Email decorum is slipping away quicker than the English language after the arrival of texting. Last week I received an email from a professional that not only had an address resembling spam (think something along the lines of Misstootsie at aol.com), but the sheer lack of punctuation was appalling. Whether you are in a hurry or sending email through your smart phone, the words you send out into the world are a representation of yourself and some level of mindfulness should prevail before hitting the SEND button.
Professional Address = Success
While it may be tempting to hold on to that age-old email you’ve had since college, it’s time to let it go. Professional communication should be just that—professional. Use your last name as the email address or your company’s name, but don’t fall victim to the Misstootsie’s of the world, unless you want the receiver to hit DELETE without a second thought.
Greetings are Gold
Even if you are just sending email interoffice, open and close the message with a greeting. If it is a first contact or professional colleague, use a more formal greeting such as “Dear Mr. Smith.” If it is a casual communication between collegial friends, a simple “Hello” is acceptable. It would be wise to have a standard signature added to your email that includes your name, company, and contact information.
You can think of email greetings in the same way you might a face-to-face conversation. Would you walk up to someone and start speaking midsentence without even so much as a smile and hello?
Capitalize on Punctuation
Common sense tells us to always capitalize the beginning of a sentence and put a period at the end of one. Even if you are not a grammatical genius, follow at least the basics of sentence structure and punctuation to ensure you deliver your message professionally. An email without any sort of capitalization or sentences strung together without end marks is a sure sign of an “I don’t care enough to even look at what I’m writing” attitude. Is that the kind of message you want to send out?
Save Text Talk for Texting
Please don’t LOL, G2G, or MOO your recipient. Enough said.
I admit I do use the occasional :) in my email correspondence, but only with those that I have an established rapport with.
Where do you draw the line with email etiquette? What is acceptable/unacceptable in your business emails?
Professional Address = Success
While it may be tempting to hold on to that age-old email you’ve had since college, it’s time to let it go. Professional communication should be just that—professional. Use your last name as the email address or your company’s name, but don’t fall victim to the Misstootsie’s of the world, unless you want the receiver to hit DELETE without a second thought.
Greetings are Gold
Even if you are just sending email interoffice, open and close the message with a greeting. If it is a first contact or professional colleague, use a more formal greeting such as “Dear Mr. Smith.” If it is a casual communication between collegial friends, a simple “Hello” is acceptable. It would be wise to have a standard signature added to your email that includes your name, company, and contact information.
You can think of email greetings in the same way you might a face-to-face conversation. Would you walk up to someone and start speaking midsentence without even so much as a smile and hello?
Capitalize on Punctuation
Common sense tells us to always capitalize the beginning of a sentence and put a period at the end of one. Even if you are not a grammatical genius, follow at least the basics of sentence structure and punctuation to ensure you deliver your message professionally. An email without any sort of capitalization or sentences strung together without end marks is a sure sign of an “I don’t care enough to even look at what I’m writing” attitude. Is that the kind of message you want to send out?
Save Text Talk for Texting
Please don’t LOL, G2G, or MOO your recipient. Enough said.
I admit I do use the occasional :) in my email correspondence, but only with those that I have an established rapport with.
Where do you draw the line with email etiquette? What is acceptable/unacceptable in your business emails?
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