Writing is an important business and communication tool. It reflects your professional image and should ensure that your message is correctly understood. Poor writing fails to get your message across, it can waste the reader’s time, and makes a bad impression. Clear writing needs to be read only once, uses straightforward words, and presents relevant examples.
In today’s world we use many forms of technology to communicate. It’s acceptable to abbreviate, loosen up our grammar, and be casual when texting our friends. But is that okay in the workplace? Email is the main communication tool for most organizations. Emails are used to convey important information such as problems and solutions, input to and from managers, company material relating to benefits, payroll, etc. Even if you work in a casual work environment, there is still a certain expectation for the way you communicate with co-workers, managers, and most importantly, customers. Remember, email is more easily misinterpreted than face to face conversation!
Here are seven basic rules of email etiquette to keep in mind.
- Always monitor the tone of e-mail messages – Ensure you use a tone that’s appropriate for the person you’re addressing as well as the purpose of a message. Write clearly to prevent accidentally implying a tone that’s inappropriate. In informal messages, you may use emoticons to convey mood.
- Avoid inappropriate formatting – Avoid using uppercase letters, underlining or bolding text. This is unprofessional and may be interpreted as aggressive.
- Use proper composition – Check that points flow clearly and logically, and that messages don’t contain basic errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
- Answer messages you receive within a reasonable time –If you’re not sure what is reasonable, take time to set the expectation with the people you email often. It’s less likely people will think you are unresponsive if you come to an agreement beforehand as to what a reasonable response time is for the both of you. For those you don’t know, within 24 hours is a good rule of thumb. By the way, even if you don’t have a solution, send a quick acknowledgement email, so they know you’re on it.
- Answer all questions in e-mails you receive – Ensure you check what information has been requested and provide this in a single response. Also, anticipate additional material that may be required and include this to help prevent the need for “back and forth” correspondence. We all know how cluttered our email boxes get. Remember, even if you don’t have an answer yet for one of the questions, acknowledge the question and let them know you will be getting back to them.
- Create a signature for your e-mails – Configure a professional signature for all your e-mail messages that includes your full name, position, and contact details to make it easier for recipients to contact you.
- Proofread your e-mails – Check e-mails once you’ve written them and correct any errors, instead of sending them immediately. Careless errors can hurt your reputation. You don’t want to look like you are not intelligent or too lazy to re-read what you wrote. If you don’t seem to care about your email, why should someone else?
Thoughts…….. Contact me at abbe@TECResourceCenter.com