Email Etiquette Rules

What are email etiquette rules? Want to learn some email etiquette tips? How to employ email manners & proper email etiquette. Welcome to my email etiquette guide!

Email etiquette rules as with everything else, the moment you are in contact with people, etiquette rules apply.

It is important to pay attention to email etiquette because of the nature of reading emails.

Reading text without sound, facial expression or tone of voice makes it harder to get the exact message across compared to face to face communication.

That's why it is important to be as clear as possible to prevent miscommunication and mis-interpretations.

I've had countless of times when in emails where senders come off as rude and demanding. I will be surprised to get a heartfelt thank you message after I've sent in my reply.

Thus, we need to pay attention to our email manners and apply extra politeness, respect and courtesies in email.

How I read my email: A random snapshot of my google reader. It is unexpected I know but I try to keep it fresh by using a different iGoogle reader from time to time.

Email Etiquette Rules

Proper Email Etiquette

In a formal situation, especially if you don't know the person, it is proper email etiquette to remain formal.

This means complete your sentences, keep them short and sweet, write in paragraphs if you have to, spell out words the way they should be and punctuate.

Keep slang and short form as limited as possible.

Just as basic etiquette, courtesy and respect should always be employed, as with all letter writing etiquette, the email should start off addressing the recipient.

To: Ashley Adams or Dear Ashley Adams,

If you do not know "who" you are emailing to...

To: Customer Service

To Whom It May Concern (when emailing to a generic email such as info@company.com

In a business or workplace setting, always send emails with a title into SUBJECT: This is professional and aids a quick response instead of leaving it to the the other person figure it out.

Email Etiquette Rules

Email Etiquette Guide

Do you need to key in the "Subject" of a personal email?

The email etiquette guide says it's often nice to do so as well, but not necessary.

It also says that you should also end off with, Yours Sincerely, , of course depending on the formality of the message.

The proper business email etiquette is to include a business phone number at where you sign off, also known as "email signature"

You can do that too in personal email. Gmail and Yahoo email programs have this function to customise your email signature such that it is automatically there on every email.

This provides the recipient a reference to your contact details. It makes contacting you much easier.

Email Etiquette Rules Continued

Email is instant communication, so we have to be careful not to be "trigger happy" and not put enough thought as we blast off our emails.

I don't know about you but there have been times that I wish I re-read it before I sent off my emails. I've found spelling errors, missing characters, or perhaps sometimes I think I could phrase it another way.

Be careful with your email use as well.

Your emails may not be 100% confidential or private so avoid distributing important information like credit card phone numbers, especially when using public computers.

Other Email Etiquette Tips

• Avoid spamming or mass forwarding emails to others. They are a nuisance. Think for a second if they would actually be interested.

• Use your discretion, do not be overly friendly or assuming.

• Mind your language.

• Do not forget to soften your communication by using please and thank you. It is very tempting to simply get to the point. I've heard many complaints about people saying "What's the plan for tomorrow?" in subject of a blank email.

You might also be interested in:

Proper Business Card Etiquette
International Business Etiquette
Cell Phone Manners

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Tags: email etiquette rules, Workplace email etiquette, proper email etiquette, email etiquette tips, business email etiquette, email manners, email etiquette guide

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