of parts or elements.
• I ain’t got nothing, we was at the office, your welcome, you very smart.
Emoticons   :0, ;) :>)
abbreviations
• General rule don’t use them for work/professional organization
or network emails. Except for .
  Sent Mr. ! to the unemployment line (or at least turned him
into a part-timer. (I told you so! vs. I told you so )
• Text/IM Abbreviations – FYI, w/, s/b, lol, btw,ooo, wfh, fwiw, f/u.
• What about WTF/WTH? Do you know what it means? Should
you use them?
Functionality: to, cc, bcc, reply to
all, reply, forward
• To/CC: Be sure to address the correct person, fairly simple right? Slow
down lil’ doggie Mr. Auto fill wants to say Hi!
• If emailing multiple people, put the person you want to address in the to
field and cc the rest.
• If you CC someone’s boss on a complimentary email, it makes the
compliment better. If a complaint, it makes it worse.
• BCC: Sneaky time! Rule of thumb is you never want to use it within the
company you work for.
• It really is talking behind someone’s back right? Feel Dirty?
Reply all: the potential
Hindenburg of Functionality.
• Be careful with forward/reply and risk
sending to the wrong person.
Subject lines, font, color, bold,
punctuation, closing greeting
• Subject lines: add them, add to them, but don’t change them. Use
professional ones.
• Font, color, bold, italics underline – everyTHING in moderation.
• Punctuation – Exclamation points and question marks:
(Don’t get them in bulk at Costco.)
• Using too many may be insulting.
Please get this handled asap! The client needs the results.
Get this done now!!! The client cannot wait any longer!!!!!
Do you understand? Do YOU understand??? (are you an idiot?)
• Closing: K.I.S.S. – No religion, fancy quotes, later dudes, etc.
Sadly, It’s almost over 
• Remember the suit.
• Who is watching…and recording your emails. They are forever.
• Email is convenient and flexible, don’t let it take you over.
• Don’t forget to call and visit.
• Golden Rule – Do I want to receive the email that I just sent?
• Use functionality properly and wisely.
• Review before sending…you can’t take it back.
???????
Email Etiquette

Email Etiquette

  • 1.
    Email Etiquette : Your(almost) Complete Guide
  • 2.
    •To enhance currentskills and provide new ones to improve your email etiquette and acumen. Mission Statement
  • 3.
    Goals • Utilize thebasic functions of email to send the correct one, to the correct person, in the correct manner. • Convey the meaning the way you want and not leave it to interpretation. • Do not allow emotion and moods to affect your meaning. • Increase your expertise in the areas of when to and when not to email, spelling, grammar, syntax, tone, and emoticons. • Become a reliable source of etiquette information to your coworkers, friends, relatives, and pets.
  • 4.
    Ice breaker -Have you ever: • Sent a personal email to a friend outside of work? • Used foul language, possibly offended someone, sent an innocent flirt? • Sent someone a joke, a video, or link to a website? • Were critical of a person and sent it to THAT person? • Said something negative about a coworker in an email? • Replied to the wrong person?
  • 5.
    Clinton vs. Bushand Billions of Emails •2001 (32 billion), 2009 (100 billion) •Time spent per person = 25% then we go home •20 per day = 8,000 per year
  • 6.
    Innocent Email andBad Timing • What happens when a public figure sends a seemingly innocent email to a coworker about the frustrations of their job?
  • 7.
    THE Emails • Areyou proud of me? Can I quit now? Can I go home? • If you look at my lovely attire, you’ll really vomit. I am a fashion god.
  • 8.
    Why Email? • Convenience- you can email almost anyone, multiple people at the same time, even people you don’t even know. • Searchable record – You have no worries about what you said. • You can respond whenever you want – unlike a phone call or in- person visit. Have time to craft the message you want. • Attachments – Word documents, spreadsheets, emails, links from shared drives and websites, charts, photographs.
  • 9.
    Why you shouldn’t: (orat least think about it) • Encourages brief exchanges to go on and on about benign issues. Before you know it, you have an email chain of 20. • Delicate issues – tone is much better conveyed by calling, then a summary email can be sent. • Email never sleeps or leaves work – they defy time zone. Don’t let it define YOUR time zone. • Forwarding – Your emails can be altered. If it is a sensitive issue, use a pdf file or another unalterable method.
  • 10.
    Things I Forgotto Remember • Would you send the email if the person was in front of you (within punching distance.) • Who is watching and what programs are they using to monitor it. • Is an email forever after you delete it and empty the recycle bin...assume it is it forever, so are the consequences. • Negative consequences of an email you should not send: Can be embarrassed, reprimanded, people lose respect for you (offensive or makes no sense,) suspended, fired, jail, lawsuits, breakups, divorces, death.
  • 11.
    Spelling, Grammar, Syntax- A Necessary Snooze Fest • Use it all of the time – DON’T GET LAZY. • Don’t use words if you don’t know their meaning. • Grammar: the study of the classes of words, their inflections, and their functions and relations in the sentence. • Syntax: the way in which linguistic elements (as words) are put together to form constituents (as phrases or clauses). A harmonious arrangement of parts or elements. • I ain’t got nothing, we was at the office, your welcome, you very smart.
  • 12.
    Emoticons  :0, ;) :>) abbreviations • General rule don’t use them for work/professional organization or network emails. Except for .   Sent Mr. ! to the unemployment line (or at least turned him into a part-timer. (I told you so! vs. I told you so ) • Text/IM Abbreviations – FYI, w/, s/b, lol, btw,ooo, wfh, fwiw, f/u. • What about WTF/WTH? Do you know what it means? Should you use them?
  • 13.
    Functionality: to, cc,bcc, reply to all, reply, forward • To/CC: Be sure to address the correct person, fairly simple right? Slow down lil’ doggie Mr. Auto fill wants to say Hi! • If emailing multiple people, put the person you want to address in the to field and cc the rest. • If you CC someone’s boss on a complimentary email, it makes the compliment better. If a complaint, it makes it worse. • BCC: Sneaky time! Rule of thumb is you never want to use it within the company you work for. • It really is talking behind someone’s back right? Feel Dirty?
  • 14.
    Reply all: thepotential Hindenburg of Functionality.
  • 15.
    • Be carefulwith forward/reply and risk sending to the wrong person.
  • 16.
    Subject lines, font,color, bold, punctuation, closing greeting • Subject lines: add them, add to them, but don’t change them. Use professional ones. • Font, color, bold, italics underline – everyTHING in moderation. • Punctuation – Exclamation points and question marks: (Don’t get them in bulk at Costco.) • Using too many may be insulting. Please get this handled asap! The client needs the results. Get this done now!!! The client cannot wait any longer!!!!! Do you understand? Do YOU understand??? (are you an idiot?) • Closing: K.I.S.S. – No religion, fancy quotes, later dudes, etc.
  • 17.
    Sadly, It’s almostover  • Remember the suit. • Who is watching…and recording your emails. They are forever. • Email is convenient and flexible, don’t let it take you over. • Don’t forget to call and visit. • Golden Rule – Do I want to receive the email that I just sent? • Use functionality properly and wisely. • Review before sending…you can’t take it back.
  • 18.

