Technology is moving faster and faster. The way we communicate is changing every day, but we still use email today until the next wave comes along. That means there are certain behaviors we should be aware of if we are going to communicate effectively and with the proper manners. And yes, manners are required with emails. It says so much about you and who you are.
We all understand the importance of good people skills when
it comes to our interpersonal communication it
helps us get the results we need. Our communication determines the opinion
others have of us knowledgeable or ignorant, pleasant or rude, professional or
immature. Most of the time this is in face-to-face or telephone conversations
where we have some control over the impression we make on others.
In my work on manners "Oh No You Didn't", I talk about this issue with a slightly different spin. This ranges from the humorous to the very serious with real life examples. What is below however is very timely and worth reading and sharing.
When it comes to netiquette (Network Etiquette), its not as
easy to control how others perceive us, and yet its even more important. Why?
Because what you write and how you use email can affect whether your email gets
delivered, read, or responded to and what that response is! In addition, there
are numerous technology traps that
are easy to fall into. Have you ever seen someone accidentally send an angry or
sensitive response to a huge group of people by using the Reply All key?
Some of this may already be very familiar to you. In fact if you did a search for email manners you will find tons of search results. But this is an important topic because it represents you. And before you say to yourself “I already know” and stop
reading this article, realize that every single one of us could benefit from a
few simple reminders on the proper use of email, not just from a personal view
but also from a business standpoint.
If you’re doing business on the internet and using email to communicate with
your customers then this article is a must read for you! You may already know
many of these tips, but even the most experienced user will find a few rules
you were not aware of or have fallen into the habit of breaking.
Think, write, and think again.
Email is a static, one-way channel unlike live communication, theres no way to
get immediate feedback (from facial expressions or voice responses) to know if
we are being effective or even understood. So think twice before hitting the
send key. Is there ANY chance that the recipient might misinterpret what you
want them to understand? Do your thoughts come across as abrupt or angry? Could
this email accidentally affect your reputation? The hastily written word may
lack feelings and the true emotion you intended. You might be smiling as you
type, but your note could come across as sarcastic or mean-spirited. Remember
theres a person on the other end, not just a computer.
Use a meaningful subject line.
This is the first thing your reader will see, so use the space to help them
understand the contents of the email even before they open it. Using the same
rule from above, type in a subject that relates to the message you’re sending,
rather than leaving the subject blank. Without a subject line your note will
probably be seen as another piece of junk mail not everyone will recognize who
you are just from your email address. Many internet service providers (ISPs)
filter out suspicious looking email, and a blank subject is a big red flag.
Also, try to avoid generic words like “Hi” or “Check This Out” to avoid having
the recipients spam or virus software delete your message!
The beginning, and the end.
Use a salutation, even if its short. Start your message with “Hi”, or
“Hello”, or “Dear”, whatever works best for the intended recipient, and
whatever reflects your personality. Think about this: when you call someone on
the telephone, don’t you say “Hello” before telling them what you want? Email
messages should be no different. At a minimum, address the email to the person. There are some exceptions to this but do try to include a salutation whenever possible.
Don’t forget the end of your message too! Always sign your
messages with your name, and say “Thank You”, or “Sincerely”, or something else
appropriate. You can even setup a signature in your email program that will
automatically display your information at the bottom of every email message you
send. For directions, use your email programs help file and do a search for
signature.
Protect your recipients identity use To:, CC: and BC:
properly.
There are a few simple netiquette rules for using the address fields in email.
If your email is being sent to just one person or email
address, place it in the “To:” field. This should be the person who is
responsible for sending you a reply.
When your email is being sent to more than one person and
all the recipients truly need to know who else is receiving it, put all the
addresses in the CC: field.
For email sent to multiple recipients who have no real
reason to know the names and email addresses of everyone else to whom it is
being sent, put all the addresses in the BCC: field.
(Some email software requires at least one address to be
placed in the To: field. Put your own email address in the To: section if this
is required.)
By default, not every email program has the BCC field
available for viewing. If you cannot see the Bcc field in your program, check
your programs help file for directions.
Give memory a helping hand.
When replying to emails, include a copy of the prior notes youve traded with
the person on the topic, don’t just send a new one. I may receive 50 emails a
day that need a reply and its not always possible to remember every single
‘conversation’ with every single person. Please dont make your reader go
looking through their sent items folder or email recycle bin to refresh their memory!
Use the Read Receipt sparingly.
In some cases, it’s crucial for both parties to know that a message was
received. However, in normal day-to-day activities you should not request a
read receipt for every single message you send. It’s annoying to the recipient
to have to click that pop up box every time they get your email. And it is an
invasion of privacy. Don’t forget just because they have received it doesn’t
mean they have necessarily read it, so receiving a read receipt doesn’t
actually prove anything other than that the message was received. And for day
to day communications, is that really necessary?
