Web Wise: E-mail etiquette: are you breaking the rules?
I knew I'd have to deal with a monster when I returned from a short trip out of town recently but I had no idea that it would take me three days to slay it. I faced my monster e-mail-all 80 messages (only a few were spam)-and began battling, uh, replying to them, in between doing my work, over the next few days.
I debated whether or not to keep up with my e-mail while I was gone but part of the purpose of going on vacation was to get away from all that work stuff, including e-mail. Upon returning from my break, it would have saved me a lot of time if some of those people had just practiced good e-mail etiquette.
Are you breaking the rules of e-mail etiquette? I confess I used to talk a lot in my e-mails (a big no-no of proper e-mail etiquette) but I've learned to be concise and it's saved me hours of daily time. Read on for some tips to help you improve your business communication via your e-mail.
What's the purpose of this message?
Before you compose, get clear on the purpose of your message and exactly whom you're sending it to. Is your message important enough for the recipient to take the time to open, read and respond to? Would it simply be better to call this person to discuss a lunch appointment or a complicated matter, rather than send a series of e-mails back and forth?
Saying less and being nice is a good thing
Try to be succinct whenever possible but if you're making a request, provide as much relevant information as you can. Don't make the other person guess at what you need because then he'll have to e-mail you back, asking for confirmation on your guesses and pretty soon you've exchanged six e-mails when everything could have been communicated in one or two (or a phone call). Never write a response to an e-mail that got you angry. Wait until you've calmed down before addressing the issue. It's quite possible that you misunderstood the tone of the e-mail. A phone call would probably be the best way to handle the situation.
Keep the lines of communication visible
As you exchange e-mails with one person, in the body of your message, it's better to include the whole series of messages, rather than only your current message. Most business owners have a lot of people to communicate with and it helps if the original message is contained in your reply (or at least the most important part of it) so we remember what we asked for in the first place. Be sure to make the subject line describe the message. Your recipient will be grateful to you for that, if later on, she has to search her e-mail program for your message.
Check your spelling and grammar
Assume your message will be seen by people other than the person you're sending it to. You never know if they'll need to forward it to someone else for confirmation or feedback on the matter. Your performance will be partially judged by how good your spelling and grammar skills are. You can use your spell-checker but it's not infallible.
Are you on time?
Be sure to respond to e-mails in a timely manner. Generally, it's good etiquette to reply to an e-mail within 24 hours of receiving it, not counting Saturday and Sunday. If you're swamped with work or you're trying to stay focused on meeting a deadline, let the person know you received their e-mail and will respond at length within 48 hours.
Respect the privacy of others
If you're sending your message to a group of people in your address book---people that don't know each other---be sure to use the "blind carbon copy" or "bcc" feature. Most of us don't like our e-mail address displayed for anyone to see and possibly take.
Think before you hit "send"
Talking about personal things in your business e-mail is not a good idea because you never know if your message might be printed out or forwarded to someone else. On the other hand, if you are guilty of forwarding a message to someone else, you've broken a rule of e-mail etiquette. That person meant for you to read that message and no one else. It is acceptable, however, to send a message to two or more people as long as you acknowledge you're "copying" the e-mail to "Jane Smith" and "John Smith."
What I learned from slaying my monster e-mail
Next time, I'll give plenty of warning to people that I'm going out of town for a few days and if they can wait to e-mail me when I'm back, I'd sure appreciate it. Also, no matter how much fun I'm having while on vacation, I think I'll take 30 minutes a day to deal with e-mail. It beats taking hours to handle the backlog upon re-entry.
Lori Gama-White owns DaGama Web Studio in Greeley, Colorado. Developing strategic, results-oriented Web sites since 1997, Lori Gama-White and her team of Web professionals are passionate about helping people get their businesses on to the Internet. For more information, questions or comments, call 970-378-7822 or e-mail .
© 2005 Lori Gama-White - All Rights Reserved -
http://www.dagamawebstudio.com
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