Editor's Notes

  • #6 In order to understand the importance of email, let’s look at some statistics. Pg 9. Summary: I had 17 one day in 90 minutes. So it is important to get them right.
  • #8 This person works outside so his clothes may get dirty; it is just part of the job. Is there anything wrong this email? Remember Hurricane Katrina, one of the world’s worst disasters ever. This email came from the FEMA Director Mike Brown, who took a lot of criticism for his handling of it, and this doesn’t help. There is nothing wrong with someone expressing frustration, but under the circumstances it does not help. Is it fair? Because at the time, the scope of the storm and its impact were not fully understood, so the email came across as insensitive to the victims. However, he wrote it the day hit landfall in LA. Is that fair? No.
  • #9 Pt 1 – Email Bill Gates Pt 5 – It is still amazing how much valuable information you can attach – take full advantage of it to make your message clearer.
  • #10 Pt1 Try a call, then create a summary email, then your responder can always confirm your conversation. Hard to do since we are so used to emailing. If there is information about statistics, legal, very specific procedures then fine. But you can establish what you are looking for by calling. Pt 2 Email makes you forget there are emotions and you cannot always convey it accurately. Good idea to establish and maintain relationships. Pt3 (Statistics show it is very likely that an email will interrupt your current task by 30 minutes. One study showed that 40% of workers moved on to different tasks after being interrupted. Pt 4 – Yes, your words can be changed. But remember they might not, consider them permanent.
  • #11 Pt 1 - yeah a bit extreme but send an email that you would like to receive, that it is respectful. Pt2 – Reference keystroke program Pt 4 – Brainstorm – extreme cases, what could happen to people as a result of you using poor judgment and sending emails that you really should not.
  • #12 Before pts - I don’t have time to go over the rules, but keep these points in mind Pt 1 a very easy step – you may actually learn something. Also, the ease of texting and instant messaging tends to make people lazy…don’t be! Pt2 Since I am philanthropic, my colloquial skills have paid off due to my gregarious nature, which tends to make me affable. Although shy, my irascible personality tends to substantiate my capricious attitude. G and S – what do they really mean - examples
  • #13 Ask if ok to use wtf? World Tennis Federation, ways to fail, ways to fund, wild team fun. Last point – make sure you are 100% certain that people will know what it means.
  • #14 Pt1 Auto fill may make life easier but have you ever gotten lazy and sent an email to a person with the same last name as your target?.Just take an extra second to look because what if you need a quick response and your intended person never got it? Pt 3 Did you ever have your manager copied on an issue you were handling with someone and you wondered they were copied? You are a responsible worker right and were working with this person right? Wasn’t it like you were being told on, and why? So think how the person would feel before you copied their boss?
  • #15 Consequences: simple embarrassment of doing so where hundreds of people on group list could see it. What if you were critical of a coworker, or worse yet, a customer? Hmm, imagine the awful consequences of that.
  • #16 (reply to boss, use Cindy example).
  • #17 Pt 1 –it makes it easier to search. What you are you hiding if no subject, easier to search, receiver can prioritize. Use professional ones – Your boss or anyone who could be offended walks by and sees this CHECK OUT THIS CHIC! (at least if you are going to send something like that, put “meeting notes update” as the subject Pt2 Fancy fonts and colors are unprofessional, especially if multiple ones are used in one email. Using bold, italics, and underlining are fine for emphasis but meaning is diminished if used over and over again. People will tune you out.