URGENT!
The boy who cried wolf. Do not send all your messages as URGENT, or HIGH
PRIORITY. If your recipients keep receiving messages marked that way, then
eventually the red exclamation point loses it’s effectiveness except to
reinforce how important YOU think you are. Reserve these messages for those
that are of utmost importance!
Avoid special formatting.
For your day-to-day messages, don’t use colored email backgrounds, colored
fonts, special fonts, images or other “pretty” type of formatting to your
messages. Keep them clean this makes it easier for the intended recipient to
read them and reply. It’s best to send messages in plain text to ensure everyone
will be able to read them, since not everyone has their email set to receive
html emails. You would be amazed at how bad your note may look to someone
viewing their email on a handheld device or an older computer. By keeping your
emails clean, they will also load much faster for the recipient!
Dont SHOUT!
If you type in all capital letters, your reader will see this as yelling, or
they will think that you were just too lazy to use proper text formatting. Its
also hard on the eyes did you know that it takes longer to read something
written in all caps than it does to read something that is properly formatted? Many people with sight impairments use all capital letters but they should know others will see this as very hard to read and yelling. Try adjusting your font size instead, so it's easy for you to write and also easy for others to read.
Proof, spell-check, and use proper formatting.
Poor writing skills are a direct reflection on you! And the reader never
forgets the person who writes an undecipherable message. Spell checking will
prevent most misspelled words, but you should always proof your email in case
you’ve written the incorrect word (that was spelled correctly). For example,
month and moth, where and were, all look correct to a spell-check program. Use
proper capitalization, punctuation and formatting. Break your paragraphs when
the subject changes, or if they become too long. Don’t use excessive formatting
(too much bold, too many exclamation points and question marks, etc.) Too much
of anything will make your message harder to read. You want to make your
message easily readable, as well as understandable. Proofread it to ensure it
make sense, and never assume the reader knows what you mean, always spell it
out for them. The time it takes to proof and spell check is minimal compared to
the lasting impression you will make if you don’t take the time.
Take the time to send a reply.
Even when someone emails you something that doesn’t need a direct response,
follow up with them in a timely manner just to let them know you received their
message. Its amazing how often people will ask for advice, and not even reply
with a short Thank you when they receive their answer. A simple message telling
the sender is sufficient. And this lets them know you did receive it, that it
didn’t just get stuck in cyberspace somewhere.
If they didn’t request it, don’t send it!
SPAM
No matter what you think may be acceptable, you cannot email someone about your
product/service without their permission. Unless they request that you send
them an email, or you have previously done business with them, then it is
illegal to send them an email, period. Any recipient can easily forward your
email to their ISP and report you for sending unsolicited email messages (SPAM).
This report would result in the immediate removal of all
your websites/email address from most servers. You would then join a list of
prohibited senders meaning that servers would not allow any messages attached
to your domain name to be received by their customers – the people you are
sending your messages to.
You might be thinking, but I get emails every day about
products/services that I didn’t request information about. Sending unsolicited
email messages (SPAM), is kind of like speeding. Lot’s
of people do it, but it is against the law, and no matter how long you may get
away with it, you are bound to get caught!
Compress, Compress, Compress!
If you are sending an email with several large attachments, it is often better
to send them in a few separate emails, so that you don't send a document that is
too large to even open. Or, you can try compressing your messages into a zipped
file. It doesn't reduce the size of images or pictures very much, but it works
great for text, spreadsheet and program files. This is very easy to do, and
will make your file size much smaller, and make the recipient much happier.
Check out www.winzip.com (for those on pc).
Hoaxes as helpful hints.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Do not forward everything
that gets sent to you. We’ve all seen them the chain-letter emails that promise
if you forward to x number of people you’ll get paid, or you’ll win something,
or you will be lucky forever. It’s all a hoax, a scam, and the only result is
huge numbers of email transmissions that slow down servers all across the
country. If you receive one of these emails from a friend, reply to them (in a
very nice way) and explain to them why this isn’t true, or ask them to stop
forwarding them to you.
Virus, or virus advice?
Many viruses are spread by email masquerading as warnings about a virus! If
someone forwards you a virus warning, which usually contains instructions for
removing a virus from your computer… check google.com for that virus BEFORE
doing anything. Chances are, it’s also a hoax, and if you do remove that “bad
file” from your computer, you’re actually removing a necessary component
crucial to your system!
This as quite a bit of information to take in at one time,
but I congratulate you for sticking it out and reading the entire article.
Please share it with your family, friends and colleagues.
If you would like more information on me and my quest please do contact me. I am of course on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, Google+, Pinterest, Blogger, and BlogTalkRadio and all can be accessed via my website: www.thisisdiana.com and
~Always with Love, Light and Common Sense Manners~
Diana Navarro, M.S.
On a Quest to Bring Common Sense Manners Back!
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